Conor McGregor is one of the most well-known mixed martial artists in the world.
While most people may not have known his name before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., his popularity exploded for being the trash-talking Irishman with a tendency for causing trouble and openly speaking his mind.
Although McGregor may like to cause trouble in and out of the fighting ring, he is just as well known for being one of the best dressed professional athletes.
Why Is Conor McGregor So Famous?
Conor McGregor is so famous because he knows how to make a spectacle out of a mixed martial arts fight.
McGregor has gone from being a man struggling to get by in Dublin to one of the most famous or infamous martial artists in the world.
Fighting was an important outlet for young McGregor, who was growing up in a rough working-class neighborhood of Crumlin.
During his earliest years as an athlete, he enjoyed playing soccer.
McGregor’s infamous temper started at a young age, and he began to box to help alleviate that aggression.
By the time he was 11 years old, he had completely turned his focus toward boxing and joined the Crumlin Boxing Club.
His years at the local boxing club were enough to earn him a victory at the Dublin Novice Championship.
As McGregor grew a little older, he began to become interested in the world of mixed martial arts.
At the time, the world of mixed martial arts was less known than it is today, and there were very few opportunities for Irish mixed martial artists.
Despite the perceived lack of career opportunities it would provide him, McGregor was eager to learn about this up-and-coming fighting style.
After graduating from grade school, McGregor began an apprenticeship under a local plumber.
However, his work in the fighting ring would attract the attention of famous Irish fighter John Kavanagh, and he quickly decided to leave his plumbing apprenticeship.
Under Kavanagh’s guiding hand, Conor McGregor was able to make a name for himself and all Irish fighters.
Although there’s no denying McGregor’s fighting talent and spirit, not all of this fighter’s fame comes from the positive aspects of his career.
Conor McGregor is best known for his trash-talking and frequent legal problems.
Ireland’s Most Famous Professional Boxer
Conor McGregor has always been vocal about his support of the Irish fighting community and claims that the Irish fighting scene is often overlooked, despite the immense amount of talent in their local brackets.
After training since he was only 11 years old, McGregor became a professional fighter on March 8th of 2008 when he was a part of the Cage Warriors promotion in London.
McGregor shined in his debut fight, where he won by total knockout.
During his first six fights, Conor McGregor proved his worth in the competition by winning four out of the six matches he fought.
McGregor went on to rampage through the competition on a winning streak that lasted him through to when he won the featherweight championship and lightweight championship in 2012.
By early 2013, Conor McGregor was signed on to the Ultimate Fighting Championship by their president Dana White.
McGregor fought brilliantly during his April debut in the new bracket of international fighters.
While on his seemingly never-ending win streak, he defeated lightweight fighter Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight title in July of 2015.
By the end of 2015, McGregor knocked out featherweight fighter Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to claim the featherweight championship title.
After lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos had to pull out from a 2016 bout due to a serious injury, McGregor took his place to fight Nate Diaz.
Despite McGregor seemingly being able to take hits from the larger fighter, he was eventually placed in a chokehold that resulted in Diaz ending his 15-match win streak.
Fueled by his regret of losing their first match, Conor McGregor was more than ready for a rematch with Nate Diaz in August of 2016.
Despite Diaz’s large size, McGregor was able to hold on and withstand Diaz’s punches to claim victory.
Fans Love His Trash Talking
Conor McGregor may be an excellent fighter to watch when he doesn’t take down opponents in seconds, but many of his fans watch him in interviews and follow him on social media for his classic, Irish trash talk.
McGregor is known for never holding back his opinion of his opponents, whom he rarely sees as anyone worth praising.
This Irish fighter has a few infamous instances of trash talking that has earned him the title of best trash talker in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
He has proven that no comment or action goes too far when it comes to pre-fight chatter between fighters.
During a press interview for his fight against Jeremy Stephens, McGregor was asked who he thought was going to be the hardest to win against.
McGregor pondered for a moment, but couldn’t come up with an answer.
Jeremy Stephens took the question to McGregor, promising to be the hardest person he had ever fought.
McGregor confusedly turned around, acting like he had no clue who was speaking, and loudly exclaimed “Who the f*** is that guy?!”
Some of McGregor’s finest trash-talking work was preparing for his famous fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Despite his poor behavior, McGregor repeatedly did better at attracting the interview crowds.
During an interview in Canada, McGregor even convinced the crowd to begin chanting “F*** the Mayweathers.”
Although McGregor may not have won the fight, he was able to prove just how far his charisma could get him.
Conor McGregor once called Chad Mendes out for befriending Jose Aldo on social media.
