THE FANTASY BECAME a reality as Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor stood face-to-face on in a memorable picture taken on July 12, 2017, by lauded combat photographer Esther Lin. The two fighters were at the Budweiser Stage in Toronto on the second stop of a world tour to promote their upcoming boxing match on Aug. 26, 2017.
McGregor, dressed to the nines in a royal blue suit, his arm outstretched in Mayweatherâs face, beckoning him to bring it on. Mayweather, wearing black jeans, a black The Money Team T-shirt with a matching baseball cap â and perhaps millions in jewelry â pointing at his Irish opponent.
A sea of fans stretched beyond what Linâs lens could capture. Plenty were there to see Mayweather, but many, if not more, were there to see McGregor. Irish flags and pro-McGregor signs were scattered throughout the crowd. While Mayweather had long been boxingâs biggest cash cow, the realization that McGregor wasnât too far behind was crystallizing.
McGregor matched Mayweatherâs wit on the microphone and left Toronto as the fan favorite.
This moment solidified McGregor as one of the biggest attractions in combat sports and as a mainstream megastar. This wasnât just a fight but a global event that captured everyoneâs imagination.
But what started as a tour featuring two of the biggest superstars in combat sports devolved into a trash-talking, ego-measuring contest â bringing out the worst in McGregor.
Gone was the three-piece suit after the Toronto showdown, replaced with floral pants and a mink polar bear coat draped over his shirtless shoulders. What had been friendly, yet competitive banter transformed into racially insensitive and anti-gay verbal jabs.
Mayweather was used to this kind of attention. McGregor â four years removed from making a disclosed $24,000 for beating Max Holloway â was entering new territory as a celebrity.
âConor was realizing that he was just as popular as Mayweather and he could have his audience,â Lin, who has photographed McGregor and Mayweather in her career, told ESPN. âI donât know if he had it in him before that stop but he certainly embraced it during the tour and knew exactly how to ride that to the top.â
Just over a month later, Mayweather scored a 10th-round stoppage over McGregor. But the pain of losing was quickly remedied by the massive success of the event that earned McGregor a guaranteed purse of $30 million according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission â which the Irishman suggested ballooned to over $100 million when including the pay-per-view, gate, sponsorship revenue and merchandise sales â for less than 30 minutes of work. The estimated $55.5 million live gate registered as the second biggest in boxing history, while the 4.3 million pay-per-view buys fell shy of the 4.6 million generated by Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao.
The $130 million payday dwarfed McGregorâs previous high of $6.8 million for his UFC lightweight championship win over Eddie Alvarez. UFC president Dana White knew that the Conor McGregor of old was long gone.
âConor might never fight again,â White told reporters during a media luncheon at UFC headquarters in November 2017. "The guyâs got $100 fâing million. Iâve got guys that made less than that and were lawyers and went to school their whole life and quit working ⌠try to get up every day and get punched in the face when you have $100 million in the bank.
âMoney changes everything.â
McGregor has chased the professional and monetary highs he reached nearly seven years ago since the night he walked out of the boxing ring against Mayweather. Whatâs transpired since 2017 is just one UFC win and countless setbacks, including: arrests, injuries, lawsuits and multiple allegations of sexual assault.
⢠Nov. 10, 2017: McGregor returns to the sport of MMA in support of SBG Ireland teammate Charlie Ward at Bellator 187 in Dublin. McGregor jumped into the cage to celebrate Wardâs win before the fight was over and was involved in a melee.
⢠March 2, 2018: Dana White announces his intentions to strip McGregor of his lightweight title due to inactivity. The plan is to award the title to the winner of the scheduled fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson on April 7. Ferguson pulled out of the bout on April 1 due to injury and was replaced on short notice by Al Iaquinta.
