The Dark Truth About Conor McGregor

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has showcased some of the finest fighters in the world. However, no one has amassed fame from the UFC quite like Conor McGregor. Even though several fighters have better track records than him, his bouts have become legendary for one reason or another.

How did we get to the point where McGregor’s become one of the biggest names in sports as a whole, though? The journey hasn’t necessarily been an easy one, but just like his fights in the Octagon, it’s been truly unforgettable. We can’t help but wonder where it will go next.

Conor McGregor used to have MMA dreams with his friend, Tom Egan

Conor McGregor might be a UFC legend now, but there was a time when he was simply an MMA wannabe eager to make his mark on the sport. Back when he was a teenager, he apparently used to watch recordings of bouts and then try to mimic the moves in a shed with his friend Tom Egan.

Both of them had dreams of getting into mixed martial arts professionally, and both ended up turning it into a career. Although Egan isn’t as known as his childhood friend, his MMA track record is 7-5-0, with the man winning his first four bouts in the late 2000s. That’s actually better than the start of Conor’s own track record.

McGregor didn’t necessarily make the best first impression with John Kavanagh

The story goes that McGregor and Egan would sometimes train at an MMA gym near the latter’s home, with both being spotted by John Kavanagh. Known as the Godfather of Irish MMA, his support had a huge impact on their careers. However, while Conor and John are tight now, they didn’t necessarily get off to the best start.

Apparently, the Irishman went into one of Kavanagh’s gyms and had a sparring session with some of his fighters that got a little too intense. After he beat up two men, Kavanagh ended up “pinning him and throwing blows” at Conor. It was only when McGregor assured he wanted to train and not have “a street brawl” that John stopped.

He used to be an apprentice plumber but found the job miserable

While Conor McGregor’s net worth might now potentially be nine figures, there was a time when he was incredibly desperate for an income. To make some money, he once used to work as an apprentice plumber, but it wasn’t a job that particularly motivated him. He couldn’t wait to ditch it to fight in the Octagon.

The job reportedly required Conor to get up at 5 am and potentially spend 12 hours working somewhere that he described as “cold, dark, and wet.” Given that McGregor had no ambitions to become a plumber, he found it impossible to enjoy the work. It also didn’t help that it took time away from his mixed martial arts training.

Conor McGregor’s parents weren’t initially supportive of his UFC ambitions

Eventually, Conor McGregor decided that he’d had enough of fixing pipes and walked away from his plumbing job. It was a bold move, especially as he planned on replacing steady work with becoming a fighter in the UFC. Unfortunately, as there was no guarantee that the latter would ever happen, he was taking a significant risk with his future.

Two people who weren’t necessarily thrilled about that were his parents, with his father particularly enraged about the path his son was going down. There are rumors that the pair came to blows at one point, with Conor telling his father he’d be “sorry when I’m a millionaire.” Little did McGregor’s dad know precisely what the future would hold.

McGregor almost missed his professional MMA debut when he arrived late

Nowadays, when there’s a Conor McGregor fight, the whole world seems to know about it. It was a very different story back when the Irishman had his professional MMA debut, though. He was such an unknown that people apparently didn’t even realize he wasn’t at the venue an hour before the fight was set to go down.

It was only with half an hour to go that Kavanagh reportedly realized Conor was nowhere to be seen, with the fighter not answering his phone when the coach called. Luckily, he did show up just in time, apparently bursting through the door and immediately entering the ring. Despite his late entrance, McGregor still came out on top.

His first loss came in his third fight after talking a big game

Conor McGregor’s behavior with that first fight tells you everything you need to know about the man’s confidence. It matches up perfectly with the kind of guy we’ve seen enter the Octagon over the years. However, while the cockiness might have worked for his debut, it came back to bite him at Cage of Truth 3 in June 2008.

He’d talked a big game during the weigh-in, telling his opponent - Artemij Sitenkov - that he’d knock him out in one round and making a similar threat to his coach. However, the following day, it was Sitenkov who managed this feat, not McGregor. The fighter got the Irishman to submit after only 69 seconds, leaving Conor thoroughly eating his words.

