December 5, 2024 • 36 mins
What do Conor McGregor and one of Ireland's most notorious crime syndicates have in common? Prepare to uncover speculation surrounding the UFC's notorious figure and his alleged ties to the Kinahan cartel. We explore the shadowy connections that link McGregor to this infamous underworld network, examining everything from childhood friendships to the controversial Regency Hotel incident.
As we examine McGregor’s career, we address the legal and brand challenges that have plagued him, leaving a trail of scandal. From his family's alleged cartel associations to the civil assault case, McGregor's world extends far beyond the octagon. We reflect on his declining career, the impact of his business ventures, and whether a comeback is still in the cards. Join me for a thought-provoking discussion on Conor McGregor's legacy and future in the sport, and share your perspective on what lies ahead for this polarizing figure.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Hi, what's up guys.
Welcome back to the ClinchPodcast.
I'm your host, shay, and I amso excited to jump into today's
topic, and that is the notoriousConor McGregor.
So this is part two of our deepdive into Conor McGregor, and
(00:51):
let me tell you I went downanother crazy rabbit hole this
week.
If you haven't heard part oneyet, make sure you do go back
and check it out, and you don'tneed to hear that episode to
understand this one in any way.
They can be enjoyedindependently, but I just
suggest following up, becausefollowing up with listening to
(01:14):
that episode, just because iteverything ties in together so
crazy.
So I just encourage it highlyand, of course, I love to make
episodes, so I hope you do goand listen.
But before we start thisepisode, last week's episode was
insane.
We went through some reallycrazy UFC conspiracies that had
(01:38):
me just questioning everything.
I swear even if I wasn't theone hosting this show, I would
have had to listen, just as anenjoyer of this show.
I would have had to go back andlisten and then listen again,
probably so.
And also, these are allepisodes based on your
(02:00):
recommendations, because we tendto all kind of have the same
questions or at least somesimilar ones.
So I am really enjoying therecommendation, so keep them
coming.
Hit me up on Twitter orInstagram.
I'm on Twitter at Shaolin Shay.
Instagram is Shay, my name,with two Y's and Shay.
(02:21):
If you have any topics you'dlike to hear about, I'm down.
Name with two y's and shea.
If you have any topics you'dlike to hear about, I'm down.
I'm down to add that into theschedule.
So let's get into it.
Today we're unraveling thechaotic, the controversial, just
crazy world of connor mcgregor.
So I just wanted to hop rightinto what I think might be one
(02:44):
of the most insane andcontroversial topics in modern
MMA history.
Modern, I say, and that is thepossible, alleged, probably
untrue ties between ConorMcGregor and the notorious
(03:05):
Kennehan cartel.
So, and if you don't know whator who the Kennehan cartel are,
they're basically just an Irishdrug cartel.
So buckle up, because we'reabout to get into some crazy
wild theories that would justchange everything you knew about
(03:27):
Conor or that you knew or maybejust didn't have some certain
details of.
So I'm so excited, let's go Now.
It's not your typical MMA gossip.
You know where you have.
The UFC is kind of messysometimes.
It's kind of messy if youreally pay attention.
(03:49):
So it's not just like yourtypical gym messiness, you're,
you're uh, I'm not even going tobring up any up, I really want
to shine advice.
Um, anyways, you know, juststuff like that.
It's not that kind of he said,she said.
What we're going to be talkingabout today goes way beyond the
(04:11):
cage and it's just deep into aworld of crime, conspiracies and
some of the most dangerousfigures in international
organized organized crime.
So if you've ever wondered justhow far Connor's connections go
, I'm here to tell you.
(04:31):
This is what you have come tolisten to me for, so let's go.
I want to start with just thatkind of wild shout out that went
down a few years ago thatinitially piqued my interest on
this topic, and that was, um,when Munir Lezez who, if you
(04:54):
don't know, is a former UFCfighter who was from Tunisia he
mentioned Daniel Kinahan duringhis post fight in Octagon
interview.
So that was just something thatI had no idea who this Daniel
person was until I saw people onTwitter like oh, he did this
(05:18):
and this guy is this, and I'mlike whoa, why?
Like, why is this happening?
And someone on reddit, when Iwas doing a deeper dive, said
connor is de facto in thekinahan cartel, most of the guys
he grew up with are in it andhis sister is marrying into the
cartel high-ranking lieutenant.
I'm like, whoa, that is kind ofthat's uh.
(05:44):
I I don't want to usederogatory language on uh for
the show anymore, so I don'tknow how to say ballsy Like
that's quite ballsy to say.
I feel like, um, it's a prettystrong accusation.
That's what this is what I'mthinking like in the moment.
Obviously, now that I've dugdeeper, I'm like oh, this isn't
(06:09):
just some Reddit kid, you know.
So let's, let's talk about whatI found when we dug deeper.
If you're not familiar again,daniel Kinahan is the alleged
leader of the Kinahan cartel andhe has been said to be one of
the most powerful and dangerouscrime syndicates in Europe.
(06:31):
And I just I guess you know I'mI'm American.
If you're listening anywhereoutside of America, hi, that's
awesome, hello, love that you'relistening.
But, um, I don't know a lotabout European crimesters.
(06:53):
So I'm like kind of just takingthis information at face value,
value so.
And also I was just thinkinglike, let's be honest, connor,
value so.
And also I was just thinkinglike, let's be honest, connor.
Connor's name has been linked tothe kinahans and his associates
for for a long time, from, fromwhat I saw, and it's all over
(07:14):
the rumor mill and all of thatwhich take that with a grain of
salt.
But there are a lot of weirdconnections that just raise my
eyebrows.
So I want to go through those.
First we have Connor'schildhood friends, jonathan and
(07:35):
Andrew Murray.
So there's a picture thatcirculated all around the social
sphere of Connor with these twoguys right before the Dolly
incident.
That, sorry, I snapped that.
Those men were Jonathan andAndrew Murray and you all
(07:58):
remember the infamous Dollyincident at the fight.
You know when he threw thefighter at the fighter at the
fight.
You know when he threw thefighter at the fighter when he
threw the dolly at the fighterbus.
So, aside from just the picture, go and google it.
It's just a weird pictureconsidering what happened right
after.
