From King to Joker: The tragic fall of Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor is the greatest star in MMA history. The Irishman elevated the sport to heights once thought unthinkable. In doing so, he became a cultural phenomenon and lifted the entire country of Ireland into the MMA spotlight, paving the way for the likes of Ian Machado Garry.

No one will ever forget McGregor's rampage through the UFC featherweight division. It was a legendary campaign, akin to a warlord torching an enemy kingdom en route to capturing the most coveted crown in all the land, and he did. He dethroned José Aldo as the 145-pound king in spectacular fashion.

Still, he aimed higher. A man once mocked as a joker by his fellow fighters became the UFC's first-ever simultaneous two-division champion and MMA's best-ever pay-per-view draw. Now, Conor McGregor is far from the man that others want to be. He is a shell of his former self, a caricature.

So, how is it that a joker, who became king of the MMA world, is now back to the role of a court jester? How and why did McGregor fall so hard?

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From 'Mystic Mac' to 'Money Mac'

Several things make Conor McGregor unique compared to everyone who came before him, and everyone who has come after him, thus far. While B.J. Penn was the first fighter to convince Dana White to give him the opportunity to become a simultaneous double champion in the promotion, McGregor is the first to succeed.

At UFC 205, 'The Notorious' made MMA history by defeating Eddie Alvarez to enthrone himself as the first-ever simultaneous double champion in the UFC. While others have since followed in his footsteps, there's no replicating the magic of seeing McGregor lift two gold straps overhead for the first time.

It was a milestone that led directly into another one of the Irishman's greatest accomplishments: convincing the UFC to allow him to box Floyd Mayweather Jr. For years, the promotion has been adamantly against allowing any of its athletes to take part in any fight beyond its borders.

Their reasoning was simple. They didn't want their fighters risking potential injuries elsewhere, ultimately derailing any plans the UFC may have for them fight-wise. But after a public back-and-forth, the UFC relented and granted Conor McGregor his wish to face one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Not even all-time great middleweight Anderson Silva was able to persuade the UFC to allow him to box Roy Jones Jr. during his peak years. Furthermore, former heavyweight titleholder Francis Ngannou had to leave the promotion to land his desired bout with Tyson Fury, which Dana White labeled a gimmick fight.

Conor McGregor, it seemed, was a specialist in doing the impossible. Unfortunately, becoming the first man to hand Floyd Mayweather Jr. a professional boxing loss proved too tall a task. Despite being the larger man, 'The Notorious' couldn't punch above his weight. Not this time.

He was dealt a sobering defeat via 10th-round TKO, but reportedly earned around $100 million for his efforts. It was a life-changing amount of money, and it turns out that it did more than change the Irishman's life. It also changed him for the worst.

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Conor McGregor: The King of Controversy

After his bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., the MMA world wasn't all too sure that Conor McGregor would return to the UFC and resume his run as the face of the sport. He had been stripped of his featherweight and lightweight titles, which he never defended, due to inactivity.

Meanwhile, during his absence, undefeated lightweight phenom Khabib Nurmagomedov captured the vacant divisional championship. It turned out that 'The Eagle' himself would be the one to convince McGregor to return, when he posted a video of himself slapping the Irishman's then-good friend Artem Lobov.

Lobov, a fellow countryman of Nurmagomedov's, had spoken ill of him in prior interviews, which prompted 'The Eagle' to corner him in a hotel hallway. Conor McGregor was livid. He gathered a group of his goons and boarded his private jet before embarking on a flight to New York.

As a bus of UFC fighters, including Nurmagomedov, exited the Barclays Center after taking part in promotional appearances for UFC 223, Conor McGregor and his cronies attacked the bus, during which glass shards from a broken window left Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg hospitalized and removed from the card.

The Irishman was promptly arrested and sentenced to five days of community service. It was the first in what is now a long line of brushes with the law. The UFC was quick to capitalize on the enmity between him and Nurmagomedov, scheduling the two for a headline bout at UFC 229.

From an athletic standpoint, it made sense. McGregor was the previous champion before being stripped of his title, and 'The Eagle' was the newly crowned titleholder. Ahead of their bout, McGregor and Nurmagomedov took part in one of the most unhinged pre-fight press conferences.

Conor McGregor hurled countless personal and religious insults in the Dagestani's direction, marking the first time that fans and fellow fighters questioned if he had taken his trash talk too far. Unfortunately, for him, he was unsuccessful in psychologically breaking his foe and was soundly submitted in round four.

