Conor McGregor Weight Cut: 145 to 170 lb, What's Known

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The Conor McGregor weight cut that people search for is the one to 145 lb. He made the featherweight limit on his way to winning the UFC title in 2015, then fought at 170 lb and 155 lb for the rest of his career. McGregor described the 145-lb cut as punishing, mostly because of the recovery afterwards. His coach called 155 his ideal weight. Neither McGregor nor his team has published verified numbers for how much he cut, so this case study sticks to what is on the record.

McGregor’s weight-class timeline

McGregor has fought at three UFC weight limits: featherweight (145 lb / 65.8 kg), lightweight (155 lb / 70.3 kg) and welterweight (170 lb / 77.1 kg). The UFC lists him as the first fighter to hold two UFC titles at the same time (UFC).

Date	Event	Limit	Opponent	Result
Jul 11, 2015	UFC 189	145 lb	Chad Mendes	Win, KO/TKO round 2 (interim title)
Dec 12, 2015	UFC 194	145 lb	Jose Aldo	Win, KO in 13 seconds (title)
Mar 5, 2016	UFC 196	170 lb	Nate Diaz	Loss, submission round 2
Aug 20, 2016	UFC 202	170 lb	Nate Diaz	Win, majority decision
Nov 12, 2016	UFC 205	155 lb	Eddie Alvarez	Win, KO/TKO round 2 (title)
Oct 6, 2018	UFC 229	155 lb	Khabib Nurmagomedov	Loss, submission round 4
Jan 18, 2020	UFC 246	170 lb	Donald Cerrone	Win, KO/TKO in 40 seconds
Jan 23, 2021	UFC 257	155 lb	Dustin Poirier	Loss, KO/TKO round 2
Jul 10, 2021	UFC 264	155 lb	Dustin Poirier	Loss, TKO (doctor’s stoppage) round 1
Jul 11, 2026	UFC 329	170 lb	Max Holloway	Loss, TKO (knee injury) round 1

Sources: UFC athlete profile; ESPN, 2015; UFC and ESPN event coverage for weight classes.

His 145-lb title win at UFC 194 came after Aldo withdrew from the original UFC 189 date with a rib injury. McGregor beat Chad Mendes for the interim belt, then unified it with a 13-second knockout. ESPN reported it as the fastest finish in UFC title-fight history at the time (ESPN, 2015). He never fought at featherweight again.

What McGregor said about cutting to 145

McGregor’s own comments focus less on the cut itself and more on what it cost him afterwards. Before UFC 196 in March 2016, his first fight at 170, he told reporters in Las Vegas (The42, 2016):

“Making that cut to 145, people only see the build-up, the fight. People don’t see after the fight.”

“This time, I’m waking up at 168lbs. I’m waking up under weight so after the fight I won’t have that process to get myself back right again.”

In the same session he insisted, “I can go back to 145, no problem.” He didn’t. After winning the lightweight title at UFC 205 later that year, he never fought at featherweight again (UFC).

For a fighter, the notable part is his candor about the recovery cost. A brutal cut doesn’t end at the weigh-in or even on fight night. It can take days or weeks to feel normal again, and that affects how quickly you can return to training.

What his coach said: “lightweight is just right”

His longtime coach John Kavanagh saw 155 lb as McGregor’s natural division. In comments published in November 2016, a week before UFC 205, he compared the three weight classes to Goldilocks’ porridge: “a little bit too hot, a little bit too cold, and just right” (The42, 2016).

Kavanagh explained that McGregor’s last fight before joining the UFC had been at 155, “and, for me, that was the ideal weight.” According to Kavanagh, McGregor ended up at 145 because the UFC matchmaker who signed him looked after the 145-lb and lighter divisions, “so we just rolled with it.”

His nutritionist: George Lockhart

ESPN identified weight-cut specialist George Lockhart as McGregor’s nutritionist for the August 2017 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. That bout was contracted at 154 lb, one pound above the UFC lightweight limit (ESPN, 2017).

The day before the weigh-in, Lockhart told ESPN that McGregor had woken up 8 lb over. He said that if a cut was needed on weigh-in day it would be “2 pounds, max.” He also said McGregor’s diet had been “depleted of carbs this week, which is normal,” and predicted a rehydrated fight weight of 166–168 lb.

In separate comments reported by STAT and republished by Scientific American, Lockhart was blunt about the practice itself: “It’s nothing I’d recommend to everyday people. I always tell people if health was your number one priority, MMA is not the sport you should be going into” (Blau, 2017).

Lockhart’s detailed day-by-day protocols for McGregor’s featherweight camps have not been published by a major outlet in a form we could verify, so we don’t reproduce the meal plans that circulate online.

What about the “25 pounds in 8 days” claim?

