Is Conor McGregor Going Off The Deep End?

UFC lightweight and former featherweight champion Conor McGregor has been in the headlines quite a bit lately, and not for his fighting prowess.

McGregor’s aggressive persona has transcended his in-cage shtick to the point where he’s being threatened by the Irish mafia and being in and out of court. Has the money and fame gotten to his head? Is Conor McGregor actually losing his mind? Or is this all some elaborate Andy Kaufman-like rouse to keep his name in the press and in turn, keep the money flowing.

There are a number of ways to break down McGregor’s recent behavior. On one hand, he’s always been a loud-mouthed trash talker. At the same time, he’s now going down a Jon Jones’ type road fraught with legal problems. After cashing out a cool 0 million overall from his boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in August, it’s clear through his actions that McGregor doesn’t seem all too concerned with fighting right now, and idle hands are the devil’s playgound.

UFC President Dana White has gone on record last week to say it wouldn’t surprise him to never see McGregor in the Octagon again, with his newfound wealth and the arduous lifestyle of a professional fighter as his reasoning.

And now with recent revelations regarding an assault at a bar of a the father of a known Irish mafioso at the hands of McGregor puts him in a dangerous position if it’s true. A day after that story broke, the public sees the Irishman excoriated by a judge and him leaving a courthouse covering his face.

The parallels between McGregor and the crestfallen Jones are becoming alarmingy hard to ignore. Jones’ reputation has been ruined by countless screwups, to the point where his MMA career has been completely compromised.

So is Conor McGregor losing his mind? Or is this all some diabolical scheme to keep his name in the press? At this juncture, it seems like McGregor has created a monster he can no longer control. Whereas his outbursts used to be calculated PR stunts, his recent follies don’t feel that way. He clearly has no control over these situations, unlike in the past when his trash-talking and bottle-throwing were all deliberate moves.

The rabbit hole McGregor is going down appears bottomless, and without end in sight. The lightweight division, and the sport in general, is moving along without him; an interim lightweight champ has been crowned, new stars are emerging from the British Isles like Darren Till, meanwhile McGregor remains out of action.

Conor McGregor created a persona that