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Andreas Hale
Editor’s observe: This story was initially printed in June 2024 and up to date on Nov. 22 after McGregor was discovered responsible by a civil courtroom jury in Dublin, Eire, of sexually assaulting a lady in a resort room in December 2018.
THE FANTASY BECAME a actuality as Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor stood face-to-face in a memorable image taken on July 12, 2017, by lauded fight photographer Esther Lin. The 2 fighters have been on the Budweiser Stage in Toronto on the second cease of a world tour to advertise their upcoming boxing match on Aug. 26, 2017.
McGregor, dressed to the nines in a royal blue go well with, his arm outstretched in Mayweather’s face, beckoning him to carry it on. Mayweather, carrying black denims, a black The Cash Group T-shirt with an identical baseball cap — and maybe thousands and thousands in jewellery — pointing at his Irish opponent.
A sea of followers stretched past what Lin’s lens might seize. Lots have been there to see Mayweather, however many, if no more, have been there to see McGregor. Irish flags and pro-McGregor indicators have been scattered all through the gang. Whereas Mayweather had lengthy been boxing’s greatest money cow, the conclusion that McGregor wasn’t too far behind was crystallizing.
McGregor matched Mayweather’s wit on the microphone and left Toronto because the fan favourite.
This second solidified McGregor as one of many greatest points of interest in fight sports activities and as a mainstream megastar. This wasn’t only a struggle however a worldwide occasion that captured everybody’s creativeness.
But what started as a tour that includes two of the largest superstars in fight sports activities devolved right into a trash-talking, ego-measuring contest — bringing out the worst in McGregor.
Gone was the three-piece go well with after the Toronto showdown, changed with floral pants and a mink polar bear coat draped over his shirtless shoulders. What had been pleasant, but aggressive banter remodeled into racially insensitive and anti-gay verbal jabs.
Mayweather was used to this type of consideration. McGregor — 4 years faraway from making a disclosed $24,000 for beating Max Holloway — was getting into new territory as a celeb.
“Conor was realizing that he was simply as well-liked as Mayweather and he might have his viewers,” Lin, who has photographed McGregor and Mayweather in her profession, advised ESPN. “I do not know if he had it in him earlier than that cease however he definitely embraced it through the tour and knew precisely methods to trip that to the highest.”
Simply over a month later, Mayweather scored a 10th-round stoppage over McGregor. However the ache of shedding was rapidly remedied by the large success of the occasion that earned McGregor a assured purse of $30 million in accordance with the Nevada State Athletic Fee — which the Irishman advised ballooned to over $100 million when together with the pay-per-view, gate, sponsorship income and merchandise gross sales — for lower than half-hour of labor. The estimated $55.5 million stay gate registered because the second greatest in boxing historical past, whereas 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 McGregor’s previous high of $6.8 million for his UFC light-weight championship win over Eddie Alvarez. UFC president Dana White knew that the Conor McGregor of previous was lengthy gone.
“Conor would possibly by no means struggle once more,” White advised reporters during a media luncheon at UFC headquarters in November 2017. “The man’s obtained $100 f—ing million. I’ve obtained guys that made lower than that and have been attorneys and went to high school their entire life and give up working … attempt to stand up daily and get punched within the face when you could have $100 million within the financial institution.
“Cash modifications all the pieces.”
McGregor has chased the skilled and financial highs he reached practically seven years in the past because the night time he walked out of the boxing ring in opposition to Mayweather. What’s transpired since 2017 is only one UFC win and numerous setbacks, together with: arrests, accidents, lawsuits and a number of allegations of sexual assault.
0:36
Chandler recounts early assembly with Conor McGregor
Michael Chandler explains the uncomfortable ambiance surrounding an early assembly with Conor McGregor.
• Nov. 10, 2017: McGregor returns to the game of MMA in help of SBG Eire teammate Charlie Ward at Bellator 187 in Dublin. McGregor jumped into the cage to have fun Ward’s win earlier than the struggle was over and was concerned in a melee.
