The death of the Irish king

In March 2008, Conor McGregor made his mixed martial arts debut. He won his first fight against Gary Morris, which led to fame and fortune. But like other celebrities, his career was not without controversy.

After being a relatively small and unknown fighter, he fought Dave Hill for the lightweight championship. He won that and defended the championship against Ivan Buchinger, but he waited three years to fight for a championship again. His breakthrough came when he fought José Aldo and knocked him out in the first 13 seconds of the match. McGregor instantly became a fan favorite and a household name. He was the double champ.

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But after this high came a series of lows. Four of the last seven pro-fights after Aldo were losses. “The Notorious” lost to Nate Diaz in their first match in a rear naked choke, even though he won the second by decision. He won against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 for the lightweight championship.

His next fight was controversial. Dania White, the owner of the UFC, wanted to strip Connor of his championship because of his inactivity. White planned to hold an interim title fight between Khabib Nuragomedov and Tony Ferguson, but Nuragomedov dropped out due to an intense weight cut. But he wasn’t planning on retiring any time soon. He set his eyes on the king, McGregor.

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The height of their beef was on April 5, 2018, when Nuragomedov and his entourage got into a scuffle with Artem Lobov, a longtime friend and teammate of McGregor. Two days later, McGregor and his team flew from Dublin and found Nuragomedov and others in a UFC bus with other fighters. They came for revenge and blood. McGregor threw a hand cart at the bus, breaking a window and injuring two fighters. An arrest warrant was issued for McGregor, and he later turned himself in. He was found guilty of assault and criminal mischief.

This was the energy going into the fight on October 6, 2018. McGregor’s trash talk at the press conference beforehand insulted both Nuragomedov’s religion and culture. As a devout and practicing Muslim, Nuragomedov was angry. McGregor showed up late, and his opponent had left before he showed up, but that didn’t stop the pro-McGregor and mostly Irish crowd from insulting Nuragomedov.

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The date everyone is waiting for is the culmination of the biggest beef in UFC history. The fight was going to be epic and the fans brought the energy. Both came out and got in the octagon. The bell sounded, and the fight began. McGregor is famous for his punches, while Nuragomedov is famous for his grappling. Both fighters would use these to their advantage. In the fourth round, Nuragomedov gets a hand under McGregor’s head and starts choking him out. “The Notorious” taps and accepts his loss. But “the Eagle” wanted more. He starts trash-talking McGregor’s teammate and eventually gets so angry that he jumps out of the cage and into the crowd. Nuragomedov’s teammates jump into the cage to fight with McGregor, who is now back on his feet and ready to dance.

He had one more professional win, against Donald Cerrone, or “Cowboy,” at UFC 246. His last two fights were losses against Dustin Poirier, at UFC 257 and again at UFC 264. In his second loss against Poirier, McGregor broke his leg, ending his fight and professional career.

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In November 2024, McGregor was at a courthouse in Ireland after being accused and found guilty of rape of a young woman in December of 2018. Nikita Hand testified after a night of partying, McGregor “brutally raped and battered” her in a hotel. Throughout his career, McGregor has had many run-ins with the law, and this is not his first sexual assault accusation, but this is the first one found guilty. He paid Ms. Hand a total of €250,000 ($257,000). There have been talks in the fighting discourse about McGregor vs Logan Paul for 2026, but I don’t know if he would do that. If I were him, I would enjoy retirement.