Conor McGregor Reps Say He "Only Fights Fighters" After MGK Incident
Published Sept. 13 2021, 6:19 p.m. ET
Awards shows are recipes for disaster. The party atmosphere tends to easily get out of hand for some, and there have been notable moments of violence and hubris over the years. Conor McGregor throwing a drink at MGK and trying to punch him pales in comparison to Onyx firing live ammunition at the 1994 Source Hip-Hop Music Awards, but folks still want to know why he did it.
Why did Conor McGregor throw a drink at MGK?
Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox wowed on the red carpet with their outfits and began trending on Twitter on September 12, 2021. During the night's events, a scuffle broke out between Conor McGregor and the "Rap Devil" artist. If you're asking why a pro-fighter was present at the Video Music Awards, it's because Conor is a good friend of Justin Bieber.
McGregor was tasked with handing out the "Artist of the Year" award to The Biebs, but early on in the night, he was seen being held back by an event security guard as he tossed a drink at The Dirt star.
Apparently, the altercation started when Conor, excited to meet MGK, approached him for a handshake and picture. MGK's guards pushed Conor away.
Conor, who was using a cane to help himself walk due to a broken foot after his second consecutive MMA loss to Dustin Poirier, spilled his drink and dropped his walking stick after being rebuffed by MGK's protective detail.
That's what prompted Conor to toss his drink at MGK. The former UFC featherweight/lightweight champion then followed up with a swing in MGK's direction, but was quelled by security once again.
Several individuals managed to get video footage of the altercation, and various angles of the incident began popping up on social media. In many of the photographs and clips, MGK seems perplexed by the entire situation as Conor seethed at the sequence of events.
Conor, who was interviewed about the incident afterward, said that he didn't "even know the guy" and only "fights real fighters ... not Vanilla Ice boy rappers" in a clip uploaded by ET.
Conor has notoriously had run-ins with non-fighters in the past, like when he punched out a bar patron for repeatedly refusing a shot of his Proper 12 Irish whiskey in the past.
A rep for McGregor commented on the incident between the fighter and MGK.
As per Sportskeeda, Karen Kessler stated that Conor didn't approach Machine Gun Kelly in a statement released to ESPN: "Conor McGregor did not ask anyone for a picture, nor did he instigate this incident. He does not know Machine Gun Kelly, outside of the fact that he attended Conor's fight this past July."
Conor maintains that he didn't start the incident and denies any responsibility in its inception.
As for the award presentation, Conor went through with it, and Justin Bieber at the end of his speech looked to McGregor and said, "Conor, we're gonna get 'em next time my boy. Let's go."