McGregor claimed that the boxer was a scared animal, looking for protection in larger numbers.
He then went after Mendes for his wrestling ability and claimed that his cardio workouts were not helping him either.
How His Fight Against Floyd Mayweather Spread His Name
Conor McGregor’s fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is what took his name from being popular in the world of professional fighters and spread it through pop culture, allowing him to become one of the best-known mixed martial artists in the world.
Early in McGregor’s career, he knew that he wanted to fight the equally infamous “Money” Mayweather.
Having come from a family of notorious boxers from the United States, Mayweather had been dominating his national bracket.
As early as 2015, McGregor was publicly announcing that he would want to fight Floyd Mayweather.
By competing at the caliber that he was able to, McGregor earned his right to the fight against the American fighter.
When Dana White was asked about the potential of this fight happening, he claimed that he had a better shot of making it into the National Football League than McGregor getting the chance to fight Mayweather.
However, the excitement among fans and McGregor’s performance seemed to be enough to change White’s mind a few months later.
Press interviews were held all over the world, including in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, London, and Toronto.
Of these stops, Toronto became the most infamous for the anti-Mayweather chanting from the crowd that McGregor started and the 15-minute rant that McGregor went on against the Mayweathers, Showtime, and anyone else who stood in his way.
Since McGregor had a larger fighting skill set than what was allowed in the fight, Mayweather’s team ensured that McGregor would be fined $10 million for being disqualified and immediately deduct points for smaller offenses, such as feinting a leg kick.
The McGregor-Mayweather fight was the most bet-on in history, with an estimated $85 million being placed on this one fight alone.
It also went on to become the second-highest selling pay-per-view match.
Expanding The World Of Men’s Fashion
There are few things that Conor McGregor loves to do more than trash talk, but his trashy comments don’t reflect his fashion choices at all.
Despite being known as an incredibly masculine man, this fighter has devoted much of his attention to improving Men’s formal and athletic wear with his own clothing brand, August McGregor.
McGregor started his clothing brand with the help of A-lister stylist and fashion designer David August Heil in 2018.
Heil has dressed Dana White, Robert Downey Jr., and even Sylvester Stallone.
It was Dana White who introduced McGregor to Heil after McGregor and White spoke at length about their suit preferences.
Heil was impressed with McGregor’s natural flair for fashion and the confidence that McGregor was known to radiate.
August McGregor was first announced in 2017, but it took a year to get the men’s formal brand off the floor.
While McGregor was taking a break from fighting to heal a serious ankle injury, he was spotted wearing clothing from his line before it was even released.
The first line of clothing dropped by the brand included two different hoodies, four t-shirts, and two baseball caps.
August McGregor now has an entire closet’s worth of clothing, with some of their most popular products being fitted sweatpants and bomber jackets.
Conor McGregor first brought up the idea to Heil while he was being fitted for one of his custom-made suits.
The conversation was purely hypothetical at first, but the topic kept being brought up for months until the pair decided to get serious.
McGregor has contributed his signature sign of style to the work that David August Heil has done in his life.
Heil helped McGregor achieve the look he had for himself in mind and make men’s fashion classier.
Created His Own Irish Alcohol Brand
Conor McGregor first announced Proper No. Twelve alongside his fashion brand in 2017, right before his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Although the brand was originally going to be called “Notorious Irish Whiskey,” Proper No. Twelve got its actual name a year later.
Although many other celebrity-founded alcoholic drinks have failed in the past, Proper No. Twelve was helping bring in $1 billion in whiskey sales in the United States in 2019.
While sales may have been increasing, McGregor and Proper No. Twelve co-founders Audie Attar and Ken Austin were ready to move on to other projects.
In 2020, McGregor sold his majority stake in Proper No. Twelve to major alcohol corporation, Proximo. Before the sale, Proximo already owned 49% of the successful alcohol brand.
Although the founders were selling their ownership of the company, all of them planned to continue playing a key role in how Proper No. Twelve is run.
According to co-founder Ken Austin, Proper No. Twelve earned $250 million in profits over the 2 years that they operated the company.
Despite planning to purchase Proper No. Twelve, Proximo CEO Mike Keyes was willing to recognize that much of the whiskey brand’s success comes from Conor McGregor’s star power.
Keyes was eager to continue working with the professional fighter to help the company to continue selling millions of cases of whiskey.
The CEO appreciated how much belief McGregor had in his whiskey brand.
Although Keyes would have liked to start on a lower proportion, McGregor’s determination pressed him to go even further with the Proper No. Twelve brand.
With Proximo’s takeover of the company, they would be helping make some changes to the administrative and financial side of the business.
