McGregor’s Legal Troubles Hang Over U.F.C. and His Career
Conor McGregor first met Dustin Poirier in the Ultimate Fighting Championship octagon in 2014. Like so many other McGregor opponents, Poirier, then considered the superior fighter, was vanquished quickly, with a left hook to the head and a series of punches on the ground that prompted the referee to stop the fight in less than two minutes.
They will meet again in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, early Sunday at U.F.C. 257, with Poirier once again ahead in the official rankings though a clear underdog among oddsmakers. But while Poirier’s career has slowly ground forward over the past six-plus years, McGregor came to own the sport and its huge audience. He achieved superstardom, won multiple U.F.C. championships and fought Floyd Mayweather in one of the most lucrative boxing matches ever.
But the last few years of McGregor’s life have been dominated by legal troubles, in both Europe and the United States. He pleaded guilty to assault for punching a man at a bar in Ireland, his home country, while promoting his new brand of whiskey. He was put on probation in New York for hurling a dolly at a bus the week of a bout, breaking a window and injuring a fighter. He was investigated by law enforcement in a number of other accusations of violent behavior.
