Conor McGregor will end a near two-year absence from the UFC this weekend when he takes on lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Irishman has had his fair share of controversies since becoming a breakout star for the organisation and, here, Press Association Sport looks at some of those:
Thanks for the cheese
I have decided to retire young.Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
One month after suffering an upset defeat to Nate Diaz in March 2016, McGregor seemingly announced a premature end to his mixed martial arts career in a tweet that said: “I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.” It was a particular blow to his employers as McGregor’s immediate rematch against Diaz was slated for UFC 200. While McGregor would later backtrack on his announcement, he was pulled from the event after failing to fulfil his media duties.
Unseemly altercation in UFC 202 build-up
The rematch ultimately took place five months later at UFC 202, which featured a fracas at the pre-fight press conference. As Diaz was walking off-stage, McGregor uttered the memorable line: “You’ll do nothing, You’ll do nothing. Shut your mouth you’ll do f****** nothing, get the f*** out of here.” Members of Diaz’s entourage proceeded to throw water bottles at McGregor, who stood up to respond in kind. Both fighters were fined by the Nevada Athletic Commission, reduced on appeal, while McGregor gained revenge with a majority decision victory.
Interference at Bellator 187
McGregor was ringside to support stablemate Charlie Ward as he made his Bellator debut against John Redmond in Dublin in November 2017. Ward dropped his opponent as the opening round came to a conclusion, appearing to signal an end to the fight, whereupon McGregor climbed over the cage to celebrate with his team-mate. However, referee Marc Goddard separated the pair as he attempted to find out whether the knockout was before the bell, leading to an irate McGregor to remonstrate with the official and push him during a melee. After being led out of the cage, McGregor slapped a commissioner who attempted to stop the then UFC lightweight champion from entering the ring again. He apologised on his Instagram the following day.
Gatecrashing a UFC 223 media day
Six months later McGregor, apparently incensed that his friend and training partner Artem Lobov had had an uncomfortable run-in with Nurmagomedov, responded by launching an attack on a bus containing several UFC fighters, including his Russian foe. McGregor was filmed throwing a hand truck at the bus window following the conclusion of a media day to promote UFC 223, injuring several people. His actions were described as “the most disgusting thing that has happened in the history of the company” by UFC president Dana White and led to his arrest. He later pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to five days of community service in the United States. Days after the incident, Nurmagomedov succeeded McGregor as lightweight champion after the latter was stripped because of inactivity.
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