You will see figures like this online, but they are second-hand. The same Scientific American article wrote that McGregor had “reportedly” cut more than 25 lb in eight days in the past, citing another outlet rather than McGregor or his team (Blau, 2017). Treat any exact number for his 145-lb cuts as unconfirmed.

What is confirmed is his most recent weigh-in: 170.5 lb for the UFC 329 welterweight main event against Max Holloway in July 2026 (UFC, 2026). That is inside the one-pound allowance for a non-title fight, as explained in our UFC weight cut guide.

What fighters can learn from McGregor’s cuts

The useful lessons have little to do with copying a famous fighter’s protocol. They’re about the choices around the cut.

1. Division choice matters more than cutting technique. McGregor’s best-documented comments are about recovery, and his coach believed 155 suited him better than 145. If you can only make a class by dehydrating hard, you are in the wrong class. Our guide on how much weight you can cut helps you pick a realistic target.

2. Elite cuts come with elite supervision. McGregor worked with a dedicated weight-cut specialist, and even that specialist says he wouldn’t recommend extreme cuts to ordinary people. If you don’t have that level of support, keep your acute cut small.

3. Plan the regain as carefully as the loss. Lockhart predicted a regain of 12–14 lb between weigh-in and the Mayweather fight. Research on UK MMA athletes found an average loss of 8% of body mass in the final week, followed by an average regain of 11.7% in about 32 hours. At the weigh-in, every athlete in the study was dehydrated, and 43% were severely dehydrated (Matthews & Nicholas, 2017). Read our guide to rehydrating after the weigh-in before you plan any cut.

4. Fight-week water tricks are not a strategy on their own. Techniques like water loading only work on top of a camp where most of the weight came off as fat, with a plan you have tested before.

Key takeaways

• McGregor won the UFC featherweight title at 145 lb in December 2015, then fought only at 155 and 170 lb.
• In his own words, the hardest part of the 145 cut was getting his body “back right” after the fight.
• His coach, John Kavanagh, considered 155 lb his ideal weight.
• His nutritionist, George Lockhart, says extreme cuts are not something he would recommend to everyday people.
• Exact numbers for his featherweight cuts are unconfirmed. Treat viral figures with caution.
• His most recent official weigh-in was 170.5 lb for a non-title welterweight bout in July 2026.

For your own camp, focus on what you can control: pick a realistic division, lose most of the weight early, keep the final water cut small, and plan the rehydration in detail.

MyFightPrep tracks your weight trend toward fight date and plans water, salt and fight week, so your final cut stays small enough to recover from. It’s free.

Important

This article is a case study built on public reporting, not an account of McGregor’s private medical or nutrition data. It is general information, not medical advice. Rapid weight loss through dehydration can be dangerous and, in extreme cases, fatal. Don’t copy a professional fighter’s cut. Work with your coach and a doctor or sports dietitian, and stop immediately if you feel dizzy, confused or unwell during a cut.

Frequently asked questions

How much weight did Conor McGregor cut for 145?

There is no verified number. We found no confirmed walk-around weight from McGregor or his team for his featherweight fights, and the figures that circulate online are second-hand. What he did say, in 2016, is that the cut to 145 was hard mostly because of how long it took to recover after the fight.

Who was Conor McGregor's nutritionist?

ESPN identified George Lockhart as McGregor's nutritionist for the 2017 boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, contracted at 154 lb. Lockhart has also said that extreme cuts are nothing he would recommend to everyday people.

What weight class does Conor McGregor fight at now?

His most recent fight, UFC 329 on July 11, 2026, was a welterweight bout. He weighed in at 170.5 lb, inside the one-pound allowance for a non-title fight at 170.

Why did Conor McGregor move up from featherweight?

He fought at welterweight in 2016 after a short-notice opponent change, then won the lightweight title later that year and never fought at 145 again. His coach John Kavanagh said at the time that 155 lb was his ideal weight.

Sources

This guide is based on the works below. Numbers in the text refer to them.

1. UFC (2026). Conor McGregor — UFC athlete profile and fight history
2. Okamoto B (ESPN) (2015). Conor McGregor claims title with record 13-second KO of Jose Aldo
3. Kelly N (The42) (2016). McGregor: 'I can go back to 145lbs, no problem. Who is there though?'
4. Dollery P (The42) (2016). Welterweight is too hot, featherweight is too cold, but lightweight is just right
5. Okamoto B (ESPN) (2017). Conor McGregor won't have trouble making weight, his nutritionist says
6. Blau M (STAT, via Scientific American) (2017). How Conor McGregor's Weight Loss ahead of His Big Fight May Harm His Body
7. UFC (2026). Official Weigh-In Results: UFC 329 McGregor vs Holloway 2
8. Matthews JJ, Nicholas C (2017). Extreme Rapid Weight Loss and Rapid Weight Gain Observed in UK Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Preparing for Competition