The former two-division UFC champion has been present at several high-profile boxing events recently due to his booze company being sponsored by Matchroom
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has handed Conor McGregor a huge blow as the Irishman’s Forged Stout is no longer the sponsor of Matchroom Boxing events.
The 36-year-old’s alcohol company has been at the heart of sponsoring several blockbuster events, including Katie Taylor’s two fights with Chantelle Cameron in 2023 at the 3Arena. At the end of 2024, Hearn’s Matchroom opted against renewing their deal with McGregor’s Forged Irish Stout.
Their decision came just a few weeks after McGregor was found liable of assaulting Nikita Hand – who accused him of rape. Following the civil court case, the former two-division UFC champion has denied claims he raped and choked Ms Hand. A jury of eight women and four men spent six hours and 10 minutes deliberating before returning its verdict after days of listening to evidence and closing speeches.
McGregor was eventually ordered to pay Ms Hand £200,000. Not long after the ruling, Forged Irish Stout was dropped by Wetherspoons, Windmill Taverns and its distributor LWC in the UK. Hearn had stated not long after that Matchroom would “digest all the information” and “decide as a business what we’re gonna do”.
Speaking at a press conference In Belfast on Wednesday to promote Lewis Crocker’s clash with Paddy Donovan, Hearn said: “Our sponsorship contract is done. It’s difficult because we’ve always had a good relationship with Conor McGregor, corporately we get put under pressure in this situation.
“But at the moment I don’t believe we have an existing contract with [Forged Irish Stout]. I believe it was up at the end of last year.”
Recently, Ms Hand began a court bid to stop publication of CCTV footage used in the civil trial this week. Hand’s solicitor David Coleman said in an affidavit local media had reported Italian entrepreneur Gabriel Ernesto Rapisarda indicated there will be ‘imminent’ publication of the CCTV footage used during the trial of her claim. Coleman said Rapsardia wanted to publish the CCTV to help boost sales of McGregor’s alcoholic beverage.
Coleman added that the publication of the footage is a ‘contempt of court’, and that its ‘only purpose’ would be to ‘undermine and discredit the verdict of the court and, in so doing, gain financially.’ The solicitor also said he was eager to ensure a hearing on the injunction motion is moved to Thursday to allow the court to consider McGregor’s alleged ‘ongoing contempt.’
On Wednesday night, McGregor found himself at the heart of a new lawsuit after claims he sexually assaulted a woman at a basketball match in 2023. On Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in Florida with an anonymous woman alleging that the UFC star assaulted her in a VIP bathroom at the Kaseya Centre on June 9. The Irishman was in attendance for the NBA Finals match between Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.
The woman claims that the UFC fighter took her to a private bathroom before launching his alleged attack. A report was made to City of Miami Police, but criminal charges were dropped. McGregor denies the claims. Barbara Llanes, his attorney, released a statement to ESPN after the civil lawsuit was filed. It read: “After a thorough investigation at the time, the State’s Attorney concluded that there was no case to pursue. Almost two years and at least three lawyers later the plaintiff has a new false story. We are confident that this case too will be dismissed.”