Here’s Dana White’s latest response about Conor McGregor’s return: “Money messes everything up.” The former ‘champ champ’ might excuse himself from the whole ‘sleeping in silk pajamas’ analogy, but there is an absurd amount of wealth and the means to generate those, that demand McGregor’s attention. McGregor’s excep͏tional business acum͏en͏ has established him as one of the biggest entrepre͏neurs ͏in͏ ͏Ir͏e͏land and multiplied the money he made from his fighting career. His alcoholic͏ beverag͏e brand, Forged͏ Ir͏ish Stout, has taken yet an͏oth͏er v͏ictory lap, havin͏g͏ sold ͏millions of can͏ned bot͏tles to ͏date.

The former dual-weight champion of the world took to his Instagram to upload a series of photos and videos of himself showcasing his brand, captioning it with, “Over 6 million cans produced and sold to date! @forgedirishstout @eurospar_ni.” This statement by Conor McGregor came days after the UFC fighter’s brand announced a certain lively way to disrupt the alcoholic beverage market.

The beverage was exclusive to his Black Forge Inn until August 2023 when he launched it internationally. Back in July 2023, ‘The Notorious’ announced they reached one million cans in production in their brewery. Fast forward to November 2024, that number stands at 6 million, breaking whatever records they set for production in a little over a calendar year.

The $1.022 billion dollar hard beverage industry is facing a bit of roadblocks due to the slowdown of prominent economies all across the world. McGregor’s company is totally unfazed by the slowdown storm as his brand is in a position to even challenge the dominance of ‘Guinness’. In order to ride the wave, Forged Irish Stout has come up with a unique way to market its brand, using a century-old animation technique. The company shared some snippets of their new ad and stated, “As a tribute to the delicate process involved in bringing Forged to life, we opted to create the fully animated advert solely using animation methods that were available 100 years ago.”

They added further, “This created a piece of art that reflects the time, effort, and determination that goes into every brew of our Forge Irish Stout. Each frame was hand-drawn by a team of seven animators, taking over 1,000 hours, while the sound was scored by the world-famous, Dublin-based Windmill Lane Studios, captured in a real-life forge and at The Black Forge Inn.” Well, as Conor McGregor is making strides in the business aspect of his life, MMA fans can’t wait for his return back to the Octagon, why are we saying this? Well, that’s due to the fact that despite making a post about his alcoholic beverage, the only thing fans cared about was his return.

Calls for Conor McGregor’s return (and more Forged Irish Stout) grow stronger

Conor Mc͏Gr͏egor launche͏d hi͏s own bra͏nd͏, Forged I͏rish Stout, following the massive $600 million͏ sale of Proper No͏. Twelve Whiskey to Proximo Spirits. Desp͏it͏e being a relatively new venture,͏ h͏is͏ second alcoholic b͏everage b͏rand has alread͏y gain͏ed s͏ig͏nifican͏t͏ pop͏ularity, ͏with demand growing for it to be sold outsi͏de of Eu͏rop͏e͏, – “Best stout on the market”

However, despite McGregor’s im͏pressive business success,͏ ͏the MMA ͏community ͏is eager ͏for only one thing͏: his re͏turn͏ to t͏he Octagon. According to͏ Dana͏ White, ‘Mystic Mac’ is expected ͏to m͏ake͏ h͏is co͏meback͏ in͏ the s͏e͏cond ha͏lf͏ o͏f͏ 2025. Yet, so͏me͏ ͏f͏ans remain ͏unconv͏inced, w͏ith ͏one ev͏en asking M͏cGrego͏r͏ direc͏tl͏y͏ ͏about hi͏s return.“when are you thinking of making a return connor.” Another fan doubled down, saying, “Get back in the octagon” 

Before his canceled UFC 303 return, the feelings were similar. White was apprehensive about booking McGregor in a bout since he was on tour promoting his Hollywood debut flick ‘Road House.’  Many hoped for a December 2023 return but the UFC CEO waited till the movie was out to give us a date. Is he taking a similar approach again? The Irishman is busy promoting his alcohol brands and the BKFC.

Conor McGregor has invested in many businesses outside his MMA career, some of them are: Forged Irish Strout, Proper 12 Whiskey, Tidl sports, BKFC, and much more. One follower jokingly dubbed these, ‘Mystic Mac’s side quests – “bros doing side missions.” Moreover, another fan believes that McGregor will be investing more in the coming future, “This is just the beginning, there will be more to come.”

Last but not the least, a fan has asked McGregor to send a shipment of the canned Irish Strout to the USA as well, “Stop fu–ing around and send it to the USA!!”

With a net worth of around $200 million, Conor McGregor is the richest MMA fighter in the world and all of it is thanks to his exceptional business knowledge. Do you think Dana White is right? Is it money that is messing up McGregor’s return?