But beyond that those two guyshave a pretty shady, shady past.
(08:24):
Going on, I would say they haveboth served time sorry, my dog
is playing both have served timefor, really I would say,
serious charges, like you knowdrug charges, armed robbery, uh,
there were even some violentones and, and guess what, they
(08:45):
are also suspected of beingclosely tied to the Kinahan
cartel.
There was a whole situationwhere there was like a whole
bunch of raids and it wasconnected to both of them.
It was very weird, very weird,and they're just not the kind of
(09:08):
people you want to beassociated with, especially if
you're connor, who at that timewas just, you know, at the top
of stardom.
So, yeah, uh, just those, thoseare shady guys.
And then another weird tie is,uh, to mtk global, and I don't
think he was directlyrepresented by them, but I do
(09:31):
want to go into the connection Idid find.
And so of course it's a sportsmanagement agency.
It initially started as a gym.
It was founded by DanielKinahan and a former boxer,
matthew Macklin, who I hadn'theard of prior to my research
for this, but it just getsreally interesting when you
(09:53):
think about the two of themcoming up with this kind of
business together.
So that company grew quicklyand it became associated with
some people that I'd heard ofbefore, like Tyson Fury, billy
Joe Saunders and Darren Till,which that kind of surprised me.
(10:14):
But they, like I said, theynever directly represented
Connor, but it is justinteresting that I have seen the
company in my researches becalled a money laundering scheme
.
You know, probably not true, uh,and you know, I just have to
say that, uh with and there's asimilar kind of situation with
(10:37):
one of Connor's bars in Dublin.
So, who knows, it could orcould not, could not be true.
I know that MTK Global wasdissolved, I believe, a few
years ago, because of theassociation to Daniel Kinahan.
So yeah, that's another prettyinteresting.
(10:57):
I mean, if you're those guysand you have those connections
to just any kind of professionalcombat, sport like that would
be a pretty blatant way tolaunder money, I feel like.
But I don't know, who knows,I'm not, I'm not a cartel member
(11:19):
, uh, but we, we just don't knowif this is true.
Any of this is actually true.
Sorry, one moment, sorry.
(11:50):
Once I start putting theseepisodes up on YouTube, I'm so I
don't want you guys to feellike I don't care about the
quality, um, quality, it's justthat I love to keep the
environment of this podcast veryconversational, as if we were
all just be talking about thisstuff, and this is what you
(12:12):
would get if we were talkingabout this stuff.
So enjoy I.
It'll be so much more fun whenwe've got those YouTube episodes
coming up.
So I'm very excited.
But anyways, let's get back toit.
We, we just kind of don't wantto assume anything in this
(12:34):
situation.
You know, take everything witha grain of salt, especially with
accusations this big.
But cartels do have to laundertheir money, so these just seem
like fitting companies to usefor those reasons.
So take that however you wantto, because this next one is
(12:55):
going to be really crazy.
I was, as the kids say, shook.
Uh, no, I I don't say shook,but this next part really is
crazy, and this is the RegencyHotel shooting.
It's just straight up crazy.
(13:15):
It's insane.
The event took place, I believe, in February 2016.
I believe in, yeah, february2016.
And it was at a weigh-inceremony that was being hosted
at this hotel.
And the Kenahan cartel justkind of got into like this whole
(13:40):
shootout with this other rivalgang called the Hutch gang, and
the Hutch gang was basicallyretaliating.
They pulled up to Regency Hoteland they were basically
retaliating after the Kinnehansbroke an agreement by executing
a Hutch family member after theKinnehans believed he was
(14:01):
responsible for a shipmentseizure.
Kinnehans believed he wasresponsible for a shipment
seizure.
They initially agreed to justput a bullet in a hutch and
required a large sum of money,but the hutch boy would remain
unharmed.
Isn't that crazy?
Like that is so insane to me.
(14:21):
Like, okay, so we think yousnitched, but we're not sure.
But because we're Irish, I'mgoing to put a bullet in your
cousin.
You can stay alive though, butyour, your cousin, got to get a
bullet in the leg.
I'm sorry.
And you're like, okay, fine.
(14:44):
And there, and then the kidhands are like but wait, wait,
wait, there's more.
We also want money, we want youto pay a fine and like all this
other crazy stuff.
And they're like the Hutchins,like, okay, fine, and then, six
months later, they end upkilling the guy that they
stopped they thought snitchedanyways.
(15:06):
That is just crazy.
It's so crazy to me, um, crazyto me, um, wow.
And there's actually a video ofthis road Regency hotel incident
, and I believe it's yeah, it'son YouTube and it is just crazy.
There's a fighter on stage Iforgot who it was.
(15:27):
I might've been um, jamieCavanaugh, but cause he, I
believe, was the main event forthat event, so he was like
weighing in and then, all of asudden, shots fired people
running.
It was just weird.
It was just weird.
I don't recommend doing that.
Um and oh, and one of theshooters even dressed like a
(15:50):
woman.
Like a woman.
Yeah it, I, it's crazy, it's,it was crazy.
You just have to watch it.
I, I didn't see anyone get shot.
I probably, I probably wouldn'teven mention the video if there
(16:11):
was anything like that, justbecause I don't know.
That's we.
We all have morals and my linesare right there.
But one of the men who died wasactually a man named David Byrne
who, believe it or not, was achildhood friend of Conor
McGregor from Crumlin BoxingClub and, of course, like I
(16:35):
mentioned earlier, jamieCavanaugh was there and his dad
and uncle were rumored to beheavily involved with the
Canahan cartel as well.
But sadly, or maybe not sadly,I don't know.
I don't know who these men are,I don't know if they're like
Robin Hoods or what, but, uh,they passed away, either sadly
(17:04):
or happily passed away, I'm notsure.
May all souls rest in peace.
Um, but another crazy personthat I came about in this
research was Mr Graham Whalen,and he was Mr Graham Whelan, and
he, of course, is anotheralleged associate of the Kinahan
cartel and he's someone thatConnor, of course, is often seen
(17:28):
doing what?
What does Connor do all thetime?
What is he always doingPartying, right?
Yeah, so all those picturesthat you see all over Connor or
with Connor you probably mightsee Graham Whelan in some of
them, and Connor's sister Ibelieve her name is pronounced
Aoife is also rumored to bedating this Mr Graham Whelan.
