Conor McGregor was Ireland’s most Googled sportsperson in 2013

MMA has yet to break into the mainstream. That is what people constantly say; most notably UFC president Dana White. It may be true in most places,  but seemingly not in Ireland.

Today, ‘The Irish Times’ newspaper reported that Ireland’s most searched (on Google) sportsperson in 2013 was UFC featherweight, Conor McGregor. The Dubliner beat out Gareth Bale, the worlds most expensive footballer, and shamed South African paralympian Oscar Pistorious into second and third respectively.

McGregor (14-2, 12 KO, 1 SUB) fights out of SBG in the country’s capital under coach John Kavanagh and is undefeated in his two-fight UFC career to date. Before entering the Octagon, McGregor was a two-weight world champion in Europe’s biggest MMA promotion, Cage Warriors, winning the featherweight and lightweight straps before vacating them to join the UFC.

In his home country, McGregor shot to fame in the mainstream following his UFC debut and subsequent appearances on ‘The Late Late Show,’ the world’s longest running chat show.

Despite currently being in the recovery stages of an ACL injury suffered during his UFC Fight Night 26 victory over Max Holloway, McGregor is still as popular as ever and today’s findings show that when he does come back, he has a whole country supporting him.