• March 2, 2018: Dana White publicizes his intentions to strip McGregor of his light-weight title due to inactivity. The plan is to award the title to the winner of the scheduled struggle between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson on April 7. Ferguson pulled out of the bout on April 1 on account of damage and was changed on brief discover by Al Iaquinta.
• April 5, 2018: Following UFC 223 media day, McGregor and a couple of dozen males stormed the loading dock on the Barclays Middle in pursuit of Nurmagomedov, who slapped McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov early within the week. McGregor launched a metal dolly at a bus carrying UFC fighters, together with 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 legal mischief. White referred to as the incident “essentially the most disgusting factor that has ever occurred within the historical past of the corporate.”
ON AUG. 3, 2018, it was introduced that McGregor would finish his nearly two-year MMA hiatus and problem Nurmagomedov for the light-weight title at UFC 229 on Oct. 6, 2018. Though there had been considerations about McGregor’s conduct, White, lower than a yr faraway from McGregor’s cash-grab match with Mayweather, now scoffed on the notion that McGregor’s need to be the perfect fighter on the planet had softened.
“I would not say it is a crossroads struggle [for McGregor] … it is a crucial struggle for each fighters,” White stated. “For my part, and it is loopy to say this due to how well-liked he’s all over the world, he is one of the crucial underrated fighters within the UFC.”
In contrast to his earlier feuds with opponents, there was an apparent and distinct mutual hatred between McGregor and Nurmagomedov. However White did not assume that their vitriol would manifest into something he must be involved about.
“I do not assume we’ll have any issues with these guys,” White stated.
He could not have been extra fallacious.
By the point UFC 229 struggle week started, the struggle had grown into one of the crucial hostile rivalries in UFC historical past. McGregor’s trash discuss towards Nurmagomedov crossed religious and cultural lines, together with taunting Nurmagomedov’s Muslim religion by providing him whiskey to drink at a pre-fight information convention and referring to Nurmagomedov’s Egyptian supervisor as a “terrorist.”
The stress was thick at a pre-fight information convention the place Nurmagomedov was unwilling to attend for McGregor, who was late. A professional-McGregor crowd solely incensed Nurmagomedov, who answered inquiries about his opponent, the bus assault and reiterated that this was much less about defending his title and extra about defeating his opponent.
“Truthfully for me, that is greater than defending my title. For me, it is greater than struggle for the title, greater than major occasion. For me, it is private. Truthfully, for me it is private,” Nurmagomedov stated. “In fact that is greatest struggle in UFC historical past and we’ll break file numbers … however for me it is private.”
Nurmagomedov departed before McGregor arrived, however that did not cease the Irishman from holding courtroom for his followers, trashing the champion and making it clear that it was additionally private.
“There may be method deeper s— than only a struggle on Saturday night time,” McGregor stated. “I’ll settle this the noble method for myself after which see what occurs after that … f— peace. There’ll by no means be peace right here. I at all times say it is best to purpose for peace however if you cannot purpose for peace, purpose between the eyes. I am gonna to purpose proper between that man’s eyes and that is by no means over. By no means, ever, ever over.”
It was a precursor to one of many ugliest scenes to happen at a UFC occasion within the promotion’s historical past.
When the 2 lastly met within the Octagon at UFC 229, Nurmagomedov took out his frustrations on McGregor and dominated him together with his trademark wrestling earlier than forcing the Irishman to faucet out to a neck crank within the fourth spherical. Though an emphatic assertion was made relating to who the dominant fighter was, Nurmagomedov wasn’t fairly by way of with McGregor and his group.
The Dagestan fighter turned his consideration to Group McGregor and engaged in a verbal tirade before scaling the cage and launching himself at McGregor’s coaching companion, Dillon Danis. An unpleasant melee ensued with fights happening inside and outside the Octagon. Three members of Group Nurmagomedov jumped into the Octagon to assault McGregor earlier than the Las Vegas Metro police detained these concerned within the incident.