Conor didn’t fight for months after his first loss affected his mindset

After achieving TKOs in his first two fights, Conor had been incredibly confident in his skills. However, that submission really knocked his confidence, with the Irishman not showing up for training the following week. He was spiraling, and although Kavanagh managed to convince him to do another fight - which he won by TKO - Conor was stuck in a funk.

It would be almost two years before he challenged anyone again, with Conor reportedly spending his time teaching boxing before he returned to MMA. Fortunately, he did eventually make a return and proceeded to win most of his fights by knockout before the UFC came knocking. He only picked up one more loss, submitting to Joe Duffy after 38 seconds.

He had a successful UFC debut, achieving a knockout in 67 seconds

It’s perhaps no wonder the UFC wanted to give McGregor a contract. He had an excellent track record for knocking out fighters in one round, including managing this in four seconds at Immortal Fighting Championship 4. So, there were understandably a lot of expectations for Conor’s debut, and the man definitely didn’t disappoint when he took on Marcus Brimage.

Fighting at UFC on FUEL TV 9: Mousasi vs. Latifi, he once again managed a knockout in the first round. It reportedly took 67 seconds for him to take Brimage down, earning him the Knockout of the Night award. With a successful debut, he became only the second Irish fighter to compete in the UFC. The first was Tom Egan.

His winnings made a huge difference to Conor’s financial situation

That UFC debut was huge. Not only did Conor McGregor prove he was someone worth watching, but his success provided a nice cash injection to his bank account. He reportedly earned a $16,000 purse plus a $60,000 bonus, giving him plenty of money to do with as he pleased. For someone in McGregor’s financial situation, that was incredible.

It was only a week earlier that he’d picked up his last welfare check, with the money from that amounting to just 188 euros (approximately $199). If he had managed to live off that before, we can only imagine how much the winnings from his first UFC fight must have changed his life. It certainly proved Conor’s parents wrong.

McGregor left a good first impression on UFC President Dana White

If there’s anyone that you want to make a good impression on in the UFC, it’s Dana White. Upsetting the man can have some serious consequences, with fighters previously being dropped from the roster because they clashed with him. So, it’s a good thing that Conor McGregor reportedly impressed White immediately with his performance in the Octagon.

Dana was apparently taken by Conor’s confidence, stating that the man took to his first fight like he’d been doing it dozens of times before. He admired McGregor’s certainty in himself, especially because his performance in the Octagon indicated it wasn’t unwarranted. There was nothing wrong with the Irishman being confident if he had the skills to back it up.

Conor McGregor’s next six fights all ended with him winning

Having such a strong start to his UFC career was a huge step forward for Conor McGregor. However, one win wasn’t going to make him the next big MMA star. Luckily, his subsequent string of fights all went in his favor. The next half a dozen bouts he took on all ended with wins for McGregor.

Most of these were KO’s or TKO’s, with several being over by the first round. There was only one that didn’t involve a knockout, and that was his fight against Max Holloway. The pair both made it to the end of the third round at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonnen, with Conor being awarded a unanimous win.

He won the featherweight title in a 13-second fight against José Aldo

The most impressive of these fights was the last one, where he took on José Aldo at UFC 194. His previous bout against Chad Mendes had meant to involve Aldo, but the Brazilian was forced to pull out because of a broken rib. So, McGregor and Mendes had taken to the Octagon, where the former won in the second round.

That earned Conor the interim featherweight title, but he wanted the real deal. So, in December 2015, he took on Aldo in a bout that could have been his first UFC loss. After all, no one had defeated José since 2005. However, he went down in just 13 seconds, giving McGregor one of the easiest title wins in UFC history.

Nate Diaz delivered McGregor his first UFC loss just months later

Conor was understandably riding high after defeating José Aldo. Plenty of people had doubted he would win, but with his swift victory, he proved himself to be one of the UFC’s greatest stars. Unfortunately, as quickly as victory can come, it can also be snatched away. McGregor learned that the hard way when he fought Nate Diaz at UFC 196.

Diaz delivered the Irishman his first UFC loss, forcing him into submission near the end of the second round. It was not a proud moment for McGregor, who’d won every MMA fight he’d engaged in since his last loss in 2010. However, few men go undefeated in the UFC, so this outcome wasn’t going to ruin his career. 