⢠April 5, 2018: Following UFC 223 media day, McGregor and about a dozen men stormed the loading dock at the Barclays Center in pursuit of Nurmagomedov, who slapped McGregorâs teammate Artem Lobov early in the week. McGregor launched a metal dolly at a bus carrying UFC fighters, including Nurmagomedov. The dolly shattered a window, and the fragments injured Michael Chiesa, Ray Borg and Brandon Moreno. McGregor turned himself into the NYPD and was charged with three counts of assault and criminal mischief. White called the incident âthe most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of the company.â
ON AUG. 3, 2018, it was announced that McGregor would end his nearly two-year MMA hiatus and challenge Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title at UFC 229 on Oct. 6, 2018. Although there had been concerns about McGregorâs behavior, White, less than a year removed from McGregorâs cash-grab match with Mayweather, now scoffed at the notion that McGregorâs desire to be the best fighter in the world had softened.
âI wouldnât say this is a crossroads fight [for McGregor] ⌠this is a very important fight for both fighters,â White said. âIn my opinion, and itâs crazy to say this because of how popular he is around the world, heâs one of the most underrated fighters in the UFC.â
Unlike his previous feuds with opponents, there was an obvious and distinct mutual hatred between McGregor and Nurmagomedov. But White didnât think that their vitriol would manifest into anything he would have to be concerned about.
âI donât think weâre going to have any problems with these guys,â White said.
He couldnât have been more wrong.
By the time UFC 229 fight week began, the fight had grown into one of the most hostile rivalries in UFC history. McGregorâs trash talk toward Nurmagomedov crossed religious and cultural lines, including taunting Nurmagomedovâs Muslim faith by offering him whiskey to drink at a pre-fight news conference and referring to Nurmagomedovâs Egyptian manager as a âterrorist.â
The tension was thick at a pre-fight news conference where Nurmagomedov was unwilling to wait for McGregor, who was late. A pro-McGregor crowd only incensed Nurmagomedov, who answered inquiries about his opponent, the bus attack and reiterated that this was less about defending his title and more about defeating his opponent.
âHonestly for me, this is more than defending my title. For me, itâs more than fight for the title, more than main event. For me, itâs personal. Honestly, for me itâs personal,â Nurmagomedov said. âOf course this is biggest fight in UFC history and weâre going to break record numbers ⌠but for me itâs personal.â
Nurmagomedov departed before McGregor arrived, but that didnât stop the Irishman from holding court for his fans, trashing the champion and making it clear that it was also personal.
âThere is way deeper sâ than just a fight on Saturday night,â McGregor said. âIâm going to settle this the noble way for myself and then see what happens after that ⌠fâ peace. There will never be peace here. I always say you should aim for peace but if you canât aim for peace, aim between the eyes. Iâm gonna to aim right between that manâs eyes and this is never over. Never, ever, ever over.â
It was a precursor to one of the ugliest scenes to occur at a UFC event in the promotionâs history.
When the two finally met in the Octagon at UFC 229, Nurmagomedov took out his frustrations on McGregor and dominated him with his trademark wrestling before forcing the Irishman to tap out to a neck crank in the fourth round. Even though an emphatic statement was made regarding who the dominant fighter was, Nurmagomedov wasnât quite through with McGregor and his team.
The Dagestan fighter turned his attention to Team McGregor and engaged in a verbal tirade before scaling the cage and launching himself at McGregorâs training partner, Dillon Danis. An ugly melee ensued with fights taking place outside and inside the Octagon. Three members of Team Nurmagomedov jumped into the Octagon to attack McGregor before the Las Vegas Metro police detained those involved in the incident.
McGregor was fined $50,000 and received a six-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his role in the brawl. Despite all of the ugliness, the event cemented McGregor as the UFCâs biggest star as UFC 229 set records with an attendance of 20,034 fans for a live gate of $17.2 million â the highest ever for an MMA event in Nevada â while also netting a reported 2.4 million PPV buys, the largest for any MMA fight. However, the damage has been done to McGregorâs aura as the best fighter in the world. And those closest to him had a front-row seat to witness McGregorâs fall from grace.
âHe had a dream in his life to become something,â McGregor trainer Colin Byrne said in the 2023 documentary âMcGregor Forever.â "He got to be the champion and then it came with all the other sâ. That distraction, it pulls you, it pulls you, it pulls you away from what you wanted to be in the first place.