McGregor was fined $50,000 and received a six-month suspension from the Nevada State Athletic Fee for his function within the brawl. Regardless of all the ugliness, the occasion cemented McGregor because the UFC’s greatest star as UFC 229 set records with an attendance of 20,034 followers for a stay gate of $17.2 million — the best ever for an MMA occasion in Nevada — whereas additionally netting a reported 2.4 million PPV buys, the most important for any MMA struggle. Nevertheless, the harm has been performed to McGregor’s aura as the perfect fighter on the planet. And people closest to him had a front-row seat to witness McGregor’s fall from grace.
“He had a dream in his life to turn into one thing,” McGregor coach Colin Byrne stated within the 2023 documentary “McGregor Perpetually.” “He obtained to be the champion after which it got here with all the opposite s—. That distraction, it pulls you, it pulls you, it pulls you away from what you needed to be within the first place.
“The Khabib struggle was a kick within the gap and he deserved it. There’s nothing good about any of that. All that anger and the press convention and the incident after the struggle. There are not any winners in any of that, that is simply all hate.”
• Sept. 11, 2018: Michael Chiesa sues McGregor for an undisclosed quantity following UFC 223 bus assault, citing “critical private, financial and different damage” and “extreme emotional misery, psychological trauma and/or bodily hurt” in courtroom papers filed to Kings County Supreme Courtroom in Brooklyn, New York.
• March 11, 2019: McGregor is arrested and charged with strong-armed theft and legal mischief after attacking a fan in Miami who tried to take an image of McGregor with a cellular phone. The costs and a subsequent civil go well with are later dropped.
• March 26, 2019: The New York Times reports that McGregor is beneath investigation for allegations of sexual assault at a Dublin resort in December 2018. Shortly after the report, McGregor introduced he was retiring from MMA. That is the second time he has “retired” 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 seems in courtroom for assault fees from The Marble Arch Pub incident.
• Nov. 1, 2019: McGregor pleads guilty to assault stemming from the assault on Keogh in April and fined $1,000.
ON NOV. 28, 2019, the UFC introduced that McGregor would return to the Octagon at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 for a welterweight struggle in opposition to Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, ending a 15-month hiatus since shedding to Nurmagomedov.
“Conor needs to struggle 3 times this yr,” White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “He is hoping he can flip proper round and struggle Khabib, however that timing is not going to work out. However Conor thinks the way in which Conor thinks. He is pondering, ‘I will struggle Cowboy, I will beat Cowboy and I will be able to struggle Khabib at 155 kilos.
“Conor is in line subsequent [for Khabib Nurmagomedov] if he beats Cowboy.”
Followers and fighters questioned how McGregor could possibly be in line for a rematch with Nurmagomedov if he had beforehand fought at welterweight. White cited the primary struggle between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, and what the Irish fighter had performed for the game as the explanation he would leapfrog different potential opponents. McGregor can also be reportedly focused for a struggle with then-BMF champion Jorge Masvidal at welterweight for the BMF title if he couldn’t land the Nurmagomedov struggle.
The buildup to the struggle contrasts his fights with Nurmagomedov and Mayweather, as McGregor is civil and complimentary of his opponent.
“For me, that is the proper solution to go a couple of struggle,” McGregor stated in an interview with ESPN.
Throughout struggle week, McGregor continued to be complimentary of his opponent.
Conor McGregor KO’d the Warmth mascot 😅 #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/IRAKzuMKp2
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 10, 2023
“As time has gone on, he is turn into a household man and also you guys have seen him compete so many occasions,” McGregor stated on the pre-fight information convention. “It is laborious to not respect Donald proper now, at this stage. He has my respect. Though there will probably be blood spilled on January 18, it won’t be unhealthy blood.”
Even with out the vitriolic rivalry heading into the struggle, McGregor put collectively one in every of his most interesting performances and dismantled Cerrone in 40 seconds. It is his final win within the Octagon thus far.
McGregor would not goal a particular opponent within the post-fight interview, however White is eager to make a struggle with the winner of the light-weight title bout between Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 249.