Conor McGregor was later listed as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes

It wasn’t easy for McGregor to accept his loss after the successful streak he’d been on. However, he coped with it better than he had when he lost to Artemji Sitenkov at Cage of Truth 3. It probably helped that he still had plenty of money to fall back on, with Conor allegedly receiving a purse of $1 million.

Throw in the Fight of the Night bonus he won, and he was still riding pretty high after his defeat. In fact, that same year, Forbes had the Irishman at 85 on their list of the 100 highest-paid athletes. They estimated Conor to be worth $22 million, a huge jump from the start of his UFC career.

He became the first man to simultaneously hold two UFC titles

Becoming a title holder in the UFC is not easy, but Conor McGregor has never shied away from a challenge. So, after taking the featherweight title from José Aldo, he immediately set his sights on getting the lightweight one, too. No one had ever held two UFC belts simultaneously, and he wanted to be the first to pull it off.

Amazingly, McGregor actually managed it. Less than a year after beating Aldo, he took on Eddie Alvarez for the chance to be the lightweight champion. It took just two rounds for him to get the best of the man, achieving a technical knockout that earned him the Performance of the Night award. He was officially a joint title holder.

Conor has never actually defended any of his titles

If anyone doubted Conor McGregor after he lost to Nate Diaz, his win against Alvarez quickly shut them up. After all, in winning the lightweight title and holding two belts at once, he achieved something no one ever had before. Unfortunately, McGregor never ended up defending either of his titles, even though it’s what his fans wanted.

This actually goes for titles he earned outside of the UFC as well, with Conor also winning the featherweight and lightweight belts in Cage Warriors. He moved on to the Ultimate Fighting Championship shortly after those victories and never looked back. Meanwhile, with his UFC titles, he kept pushing back fights and then turned his attention to boxing.

He had both of his titles stripped because of inactivity in the UFC

There’s only so long someone can keep their UFC title without defending it before they have it stripped away. McGregor knows that well, given he lost both of his belts this way. The first to go was the featherweight title, which the UFC stripped him of in late 2016 due to inactivity. He’d been too focused on the lightweight division.

The same thing happened with his lightweight belt after UFC 233 in April 2018. Although McGregor’s inactivity was initially due to the birth of his child, he continued to turn down opportunities to defend his title. He’d seemingly been too fixated on fighting Floyd Mayweather to meet the UFC’s obligations, as Conor didn’t have another MMA bout until October 2018.

McGregor announced an early retirement to try and get things his way

Plenty of sports stars retire young because there’s only so long they can stay at the top of their game. However, Conor McGregor surprised millions when he seemed to suggest he was retiring at just 27 years old. The news broke after he lost against Nate Diaz, with McGregor announcing it himself on social media.

It seems he wasn’t being serious, though. Apparently, he wanted a rematch against Diaz at UFC 200, but Dana White wasn’t happy when he started missing press conferences to train. Conor allegedly used his retirement to try and swing things in his favor, but White reportedly retaliated by pulling him from the event. Luckily, they eventually reached an agreement.

He reportedly used the law of attraction to help with the Diaz rematch

McGregor might have taken his loss against Diaz better than when he was first defeated in the Octagon. However, it still stung, and he was eager for revenge. While that meant a lot of training, it apparently also meant watching a certain DVD. This movie was based on the book ‘The Secret,’ which his sister had told him about.

It was all about the law of attraction, which suggests you can get what you want by thinking positively and willing it to happen. It had come in helpful with things like beating Aldo, so he used it to improve his skills for the Diaz rematch. That apparently entailed covering the walls of his gym with pictures of their fight.

Things got violent between McGregor and Diaz at a press conference

Conor McGregor had a lot to prove when he returned to the Octagon with Nate Diaz. So, when he came face to face with the American, there were a lot of strong feelings swirling around. This was evident at the press conference before the fight, where things got violent after McGregor was half an hour late.

