When a Conor McGregor impersonator went to jail for selling drugs using the UFC star's name
Three years ago, a Conor McGregor lookalike made headlines, as his striking resemblance to the Irishman drew significant attention to his mugshot. As it turns out, the man in question, Mark Nye, was a drug trafficker found guilty of transporting illegal narcotics and two cell phones.
The incident occurred when he was pulled over by law enforcement in Guildford, Surrey, England. Nye introduced himself as 'Conor' in an attempt to play off of his resemblance to the Irishman. This weaponization of McGregor's likeness, however, ran deeper than anyone could have anticipated.
Upon searching his car, officers found hundreds of documents about 'McGregor Enterprise.' The situation only worsened for Nye once hundreds of incriminating text messages were found on his phone, which disclosed the true depth of his drug trafficking in England.
Due to the overwhelming evidence against him, Nye was forced to plead guilty with the intent to supply class-A drugs. He was therefore sentenced in Guildford Crown Court to three years in prison. Given McGregor's popularity as a global star, he has had his fair share of impersonators.
Fortunately, most of them have been within legal confines. Unfortunately, Nye's brush with the law was neither the first nor last time that McGregor's name has been linked to criminal activity. First, the Irishman has been charged with multiple driving offenses in Ireland.
Second, he has been linked to several physical assaults, with the most infamous consisting of him punching an older man at the Marble Arch Pub for refusing a free shot of his Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey.
Most damning, however, has been the amount of times McGregor has been connected to sexual assault. While he has never been formally charged, it has stained his reputation.
Mark Nye isn't the only time Conor McGregor has been linked to a drug-related crime
In 2022, Fox News disclosed that a Conor McGregor mural was fundamental to the capture of Ryan Palin, who much like Mark Nye, was a drug trafficker. The Irishman's mural, which was beside Palin's home, was identified on an encrypted phone that used EncroChat for anonymous drug trafficking communication.
Palin, who owned the phone, was arrested and revealed to have been part of a plot to supply 1,500 pounds of cocaine, 80 pounds of methamphetamine, and 30 pounds of heroin. For this, he was sentenced to 29 years in prison, a much longer sentence than the one Nye was handed.