(17:51):
There's a picture of themsitting together at some event.
So crazy.
But yeah, isn't that nuts?
Like Connor's own sister may beinvolved with a high ranking
cartel member His own sissy, hisown sissy Crazy, but that
(18:11):
basically just adds anotherlayer of what is going on to
this whole weird connectionsituation.
So I know, all of this justsounds super crazy, but, like I
didn't make it up, this is allstuff that I saw online.
(18:32):
Like this, it's crazy to me asit is to you.
So I, we're really deep in thisrabbit hole together, guys.
Um, what I also wanted toinclude, though, is what does
this mean for Conor?
(18:52):
Like, what is, what is therelevancy to all of these
connections, and are they justrandom, unsubstantiated rumors,
or is there really a dark sideto Conor McGregor?
We've never really fullyunderstood, or I've never really
(19:13):
fully understood.
Maybe you guys are like this isold news, you know, and if
that's you like, sorry, I'msorry that I'm your internet
explorer.
Very sorry, but I just thinkthat there's no clear answer,
but it's.
It's hard to ignore the patternof connections between Connor
(19:34):
and the Canaan cartel and justthe people in his whole inner
circle.
So I'll take a breath with youon that one.
Maybe take a sip of water.
(20:04):
So, now that we've caught ourbreath, we're going to take a
closer look at Connor's mostrecent legal and brand troubles.
You know how they've affectedhis public image, his business
ventures and his, his standingwith the Irish people.
Oh, so sad.
Connor has been through, ofcourse, a lot of ups and downs,
as has been seen by everyone.
(20:26):
You know all of that.
But the last couple of yearshave really seen him be involved
in some crazy controversies inand out of the courtroom, just
anywhere.
Any kind of facet of lifeconnor's striking out, except
money dude has all the money inthe world, you know.
(20:47):
But the the story I want toaddress, of course, is involving
the woman Nikita Hand.
Connor was found liable foraccusations made by her, which
led to him being ordered to paya couple hundred euros, which
(21:08):
equals to a couple hundredthousand, I'm sorry, a couple
hundred thousand euros, whichends up being a couple hundred
thousand dollars.
Um, and now just to clarify,because I saw a lot of
clarifications needed to be madehe wasn't criminally charged in
(21:29):
this case which I think heshould be case, which I think he
should be but the civil trialjury did find him at fault in
this case, and it is super easyto get lost in all the details.
But let's just be so real.
Right now we all get the gistof what was going on there.
(21:51):
It wasn't just a gold diggertrying to get money that was
offered to her and declined byher a long time ago, a few years
ago, you know.
So, according to her, uh, misshand, two masked men armed with
knives entered her home whileher child was asleep and
(22:11):
intimidated her in some way.
In some way, shape or form,they were intimidating with her.
So I mean, who knows if this isconnected to Connor or not, you
know, but with everything goingon around him lately, it's just
hard to avoid drawing some kindof connection.
(22:33):
Whether it's related or not, itdoes just add to that like
chaotic, very troublingnarrative that just follows him
everywhere, just everywhere hegoes.
But that's not, that's not evenit.
There there are some reallyserious repercussions that he's
suffered on the business side ofthings too and, of course, one
(22:55):
that a lot of people have seenis the proper number 12 whiskey,
the brand connor helped launchback in 2018.
That was like his brand.
He founded it and and I'm notsure if most of you know or not,
but he sold all of his sharesin the company in 2021, which,
(23:17):
like selling all of your shares,is kind of crazy to me.
So I don't know why he did it.
If he needed money, like a lotof it, you know, but anyways, um
, what's also hitting the mediareally hard right now is that
they they dropped him completelyas the face of the brand just
(23:39):
shortly after the case wrappedup.
I believe it was like casewrapped up, boom bye, and now
he's just completely detachedfrom it.
You know people are wonderingthe same thing, I, the same
thing I am, and that is like whythe sudden change?
You know well, like, sellinghis shares is one thing, but the
fact that they dropped him astheir spokesperson, too, it just
(24:03):
makes me wonder.
Like if his personal issues, ofcourse, were part of the
equation and obviously the courtwas, but like it looks like it
was something that they wantedto do for a long time.
So like maybe he's just reallydifficult to work with and
they're like first sign of youknow, bad press.
(24:26):
You're out, you know, that'show I feel it went down.
And this goes deeper.
Um, it's been affecting hisimage in video games as well.
I hadn't, I don't really playvideo games.
I have nothing against them.
(24:48):
I just don't have a console,you know.
So I don't play.
The most I know is when I goover to, um, my family's house
and my brother's playing, andhe'll tell me but I don't know
what the game Hitman is, butapparently he was a character on
it.
And, um, you know I'm a girl,okay, so I know some of you, if
(25:12):
you're a dude, you're probablylike rolling your eyes and like
that's fine, like I don't care,I don't know what hitman is, I
don't know, you know.
But anyways, they decided to cutties with him as well and in
their statement they said thatafter some reflection, they felt
it was best to part ways.
You know how they do and it'sjust clear that, with everything
(25:34):
going on, his public personahas just affected his ability to
secure partnerships and it'llcontinue to be difficult
partnerships and it'll continueto be difficult Even stores that
just used to carry Connor'slike branded merchandise have
also been pulled off shelves.
(25:55):
You know so, it's down to thatminute level, you know.
So when you take a step backand look at the bigger picture
here it's easy to see howConnor's image has just taken a
huge hit in ireland, whereconnor was once hailed as a
national hero and the pride ofthe country.
It's just not like that anymore.
(26:16):
They don't feel that way.
They kind of look at him as a,as a disgrace, it seems like.
And you know he is still asuperstar, you know regardless.
You know, but not awell-received one, I guess.
Um, especially in Ireland, likepeople, there's videos of
(26:37):
people just like sneering at themention of his name.
It's super sad.
But what is next for conormcgregor?
I just thought of the, thatsteel lady, who who goes.
What does joe rogan want?
That's how I felt saying that.
(26:58):
So what's next for conormcgregor?
That'd be so funny, does he?
What do you guys think?
Does he bounce back or does hejust kind of continue crumbling
his entire empire justcompletely imploding, just one
piece at a time?
