Recently released on Netflix, Conor McGregor: Notorious is the ‘fly on the wall’ style biographical film about the life of the Notorious Irishman, following his career from fighting in small shows to taking on Nate Diaz in the UFC. Featuring training footage, behind the scenes locker room footage and clips from his fights and interviews it charts the remarkable rise of the most well known UFC fighter to date.
To be honest even though I’m a Conor McGregor fan but when the UFC wonder boy announced he was releasing a movie about his life I have to admit I was a little skeptical; it felt like the king of self promotion was going too far in his quest for the limelight. But having watched the documentary I found myself surprised by it – what could easily have been all about being flashy and showing off was in fact an insight that showed his journey from a new angle.
Almost everyone knows by now that he grew up in a rough area of Dublin, was claiming welfare cheques whilst training and fighting in the lower level organisations and within a few years was making millions in the UFC and becoming the globally recognised face of the sport. What surprised me though was the little details that occured behind the scenes; from having to lend his training partners kit so they could train, to his apology to his team after the Diaz loss. There’s definitely an element of self promotion going on throughout, but I was still surprised by the sense of honesty I got from the show.
Die hard McGregor fans will love it, die hard McGregor haters definitely won’t, but it you want to see a bit more of the ‘real’ side of the champ champ then check it out.
“Irish debt bureau, tell ‘em to join the queue”
– Conor on receiving a letter about debt repayments whilst living in his mum’s spare room
Our Rating
4 stars out of 5