âThe Khabib fight was a kick in the hole and he deserved it. Thereâs nothing nice about any of that. All that anger and the press conference and the incident after the fight. There are no winners in any of that, thatâs just all hate.â
⢠Sept. 11, 2018: Michael Chiesa sues McGregor for an undisclosed amount following UFC 223 bus attack, citing âserious personal, economic and other injuryâ and âsevere emotional distress, mental trauma and/or bodily harmâ in court papers filed to Kings County Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York.
⢠March 11, 2019: McGregor is arrested and charged with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief after attacking a fan in Miami who attempted to take a picture of McGregor with a cell phone. The charges and a subsequent civil suit are later dropped.
⢠March 26, 2019: The New York Times reports that McGregor is under investigation for allegations of sexual assault at a Dublin hotel in December 2018. Shortly after the report, McGregor announced he was retiring from MMA. This is the second time he has âretiredâ from MMA on social media.
⢠Aug. 15, 2019: TMZ publishes an April video of McGregor punching 50-year-old Desmond Keogh at The Marble Arch Pub in Dublin.
⢠Oct. 11, 2019: McGregor appears in court for assault charges from The Marble Arch Pub incident.
⢠Nov. 1, 2019: McGregor pleads guilty to assault stemming from the attack on Keogh in April and fined $1,000.
On Nov. 28, 2019, the UFC announced that McGregor would return to the Octagon at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 for a welterweight fight against Donald âCowboyâ Cerrone, ending a 15-month hiatus since losing to Nurmagomedov.
âConor wants to fight three times this year,â White told ESPNâs Brett Okamoto. "Heâs hoping he can turn right around and fight Khabib, but that timing isnât going to work out. But Conor thinks the way Conor thinks. Heâs thinking, 'Iâll fight Cowboy, Iâll beat Cowboy and Iâll be ready to fight Khabib at 155 pounds.
âConor is in line next [for Khabib Nurmagomedov] if he beats Cowboy.â
Fans and fighters questioned how McGregor could be in line for a rematch with Nurmagomedov if he had previously fought at welterweight. White cited the first fight between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, and what the Irish fighter had done for the sport as the reason he would leapfrog other potential opponents. McGregor is also reportedly targeted for a fight with then-BMF champion Jorge Masvidal at welterweight for the BMF title if he could not land the Nurmagomedov fight.
The buildup to the fight contrasts his fights with Nurmagomedov and Mayweather, as McGregor is civil and complimentary of his opponent.
âFor me, this is the right way to go about a fight,â McGregor said in an interview with ESPN.
During fight week, McGregor continued to be complimentary of his opponent.
âAs time has gone on, heâs become a family man and you guys have seen him compete so many times,â McGregor said at the pre-fight news conference. âItâs hard not to respect Donald right now, at this stage. He has my respect. Although there will be blood spilled on January 18, it will not be bad blood.â
Even without the vitriolic rivalry heading into the fight, McGregor put together one of his finest performances and dismantled Cerrone in 40 seconds. Itâs his last win in the Octagon to date.
McGregor doesnât target a specific opponent in the post-fight interview, but White is keen to make a fight with the winner of the lightweight title bout between Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
âAfter tonight, and with how Khabib won the first time and how famous Khabib has become after that first fight, weâre looking at Hagler vs. Hearns, Ali vs. Foreman, Ali vs. Frazier,â White said after the fight. âThis is a massive fight with global appeal, itâs the fight to make, itâs the fight that makes sense.â
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic would alter any plans the UFC and the fight world may have had.
On March 16, 2020, Dana White announced that the UFC will postpone their next three events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McGregor is on lockdown in Ireland and his coach, John Kavanagh, said an April return for the former two-division champion wonât happen.
McGregorâs future is up in the air. And with nothing but idle time on his hands, heâs forced to wait until the world sorts itself out.