It's it's.
It's hard to say, it's hard tosay.
(27:20):
I'm an optimistic person, but Idon't like Conor, so I don't
know if that applies here.
I believe there that you canchange as long as there's still
air in your lungs, you know.
But he definitely has his handsfull and in and out of the UFC
(27:44):
and he just he can't fight hisway out of all these situations
at one time and be successful inevery facet of his life.
He just gotta let the act gosomewhere.
But I personally would say theera of Conor we all have come to
know is over.
(28:05):
I'm not just talking about likethe usual he's done kind of
talk.
You know, when you really lookat where he stands now on paper
in the cage and in the eyes ofus as fans I'm not his fan, but
if you're his fan I'm talkingabout you it's just hard to kind
(28:25):
of deny that the connor we allknew and loved has shifted into
just something totally different.
Now, before any of you getupset, any of you connor
stragglers, let me just say Irecognize that connor was,
without a doubt, one of the bestto ever do it at his peak,
(28:47):
entertaining, talented, sleekstyle.
And I'm not talking about likeclothes, I'm talking about like
technique, just amazing and ofcourse, like becoming the first
fighter in the UFC history tohold two belts simultaneously is
legendary, absolutely legendary.
(29:09):
But you know, when you fastforward to today, the Conor that
we knew is not there and hasn'tbeen for a long time.
So I want to talk about wherehe is now.
Want to talk about where he isnow and if you, if you look up
(29:31):
Conor's current record, you willget a criminal record to go
with his fight record.
You know you'll have todifferentiate and let's not
forget that the man hasn'tfought since 2021.
That's a long time, over threeyears, with no K-Shon, and I
think his last notable streak ofvictories hasn't been since
(29:56):
like 2014, 2015.
And it's been nearly like adecade since we've seen him in
his prime and the reality is hejust hasn't had, in my opinion
and my opinion, a significantwin since Eddie Alvarez in 2016
and, honestly, aside from eventhat fight, like what has he
(30:20):
done?
You know the cowboy fight, aswe talked about last week, and
I've got some strong opinions onthat one.
So if you missed it, youdefinitely want to go back and
listen.
But and that's just my lastepisode, not the previous connor
episode, so episode 51.
(30:40):
But even then, like the seroni,one doesn't hold up when you
break it down, like Cerronehimself was like just kind of
past his prime too and it wasjust kind of like a let's get
Conor a win kind of fight ratherthan like an actual meaningful
comeback.
I don't know, that's just howit came off to me, to each their
(31:03):
own.
And then like like of course,when it comes to the Nate Diaz
fight, I'm not gonna pretend,I'm not biased, like I loved
that legalized Diaz shirt I had,I I hate that it got ruined.
Like I am so team, team Diaz,day one, you know.
(31:24):
But even if I like set thataside for a second, which of
course I try to um, the truth isthat the second fight was kind
of a reflection of the first one.
I mean, it wasn't anythingcrazy to me and like the whole
back and forth with Diaz, it wasjust like not a really a win
(31:46):
for Connor in my eyes.
Like he got the decision but itdidn't really prove anything,
it didn't erase his first lossand like I I personally think
you know just from seeingConnor's face after Nate choked
him out that.
But Nick, when Nate hit that Itold you you know it was just
(32:08):
clear in Connor's face thatsomething broke in him.
It was just a canon event inhis life and it really felt like
the moment he started to losegrip on what made him so
dangerous in the first place.
From that point on I feel likethings really started to unravel
quickly and, of course, likeconnor's not looking like
(32:35):
someone who is even ready tofight right now.
He knows that.
Everyone knows that he just hasway too much going on outside
the case, that he just has waytoo much going on outside the
case, outside the ufc you knowjust cases, brand deals falling
apart, all of that.
And if you think about wherehe's at, it's gonna be a long
(32:56):
road for him to get back to thefighter he once was.
Even if he were to get backinto fight camp soon, he'd have
to make that, make a prettysignificant life change just to
even become the active, focused,condition legend he used to be.
And honestly, at this point I'mnot even sure I'm sad if we
(33:20):
never saw him again.
Like y'all know how I feel, I'ma hater, certified hater.
I I wouldn't be sad if he neverfought again and I just think
his legacy as a fighter ispretty much written.
It's been written and it's hardto just imagine him recapturing
the essence of what he once was.
(33:41):
So I don't know if he ever diddecide to come back for real.
For real, we all know he wouldstill bring in crazy numbers,
like that's just a fact andthat's the thing about him.
You know, he's one of thosepolarizing figures, like john,
that, no matter what, likepeople are gonna tune in you
mention his name and the eyesare centered and he, he wanted
(34:04):
that.
That's what he wanted, right?
Like he always craved thespotlight and you know, you,
like he didn't care whether youloved him or you hated him, as
long as you paid him, you know.
And he'll always be able todraw that kind of attention, you
know.
So here we are.
Here we are, are guys climbingour way out of the rabbit hole
(34:27):
because we're nearing the end.
You know, just looking at theend of connor, the era of the
notorious and at least the onewe all have said, like spent the
last decade or so watching Idon't think that he'll ever be
that great again and it's sad ina way, like not sad for me, you
(34:50):
know, just sad objectively,because there's so much
potential there, you know.
But I think that we have seenenough to understand that, for
whatever reason, it's just notgoing to happen right now, and
we'll always remember the Connorthat once was just one of those
brilliant fighters that kind ofjust dwindled down, lost the
(35:11):
spark.
Finito Connor.
I'm just kidding, but what doyou guys think?
Is it really over for Connor ordo you think there's still a
chance we see him back in theoctagon, you know, just pulling
off one last fight, one lastfight?
I don't know.
(35:31):
I don't know.
I truly do not know.
Just hit me up on twitter againat shaolin shay, or instagram at
shay.
My name, that's shay, with twoy's, and I'd really love to hear
your thoughts on this episode.
But it's going to wrap it upfor me today.
You guys, whether you love him,hate him or fall somewhere
between, there's just no denyingthat Conor is just one of the
(35:57):
wildest MMA figures that's everlived.
You know, it was just such acrazy ride up and such a crazy
ride down, and his life and thisepisode, you know.
So I'm so happy that you guyschose to listen.
