While Conor McGregor is far from officially done in the UFC, if he has fought his last fight, many fans can point to a pivotal moment that began the Irishman’s downfall.
Following an assault on Artem Lobov by Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team in April 2018, McGregor sought revenge for his close friend just a couple of days later.
This attempted revenge came backstage at a promotional event for UFC 223. McGregor tried to confront Khabib over his actions, who was leaving the event on a bus. Aboard the bus were several other fighters including Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Rose Namajunas, Al Iaquinta, Ray Borg, and Michael Chiesa.
What came next proved to be one of the most shocking episodes in UFC history – an act that UFC color commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan viewed as highly deplorable.
Discussing the infamous incident, where McGregor hurled a metal moving dolly at a bus containing his fellow UFC fighters, Rogan was quick to condemn Conor’s actions and the stain it left on MMA as a sport.
“That sh*t is way out of line. I mean, throwing a dolly at the bus. That’s not what a martial artist does. If you stop and think about what we value about martial arts in terms of teaching children honor, respect, and discipline… This is theatrics, this is hype,” said Rogan in a 2023 video clip from UFC Fanatic, pulling no punches in his assessment of the Irish fighter’s actions.
Rogan added to his rebuke of McGregor a comparison to Lyoto Machida, a fighter known for his embodiment of traditional martial arts spirit and conduct. Rogan’s tone suggested that McGregor could learn a thing or two from the respected and robust Brazilian fighter.
UFC’s promotion of McGregor’s attack doesn’t help the situation
The incident as a whole had huge ramifications for UFC 223. Lobov, first of all, was pulled out from the event for his involvement. More seriously, Borg and Chiesa also had their fights cancelled due to sustaining injuries from the shattered glass.
Meanwhile, the UFC tried to use McGregor’s heinous attack to their advantage, including the shocking footage in their promotion of future fights.
McGregor and Khabib would finally get their hands on each other at UFC 229. As expected, the event was a huge financial success, still standing as the most bought UFC pay-per-view of all time.
“In all fairness, the UFC used that to sell that fight. I mean that was a big part of their promotional campaign, was seeing Conor throw the dolly at the bus and screaming and yelling,” Rogan said suggestively.
It’s an interesting contradiction. On one hand, there’s the rightful condemnation of McGregor’s actions. But in the next breath, the footage is being broadcast ahead of future events for the world to see, glorifying a disgusting act. Perhaps it was wrong of the UFC to do that, seeing how McGregor was charged for assault by the police and it took a plea deal to get him out of prison.
Rogan is spot on with his reminders of respect and honor in the UFC; but the UFC need to push that image themselves.