Diaz reportedly responded to the delay by leaving shortly after Conor arrived. Insults were exchanged as he and his entourage were exiting, which led to them throwing water bottles. That seemingly fired up McGregor, who responded by tossing Monster cans back at Diaz. Luckily, Conor wasn’t a great shot and didn’t manage to hit anyone.

Conor McGregor was punished for his actions but took the matter to court

The violence at the press conference was serious enough for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to get involved. McGregor was consequently fined $150,000 for his actions, which probably didn’t seem like that much money, given his earnings. He also apparently had to serve 50 hours of community service. However, Conor had no plans of complying with this punishment.

After facing the consequences of his acts, Conor took the situation to court, where he threatened to never fight in Nevada again if the charges weren’t dropped. The Commission did end up reducing the punishment significantly, dropping the fine to $25,000 and the community service to 25 hours. Why did they do that? That depends on who you ask.

McGregor was victorious in his rematch against Nate Diaz

Given what went down at the press conference, it was clear that the rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz would be a fierce one. Some expected Nate to emerge victorious again, believing him to be the more capable fighter. Others backed McGregor, thinking that his desire for revenge would power him through to a win.

It ended up being quite the bout, with both men actually making it to the end. It was only the second time in Conor’s MMA career that a fight came down to a decision and the first time he’d gone for five rounds with someone. Luckily for him, the judges voted in his favor, and Conor won with a majority.

Conor McGregor’s pre-fight antics have sometimes rubbed people up the wrong way

With his win against Nate Diaz, the score had been settled. However, some couldn’t forget what had happened before the bout, feeling it tainted McGregor’s victory somewhat. Of course, Conor is no stranger to such controversy, having courted a lot of it during his career. He seemingly has a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way before a fight.

For instance, remarks he made before his fight with José Aldo earned some accusations of offensive language when he talked about invading the Brazilian’s “favela.” Several comments he made about Diaz before their rematch also raised a few red flags with people, just like when he referenced some inappropriate lyrics while talking about Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate.

Several people have shaped Conor McGregor into the fighter he is today

When Conor McGregor beat Nate Diaz in their rematch, he scored his 8th UFC win and the 20th victory in his MMA career. Having a 20-4-0 record is pretty incredible for any fighter, especially with most of those wins being KO’s and TKO’s. He wouldn’t have achieved all of those glorious victories without some help, though.

While Kavanaugh has been instrumental in making McGregor an MMA superstar, people like Dillon Danis and Ido Portal have also played their part. The former is a jiu-jitsu black belt who has really helped McGregor to improve his ground game throughout his career. Portal, meanwhile, is a movement coach that’s responsible for some of the Irishman’s more unusual moves.

McGregor talked a big game before his fight against Floyd Mayweather

We know that Conor McGregor loves to create some drama before a fight. However, he really seemed to take this to the next level when he turned his attention to boxing and took on Floyd Mayweather. What seemed to start out as a joke turned into a very serious bout - one McGregor seemed adamant that he would win.

To try and get into his opponent’s head, he reportedly made remarks about Mayweather’s race and claimed he was “half-black from the belly down.” He also kept telling the man to “dance” for him, with people in McGregor’s team confident that he had what was needed to defeat someone with a 49-0 track record in the ring.

Mayweather remained undefeated after his bout with McGregor

Dana White had once said that McGregor vs. Mayweather was as likely as him being the backup quarterback for Tom Brady at the Super Bowl. Nevertheless, the two men did take to the ring on August 26, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Scheduled to last for 12 rounds, it was the biggest sporting event of the year.

Unfortunately for McGregor, despite talking a big game in the build-up to the fight, it was Mayweather who emerged victorious. A TKO in the tenth round proved that Floyd was undefeated for a reason, although Conor didn’t do bad by any means. He did make it ten rounds, after all, and he landed more punches than Manny Pacquiao in 2015.

Conor was determined to reclaim his lightweight title from Khabib Nurmagomedov

Losing to Mayweather was a blow, but given his opponent was an undefeated boxing champion, it was easier to accept than some of McGregor’s other losses. Besides, the Irishman allegedly earned $130 million for the fight, so things could have been a lot worse. As always, though, the loss drove him to want redemption, albeit in a different way.

