LAS VEGAS -- Long before Conor McGregor was a household name in the MMA community, Halli Nelson was e-mailing UFC matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby about him.
Nelson made a big push to get McGregor in the UFC back in 2012 when Nelson's son Gunnar was signed. When McGregor knocked out Ivan Buchinger at Cage Warriors 51 in December 2012, Nelson sent the video to Silva, who responded that it was "impressive." Not coincidentally, McGregor's next fight was in the UFC.
"I was always sure that Conor would be a star when he got into the UFC," Nelson told MMAFighting.