“After tonight, and with how Khabib gained the primary time and the way well-known Khabib has turn into after that first struggle, we’re taking a look at Hagler vs. Hearns, Ali vs. Foreman, Ali vs. Frazier,” White stated after the struggle. “This can be a huge struggle with world enchantment, it is the struggle to make, it is the struggle that is sensible.”
Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic would alter any plans the UFC and the struggle world might have had.
On March 16, 2020, Dana White introduced that the UFC will postpone their next three events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. McGregor is on lockdown in Eire and his coach, John Kavanagh, stated an April return for the previous two-division champion will not occur.
McGregor’s future is up within the air. And with nothing however idle time on his palms, he is compelled to attend till the world kinds itself out.
The world, particularly White, kinds out a rematch struggle between McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The 2 fought beforehand at UFC 178 in 2014, leading to a TKO victory for McGregor.
As soon as once more, McGregor’s tone is uplifting to his opponent.
“After that loss many, a few years in the past he rose up and have become a champion,” McGregor stated on the UFC 257 pre-fight information convention. “He is given a lot again and I am honored to share the Octagon with this man. I do know we’ve this aggressive fireplace and it is nonetheless there … it should be a firework-filled bout, however the respect is admirable for this man from me.”
It was additionally introduced that McGregor had agreed to donate to Poirier’s “The Good Struggle Basis” charity. The Irishman additionally reiterated his need to compete.
“I really feel like I am solely beginning,” McGregor stated on the UFC 257 pre-fight information convention. “Everybody says ‘Hey Conor, you have performed all of it. You are so wealthy. What are you doing right here?’ Am I not allowed right here? I need to be right here and carry out for the followers. …All the cash, all of the belts, that comes and goes. Have you learnt what lives on? Highlights.”
However the spotlight of this night time belonged to Poirier, as he avenged his loss by knocking out McGregor within the second spherical. McGregor blamed the inactivity for the loss, because it was solely his second struggle since 2018.
• June 7, 2020: McGregor retires … again. Though the UFC has managed to get again to work placing on occasions — albeit with out followers — there isn’t a readability on when McGregor will return to motion.
• Sept. 10, 2020: McGregor is arrested on the French island of Corsica on suspicion of sexual assault and indecent publicity for an alleged incident at a bar. He’s launched with out cost two days later.
FOLLOWING THE KNOCKOUT loss to Poirier, critics questioned whether or not this new, kinder model of McGregor misplaced the will to compete on the highest stage. Individuals needed the previous McGregor again.
“Most individuals struggle to get out of the monetary burdens that they’re going by way of,” McGregor’s putting coach, Owen Roddy, stated within the “McGregor Perpetually” documentary. “Conor has performed that. Most conventional folks could be like, ‘I’ve made all my cash and there is no actual must struggle once more. However I feel the distinction with Conor is that he needs to show it extra so to himself that he is the baddest man on the planet.”
For higher or worse, the previous Conor McGregor was again.
On April 2, 2021, a rubber match between McGregor and Poirier was booked for UFC 264 on July 10. Whereas the earlier assembly noticed a cordial construct between the 2 combatants, the leadup to the trilogy bout was something however. The donation from McGregor to Poirier’s nonprofit was by no means acquired and led to a verbal jousting that took a flip for the more serious heading into the grudge match. McGregor hearkened again to the buildups earlier than the Mayweather and Nurmagomedov fights and hurled insults at Poirier and his spouse, even threatening to drag out of the struggle.
However that anger and trash discuss had little impact on Poirier. McGregor discovered himself on the fallacious facet of Poirier’s ground-and-pound early in a gap spherical that seemed to be a continuation of their earlier struggle. As soon as the struggle obtained again to the toes with seconds left within the spherical, McGregor took an ill-fated step backward and collapsed to the canvas. His decrease left leg twisted beneath his weight as he broke his left tibia.