His obsession with fighting Mayweather led to him losing his lightweight title, something that Khabib Nurmagomedov wasted no time taking from him. Eager to prove himself and taste victory again, Conor decided to fight Khabib and reclaim what he believed was rightfully his. At this point, though, Nurmagomedov was undefeated, with a track record of 26-0-0. It wouldn’t be easy.

Khabib delivered Conor the second loss of his UFC career

Things got incredibly heated before the fight, with Conor McGregor and his entourage allegedly attacking a bus that Khabib was on. The Irishman reportedly threw a hand truck through the window and injured several passengers. He was arrested for the incident but released and allowed to fight Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in what would be an unforgettable bout.

McGregor seemed like he was going to get what he wanted at one point, as he managed to win a round against Khabib. This was something no other fighter had ever achieved in the Octagon before when facing the Russian. However, it was Nurmagomedov who ultimately emerged victorious, forcing Conor to submit via a rear-naked choke in round four.

McGregor, Nurmagomedov, and people from their teams brawled after the fight

With this win, Nurmagomedov extended his streak to 27, with the man eventually retiring a few years later completely undefeated. Evidently, facing up against him was always going to be a challenge for McGregor. Unfortunately, it appears as though both men weren’t able to leave everything in the Octagon, with the pair brawling after the fight.

According to Khabib, someone from Conor’s corner said something that riled him up, so he started going for them. This led the Irishman to get involved, and soon, people from both teams were having it out with one another. It definitely wasn't the most graceful way to end what was the most bought pay-per-view fight in UFC history.

Conor McGregor was suspended from fighting for six months following the brawl

Emotions were seemingly running high that day in the Octagon. Khabib later said that he’d been disappointed by the bout and was surprised how easily he thought Conor tapped out. He’d reportedly been training so hard that he still had something left to give, and that ended up getting both him and the Irishman into trouble with the law.

McGregor was reportedly suspended from fighting for six months after his involvement in the brawl. Still, it would be much longer than that until he entered the Octagon again, doing so in January 2020 at UFC 26. Although there’d been talk of him wanting a rematch against Nurmagomedov, just like when he lost to Diaz, this never manifested.

He finally won again when he took on Donald Cerrone

Around the time that Conor’s suspension was coming to an end, fans were eager to see him back in the Octagon. They wanted McGregor to prove why he’s a legendary fighter and make up for his defeats to Mayweather and Nurmagomedov. Instead of scheduling a new fight, though, the Irishman was announcing his retirement. Was he being serious this time?

It quickly became clear that the answer was no, with McGregor soon lined up for a fight against UFC star Donald Cerrone. Conor really needed to prove himself with this bout, and that’s precisely what he did. The fight only lasted 40 seconds, with the Irishman achieving a technical knockout and winning another Performance of the Night award.

A rematch against Dustin Poirier did not go in Conor’s favor

Beating Cerrone - and so quickly, too - was a huge confidence booster for McGregor. It helped that with this, he became the only UFC fighter to achieve a knockout in the featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight divisions. Unfortunately, Conor soon brought up talk of retiring again, although this didn’t last long. By the following year, he was in the Octagon once again.

His challenger this time was Dustin Poirier, someone he’d previously won against in 2014. Whereas that fight earned McGregor another first-round win, this one lasted until the second round. What’s more, it was Poirier who came out on top, delivering the Irishman his first-ever knockout loss in mixed martial arts. It was not the rematch Conor had been dreaming of.

McGregor in the Octagon lost to Poirier again just months later

Losing to Poirier sent McGregor back to where he’d been a few years previously after losing to Mayweather and Nurmagomedov. He was eager for a rematch to turn things back in his favor, and the two returned to the Octagon just months later. Unfortunately, Dustin proved to be too strong of a competitor, with the man winning once again.

Two successive losses in a matter of months was hardly ideal for the Irishman. 2021 could have turned out to be a terrible year for McGregor if it weren’t for the revelation that Forbes brought. According to the publication, the UFC star was the world’s highest-paid athlete that year, with the man allegedly earning a reported $180 million.

