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ENTERTAINMENT | May 30, 2023
It is hard to empathize with Conor McGregor…now. Before he threw a hand truck at a bus, before he punched an old man in a pub he now owns, before everything he’s done in the last five or so years, McGregor was the idealized dream of MMA fans. It’s no MMA news he can fight, he can talk, he can make you believe in someone in a sport that has had dozens of disposable heroes fall and fall hard.
Now, ahead of an alleged return against Michael Chandler, McGregor’s turbulent life and career are put under the microscope in the latest documentary centered around the athlete’s narrative, and MMA rumors ignite anticipation and skepticism.
The opening edition sees McGregor at the fracture point of the man we knew and the man we’d come to know. It takes us through the trials, triumphs, and controversies from the Floyd Mayweather fight to the showdown with Khabib.
I still have a very vivid recollection of the day Conor and crew attacked a bus at UFC 226’s media day, an already cursed event due to multiple fighters pulling out due to injury and/or calamity… and then Conor threw a hand truck at a bus window.
Footage of Conor McGregor throwing a hand truck through the bus window. #UFC223 #ConorMcGregorpic.twitter.com/Nff3HNI0sF
— Have you tried Gaegogi Muchim? (@FrezBeatz) April 5, 2018
Now, many wouldn’t see someone invading a press junket, getting arrested and booked (15 minutes away from my childhood home) as a good thing…. But this is the fight business, and knowing the amount of money McGregor was about to make for himself after this piece of publicity, that’s exactly how they set up one of the most successful events in UFC history. And well… we all know how that went.
It follows the trend of Yeezus or the Last Dance in-terms of bringing you inside the world of an insanely famous person at the height of their powers.
Unlike the others though, we haven’t seen a true fall from McGregor (Yeezus), or the Crumlin born-fighter’s “final act” (the Wizards run for Jordan is always a weird piece of history that we as a society have happily trapped over when lionizing Jordan).
We also see McGregor’s return after the nasty loss to Khabib, the ensuing post-fight riot, and McGregor adapting to no longer being THE guy in the UFC.
It seems that this documentary was made by the same people who collaborated with Tom Brady on his career retrospective and shows us some of McGregor as a partner, father, son, human being, and not just the cartoon character we’ve all grown accustomed to after nearly a decade headlining the latest MMA news.
It also forces me to realize that there is no one else in combat sports you can do this with. Outside of Canelo Alvarez, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, there is no active combat sports athlete that could get me to sit down and learn about their life for four hours.
It’s endemic of the business of combat sports as promoters and broadcast networks are the ones getting the eyes on them as opposed to the fighters.
This is more-so true in the UFC, but if you’re not a die hard boxing or MMA fan, you’ll be hard pressed to sit down and watch a multi-part series about any of the top fighters in the game right now.
When you look at this documentary, it feels more like a time capsule of a bygone era of MMA, when it was… just under two years since McGregor has fought inside the Octagon. If you are a fan of Conor McGregor and want to see a very-one sided by well produced piece of pravda, this is for you.
If you’re interested in critiquing media and trying to use one piece of media to contextualize a member of the zeitgeist? Also a solid choice. If you’re high and wanna just have sh-t on in the background, it’s also good. Think I’m wrong? Wanna buy me a sandwich? Make sure to leave your comments on our Twitter account.
