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UFC fans are in for a treat at UFC 264 as ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor will enter the octagon for the second time in just over six months, something he hasn’t done in almost five years. Since his professional MMA debut in 2008, two fights a year had been the Irishman’s bare minimum until he became the first UFC champ-champ in 2016.
Since that historic victory over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, we have only seen the Irishman compete three times in the octagon. A victory over Donald Cerrone in the middle of two crushing losses - submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov in at UFC 229 in 2018 and, most recently, knocked-out by Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 - has give McGregor’s fans cause for concern: is the Irishman one loss away from retirement?
Of course, it would be remiss of us not to mention the reason for McGregor’s near two-year octagon-absence: a 2017 boxing match that became the highest grossing combat sports event of all time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at three ways that Conor McGregor changed after he made money with Floyd Mayweather.
#3 Conor McGregor’s whiskey: Proper Twelve
Originally teased by the man himself at the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather post-fight press conference, Proper Twelve Irish Whiskey was officially launched in Ireland and the United States in September 2018. The whiskey is named after the area in which McGregor’s neighborhood of Crumlin is located, Dublin 12.
Love him or hate him, ‘The Notorious’ has a very high business acumen and uses his popularity to shrewdly invest his wealth. Earlier this year, McGregor and his business partners sold their majority stake in the company to Proximo Spirits for a deal worth a reported $600 million.
#2 The absence of ‘karate McGregor’
As most fans of the Irishman will know, although his rise to superstardom in the UFC was boosted by his hilarious trash-talking, Conor McGregor always had phenomenal talent to back up his big mouth. The combination of his powerful left hand, karate-style kicks and unique movement made him a force to be reckoned with.
Yet his MMA fighting stance has somewhat diminished since his foray into the squared circle with Floyd Mayweather in 2017. Boxing-heavy training (under two-time Olympian Phil Sutcliffe) has stiffened his movement and has made the Irishman look rudimentary in the octagon.
In his last fight against Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor looked a shadow of his former self. He was overly reliant on his left hand and left the calf on his leading leg wide open for strikes, which ultimately resulted in the Irishman’s downfall.
#1 The controversies of Conor McGregor
Fight fans probably knew Conor McGregor was no saint before he fought Floyd Mayweather in a boxing ring, but it is staggering how many controversial moments the Irishman has been involved in since 2017.
‘The Notorious’ has been banned from driving for six months due to speeding, has had multiple sexual assault allegations, was arrested for robbery in Florida, punched an old man in a pub because he wouldn’t drink his whiskey, threw a dolly through a bus window with several UFC fighters on board, and most recently, reneged on a promised $500,000 donation to Dustin Poirier’s charity the ‘Good Fight Foundation’.
