McGregor has not fought since breaking his leg in defeat by Dustin Poirier in 2021, but he has featured in the headlines since.

In November 2024, Nikita Hand, who accused McGregor of raping her, won her claim against him for damages for assault by rape in a civil case.

A jury found that McGregor sexually assaulted Hand in a Dublin hotel in December 2018 and he was ordered to pay her £206,000 plus damages.

McGregor lost his civil jury appeal in July 2025 and Hand announced the following month her intention to sue him and two other people for damages, alleging they engaged in malicious abuse of court processes.

Despite losing his appeal, McGregor continues to accuse Hand and her lawyers of lying, while Hand said she was “retraumatised over and over again” by the trial.

When asked this week if he understood why people were uncomfortable with him in the spotlight following the outcome of the civil case, McGregor said: “I’m an innocent man and I’ll stand for my innocence until the day I go out.

“There is a reason it didn’t go where it went and it went to a civil trial. It is what it is. It stings deep. I continue to fight. I know the truth and I know that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord and I know that anything in the darkness will soon come to light.”

Last year, McGregor also accepted an 18-month ban for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy after missing three drugs tests within a 12-month period in 2024.

The ban, which was backdated to the third missed test in September 2024, concluded in March.

McGregor has been tested 14 times, external by Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD) this year – more than any other fighter on the UFC’s roster.

In 2019, he was convicted and fined €1,000 (£850) for punching a man who rejected his offer of a drink in a Dublin pub.

Some commentators argue that support for McGregor within Ireland, where he had been thought of as a trailblazer during his rise to fame, has dwindled.

Last March, Irish political leaders said McGregor “does not speak for Ireland” after he criticised the country’s immigration policy, while in September he ended his bid to run for president.

“I’m not here to win anyone back, I’m here to represent my country. What is taking place in Ireland is the saddest story in the West,” McGregor said in a news conference this week.