The world, specifically White, sorts out a rematch fight between McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The two fought previously at UFC 178 in 2014, resulting in a TKO victory for McGregor.
Once again, McGregorâs tone is uplifting to his opponent.
âAfter that loss many, many years ago he rose up and became a champion,â McGregor said at the UFC 257 pre-fight news conference. âHeâs given so much back and Iâm honored to share the Octagon with this man. I know we have this competitive fire and itâs still there ⌠itâs going to be a firework-filled bout, but the respect is admirable for this man from me.â
It was also announced that McGregor had agreed to donate to Poirierâs âThe Good Fight Foundationâ charity. The Irishman also reiterated his desire to compete.
âI feel like Iâm only starting,â McGregor said at the UFC 257 pre-fight news conference. âEveryone says âHey Conor, youâve done it all. Youâre so rich. What are you doing here?â Am I not allowed here? I want to be here and perform for the fans. âŚAll the money, all the belts, that comes and goes. Do you know what lives on? Highlights.â
But the highlight of this night belonged to Poirier, as he avenged his loss by knocking out McGregor in the second round. McGregor blamed the inactivity for the loss, as it was only his second fight since 2018.
⢠June 7, 2020: McGregor retires ⌠again. Although the UFC has managed to get back to work putting on events â albeit without fans â there is no clarity on when McGregor will return to action.
⢠Sept. 10, 2020: McGregor is arrested on the French island of Corsica on suspicion of sexual assault and indecent exposure for an alleged incident at a bar. He is released without charge two days later.
FOLLOWING THE KNOCKOUT loss to Poirier, critics questioned whether this new, kinder version of McGregor lost the desire to compete at the highest level. People wanted the old McGregor back.
âMost people fight to get out of the financial burdens that they are going through,â McGregorâs striking coach, Owen Roddy, said in the âMcGregor Foreverâ documentary. âConor has done that. Most normal people would be like, 'Iâve made all my money and thereâs no real need to fight again. But I think the difference with Conor is that he wants to prove it more so to himself that heâs the baddest man on the planet.â
For better or worse, the old Conor McGregor was back.
On April 2, 2021, a rubber match between McGregor and Poirier was booked for UFC 264 on July 10. While the previous meeting saw a cordial build between the two combatants, the leadup to the trilogy bout was anything but. The donation from McGregor to Poirierâs nonprofit was never received and led to a verbal jousting that took a turn for the worse heading into the grudge match. McGregor hearkened back to the buildups before the Mayweather and Nurmagomedov fights and hurled insults at Poirier and his wife, even threatening to pull out of the fight.
But that anger and trash talk had little effect on Poirier. McGregor found himself on the wrong side of Poirierâs ground-and-pound early in an opening round that appeared to be a continuation of their previous fight. Once the fight got back to the feet with seconds left in the round, McGregor took an ill-fated step backward and collapsed to the canvas. His lower left leg twisted under his weight as he broke his left tibia.
The fight was stopped and Poirier was awarded the win via TKO due to a doctor stoppage. Considering that Poirier was in control until the end, many believed that McGregorâs best years were behind him, as it was the first time he had lost consecutive fights in his lauded career.
⢠July 11, 2021: McGregor has surgery for his fractured tibia and fibula. McGregor takes to social media to announce that he will âbuild backâ after six weeks of crutches. White suggests a fourth fight with Poirier is likely after McGregor recovers.
⢠Sept. 12, 2021: McGregor gets into an altercation with rapper Machine Gun Kelly on the red carpet of the MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center. McGregor throws a punch at Kelly but misses.
⢠Oct. 16, 2021: Italian musician and TV presenter Francesco Facchinetti claims that McGregor punched him while at a nightclub in Rome. Facchinetti says that McGregor broke his nose and filed charges against the MMA fighter a few days later.
⢠Nov. 22, 2021: McGregor says heâs fighting for the lightweight title on social media ahead of champion Charles Oliveiraâs defense against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 on Dec. 11.
⢠Jan. 12, 2022: McGregorâs pub, The Black Forge Inn, is targeted with petrol bombs. There were no injuries or property damage.