The struggle was stopped and Poirier was awarded the win through TKO on account of a health care provider stoppage. Contemplating that Poirier was in management till the top, many believed that McGregor’s finest years have been behind him, because it was the primary time he had misplaced consecutive fights in his lauded profession.
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McGregor completely elated after his fighter wins by vicious KO
Conor McGregor does a lap exterior the Octagon in pure delight after Rico DiSciullo notches an enormous knockout to earn Group McGregor its first win.
• July 11, 2021: McGregor has surgery for his fractured tibia and fibula. McGregor takes to social media to announce that he’ll “construct again” after six weeks of crutches. White suggests a fourth struggle with Poirier is probably going after McGregor recovers.
• Sept. 12, 2021: McGregor gets into an altercation with rapper Machine Gun Kelly on the pink carpet of the MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Middle. McGregor throws a punch at Kelly however misses.
• Oct. 16, 2021: Italian musician and TV presenter Francesco Facchinetti claims that McGregor punched him whereas at a nightclub in Rome. Facchinetti says that McGregor broke his nostril and filed fees in opposition to the MMA fighter a couple of days later.
• Nov. 22, 2021: McGregor says he is preventing for the light-weight title on social media forward of champion Charles Oliveira’s protection in opposition to Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 on Dec. 11.
• Jan. 12, 2022: McGregor’s pub, The Black Forge Inn, is focused with petrol bombs. There have been no accidents or property harm.
• March 18, 2022: McGregor turns his consideration to welterweight and points a problem to Kamaru Usman for the UFC welterweight title.
• March 22, 2022: McGregor is arrested in Dublin for six driving offenses (together with two counts of harmful driving) and has his Bentley seized by police. He is later launched on bail.
DESPITE MCGREGOR LOSING consecutive fights for the primary time in his MMA profession, the attract and monetary upside of dealing with the Irishman ensures he can have no scarcity of opponents if and when he returns to motion. Nevertheless, one specific fighter will get McGregor’s consideration: Michael Chandler. The previous Bellator light-weight champion signed with the UFC in September 2020 and rapidly made a reputation for himself by handing over a collection of thrilling performances in each victory and defeat. His 2021 Struggle of the 12 months efficiency in opposition to Justin Gaethje cements his standing as one of the crucial thrilling fighters within the promotion and his brutal front kick knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 on Might 7, 2022, formally put him on McGregor’s radar. After calling for fights with Gaethje and then-lightweight champion Oliveira throughout his post-fight interview, Chandler planted his flag for what he needed subsequent. “If Dana White and Hunter Campbell have a momentary lapse of judgment and provides the title shot to another person, I obtained one dude on my thoughts — Conor McGregor!” Chandler stated. “You’ve got to return again and struggle any person. I’m essentially the most entertaining light-weight on the planet. However I need to up the stakes, Conor. I need you at your greatest, I need you at your baddest and I need you at your finest. “ In contrast to different McGregor callouts, this one will get the eye of the Irishman and he promptly responds on social media, entertaining the concept of a struggle between the 2. But when there’s one factor for certain about Conor McGregor, it is that nothing is for certain about Conor McGregor. He spent the following a number of months chasing fights with Islam Makhachev, Poirier and Nurmagomedov on social media. On Feb. 4, 2023, the UFC introduced that McGregor would return and coach reverse Chandler for “The Final Fighter” season 31 with the intention that McGregor and Chandler will finally meet within the Octagon. McGregor beforehand coached TUF in 2015 in opposition to Urijah Faber, however no struggle between the 2 commenced. Nevertheless, there’s optimism that McGregor will make his return to the UFC following the taping. “At this stage, it is probably not about profitable or shedding anymore,” Byrne stated within the “McGregor Perpetually” documentary. “The preventing is a really small a part of it. It is actually solely one thing we do for 10 minutes. It is the remainder of the months, weeks, years that — it is probably not about preventing. It is about what he can do as a pressure on the planet. He is obtained a platform to do nice or do unhealthy.” • Might 11, 2022: After being ranked because the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2021, McGregor is absent from the 2022 record. • August 2022: McGregor lands the function of the villain Knox within the “Street Home” remake. • Sept. 10, 2022: And not using a struggle lined up, McGregor says the trilogy with Nate Diaz “will occur” after Diaz finishes Tony Ferguson within the final struggle of Diaz’s UFC contract. • Nov. 22, 2022: McGregor is sued by former good friend and coaching companion Artem Lobov for unpaid proceeds from the sale of Correct Twelve. • Dec. 3, 2022: McGregor settles lawsuit with Michael Chiesa from the bus incident 4 years prior for an undisclosed quantity. • Dec. 12, 2022: A second lawsuit is filed from a former good friend over the Correct Twelve sale. • Jan. 11, 2023: McGregor misses an Eire courtroom look for harmful driving because of the flu. • Jan. 24, 2023: An Irish lady 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 celebration in July on his boat throughout a birthday celebration for McGregor. The lady additionally alleges that she jumped off the yacht to get away from McGregor, breaking her arm within the course of. McGregor denies the allegations by way of his lawyer. Days earlier than the declare, the woman’s car was set on fire by unknown assailants. • Feb. 23, 2023: The civil go well with for the McGregor yacht assault is dropped by the woman. ‘THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER’ concludes on Aug. 15, 2023, and Group McGregor is totally dominated by Group Chandler. McGregor’s group can solely muster one win out of eight fights within the bantamweight and light-weight quarterfinals. Furthermore, McGregor makes sporadic appearances on the present, making promotion for a possible bout between the 2 coaches extra completely different. The finale teases a struggle between McGregor and Chandler, however no date is about. The most important hurdle that forestalls McGregor from competing is america Anti-Doping Company, as he had but to reenter the testing pool required to compete after his leg damage in 2021. USADA requires {that a} fighter return to the testing pool for no less than six months and move two drug exams earlier than returning to the Octagon. McGregor returned to the testing pool on Oct. 8, 2023, however controversy quickly adopted. Shortly after McGregor’s announcement, USADA introduced that their eight-year partnership with the UFC would finish after 2023. USADA CEO Travis Tygart launched an announcement questioning the UFC’s motivations for ending their partnership and inferred that McGregor’s sophisticated scenario was chief among the many causes. USADA clarified their rule would apply to all athletes and Tygart suggested to ESPN that McGregor’s lack of ability to discover a workaround to the rule “clearly upset [the UFC] and that is what led to the about-face.” McGregor pushed again on the concept that he would want to spend six months within the testing pool and advised that he ought to solely move two drug exams earlier than being allowed to compete. USADA was unwilling to bend, inflicting White to publicly blast USADA in an interview with TSN. The UFC remained steadfast that McGregor’s scenario was not why the connection ended and advised that the one motive the connection lasted so long as it did was as a result of USADA was the one sport on the town. On the finish of 2023, the UFC introduced the main points for the brand new UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP) that went into impact on Dec. 31, 2023. Within the interim, McGregor remained in the course of a number of authorized points. • April 29, 2023: McGregor attends a Naked Knuckle Combating Championship occasion and faces off with Mike Perry after his major occasion win over Luke Rockhold. 4 days later, McGregor teases pulling up in a yacht at WWE’s SummerSlam. Curiosity is piqued relating to whether or not McGregor intends to compete within the UFC once more. • June 9, 2023: McGregor is concerned in a skit at halftime of Recreation 4 of the NBA Finals the place he is to punch Miami Warmth mascot Burnie. McGregor takes issues too far after punching the mascot when he delivers a second blow to the fallen Burnie. The person contained in the costume is taken to the emergency room for accidents sustained within the incident. • June 11, 2023: McGregor was accused of sexually assaulting a lady contained in the VIP restroom on the Kaseya Middle at Recreation 4 of the NBA Finals in Miami. The lady claims McGregor “aggressively kissed her” earlier than trying to pressure her into a number of sexual acts. McGregor denies the allegation by way of his lawyer. • Aug. 20, 2023: McGregor publicizes on social media, “They don’t