It means the world to me.
(36:18):
Don't forget to rate theepisode.
Let me know if you liked it.
Um, follow me on socials.
I'm'm also on TikTok, same nameas my Instagram name and share
it with a friend, listen to itwith a family member.
Just help grow this community.
Let me know what you guys wantto hear and thank you so much
(36:42):
for listening and, as always,always thanks for joining me in
the clinch.
Hi, what's up guys.
Welcome back to the ClinchPodcast.
I'm your host, shay, and I amso excited to jump into today's
topic, and that is the notoriousConor McGregor.
So this is part two of our deepdive into Conor McGregor, and
(00:51):
let me tell you I went downanother crazy rabbit hole this
week.
If you haven't heard part oneyet, make sure you do go back
and check it out, and you don'tneed to hear that episode to
understand this one in any way.
They can be enjoyedindependently, but I just
suggest following up, becausefollowing up with listening to
(01:14):
that episode, just because iteverything ties in together so
crazy.
So I just encourage it highlyand, of course, I love to make
episodes, so I hope you do goand listen.
But before we start thisepisode, last week's episode was
insane.
We went through some reallycrazy UFC conspiracies that had
(01:38):
me just questioning everything.
I swear even if I wasn't theone hosting this show, I would
have had to listen, just as anenjoyer of this show.
I would have had to go back andlisten and then listen again,
probably so.
And also, these are allepisodes based on your
(02:00):
recommendations, because we tendto all kind of have the same
questions or at least somesimilar ones.
So I am really enjoying therecommendation, so keep them
coming.
Hit me up on Twitter orInstagram.
I'm on Twitter at Shaolin Shay.
Instagram is Shay, my name,with two Y's and Shay.
(02:21):
If you have any topics you'dlike to hear about, I'm down.
Name with two y's and shea.
If you have any topics you'dlike to hear about, I'm down.
I'm down to add that into theschedule.
So let's get into it.
Today we're unraveling thechaotic, the controversial, just
crazy world of connor mcgregor.
So I just wanted to hop rightinto what I think might be one
(02:44):
of the most insane andcontroversial topics in modern
MMA history.
Modern, I say, and that is thepossible, alleged, probably
untrue ties between ConorMcGregor and the notorious
(03:05):
Kennehan cartel.
So, and if you don't know whator who the Kennehan cartel are,
they're basically just an Irishdrug cartel.
So buckle up, because we'reabout to get into some crazy
wild theories that would justchange everything you knew about
(03:27):
Conor or that you knew or maybejust didn't have some certain
details of.
So I'm so excited, let's go Now.
It's not your typical MMA gossip.
You know where you have.
The UFC is kind of messysometimes.
It's kind of messy if youreally pay attention.
(03:49):
So it's not just like yourtypical gym messiness, you're,
you're uh, I'm not even going tobring up any up, I really want
to shine advice.
Um, anyways, you know, juststuff like that.
It's not that kind of he said,she said.
What we're going to be talkingabout today goes way beyond the
(04:11):
cage and it's just deep into aworld of crime, conspiracies and
some of the most dangerousfigures in international
organized organized crime.
So if you've ever wondered justhow far Connor's connections go
, I'm here to tell you.
(04:31):
This is what you have come tolisten to me for, so let's go.
I want to start with just thatkind of wild shout out that went
down a few years ago thatinitially piqued my interest on
this topic, and that was, um,when Munir Lezez who, if you
(04:54):
don't know, is a former UFCfighter who was from Tunisia he
mentioned Daniel Kinahan duringhis post fight in Octagon
interview.
So that was just something thatI had no idea who this Daniel
person was until I saw people onTwitter like oh, he did this
(05:18):
and this guy is this, and I'mlike whoa, why?
Like, why is this happening?
And someone on reddit, when Iwas doing a deeper dive, said
connor is de facto in thekinahan cartel, most of the guys
he grew up with are in it andhis sister is marrying into the
cartel high-ranking lieutenant.
I'm like, whoa, that is kind ofthat's uh.
(05:44):
I I don't want to usederogatory language on uh for
the show anymore, so I don'tknow how to say ballsy Like
that's quite ballsy to say.
I feel like, um, it's a prettystrong accusation.
That's what this is what I'mthinking like in the moment.
Obviously, now that I've dugdeeper, I'm like oh, this isn't
(06:09):
just some Reddit kid, you know.
So let's, let's talk about whatI found when we dug deeper.
If you're not familiar again,daniel Kinahan is the alleged
leader of the Kinahan cartel andhe has been said to be one of
the most powerful and dangerouscrime syndicates in Europe.
(06:31):
And I just I guess you know I'mI'm American.
If you're listening anywhereoutside of America, hi, that's
awesome, hello, love that you'relistening.
But, um, I don't know a lotabout European crimesters.
(06:53):
So I'm like kind of just takingthis information at face value,
value so.
And also I was just thinkinglike, let's be honest, connor,
value so.
And also I was just thinkinglike, let's be honest, connor.
Connor's name has been linked tothe kinahans and his associates
for for a long time, from, fromwhat I saw, and it's all over
(07:14):
the rumor mill and all of thatwhich take that with a grain of
salt.
But there are a lot of weirdconnections that just raise my
eyebrows.
So I want to go through those.
First we have Connor'schildhood friends, jonathan and
(07:35):
Andrew Murray.
So there's a picture thatcirculated all around the social
sphere of Connor with these twoguys right before the Dolly
incident.
That, sorry, I snapped that.
Those men were Jonathan andAndrew Murray and you all
(07:58):
remember the infamous Dollyincident at the fight.
You know when he threw thefighter at the fighter at the
fight.
You know when he threw thefighter at the fighter when he
threw the dolly at the fighterbus.
So, aside from just the picture, go and google it.
It's just a weird pictureconsidering what happened right
after.
But beyond that those two guyshave a pretty shady, shady past.
(08:24):
Going on, I would say they haveboth served time sorry, my dog
is playing both have served timefor, really I would say,
serious charges, like you knowdrug charges, armed robbery, uh,
there were even some violentones and, and guess what, they
(08:45):
are also suspected of beingclosely tied to the Kinahan
cartel.
There was a whole situationwhere there was like a whole
bunch of raids and it wasconnected to both of them.