⢠March 18, 2022: McGregor turns his attention to welterweight and issues a challenge to Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title.
⢠March 22, 2022: McGregor is arrested in Dublin for six driving offenses (including two counts of dangerous driving) and has his Bentley seized by police. Heâs later released on bail.
DESPITE MCGREGOR LOSING consecutive fights for the first time in his MMA career, the allure and financial upside of facing the Irishman ensures he will have no shortage of opponents if and when he returns to action. However, one particular fighter gets McGregorâs attention: Michael Chandler.
The former Bellator lightweight champion signed with the UFC in September 2020 and quickly made a name for himself by turning in a series of exciting performances in both victory and defeat. His 2021 Fight of the Year performance against Justin Gaethje cements his status as one of the most exciting fighters in the promotion and his brutal front kick knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 on May 7, 2022, officially put him on McGregorâs radar.
After calling for fights with Gaethje and then-lightweight champion Oliveira during his post-fight interview, Chandler planted his flag for what he wanted next.
âIf Dana White and Hunter Campbell have a momentary lapse of judgment and give the title shot to someone else, I got one dude on my mind â Conor McGregor!â Chandler said. "You have got to come back and fight somebody. I am the most entertaining lightweight on the planet. But I want to up the stakes, Conor. I want you at your biggest, I want you at your baddest and I want you at your best. "
Unlike other McGregor callouts, this one gets the attention of the Irishman and he promptly responds on social media, entertaining the idea of a fight between the two.
But if thereâs one thing for sure about Conor McGregor, itâs that nothing is for sure about Conor McGregor. He spent the next several months chasing fights with Islam Makhachev, Poirier and Nurmagomedov on social media.
On Feb. 4, 2023, the UFC announced that McGregor would return and coach opposite Chandler for âThe Ultimate Fighterâ season 31 with the intention that McGregor and Chandler will eventually meet in the Octagon. McGregor previously coached TUF in 2015 against Urijah Faber, but no fight between the two commenced. However, there is optimism that McGregor will make his return to the UFC following the taping.
âAt this stage, itâs not really about winning or losing anymore,â Byrne said in the âMcGregor Foreverâ documentary. âThe fighting is a very small part of it. Itâs really only something we do for 10 minutes. Itâs the rest of the months, weeks, years that â itâs not really about fighting. Itâs about what he can do as a force in the world. Heâs got a platform to do great or do bad.â
⢠May 11, 2022: After being ranked as the worldâs highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2021, McGregor is absent from the 2022 list.
⢠August 2022: McGregor lands the role of the villain Knox in the âRoad Houseâ remake.
⢠Sept. 10, 2022: Without a fight lined up, McGregor says the trilogy with Nate Diaz âwill happenâ after Diaz finishes Tony Ferguson in the last fight of Diazâs UFC contract.
⢠Nov. 22, 2022: McGregor is sued by former friend and training partner Artem Lobov for unpaid proceeds from the sale of Proper Twelve.
⢠Dec. 3, 2022: McGregor settles lawsuit with Michael Chiesa from the bus incident four years prior for an undisclosed amount.
⢠Dec. 12, 2022: A second lawsuit is filed from a former friend over the Proper Twelve sale.
⢠Jan. 11, 2023: McGregor misses an Ireland court appearance for dangerous driving due to the flu.
⢠Jan. 24, 2023: An Irish woman alleges in July 2022 that McGregor assaulted her on his yacht in Ibiza, Spain. She alleges McGregor punched her and threatened to drown her at a party in July on his boat during a birthday party for McGregor. The woman also alleges that she jumped off the yacht to get away from McGregor, breaking her arm in the process. McGregor denies the allegations through his attorney. Days before the claim, the womanâs car was set on fire by unknown assailants.
⢠Feb. 23, 2023: The civil suit for the McGregor yacht assault is dropped by the woman.
Holy fratman
LOL , its not even the entire piece . I stopped fratting
Conor ruined mma