Conor McGregor

1988-present

Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor won the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight championships, becoming one of the biggest stars in MMA. McGregor rose from a tough neighborhood in Dublin to pursue his dream of becoming a professional fighter. After joining the UFC, “The Notorious” McGregor unified the featherweight division with his title win in 2015, and the following year he became a two-division champion. He also famously fought boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. McGregor took a five-year hiatus from UFC following a severe leg injury in 2021, but will return to the cage to fight Max Holloway on July 11, 2026.

FULL NAME: Conor Anthony McGregor
BORN: July 14, 1988
BIRTHPLACE: Dublin, Ireland
SPOUSE: Dee Devlin (2025-present)
CHILDREN: Conor Jr., Croía, Rían, Mack
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Conor Anthony McGregor was born to parents Tony and Margaret McGregor on July 14, 1988, in Dublin, Ireland. Raised in the rough working-class section of Crumlin, McGregor enjoyed playing soccer as a boy before finding an outlet for his aggression in boxing. He was a member of the Crumlin Boxing Club from age 11 to 17, winning a Dublin Novice Championship during that time.

In his later teen years, McGregor began training in the still little-known sport of mixed martial arts, under John Kavanagh. He also found a job as an apprentice plumber but elected to forego the profession, over his parents’ objections, to pursue his dream of becoming a professional fighter.

McGregor made his professional debut on March 8, 2008, for the London-based promotion Cage Warriors, winning by TKO. He lost two of his first six fights before reeling off an impressive winning streak, claiming both the featherweight championship and the lightweight championship in 2012.

Signed by UFC President Dana White in early 2013, McGregor impressed with a first-round knockout in his April debut for the organization. He continued his winning ways through July 2015, when he defeated Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight title. That December, he knocked out Jose Aldo in a record 13 seconds to unify the featherweight title.

When lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of their planned March 2016 title bout due to injury, McGregor jumped one more weight class to fight Nate Diaz at 170 pounds. The Irishman was eventually worn down by the bigger Diaz before submitting to a chokehold, ending his 15-match winning streak.

Lightweight and Featherweight Champion

In their much-anticipated rematch that August, McGregor again jumped out to a fast start before the tide turned. This time he rebounded to win the crucial fourth round and held on through Diaz’s desperate late flurry to win the instant classic by majority decision.

Dropping back to the more comfortable lightweight class, McGregor delivered another impressive performance with a second-round TKO of Eddie Alvarez in November 2016, simultaneously making him the UFC’s lightweight and featherweight champions.

Conor McGregor celebrates with both the UFC lightweight and featherweight titles after defeating Eddie Alvarez in 2016.

However, McGregor’s relationship with the UFC became strained when his inactivity in the octagon prompted its president White to strip the fighter of both his featherweight and lightweight titles by early 2018.

McGregor made his long-awaited return in October 2018, nearly two years after his previous UFC fight, to challenge the new lightweight champ, Khabib Nurmagomedov. Right after Nurmagomedov’s fourth-round win, the two sides erupted in a post-match brawl, resulting in a six-month suspension for McGregor.

On March 26, 2019, McGregor announced via Twitter that he was retiring from the sport that made him famous, concluding his MMA career with a record of 21 wins and four losses. However, later in the year the fighter confirmed that he intended to make a comeback in January 2020.

McGregor's return was a success, as he finished off American Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone with a 40-second TKO—the second-fastest win of his career, and his first victory in more than three years.

Injury and UFC 329 Return vs. Max Holloway

On July 10, 2021, McGregor stepped into the cage for his third career fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in Las Vegas. During the first round, McGregor rolled his ankle and his left leg buckled, a clear sign of significant injury. The referee stopped the bout, with Poirier picking up the win by knockout.

UFC later confirmed McGregor had broken his lower tibia and required surgery. The injury and its subsequent recovery began an extended hiatus for McGregor. The New York Times later reported the fighter had withdrawn from a drug testing program in order to use banned performance-enhancing substances.

The fighter addressed the allegations in a 2026 appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, claiming he was told there was a 20-percent chance his leg wouldn’t heal properly and that he wasn’t sure what treatments his doctors recommended. “I took myself out of the pool, listened to my doctor, didn't ask any questions, I don’t even know [what I took],” McGregor said. “All I wanted to know was what is going to get me back to my feet to play with my children? Then I re-entered the pool and went through the craic again. I’ve been [drug] tested something like 15 times this year and the next below me is like four.”

In May 2026, UFC announced McGregor would make his long-awaited return to the sport, facing Max Holloway in a non-title welterweight bout on July 11 at UFC 329 in Las Vegas. McGregor’s last fight against Holloway was in August 2013, a win by unanimous decision. Despite his time away from competition, McGregor is confident about his chances. “Max is a durable fighter with great skill. Not on my level, however. I am a level about. In fact, multiple levels above. Skill-wise, mental-wise, physical-wise,” McGregor said.

“I don’t see it. I don’t see vast improvements. I sonned Max when I fought him last, and I plan on doing the same again in more devastating fashion.”

McGregor stands 5 feet, 9 inches and has a 74-inch reach, measurements that usually give him an advantage in his matches. He has mostly fought as a featherweight (145 pounds) and lightweight (155 pounds), but has beefed up to 170 pounds for his welterweight bouts.