His last match with Dustin Poirier left him with a broken leg

Unfortunately, it was more than just Conor McGregor’s confidence that took a hit after he lost to Dustin Poirier twice. Their second rematch ended after just one round with a TKO after a doctor stopped the fight. It seems that the Irishman had broken his tibia during the bout, forcing him to be carried out of the Octagon.

Conor hasn’t fought professionally since that injury, with some wondering if this was the end of his fighting career. Considering that he only won one of his last four matches - a contrast to the first four bouts of his MMA career - you could argue that the Irishman has lost his touch. However, this isn’t how he wants to go out.

McGregor has seemingly clashed with stars like MGK and Jake Paul

Just because Conor hasn’t been back in the Octagon for several years, that doesn’t mean he’s steered clear of drama. He seems to have a knack for causing controversy - it’s part of who he is. McGregor might be a skilled fighter, but it’s his personality that’s made him one of the biggest names in the sporting world.

Some of the people he’s managed to get on the wrong side of in recent years include MGK and Jake Paul, with McGregor allegedly throwing his drink at the former during the MTV VMAs. The latter, meanwhile, claimed that the Irishman used certain illegal substances and told him online to “please try and do something when you see me.”

The Irishman was reportedly arrested in March 2022 for dangerous driving

McGregor’s had plenty of time to heal from the injury he sustained during his second rematch with Poirier. By March 2022, he was certainly in good enough condition to get behind the wheel of a car, given that he was reportedly arrested in west Dublin for dangerous driving. It apparently wasn’t his first road traffic conviction, either.

As a result, his 170,000 Euro (approximately $180,000) Bentley Continental GT was temporarily seized, and the UFC star was later released on bail. Despite concerns that he might have been under the influence of one thing or another, his spokesperson confirmed that he’d passed all tests for such substances. Regardless, the incident didn’t exactly help his reputation.

Conor’s coach was feeling optimistic about his form in 2022

Fortunately, Conor soon had a reason for people to forget about the dangerous driving drama and focus on his career once again. The following month, he started uploading videos of him fighting and looking suitably recovered from his leg injury. Consequently, fans began to question if perhaps he would be getting back in the ring soon.

It certainly helped that John Kavanagh had positive things to say about McGregor’s form, telling the BBC he was “healthy” and “happy.” According to him, he was “looking great” and had been given “the all-clear” from doctors to engage in full-contact MMA training. Several months later, Conor told fans that he would hopefully “be back soon.”

Joe Rogan questioned the legitimacy of Conor McGregor’s physique

According to John Kavanagh, Conor was in great shape, and there were high hopes for him to compete again relatively soon. However, some people questioned just how good his form was, with accusations that he’d been using performance-enhancing substances. Joe Rogan appeared to be one such person, saying the UFC star would burn a hole in a testing cup.

As it’s illegal to use steroids in the UFC, if McGregor were taking such substances, it would potentially come back to bite him. However, the Irishman has not responded to these accusations, although he did take aim at Rogan online. He called him out for spending years with the UFC but never being in a fight.

Mcgregor could fight Michael Chandler in the Octagon in 2024

Although Conor McGregor hasn't been back in the Octagon since he broke his leg, that doesn’t mean it will never happen. Even with his repeated claims of retirement in the past, he is supposed to take on Michael Chandler at some point in the future. However, the exact date for this bout is currently unclear.

The pair were expected to fight in December 2023, but in September, Dana White said he didn’t have anything sorted for the two of them. However, he does appear confident that McGregor will be back in the Octagon in 2024, telling Piers Morgan as much. We’ll have to wait to see if anything materializes in this regard, though.

Whatever happens, Connor McGregor has firmly established his UFC legacy

Michael Chandler would certainly be an excellent fit for McGregor, with the two sharing very similar MMA track records. Chandler currently has 23 wins and eight losses, while the Irishman has 22 wins and six losses. They also both lost their last fight to Poirier and have only won one bout in their last four clashes.

With any luck, we’ll get to see these two face off in 2024. However, even if Conor McGregor never fights again, the man can retire confident that he’s left behind an amazing legacy. He has some of the greatest wins in UFC history, and even his losses still make for some of the most memorable bouts we’ve ever seen.