But as their bout came to an end, Nurmagomedov couldn't contain himself, unleashing his fury by leaping out of the cage to attack McGregor's cornermen. Meanwhile, one of Nurmagomedov's cousins tried to exit the octagon, only to be punched by the Irishman. He and Nurmagomedov's other cornermen retaliated.

The brawl marked an ugly end to UFC 229 and both men were fined and suspended by the NASC. While Nurmagomedov was able to later repair his image, McGregor never did, for in early 2019, the MMA world stood in shock as headlines about Conor McGregor being accused of sexual assault made the rounds.

Days later, he was found guilty of attacking a fan who tried to take a picture of him, destroying the fan's phone in the process. Several months later, footage of the Irishman punching an older man at a pub in Dublin, allegedly for refusing a shot of his Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey, emerged.

Then, a second sexual assault allegation was made later that same year. While Conor McGregor was never formally charged for any sexual assault allegation, the damage to his reputation was done. The Irishman had become a PR nightmare for the UFC and even he realized he needed to dial back on his behavior.

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Losing respect as a fighter

Come 2020, Conor McGregor announed his return to active competition, debuting a polite, soft-spoken version of himself in an attempt to foster some goodwill with the world that had turned their backs on him. He was scheduled to face Donald Cerrone, an overmatched foe on a losing streak, at UFC 246.

As expected, 'The Notorious' ran through 'Cowboy' with supreme ease, TKO'ing him in 40 seconds. For a moment, the MMA world welcomed him back with open arms, taken by the prospect of another Conor McGregor title campaign, after all, he was eyeing a rematch with then lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

But as the COVID-19 pandemic led to worldwide travel restrictions and a host of safety protoccols that made the hosting of sports events impossible, all UFC events were postponed. But, the promotion soon developed the means to host events under a reasonable safety blanket. The rematch, it seemed, was on.

Unfortunately, the inability to have live crowds in attendance meant that the UFC was unwilling to waste Conor McGregor's starpower without a live gate. He was kept inactive. Meanwhile, Khabib Nurmagomedov was dealt the blow of personal tragedy when his father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, died due to COVID-19.

After promising his mother that he wouldn't continue fighting without his father in his corner, 'The Eagle' announced his retirement from the sport after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254. The UFC, however, didn't give up just yet. Dana White did his best to try and convince the unbeaten Dagestani to return, to no avail.

Meanwhile, Conor McGregor was booked to face Dustin Poirier in a rematch nearly seven years in the making. The Irishman had beaten him back in 2014 via knockout, so despite Poirier's growth as a fighter since then, he was regarded as a quality but beatable foe for McGregor to earn a title fight with Nurmagomedov over.

Furthermore, 'The Notorious' was eyeing a boxing match with legendary boxer, Manny Pacquiao, and regarded Dustin Poirier—a heavy-handed southpaw—as a light training dummy for the real thing. Instead, McGregor was dealt a humbling defeat by way of second-round TKO.

In the aftermath of his loss, he promised to donate Poirier's charity: the Good Fight Foundation. But he never did, and when exposed for it, reverted to the trash talk that first made him famous. Only this time, he wasn't as sharp as he used to be. It felt as though Conor McGregor was trying to force himself to become his old self.

But the wit and cleverness simply wasn't there. Instead, he was temperamental and leaned heavily on personal insults, even dragging Poirier's family through the mud after the pair were booked for a rematch. He even promised that 'The Diamond' would leave the arena broken on a stretcher.

But in a karmic twist, it was Conor McGregor who left the arena in a stretcher after snapping his shin in half during their UFC 264 bout. Though not before issuing death threats to Poirier and his wife. While recovering from his injury, he found himself in an inexplicable scuffle with rapper Machine Gun Kelly.

After that, he began making it his business to attack various fighters on Twitter, often in tasteless ways before inevitably deleting his tweets. He was also accused of physically assaulting a woman on a yacht in Spain. A year later, the UFC announced his return against Michael Chandler, but gave no official date.

During this time, the Irishman had gained a considerable amount of muscle mass, drawing accusations of PED usage, which only heightened after his refusal to reenter the USADA drug-testing pool, leading many to lose respect for him, as he once championed clean drug-tested fighting.

Then, in June 2023, he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a restroom at Game Four of the 2023 NBA Finals. He further sullied his reputation as a fighter by showing no real interest in his UFC return, culminating in one of his most widely criticized call-outs to date when he challenged KSI to a bare-knuckle boxing bout.

It marked his lowest point as a fighter, going from capturing UFC titles and boxing an all-time great boxer like Floyd Mayweather, to calling out an influencer boxer of subpar skill like KSI. He's always been controversial, but now that he doesn't seem to take his career as a fighter seriously, neither does the rest of the world.