McGregor has trained in a variety of disciplines, including Capoeira, Tae Kwon Do and Karate, and holds a brown belt with the grappling techniques of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. However, he is primarily known for his pure punching power, specifically for a left hook that has sent numerous opponents to the mat.

McGregor has also drawn attention for his style in and out of the cage. Kicking off the promotional tour of his bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the summer of 2017, McGregor wore a spiffy pinstripe suit which, upon closer review, revealed the pinstripes to be made by lines of the phrase “F—k You.”

Less than two weeks later, the suitmaker, David August, Inc., announced it would release a limited edition of the profane garment to satisfy demands. According to the company website, the made-to-measure three-piece wool suit cost $6,500, with an estimated completion time of 12 to 15 weeks.

Along with his fighting prowess and brash statements, McGregor is identifiable by the numerous tattoos that adorn his body. He said he received his first tattoo of Arabic writing on his left heel at age 20 after a night of drinking. Otherwise, most of the ink has appeared since he moved to the UFC in 2013, including the large one on his chest of a gorilla wearing a crown and biting into a heart, and the tiger on his abdomen, between his last name and his nickname. McGregor also has a winged crucifix on the back of his neck, connected to a helix of thorns running down his spine, and a conglomeration of rose bushes, writing and human figures spread across his left forearm.

In April 2018, two days before the UFC 223 event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, McGregor showed up with an entourage at the end of a media event and proceeded to wreak havoc, throwing a hand truck at a bus. The smashed glass injured some of the UFC fighters inside, two of whom saw their upcoming fights canceled as a result.

Dana White, who called the incident the “most despicable thing in UFC history,” said the Irish fighter attempted to justify his actions via text by explaining the bad blood between his and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s camps. Turning himself in to the NYPD that night, McGregor was arrested and charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct and was sentenced to community service.

Conor McGregor appears in a New York City courtroom following the 2018 incident at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

In March 2019, McGregor was arrested on charges of strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief in Miami, Florida. According to the police report, the fighter slapped a phone out of a fan’s hand as they left a club and proceeded to walk away with it. McGregor was booked into a Miami-Dade jail later that day and released after posting bond.

On March 26, the same day he announced his then-MMA retirement, it was revealed that McGregor was under investigation in Ireland for sexual assault. The alleged incident took place in Dublin in December 2018, leading to McGregor’s arrest and release the following month, pending further investigation. In November 2024, a jury found McGregor civilly liable for assault and ordered him to pay nearly $285,000 in damages and $1.5 million in legal costs to the victim.

Additionally in June 2023, legal letters showed a woman had accused McGregor of sexually assaulting her during an NBA Finals game in Miami. McGregor immediately denied the accusations through his attorney. The case led to a civil lawsuit filed in January 2025, but the plaintiff later dropped the complaint through a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice in U.S. District Court.

In the fall of 2017, MMA fans got a chance to see behind-the-scenes footage of the Irish fighter with the release of Conor McGregor: Notorious. Culled from four years of filming, the documentary follows his rise from the European Cage Fighters circuit to his perch as the sport’s biggest star, capturing highlights like his blink-and-you'll-miss-it knockout of Jose Aldo, and the crushing loss to Nate Diaz. Notorious also drew praise for showing the tender side of the fighter through his relationship with then-girlfriend Dee Devlin, and his giddiness in meeting another European-born man who conquered America with his physical prowess, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

McGregor is also a credited actor, providing voice roles for video games including EA Sports UFC 2 (2016) and UFC 3 (2018) as himself and fictional characters in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (2016) and Hitman III (2021).

In 2024, McGregor offered up his first notable dramatic performance, playing enforcer Knox in the Prime Video remake of Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Post Malone.

Conor McGregor and wife Dee Devlin have been in a relationship since 2008 and have four children.

Those close to McGregor know he owes a large part of his UFC success to longtime partner Dee Devlin. The couple announced their engagement in August 2020, and TMZ reported they married in Italy in December 2025.

Also from Dublin, Devlin reportedly met McGregor at a nightclub in 2008, when his MMA career was getting off the ground. Although he was on welfare at the time—and remained so for many years after—she stuck with him through the unpredictable early stages of his career, eventually quitting her job as a secretary to travel with the fighter when he began achieving success. A vital member of Team McGregor, Devlin has helped train the champ, cook his meals, and provide a soothing presence.

Devlin and McGregor have four children together: sons Conor Jr. (born in May 2017), Rían (May 2021), Mack (November 2023), and daughter Croía (January 2019).

Celebrity Net Worth estimates McGregor’s fortune around $200 million as of July 2026.

A large portion of McGregor’s wealth stems from the 2021 sale of his Irish whiskey brand, Proper No. Twelve. Sportico reported the fighter likely made at least $125 million from the transaction.

McGregor was also guaranteed $30 million for his 2017 fight with Floyd Mayweather and ultimately took in an estimated $85 million from the event, according to Forbes.

• I sleep people. I put people unconscious. I’m stating facts. If I hit a man, his head is gonna go into the bleachers. You understand that?
• We’re not here to just take part—we’re here to take over.
• There are two things I really like to do, and that’s whoop ass and look good.
• I am cocky in prediction. I am confident in preparation, but I am always humble in victory or defeat.

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Tyler Piccotti

News and Culture Editor, Biography.com

Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.