Conor McGregor’s MMA career has suffered an all-out fall from grace since his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov five years ago.
The Irishman was dropped to the feet and dominated on the ground before finally succumbing to a submission loss in the fourth round by neck sling.
McGregor’s performance sparked concerns that he had ‘fallen off’ and that he was no longer the same fighter who tore through the featherweight, and later the lightweight division, like a freight train.
15 months later, he was back in the cage as he scored a first-round TKO victory over grizzled vet Donald Cerrone – his first win since 2016.
While he certainly looked impressive, the 40-second performance wasn’t long enough to answer any questions about a possible decline.
Conor McGregor (left) has fallen from grace since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2019
The Irishman hasn’t competed inside the octagon since breaking his leg at UFC 264 in 2021
At the height of his powers, McGregor was the UFC’s pound-for-pound no. 1 fighter and a simultaneous two-weight world champion
His next fight against Dustin Poirier would serve as a better gauge of where he was as he approached his mid-thirties.
When the two first locked horns in 2014, McGregor cruised past Poirier with relative ease.
But when they resumed seven years later, it was clear that Poirier had progressed further to this point.
McGregor had the Louisiana native on his heels early, but was cut down by debilitating calf kicks as he advanced.
The kicks quickly piled up and took their toll. Unsteady on his feet, McGregor was unable to dodge a barrage of punches as he was floored by a well-timed right uppercut.
A follow-up right hand on the ground knocked him unconscious as Poirier drove away, hands in the air.
In the immediate aftermath, McGregor vowed to get his revenge, but the trilogy produced a similar outcome.
McGregor was sent to the canvas at the end of the opening stanza and appeared to fall awkwardly on his left leg.
He was subsequently pulled out at the end of the opening round, grimacing in pain and clutching his left leg.
It was later revealed that he broke his left tibia and fibula during the fight.
McGregor scored a first-round TKO victory in his first fight back since the Khabib loss
This was followed by back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier in 2021
The inconclusive nature of the defeat was frustrating, but early signs suggest the writing was already on the walls – much as it has been for McGregor’s decline as a whole.
Following his loss to Nurmagomedov, the 35-year-old was involved in a long list of indiscretions outside the Octagon.
In his prime, McGregor has never shied away from controversy, be it driving offenses or the infamous bus attack in 2018.
However, the devastating defeat against his fiercest rival set off a chain reaction of lawsuits, arrests and allegations.
A few months after the Khabib fight, McGregor was arrested in March 2021 in Miami, Flordia, after he attacked a fan who was taking a photo of him with a cell phone.
CCTV footage shows McGregor lunging at the man, grabbing his device and slamming it to the ground.
He was initially charged with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief, but the charges, as well as a civil lawsuit, were dropped after an out-of-court settlement was reached.
Four months later, McGregor got into another civil altercation when video emerged of the MMA star punching an elderly man in the head at a Dublin bar after downing a shot of McGregor’s Proper Twelve whiskey refused.
McGregor later pleaded guilty in court to one count of assault and expressed remorse for his actions.
“It doesn’t matter what happened there — I was wrong,” he told ESPN in August. “That man deserved to enjoy his time in the bar without it ending the way it did.”
Allegations of sexual assault have also followed him over the last few years, but McGregor has denied the allegations and no charges have been brought against him
McGregor reportedly earned £148 million during his combat sports career and even more from his various businesses and sponsorship deals
McGregor is expected to return to the Octagon sometime next year against Michael Chandler (right).
His downward spiral inside and outside the cage prompted many to claim that the money clouded his judgement.
MMA fighter-turned-analyst Dan Hardy, speaking in 2019 after his loss to Khabib, says the fact McGregor ‘went off the deep end’ was no surprise given his monstrous career earnings.
‘I can do nothing but forgive Conor for that. I can’t imagine what I’d be like if I made 100 million to be on the dole,” Hardy said.
‘Everyone who makes that kind of money is off the deep end. Mike Tyson was buying tigers. All the people around him come from the same kind of environment and suddenly this guy who made all this money and he was relied on and sometimes pawed by all these people, they have bad influences.’
McGregor reportedly earned $180m (£148m) during his combat sports career and banked even more from sponsorship deals, clothing lines and various businesses.
McGregor has had his fair share of controversies outside the cage over the past five years
In 2021, the fighter punched an elderly man in the face after he refused to try his whiskey
In April 2021, McGregor sold his Proper Twelve whiskey brand for £112 million.
He also owns several high-income businesses, including pain relief brand Tidl Sport, his own pub – the Black Forged Inn in Dublin – and his new alcoholic drinks range, Forged Irish Stout.
After seeing so many great sports players fall after making millions over the years, it’s perhaps no wonder that McGregor’s combat sports career has taken a nosedive.
Still, he may have the opportunity to redeem his past performances in 2024 when he gets to do what he loves again against Michael Chandler.