seem to be going to let me struggle in 2023,” and appears towards 2024 for his Octagon return. • Oct. 17, 2023: Charges are dropped within the Miami Warmth sexual assault case on account of inadequate proof. • Dec. 31, 2023: McGregor posts a video on X saying the struggle with Chandler will occur on June 29 at 185 pounds, the best weight McGregor has competed at. There isn’t any affirmation from the UFC. • March 19, 2024: McGregor says “all systems go” for the struggle with Chandler. There isn’t any affirmation from the UFC. • March 21, 2024: The remake of “Street Home” that includes McGregor is launched. AT THE UFC 300 postfight information convention, White discreetly unfolds a bit of paper and publicizes that McGregor-Chandler will take place at UFC 303 throughout Worldwide Struggle Week on June 29 at T-Cell Enviornment in Las Vegas. No grandiose video bundle through the PPV or something noteworthy of a celebratory second. Quite than jubilation, a collective sigh of aid sweeps over the MMA neighborhood earlier than the joy lastly units in about McGregor’s potential return after practically three years away. Because the construct to UFC 303 begins, McGregor seemingly stays out of bother whereas including to his monetary portfolio. McGregor is announced as a part owner of MMA promotion Naked Knuckle Combating Championships. For essentially the most half, McGregor’s exercise on his personal social media displays a person lastly able to compete. On the finish of Might, the UFC introduced {that a} information convention for the struggle will happen in Eire on the 3Arena. It sells out in beneath 5 minutes, signaling the immense urge for food for fight sports activities’ greatest star to make his return. White boasted that UFC 303 had already reached a $20 million gate and could be the primary occasion to high that quantity within the promotion’s historical past. However lower than 24 hours earlier than McGregor is about to look earlier than his countrymen, the UFC introduced that the news conference was canceled with no rationalization. Chandler remained optimistic, however the silence from the UFC and McGregor signaled bother on the horizon. “The place we’re proper now, there’s plenty of hypothesis, however the struggle is on,” Chandler stated on “The Pivot Podcast” on June 7. Pessimism shifted to optimism as video surfaced on social media of McGregor coaching. However that optimism nosedived on June 11 when Ariel Helwani reported that UFC 303 was “very a lot in limbo” and that the promotion was frantically pursuing a substitute for the primary occasion. McGregor had by no means pulled out of a struggle on account of damage and it had been properly documented that he routinely entered the Octagon hampered by numerous impairments. After weeks of hypothesis and weird radio silence, White posted a video from the Warfare Room at UFC headquarters to verify everybody’s worst fears. For the primary time in his profession, McGregor is forced out of a struggle on account of an damage — a broken toe he later publicizes on social media. The UFC unexpectedly pulled collectively a substitute major occasion struggle between mild heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and former champion Jiří Procházka as a part of a major overhaul to the fight card. However make no mistake, this isn’t a Conor McGregor-led occasion. “Whenever you’re in right here, when you put within the time in right here, you are gonna get cozy in right here,” stated McGregor after his loss to Poirier at UFC 257. “I want exercise. You aren’t getting away with being inactive on this enterprise, and that is the way in which it’s. “I will take me licks.” With no exercise and all of the licks being taken, the enterprise of McGregor as soon as once more appears stalled out. • Nov. 22, 2024: McGregor is found guilty in a civil suit stemming from an accusation that the fighter sexually assaulted a lady in a resort room again in December 2018. McGregor was ordered by the Excessive Courtroom in Dublin to pay 248,000 euros ($257,000) to his accuser. The Irishman denied the accusations and acknowledged that he had consensual intercourse together with his accuser. He’s not at present dealing with any legal fees from the incident. The lady accused McGregor of forcing her onto a mattress, choking her and making her worry for her life. In response to BBC Information, a paramedic who handled the sufferer advised the courtroom that he had by no means seen such intense bruising on a sufferer. The incident occurred two months after McGregor’s submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. “I will probably be interesting at present’s resolution,” McGregor said in a statement on X. “The decide’s instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages. I’m disenchanted that the jury didn’t hear all of the proof that the DPP [The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions] reviewed. I’m with my household now, centered on my future. Thanks to all my help worldwide.” It has now been 1,256 days since McGregor final competed within the UFC. • Dec. 17, 2024: McGregor’s potential return to MMA has taken one other detour. The Irish fighter took to X (previously Twitter) to announce that he was negotiating to face a Paul brother. However not the one you’d anticipate. “I’m in preliminary agreements with the Ambani household to face Logan Paul in a boxing exhibition in India,” McGregor posted on X. “I’ve agreed. I’ll then search my return to the Octagon.” McGregor’s announcement got here out of the blue, as no one anticipated his subsequent struggle could be a boxing match with Paul. Quite than face the YouTuber-turned-WWE Famous person, many across the sport predicted that if McGregor opted to field once more it will be in opposition to Logan’s youthful brother Jake. Jake Paul has an expert file of 11-1 and is coming off a large blockbuster struggle with former heavyweight lineal champion Mike Tyson. Logan does have some boxing expertise. He has appeared in two skilled boxing matches in opposition to fellow YouTuber KSI and MMA fighter Dillon Danis. He additionally has an beginner struggle with KSI and an exhibition with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on his résumé. Logan’s solely win was by disqualification in opposition to Danis. • Jan. 15 2025: When requested throughout an look on the podcast “Pardon My Take” if McGregor would struggle Logan Paul in 2025, UFC CEO Dana White merely says, “No.” McGregor confirms the UFC’s disinterest within the bout, telling MMA character The Schmo, “The UFC simply aren’t into it. The supply was there on the desk, in writing.” WITH THE PAUL saga prior to now, the concept of McGregor preventing once more in 2025 is comparatively silent exterior of some social media posts right here and there by the previous two-division champion. For essentially the most half, he’s occupied with selling Naked Knuckle Combating Championships, warding off authorized points and political ambitions which have come seemingly out of nowhere. It is the primary time in years that McGregor hasn’t been a subject of dialog in MMA circles. As a substitute, it seems McGregor has settled right into a life with out preventing. That’s till U.S. President Donald Trump floats an concept that piques McGregor’s curiosity. • July 3, 2025: President Trump publicizes his intentions to stage a UFC event at the White House in July 2026 as a part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. McGregor, who White stated in Might he “[hasn’t] talked to in a minute” and is “not preventing anytime quickly,” pitches the concept of being a part of the occasion on social media, posting “Count me in!” on X. The put up is sandwiched between many different posts on McGregor’s social media discussing a potential marketing campaign to turn into the President of Eire. • July 31, 2025: McGregor loses his attempt to appeal the Irish Excessive Courtroom’s resolution to seek out him liable of sexual assault in November 2024. • Aug. 1, 2025: McGregor’s return to preventing takes a big step when the official UFC Anti-Doping web site posts a drug testing session for the previous champion. Every week prior, McGregor posted movies and photographs of what seemed to be the Irishman submitting samples, however there was trigger for skepticism, contemplating earlier comeback recommendations had but to return to fruition. This time, nevertheless, McGregor was not bluffing. There are nonetheless many steps for McGregor to take earlier than returning to the Octagon, however that is essentially the most important since July 2024 when a toe damage compelled him out of a scheduled struggle with Michael Chandler. • Aug. 2, 2025: Former rival Khabib Nurmagomedov is holding out hope that McGregor can flip his life round. The retired former light-weight champion talks about his former rival at a talking engagement in New York. “That is punishment, [but] essentially the most lovely a part of that is Allah at all times give the prospect to return again,” Nurmagomedov says in regard to the former two-division champion’s legal issues. “I feel he has an opportunity. He has to vary how he’s residing. Why am I speaking about this? If he’ll change, he can change with him so many different lives, too. That is why I want him to vary himself. If he is not going to vary, it is going to be punishment all his life.” As of Aug. 2, 1,510 days have handed since McGregor’s final struggle.