The three stars of ‘UFC Fight Night 46: McGregor vs. Brandao’ in Ireland

The UFC is staging more than 40 events in 2014 with hundreds of fighters going in and out of the octagon. There’s only a brief window of opportunity to make a lasting impression on fans, and some do it better than others.

UFC Fight Night 46 took place Saturday and streamed on UFC Fight Pass from Dublin’s The O2, and of the 20 competitors to compete on Ireland’s first event in five years, three turned in performances that stood out from the rest.

So, here are MMAjunkie’s three stars for UFC Fight Night 46.

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Third Star: Conor McGregor

The jury has been out on Conor McGregor(15-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) since he joined the UFC a little more than one year ago. His previous level of opposition left a bit to be desired and made it difficult to gauge just how talented the brash Irishman really is.

That all changed on Saturday when he finally met a legitimate opponent in Diego Brandao (18-9 MMA, 4-3 UFC). The Brazilian isn’t the a top-ranked featherweight, but he has shared the octagon with some very solid fighters, and few of them handled him with the ease McGregor did.

“Notorious” displayed strong offensive and defensive attacks before stopping Brandao with strikes near the end of the first round. More importantly, he showed zero signs of ring rust or deteriorated athleticism following a complete ACL reconstruction that kept him out of action for a year.

Many fans still want to see what McGregor is capable of accomplishing against top-10 competition, but at the very least, his win over Brandao silenced a large group of naysayers.

Second Star: Ian McCall

Ian McCall’s (13-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) UFC career to date would best be described as a turbulent one. Between the scorecard error in his promotional debut against Demetrious Johnson to injuries and personal tragedies, McCall has had a rough past couple of years, and his performances have reflected it.

However, in one of his most important fights to date, against Brad Pickett (24-9 MMA, 4-4 UFC), “Uncle Creepy” showed up for all three rounds and outworked his British foe for a decision win.

It’s clear that on McCall’s best day he’s capable of defeating nearly any 125-pound fighter under the UFC banner. His striking and grappling looked as good as anyone’s in the weight class, and if he can produce similar showings the next few times out, there could be a championship bout in his future.

First Star: Cathal Pendred

He may not have won “The Ultimate Fighter 19,” but Cathal Pendred (14-2-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his name known to UFC fans in a different way with one of the best comeback performances in recent memory against Mike King (5-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC).

Pendred took an absolutely licking in the first round as King put him in several compromising positions with some powerful strikes. The 26-year-old appeared on the verge of being knocked out or submitted on multiple occasions, but he somehow survived the round.

Once the second frame got underway, Pendred recovered while King lost steam at a quick pace. The more experienced Pendred then took advantage of an opening and capitalized for the submission victory.

It was an astounding performance, and one that earned Pendred a $50,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus. While there were several Irish fighters on the card who got their hand raised, no effort was more memorable than Pendred’s come-from-behind win.

For more on UFC Fight Night 46, check out the UFC Events section of the site.