A Notorious Legacy: 5 Moments That Defined Conor McGregor’s Career
2. The Dolly Incident
The infamous incident in which McGregor threw a Dolly at a bus full of UFC fighters is a moment that fans will never forget. While he may have intended to harm Khabib Nurmagomedov — the shattered glass from the dolly injured several bystanders. McGregor would even end up being arrested for his actions.
From a public image standpoint, throwing the dolly wasn't the best move. That being said, the footage from the incident helped make UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor the most successful UFC event of all time. If McGregor had never thrown the dolly, the UFC wouldn't have been able to bring in casual fans with the footage.
UFC 229 would end up selling an eye-popping 2.4 million pay-per-views — far surpassing the previous record of 1.6 million, set by Diaz vs. McGregor 2.
In the end, it's hard to tell if this was simply a case of a fighter losing his cool, or a stroke of marketing genius. Either way, it remains one of the most shocking moments the sport has ever seen.