Conor McGregor has become more trouble than he's worth, but his absence unlikely to negatively impact the UFC's TV deal talks

The UFC's broadcast deal is up with ESPN at the end of 2025, and the company is on an all-time high. It's poised to land a new deal (or deals) so large it will make jaws drop. Not long ago, it would have been unthinkable for that to occur without Conor McGregor, one of its greatest fighters and its biggest star.

Now, though, the UFC is going to land a monumental deal even though it looks more certain by the day that McGregor may never compete again and won't be the high-end attraction he once was. The UFC has a roster filled with elite, entertaining fighters and it's not likely to miss McGregor that much.

Last week, McGregor was found liable in a civil case of assault in a case brought by a woman, Nikita Hand, who said McGregor raped her in December 2018. A paramedic who testified said she'd never before seen bruising as bad as she found on Hand's neck. 

McGregor denied the allegations. He admitted having consensual sex with Hand that he said was athletic and vigorous. Criminal charges were never pressed, so Hand filed a civil suit. A jury last week awarded her roughly $257,000 USD after finding McGregor liable. Hand identified herself publicly so news organizations have used her name as opposed to the usual policy of granting anonymity to a victim of an alleged sexual assault.

Very few people know what happened except for those involved, but it hasn't stopped them from developing very strong and firmly held opinions about the case and, ultimately, the price McGregor should pay, if any, for his actions.

It's unlikely McGregor will face punishment from the UFC. Having not fought since July 10, 2021, a six- or nine-month suspension would have little impact, as he’s unlikely to fight soon. Further, since he hasn't been convicted of a crime, is a suspension, fine or penalty of any kind even warranted?

McGregor's transformation over the 11+ years since joining the UFC is stark. Once an apprentice plumber on public assistance in Ireland, he debuted spectacularly on April 6, 2013, with a 67-second knockout of Marcus Brimage in Stockholm, Sweden.

He was an elite fighter, but he was also witty, sharp and had an instinctual ability to command attention. He was exciting in the cage and like listening to a stand-up comic outside of it. He was fun, entertaining and a joy to watch. In a little over four years, he was the second-biggest name in combat sports and made himself one of the wealthiest fighters ever.

He was so committed to his training that he refused to show up for a 2016 rematch in Las Vegas against Nate Diaz.

Now, he's become a party animal and those around him struggle to get him to train.

There are hordes of videos of him online appearing to be under the influence of substances and exhibiting boorish, off-putting behavior. This is a guy who cheats on his fiancee and the mother of his four children. The incident with Hand happened while his fiancee, Dee Devlin, was nearly nine months pregnant.

He released a statement on social media on Monday in which he played the victim. For all we don't know about this case, what we do know is that McGregor wasn't a naive waif who was conned into it by a conniving woman. He was a willing participant in the activities.

In October in Marbella, Spain, after a BKFC event, video emerged of McGregor dancing with a woman and pulling on her hair. The woman was carrying a BKFC championship belt, and McGregor is a minority owner of the organization. Devlin then steps in between them.

His behavior recently has been so revulsive so regularly over the last few years that his attorney made an extraordinary statement to the jury during closing arguments.

“You may have an active dislike of him," McGregor attorney Remy Farrell said to the jury in his closing argument. "Some of you may even loathe him. There is no point pretending that the situation might be otherwise. I’m not asking you to invite him to Sunday brunch.”

UFC CEO/president Dana White has tried to shut down talk about McGregor when he's asked but has said multiple times McGregor won't compete any time soon. I don't believe he'll ever fight again, as he's not living the lifestyle of a fighter. He is showing up all over the world, often appearing intoxicated, and it's pretty obvious he isn't training.

He's lost two in a row and three of his last four. His only win in that span was against a nearly end-of-the-line Donald Cerrone on Jan. 18, 2020. He had been dominated and then submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 on Oct. 6, 2018, and then lost back-to-back fights by TKO to Dustin Poirier on Jan. 24, 2021, and July 10, 2021. He broke his leg in the final fight.

After the jury verdict in the Hand case, McGregor was yanked from the video game Hitman by its developer. And that's likely only the start. Who wants to do business with him now? He's unreliable at best and his behavior is so erratic and off-putting that companies don't want to have to answer questions about him. He’s not worth the trouble.

Don't expect to see him in any more movies any time soon. It's highly unlikely he'll be in the Octagon in 2025, if ever. He'll continue to endorse his beer brand, but the thought of him landing sponsorship deals for other products? Nope. On Tuesday, his name was dropped from his Proper 12 whiskey brand.

He had a chance to be a universally beloved figure who had a significant impact on the world, much like Muhammad Ali. Ali spent the last 40 years of his life fighting for peace, championing the causes of the poor and the downtrodden while simultaneously remaining not only beloved but viewed as the greatest heavyweight boxer ever.

That's the kind of path McGregor was on.

But the money changed him. He became a party machine who thought only of himself and his wants, needs and desires. Whether it was attacking a bus that Nurmagomedov was riding on or punching an elderly man in a bar or slapping the camera out of the hand of a man trying to take his picture, he's just been on the wrong side of too many negative incidents.

It was once a sad thought to think McGregor may never fight again.

Given his actions of late, though, there's now a much more apt two-word response to that:

Good riddance.