You’ve probably seen the highlights. The swagger. The mink coats. The left hand that seemed to turn off world-class athletes like a light switch. But when the Conor McGregor Notorious movie dropped in 2017, it wasn't just another hype reel for the UFC. Honestly, it was a bit of a gamble.
At the time, McGregor was the sun that the entire MMA universe orbited around. He was the "Champ Champ." He was the guy who convinced everyone that a plumber from Crumlin could box the greatest defensive fighter in history, Floyd Mayweather. But the documentary, directed by Gavin Fitzgerald, tries to peel back the gold-plated layers. It’s a weird, wild, and sometimes uncomfortably close look at a man who was essentially manifesting his own myth in real-time.
Behind the Velvet Rope of the Conor McGregor Notorious Movie
Most sports documentaries are polished afterthoughts. They’re made years later when the dust has settled and the gray hair has set in. Not this one. Fitzgerald and producer Jamie D’Alton started filming Conor back when he was living in his parents' spare room.
Think about that.
They had cameras rolling when he was collecting social welfare checks. They were there before the "Gorilla" chest piece and before the million-dollar watches. The Conor McGregor Notorious movie works because it captures a transition that shouldn't be possible. One minute he’s lamenting that his gym can’t afford proper equipment, and the next he’s meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Las Vegas dressing room.
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It’s jarring.
The film covers a four-year window, roughly from 2013 to 2017. You see the rise through the featherweight division, the 13-second demolition of Jose Aldo, and the ego-shattering loss to Nate Diaz. That’s actually the most human part of the whole film. Seeing a man who built an entire brand on being "untouchable" sitting on a training table, covered in his own blood, wondering what just happened.
Why the raw footage hits different
A lot of fans expected a 90-minute commercial. And look, it definitely skews in Conor's favor—he’s an executive producer, after all. But there’s a raw energy in the early Dublin footage that feels almost like a home movie.
- The Dee Devlin Factor: You see why she’s considered his "rock." She’s not just a passenger; she’s there through the weight cuts and the poverty.
- The Physical Toll: There is a scene where McGregor is taking repeated body shots just to toughen up his midsection. It’s brutal. It reminds you that the "Notorious" persona is built on a foundation of extreme physical suffering.
- The Silence: Some of the best moments aren't the press conferences. They’re the quiet drives in the back of SUVs where the bravado slips for just a second.
What the critics (and the fans) actually thought
If you’re looking for a deep psychological teardown of McGregor’s controversies, you won't find it here. The movie stays away from the darker headlines that would eventually follow him. It’s a "rags-to-riches" story, plain and simple.
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Critics at places like The Guardian called it "one-sided," while IGN described it as a "high-budget UFC Embedded episode." They’re not entirely wrong. If you aren't already a fan of combat sports, the 90-minute runtime might feel like a whirlwind of shouting and slow-motion knockouts. But for the "Mac Life" diehards, it provided something YouTube couldn't: a cohesive narrative of a historic peak.
The box office reflected that niche but intense interest. It pulled in about $112,955 in its opening weekend in the U.S. across a limited 72-theater release, but it absolutely crushed in Ireland and the UK. People wanted to see their homegrown hero on the big screen. It was a cultural moment.
Is it still worth a watch today?
We live in a different era of McGregor now. In 2026, the aura of invincibility is long gone. Watching the Conor McGregor Notorious movie now is almost like looking at a time capsule of a version of Conor that doesn't exist anymore. It’s the "Hungry Conor." The guy who wanted to take over the world, rather than the guy who already bought it.
The film ends just as the Mayweather fight looms. It skips the actual boxing match, choosing instead to focus on the preparation. It leaves you at the summit.
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Basically, it’s a study in belief. Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny the sheer force of will it took to go from a spare bedroom in Dublin to a private jet in Las Vegas in under five years. The movie doesn't explain why he’s like that, but it shows you the cost of the journey.
How to experience the Notorious legacy now
If you’re planning to dive into the McGregor rabbit hole, don’t just stop at the documentary. The landscape of sports media has changed since 2017.
- Watch the movie first: It sets the baseline for the "myth." You can find it on most major VOD platforms like Apple TV or Amazon.
- Compare it to "McGregor Forever": The later Netflix series serves as a spiritual sequel. It covers the leg break and the later stages of his career. Seeing the two back-to-back shows the evolution—or some might say the devolution—of a superstar.
- Analyze the Coach/Fighter dynamic: Pay close attention to John Kavanagh in the film. The relationship between the stoic coach and the volatile fighter is the real backbone of the story.
The Conor McGregor Notorious movie remains the definitive document of the "rise." It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s unapologetically Irish. It won’t give you the full truth of the man, but it gives you exactly what he wanted the world to see: a legend in the making.
To get the most out of the film, look past the suits and the trash talk. Watch the way he looks at his teammates after a win. Watch the way he handles the silence after a loss. That’s where the real story lives.
Next Steps:
- Stream the documentary on Apple TV or Amazon Prime to see the early Dublin footage for yourself.
- Follow up by watching the UFC 189 and UFC 194 "Embedded" series on YouTube to see the raw, unedited lead-up to his biggest title fights.
- Compare the 2017 film to his recent social media presence to see how the "Notorious" brand has shifted from underdog to mogul.