It was very weird, very weird,and they're just not the kind of
(09:08):
people you want to beassociated with, especially if
you're connor, who at that timewas just, you know, at the top
of stardom.
So, yeah, uh, just those, thoseare shady guys.
And then another weird tie is,uh, to mtk global, and I don't
think he was directlyrepresented by them, but I do
(09:31):
want to go into the connection Idid find.
And so of course it's a sportsmanagement agency.
It initially started as a gym.
It was founded by DanielKinahan and a former boxer,
matthew Macklin, who I hadn'theard of prior to my research
for this, but it just getsreally interesting when you
(09:53):
think about the two of themcoming up with this kind of
business together.
So that company grew quicklyand it became associated with
some people that I'd heard ofbefore, like Tyson Fury, billy
Joe Saunders and Darren Till,which that kind of surprised me.
(10:14):
But they, like I said, theynever directly represented
Connor, but it is justinteresting that I have seen the
company in my researches becalled a money laundering scheme
.
You know, probably not true, uh,and you know, I just have to
say that, uh with and there's asimilar kind of situation with
(10:37):
one of Connor's bars in Dublin.
So, who knows, it could orcould not, could not be true.
I know that MTK Global wasdissolved, I believe, a few
years ago, because of theassociation to Daniel Kinahan.
So yeah, that's another prettyinteresting.
(10:57):
I mean, if you're those guysand you have those connections
to just any kind of professionalcombat, sport like that would
be a pretty blatant way tolaunder money, I feel like.
But I don't know, who knows,I'm not, I'm not a cartel member
(11:19):
, uh, but we, we just don't knowif this is true.
Any of this is actually true.
Sorry, one moment, sorry.
(11:50):
Once I start putting theseepisodes up on YouTube, I'm so I
don't want you guys to feellike I don't care about the
quality, um, quality, it's justthat I love to keep the
environment of this podcast veryconversational, as if we were
all just be talking about thisstuff, and this is what you
(12:12):
would get if we were talkingabout this stuff.
So enjoy I.
It'll be so much more fun whenwe've got those YouTube episodes
coming up.
So I'm very excited.
But anyways, let's get back toit.
We, we just kind of don't wantto assume anything in this
(12:34):
situation.
You know, take everything witha grain of salt, especially with
accusations this big.
But cartels do have to laundertheir money, so these just seem
like fitting companies to usefor those reasons.
So take that however you wantto, because this next one is
(12:55):
going to be really crazy.
I was, as the kids say, shook.
Uh, no, I I don't say shook,but this next part really is
crazy, and this is the RegencyHotel shooting.
It's just straight up crazy.
(13:15):
It's insane.
The event took place, I believe, in February 2016.
I believe in, yeah, february2016.
And it was at a weigh-inceremony that was being hosted
at this hotel.
And the Kenahan cartel justkind of got into like this whole
(13:40):
shootout with this other rivalgang called the Hutch gang, and
the Hutch gang was basicallyretaliating.
They pulled up to Regency Hoteland they were basically
retaliating after the Kinnehansbroke an agreement by executing
a Hutch family member after theKinnehans believed he was
(14:01):
responsible for a shipmentseizure.
Kinnehans believed he wasresponsible for a shipment
seizure.
They initially agreed to justput a bullet in a hutch and
required a large sum of money,but the hutch boy would remain
unharmed.
Isn't that crazy?
Like that is so insane to me.
(14:21):
Like, okay, so we think yousnitched, but we're not sure.
But because we're Irish, I'mgoing to put a bullet in your
cousin.
You can stay alive though, butyour, your cousin, got to get a
bullet in the leg.
I'm sorry.
And you're like, okay, fine.
(14:44):
And there, and then the kidhands are like but wait, wait,
wait, there's more.
We also want money, we want youto pay a fine and like all this
other crazy stuff.
And they're like the Hutchins,like, okay, fine, and then, six
months later, they end upkilling the guy that they
stopped they thought snitchedanyways.
(15:06):
That is just crazy.
It's so crazy to me, um, crazyto me, um, wow.
And there's actually a video ofthis road Regency hotel incident
, and I believe it's yeah, it'son YouTube and it is just crazy.
There's a fighter on stage Iforgot who it was.
(15:27):
I might've been um, jamieCavanaugh, but cause he, I
believe, was the main event forthat event, so he was like
weighing in and then, all of asudden, shots fired people
running.
It was just weird.
It was just weird.
I don't recommend doing that.
Um and oh, and one of theshooters even dressed like a
(15:50):
woman.
Like a woman.
Yeah it, I, it's crazy, it's,it was crazy.
You just have to watch it.
I, I didn't see anyone get shot.
I probably, I probably wouldn'teven mention the video if there
(16:11):
was anything like that, justbecause I don't know.
That's we.
We all have morals and my linesare right there.
But one of the men who died wasactually a man named David Byrne
who, believe it or not, was achildhood friend of Conor
McGregor from Crumlin BoxingClub and, of course, like I
(16:35):
mentioned earlier, jamieCavanaugh was there and his dad
and uncle were rumored to beheavily involved with the
Canahan cartel as well.
But sadly, or maybe not sadly,I don't know.
I don't know who these men are,I don't know if they're like
Robin Hoods or what, but, uh,they passed away, either sadly
(17:04):
or happily passed away, I'm notsure.
May all souls rest in peace.
Um, but another crazy personthat I came about in this
research was Mr Graham Whalen,and he was Mr Graham Whelan, and
he, of course, is anotheralleged associate of the Kinahan
cartel and he's someone thatConnor, of course, is often seen
(17:28):
doing what?
What does Connor do all thetime?
What is he always doingPartying, right?
Yeah, so all those picturesthat you see all over Connor or
with Connor you probably mightsee Graham Whelan in some of
them, and Connor's sister Ibelieve her name is pronounced
Aoife is also rumored to bedating this Mr Graham Whelan.
(17:51):
There's a picture of themsitting together at some event.
So crazy.
But yeah, isn't that nuts?
Like Connor's own sister may beinvolved with a high ranking
cartel member His own sissy, hisown sissy Crazy, but that
(18:11):
basically just adds anotherlayer of what is going on to
this whole weird connectionsituation.
