Conor McGregor became super-rich UFC legend after debut but opponent Marcus Brimage became Pillow Fighter

Conor McGregor has come a long way since his UFC debut ten years ago – and has gone in a slightly different direction than his first Octagon opponent.

‘Notorious’ earned his call to the big league with a spectacular knockout win over Ivan Buchinger to become the Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight champion on New Year’s Eve in 2012.

Cage Warriors

A few months later, he collected his final social welfare cheque before flying out to Sweden to square off against Marcus Brimage in his promotional debut on 6 April, 2013, at UFC Stockholm.

The charismatic young Irishman, who didn’t appear to be fazed by the task in front of him, had already picked up a legion of new fans after giving several funny interviews ahead of his fight on the undercard of Gegard Mousasi vs. Ilir Latifi.

McGregor got his Hall of Fame UFC career off to the perfect start when he scored an eye-catching 67-second KO win against Brimage who entered the bout on a four-fight win streak.

The then-24-year-old famously used his post-fight mic time to ask UFC president Dana White for a $60,000 performance bonus and he gladly rewarded his new prospect.

Fast forward ten years exactly and McGregor is the biggest UFC star ever.

The 34-year-old is a former dual-weight UFC champion, replicating his Cage Warriors success in the Octagon by winning the featherweight and lightweight titles.

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After entering the UFC with ‘no money’, McGregor is now one of the richest athletes on the planet and he even topped Forbes’ list of rich sportspeople in 2021.

It’s believed McGregor has made £438million throughout his career, which rises to £508million with inflation and he continues to cash in with more fights promised, an impressive business portfolio to his name, and a movie career ready to take off when he stars in Amazon Prime’s remake of ‘Road House’.

In contrast, Brimage struggled since falling short against ‘Mystic Mac’.

The American lost three of his next four UFC bouts and was released by the promotion following a knockout loss to Jimmie Rivera in July 2015.

Two more defeats separated by a six-year layoff followed for Brimage before he ended his 7-8 professional MMA career in 2021 and officially announced his retirement in January this year.

The retirement announcement came following Brimage’s second failed Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship bout which saw him get stopped by Trevor Loken in 40 seconds at BKFC 35.

@yoga_ninja954 – instagram

Before that, the 37-year-old made a bizarre career choice that exemplified how far he had fallen since fighting McGregor when he signed up for a 16-man one-night Pillow Fighting Championship [PFC] tournament – it’s exactly what it sounds like.

The winner walked away with a $5,000 prize and PFC title but Brimage lost at the final hurdle when he squared off against winless MMA fighter Hauley Tillman.

When he’s not swinging a pillow, it appears ‘The Bama Beast’ is a yogi.

A quick glance at Brimage’s social media shows he has been practicing yoga for some time and has even been leading classes since retiring from fighting.  

So, while his MMA carer pales in comparison to McGregor’s ten years on from their fight, it’s safe to assume he’s feeling pretty zen about how things played out.

Only time will tell if yoga will be enough to keep Brimage occupied in retirement or if he’ll follow in the footsteps of the many fighters who returned to combat sports after announcing their retirement.