Conor McGregor, an Irish MMA superstar, has a history of stirring up controversy, whether it is before a fight or as a result of his antics between fights.
No one can deny that the diminutive fighter has the crowd-drawing chutzpah that promoters dream of, with his publicity stunts and frivolous showboating, as well as the occasional punch thrown outside the octagon for good measure.
Here’s a look at McGregor’s top five most controversial moments:
October 2017: McGregor vs the LGBT+ community
After facing criticism for using the homophobic epithet “f****t” in a post-fight dialogue with his teammate Artem Lobov after Lobov had lost, McGregor was forced to issue an apology.
The fighter expressed regret while appearing on Ryan Tubridy’s Late Late Show on RTE, saying, “I was whispering in his ear and I was commenting about it and I said what I said. I didn’t aim to offend anyone in the LGBT community. I didn’t mean to offend anyone. I participated in a campaign when we were attempting to legalize same-sex unions.”
“This is another case where things are simply blown out of proportion, and they love to take any opportunity to blame me. What is, is what is. I’ll just apologize for what I said, end the conversation, and try to move on”, he added.
April 2018: McGregor vs bus
Before his ill-fated match against Khabib Nurmagomedov, which he lost in October of the same year via neck crank submission, McGregor attacked a bus leaving the Barclays Centre in New York that contained Nurmagomedov and other MMA athletes.
When McGregor was unable to enter the slowly moving vehicle, he grabbed a nearby metal tram and threw it at the bus’s windscreen, shattering the glass.
Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa, two MMA fighters who were on board, were hurt by the glass, and the NYPD issued an arrest warrant when McGregor and his group fled the scene.
April 2019: McGregor versus an unknown punter
The fighter ran into legal issues once more, this time in his own Dublin, exactly one year after the tram-throwing incident in New York.
Desmond Keough, 50, who was relaxing with a drink at the Marble Arch bar, was approached by McGregor, who requested that everyone have a sip of his new whisky, Proper No 12.
Mr. Keogh didn’t like it, and when McGregor requested he sample some and Mr. Keough once more declined, the boxer decided the only option was to try to deck his prospective future Proper No. 12 convert.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV, and after McGregor was fined €1,000, the actor apologized.
After McGregor purchased the establishment and supposedly forbade Mr. Keough from entering, the narrative underwent another change.
October 2021: McGregor vs rapper
At the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards in the Barclays Centre in New York, McGregor allegedly got into a fight with rapper Machine Gun Kelly (whose real name is Colston Baker), whom he later referred to as a “little vanilla boy rapper,” returning to the scene of his altercation with a bus.
Security personnel reportedly split the two apart before McGregor told entertainment tonight that “nothing” had actually occurred between the two.
He answered, “Absolutely nothing. There was nothing between the two at the event. I’m not sure. He arrived, and I have no idea why. I’ve never met the man.”
July 2018: McGregor vs the West
In July 2018, McGregor shared an Instagram post of himself at the World Cup final in the Luzhniki stadium in Russia, saying he’d been invited as a “guest” of semi-naked horse riding enthusiast, President Vladimir Putin.
McGregor wrote on Instagram after being seen with Putin: “Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
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I was honoured to attend such a historic event with this man, who is among the greatest leaders of our time.
“Mr. Putin, today was an honour for me. I appreciate that, and congrats on a fantastic World Cup.