So I know, all of this justsounds super crazy, but, like I
didn't make it up, this is allstuff that I saw online.
(18:32):
Like this, it's crazy to me asit is to you.
So I, we're really deep in thisrabbit hole together, guys.
Um, what I also wanted toinclude, though, is what does
this mean for Conor?
(18:52):
Like, what is, what is therelevancy to all of these
connections, and are they justrandom, unsubstantiated rumors,
or is there really a dark sideto Conor McGregor?
We've never really fullyunderstood, or I've never really
(19:13):
fully understood.
Maybe you guys are like this isold news, you know, and if
that's you like, sorry, I'msorry that I'm your internet
explorer.
Very sorry, but I just thinkthat there's no clear answer,
but it's.
It's hard to ignore the patternof connections between Connor
(19:34):
and the Canaan cartel and justthe people in his whole inner
circle.
So I'll take a breath with youon that one.
Maybe take a sip of water.
(20:04):
So, now that we've caught ourbreath, we're going to take a
closer look at Connor's mostrecent legal and brand troubles.
You know how they've affectedhis public image, his business
ventures and his, his standingwith the Irish people.
Oh, so sad.
Connor has been through, ofcourse, a lot of ups and downs,
as has been seen by everyone.
(20:26):
You know all of that.
But the last couple of yearshave really seen him be involved
in some crazy controversies inand out of the courtroom, just
anywhere.
Any kind of facet of lifeconnor's striking out, except
money dude has all the money inthe world, you know.
(20:47):
But the the story I want toaddress, of course, is involving
the woman Nikita Hand.
Connor was found liable foraccusations made by her, which
led to him being ordered to paya couple hundred euros, which
(21:08):
equals to a couple hundredthousand, I'm sorry, a couple
hundred thousand euros, whichends up being a couple hundred
thousand dollars.
Um, and now just to clarify,because I saw a lot of
clarifications needed to be madehe wasn't criminally charged in
(21:29):
this case which I think heshould be case, which I think he
should be but the civil trialjury did find him at fault in
this case, and it is super easyto get lost in all the details.
But let's just be so real.
Right now we all get the gistof what was going on there.
(21:51):
It wasn't just a gold diggertrying to get money that was
offered to her and declined byher a long time ago, a few years
ago, you know.
So, according to her, uh, misshand, two masked men armed with
knives entered her home whileher child was asleep and
(22:11):
intimidated her in some way.
In some way, shape or form,they were intimidating with her.
So I mean, who knows if this isconnected to Connor or not, you
know, but with everything goingon around him lately, it's just
hard to avoid drawing some kindof connection.
(22:33):
Whether it's related or not, itdoes just add to that like
chaotic, very troublingnarrative that just follows him
everywhere, just everywhere hegoes.
But that's not, that's not evenit.
There there are some reallyserious repercussions that he's
suffered on the business side ofthings too and, of course, one
(22:55):
that a lot of people have seenis the proper number 12 whiskey,
the brand connor helped launchback in 2018.
That was like his brand.
He founded it and and I'm notsure if most of you know or not,
but he sold all of his sharesin the company in 2021, which,
(23:17):
like selling all of your shares,is kind of crazy to me.
So I don't know why he did it.
If he needed money, like a lotof it, you know, but anyways, um
, what's also hitting the mediareally hard right now is that
they they dropped him completelyas the face of the brand just
(23:39):
shortly after the case wrappedup.
I believe it was like casewrapped up, boom bye, and now
he's just completely detachedfrom it.
You know people are wonderingthe same thing, I, the same
thing I am, and that is like whythe sudden change?
You know well, like, sellinghis shares is one thing, but the
fact that they dropped him astheir spokesperson, too, it just
(24:03):
makes me wonder.
Like if his personal issues, ofcourse, were part of the
equation and obviously the courtwas, but like it looks like it
was something that they wantedto do for a long time.
So like maybe he's just reallydifficult to work with and
they're like first sign of youknow, bad press.
(24:26):
You're out, you know, that'show I feel it went down.
And this goes deeper.
Um, it's been affecting hisimage in video games as well.
I hadn't, I don't really playvideo games.
I have nothing against them.
(24:48):
I just don't have a console,you know.
So I don't play.
The most I know is when I goover to, um, my family's house
and my brother's playing, andhe'll tell me but I don't know
what the game Hitman is, butapparently he was a character on
it.
And, um, you know I'm a girl,okay, so I know some of you, if
(25:12):
you're a dude, you're probablylike rolling your eyes and like
that's fine, like I don't care,I don't know what hitman is, I
don't know, you know.
But anyways, they decided to cutties with him as well and in
their statement they said thatafter some reflection, they felt
it was best to part ways.
You know how they do and it'sjust clear that, with everything
(25:34):
going on, his public personahas just affected his ability to
secure partnerships and it'llcontinue to be difficult
partnerships and it'll continueto be difficult Even stores that
just used to carry Connor'slike branded merchandise have
also been pulled off shelves.
(25:55):
You know so, it's down to thatminute level, you know.
So when you take a step backand look at the bigger picture
here it's easy to see howConnor's image has just taken a
huge hit in ireland, whereconnor was once hailed as a
national hero and the pride ofthe country.
It's just not like that anymore.
(26:16):
They don't feel that way.
They kind of look at him as a,as a disgrace, it seems like.
And you know he is still asuperstar, you know regardless.
You know, but not awell-received one, I guess.
Um, especially in Ireland, likepeople, there's videos of
(26:37):
people just like sneering at themention of his name.
It's super sad.
But what is next for conormcgregor?
I just thought of the, thatsteel lady, who who goes.
What does joe rogan want?
That's how I felt saying that.
(26:58):
So what's next for conormcgregor?
That'd be so funny, does he?
What do you guys think?
Does he bounce back or does hejust kind of continue crumbling
his entire empire justcompletely imploding, just one
piece at a time?
It's it's.
It's hard to say, it's hard tosay.
(27:20):
I'm an optimistic person, but Idon't like Conor, so I don't
know if that applies here.
I believe there that you canchange as long as there's still
air in your lungs, you know.
But he definitely has his handsfull and in and out of the UFC
(27:44):
and he just he can't fight hisway out of all these situations
at one time and be successful inevery facet of his life.
