UFC cash king Conor McGregor ‘set to splash $2mn’ on Dublin pub where he infamously punched patron – and immediately bars him

Minted Irish UFC megastar Conor McGregor is reportedly planning to purchase the Dublin pub which was the scene of one of his most notorious exploits outside the octagon.

McGregor is set to snap up the Marble Arch pub in Drimnagh in the Irish capital for somewhere between €1.5 and €2 million ($1.8-$2.4 million), according to Irish outlet The Currency.

A big-money property outlay might not be out of the ordinary for a man boasting a burgeoning business empire, but this time the location carries added significance for the former UFC two-weight champion: it is the scene of his infamous sucker-punch attack on patron Des Keogh in April of 2019.

On that occasion, Keogh is said to have refused a shot of the fighter’s Proper No. Twelve whiskey, with McGregor responded by aiming a punch at him.

The 32-year-old fight star was convicted of assault and fined €1,000 but avoided jail time over the altercation.

McGregor later issued an apology, saying that Keogh had “deserved to enjoy his time in the pub without having it end the way it did.”

According to The Currency, McGregor’s plans are part of an expanding business presence around the Dublin area he grew up in.

Back in 2019, he is said to have splashed out around €2 million on another Dublin pub, the Black Forge, near Crumlin.

Responding to the reports of his latest acquisition, a playful McGregor neither confirmed nor denied the news, but tweeted that the journalist behind the story and former victim Keogh would both be barred from the premises. 

“Ye and your mans barred,” the UFC superstar tweeted to his 8.6 million followers, sharing the original story.

McGregor’s net worth is widely estimated to be well in excess of $200 million.

By some accounts he was said to have amassed a fortune of more than $120 million even before he reportedly sold his stake in his whiskey empire – a move which may have doubled his money.

McGregor has never been shy to flaunt his wealth at every given opportunity, and arrived for his last fight in Abu Dhabi on a $780,000-a-week superyacht.

‘The Notorious’ is currently preparing for another big payday as he faces lightweight rival Dustin Poirier in a trilogy fight booked for July 10 at UFC 264 in front of a full house of fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The build-up to the bout has thus far been dominated by money, after Poirier accused McGregor of reneging on a promise to donate $500,000 to his charity ‘The Good Fight Foundation’.

The Irishman shot back by claiming that Poirier’s team had never sent specific details on where the money would end up. McGregor accused the American of “smearing” his name, even threatening to pull out of the fight.

Poirier later apologized, and the contest has now been made official, as the pair determine the better fighter with the scores level at 1-1 following Poirier’s brutal knockout win over McGregor in January.

McGregor’s disclosed purse for that fight was $5 million – or, if you prefer, just over double the price of a Dublin watering hole.