Meanwhile, the original Proper No. Twelve teams would focus their attention on maintaining the brand identity and marketing tactics.
Threw A Trolley At An Opponent
Conor McGregor has done many incredible things with his popularity as a fighter, but not all of his actions are worth repeating.
Since he was a child, McGregor’s temper has often gotten the best of him and has pressed him to make unsavory decisions.
Khabib Nurmagomedov recently had a less than pleasant encounter with McGregor’s longtime friend Artem Lobov, which had left such a bad taste in McGregor’s mouth that he decided to hop on a plane from Dublin to New York City in 2018.
McGregor got there two days before the UFC 223 fight, while press interviews were still going on.
Since McGregor’s fighting media company, The Mac Life, had staffers in attendance, they were able to get McGregor and his friends into the Barclay Center.
McGregor and his entourage angrily charged the bus that Nurmagomedov, where they began banging on the windows with their fists in an attempt to convince Nurmagomedov to confront McGregor in person.
Conor McGregor then picked up a large steel trolley and flung it into the window of the bus, which was followed by one of his friends throwing a steel rail into the windows as well.
McGregor was ready to throw a chair through the window, but he was stopped by a member of the security team.
The fighter and his troublesome friends then began running towards the exit, but the New York police would eventually find McGregor and arrest him.
Rather than injuring Khabib Nurmagomedov, McGregor and his friends caused the shattered glass to cut into Rose Namajunas, Ray Borg, and Michael Chiesa. Chiesa’s head was dripping blood from the incident.
Conor McGregor was charged with menacing and reckless endangerment but was released on a $50,000 bail.
He also had to do five days of community service.
Punched A DJ In The Face
The bus incident was only the start of Conor McGregor’s increasing acts of public aggression.
Not only did he become more aggressive, but his criminal activity was also becoming even more frequent.
On October 16th of 2021, McGregor punched popular Italian DJ and television host Francesco Facchinetti while Facchinetti was out partying with his wife.
Facchinetti was out with his wife in Rome when McGregor came up to him and punched him so hard that it broke the DJ’s nose.
Conor McGregor had invited Francesco Facchinetti and his wife to a different party after having met them before.
The first time they had met, they spent hours together while having plenty of fun.
Only a couple of hours into the second party that the Facchinetti couple had been invited to, McGregor punched Facchinetti seemingly out of nowhere.
After McGregor threw the first punch, Facchinetti was sent flying back onto a table before sliding to the ground.
McGregor was ready to go in for more when his friends grabbed him by the arms and began pinning him against the wall.
Wilma Facchinetti tried to turn the lights on to help her bleeding husband, but guards at the party quickly turned them back off and chased the couple out of the party.
The couple called the police once they got back to their hotel room before being sent to the hospital to tend to Francesco Franchinetti’s injuries, which included a neck injury.
Meanwhile, McGregor was in Rome for the christening of his son at the Vatican.
A few days later, Francesco Facchinetti filed an official complaint with Italian law enforcement in his hometown of Milan.
Fachinetti claimed that it had nothing to do with money and voiced his concerns if someone like McGregor remained in mixed martial arts.
His Love Of Fast Cars And Dangerous Driving
Like many other professional athletes, Conor McGregor loves living life in the fast lane.
One thing that McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have in common is their massive collection of top-of-the-line supercars.
McGregor’s car collection includes a McLaren 650S, Lamborghini Urus, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe, BMW i8, Land Rover Range Rover, and a Land Rover Discovery.
He also has a Lamborghini Aventador Roadster that he called The Flamethrower because of Aventador Roasters’ ability to start campfires and roast foods in a sticky situation.
While most of his cars are for pleasure, his Land Rover Discovery is meant for business.
The gray SUV features a wrap that advertises McGregor’s workout brand McGregor Fast.
On March 22nd of 2022, McGregor was accused of driving his Bentley Continental GT at dangerously high speeds.
When he was seen going to court in early April, McGregor didn’t seem to have a worry in the world when he showed up with a smile on his face for the camera.
McGregor was eager to tell the paparazzi about how he was training and ready to get back in the fighting ring, completely ignoring the reason he was going to court.
When prosecutors read him his offenses like two counts of dangerous driving, he chose not to comment on them.
The professional fighter will have to return to the court for another hearing regarding the same incident on June 23rd.
In Ireland, you can be charged up to €5,000, or over $5,400, for dangerous driving if nobody is injured.
Those who are caught driving dangerously and their driving resulting in the death or injury of another person can result in fines as high as €20,000, or well over $21,600, and up to 10 years in prison.
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