He just gotta let the act gosomewhere.
But I personally would say theera of Conor we all have come to
know is over.
(28:05):
I'm not just talking about likethe usual he's done kind of
talk.
You know, when you really lookat where he stands now on paper
in the cage and in the eyes ofus as fans I'm not his fan, but
if you're his fan I'm talkingabout you it's just hard to kind
(28:25):
of deny that the connor we allknew and loved has shifted into
just something totally different.
Now, before any of you getupset, any of you connor
stragglers, let me just say Irecognize that connor was,
without a doubt, one of the bestto ever do it at his peak,
(28:47):
entertaining, talented, sleekstyle.
And I'm not talking about likeclothes, I'm talking about like
technique, just amazing and ofcourse, like becoming the first
fighter in the UFC history tohold two belts simultaneously is
legendary, absolutely legendary.
(29:09):
But you know, when you fastforward to today, the Conor that
we knew is not there and hasn'tbeen for a long time.
So I want to talk about wherehe is now.
Want to talk about where he isnow and if you, if you look up
(29:31):
Conor's current record, you willget a criminal record to go
with his fight record.
You know you'll have todifferentiate and let's not
forget that the man hasn'tfought since 2021.
That's a long time, over threeyears, with no K-Shon, and I
think his last notable streak ofvictories hasn't been since
(29:56):
like 2014, 2015.
And it's been nearly like adecade since we've seen him in
his prime and the reality is hejust hasn't had, in my opinion
and my opinion, a significantwin since Eddie Alvarez in 2016
and, honestly, aside from eventhat fight, like what has he
(30:20):
done?
You know the cowboy fight, aswe talked about last week, and
I've got some strong opinions onthat one.
So if you missed it, youdefinitely want to go back and
listen.
But and that's just my lastepisode, not the previous connor
episode, so episode 51.
(30:40):
But even then, like the seroni,one doesn't hold up when you
break it down, like Cerronehimself was like just kind of
past his prime too and it wasjust kind of like a let's get
Conor a win kind of fight ratherthan like an actual meaningful
comeback.
I don't know, that's just howit came off to me, to each their
(31:03):
own.
And then like like of course,when it comes to the Nate Diaz
fight, I'm not gonna pretend,I'm not biased, like I loved
that legalized Diaz shirt I had,I I hate that it got ruined.
Like I am so team, team Diaz,day one, you know.
(31:24):
But even if I like set thataside for a second, which of
course I try to um, the truth isthat the second fight was kind
of a reflection of the first one.
I mean, it wasn't anythingcrazy to me and like the whole
back and forth with Diaz, it wasjust like not a really a win
(31:46):
for Connor in my eyes.
Like he got the decision but itdidn't really prove anything,
it didn't erase his first lossand like I I personally think
you know just from seeingConnor's face after Nate choked
him out that.
But Nick, when Nate hit that Itold you you know it was just
(32:08):
clear in Connor's face thatsomething broke in him.
It was just a canon event inhis life and it really felt like
the moment he started to losegrip on what made him so
dangerous in the first place.
From that point on I feel likethings really started to unravel
quickly and, of course, likeconnor's not looking like
(32:35):
someone who is even ready tofight right now.
He knows that.
Everyone knows that he just hasway too much going on outside
the case, that he just has waytoo much going on outside the
case, outside the ufc you knowjust cases, brand deals falling
apart, all of that.
And if you think about wherehe's at, it's gonna be a long
(32:56):
road for him to get back to thefighter he once was.
Even if he were to get backinto fight camp soon, he'd have
to make that, make a prettysignificant life change just to
even become the active, focused,condition legend he used to be.
And honestly, at this point I'mnot even sure I'm sad if we
(33:20):
never saw him again.
Like y'all know how I feel, I'ma hater, certified hater.
I I wouldn't be sad if he neverfought again and I just think
his legacy as a fighter ispretty much written.
It's been written and it's hardto just imagine him recapturing
the essence of what he once was.
(33:41):
So I don't know if he ever diddecide to come back for real.
For real, we all know he wouldstill bring in crazy numbers,
like that's just a fact andthat's the thing about him.
You know, he's one of thosepolarizing figures, like john,
that, no matter what, likepeople are gonna tune in you
mention his name and the eyesare centered and he, he wanted
(34:04):
that.
That's what he wanted, right?
Like he always craved thespotlight and you know, you,
like he didn't care whether youloved him or you hated him, as
long as you paid him, you know.
And he'll always be able todraw that kind of attention, you
know.
So here we are.
Here we are, are guys climbingour way out of the rabbit hole
(34:27):
because we're nearing the end.
You know, just looking at theend of connor, the era of the
notorious and at least the onewe all have said, like spent the
last decade or so watching Idon't think that he'll ever be
that great again and it's sad ina way, like not sad for me, you
(34:50):
know, just sad objectively,because there's so much
potential there, you know.
But I think that we have seenenough to understand that, for
whatever reason, it's just notgoing to happen right now, and
we'll always remember the Connorthat once was just one of those
brilliant fighters that kind ofjust dwindled down, lost the
(35:11):
spark.
Finito Connor.
I'm just kidding, but what doyou guys think?
Is it really over for Connor ordo you think there's still a
chance we see him back in theoctagon, you know, just pulling
off one last fight, one lastfight?
I don't know.
(35:31):
I don't know.
I truly do not know.
Just hit me up on twitter againat shaolin shay, or instagram at
shay.
My name, that's shay, with twoy's, and I'd really love to hear
your thoughts on this episode.
But it's going to wrap it upfor me today.
You guys, whether you love him,hate him or fall somewhere
between, there's just no denyingthat Conor is just one of the
(35:57):
wildest MMA figures that's everlived.
You know, it was just such acrazy ride up and such a crazy
ride down, and his life and thisepisode, you know.
So I'm so happy that you guyschose to listen.
It means the world to me.
(36:18):
Don't forget to rate theepisode.
Let me know if you liked it.
Um, follow me on socials.
I'm'm also on TikTok, same nameas my Instagram name and share
it with a friend, listen to itwith a family member.
Just help grow this community.
Let me know what you guys wantto hear and thank you so much
(36:42):
for listening and, as always,always thanks for joining me in
the clinch.
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