Conor McGregor is all set to make his comeback to MMA. The former two-division champion will face Max Holloway in a thrilling rematch at UFC 329 on July 11, nearly 13 years after their first fight in 2013. It will also be the Irishman’s first fight in five years. With the fight night fast approaching, the 37-year-old has been on a media tour, promoting his upcoming fight. As such, he recently found himself on national TV on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The appearance, however, has generated more attention for the backlash against Fallon than for the fight itself.

During the show, Fallon recalled how the two went out for drinks after Conor McGregor‘s previous appearance on the show and suggested they should do that again. But the pair largely spoke about McGregor’s return to action. 

“Ready to rock. Five years out of the game, and I’m back. I’m excited to get back.” McGregor said. “You have to be calm, you have to be composed, you have to trust your training and your discipline. It’s where there’s no hiding in the Octagon. If you’ve maybe missed a training session or skipped a meal or ate something you shouldn’t have or lived a life not of discipline, it’s going to show in there. You’ll get caught.”

While the conversation was nothing out of the ordinary, the fact that the late-night host decided to have McGregor on a show as big as his irked many, and the subsequent backlash was palpable.

The outrage against Fallon centres around Conor McGregor’s role in the Nikita Hand case. McGregor’s return comes barely two years after he was found liable by an Irish High Court civil jury in the 2018 Nikita Hand assault case. He was ordered to pay Hand over €248,000 in damages in 2024. Despite the ruling, ‘The Mac’ maintained that he was innocent and also decided to appeal the decision, but lost it in July 2025 at the Court of Appeal.

After being found liable in the Hand case, McGregor acknowledged his personal failings in a public statement but continued to deny the allegations. Several similar allegations were made against McGregor over the years, though none resulted in criminal or civil charges. When it comes to the UFC’s view of McGregor’s legal trouble, the UFC has largely tried to avoid commenting on it. 

In December 2024, UFC CEO Dana White was asked about his take on McGregor’s situation, but he swiftly avoided providing any view on the matter. But fans didn’t shy away from expressing exactly how they felt about McGregor’s appearance on ‘The Tonight Show,’ and Jimmy Fallon quickly became the target of the anger. 

Jimmy Fallon might be regretting inviting Conor McGregor

One user outright attacked Fallon for having McGregor on his show. “Jimmy Fallon is an actual stupid person. You can’t hold that man accountable for this s–t because he literally does not understand what is wrong. The man is dumb. That is the ‘appeal’ of him. Just a mouth to say stuff the network tells him to. A real-boy Max Headroom,” the user wrote. This isn’t the first time Fallon has had a polarizing figure on his show.

In 2016, a few months before the election, the late-night host had Donald Trump on his show, where he playfully tousled Trump’s hair in a lighthearted segment. In the subsequent years, Jimmy Fallon has expressed regret over the show and the segment. Fallon is also often criticized for his over-the-top laughter, frequent character-breaking, and tendency to give excessive praise to every guest, making them look good.

Another fan expressed his disappointment with the decision. “Really stunned (and very disappointed) that @jimmyfallon agreed to this,” the fan posted. Besides being found liable in the 2018 Nikita Hand case, McGregor has become a polarizing figure due to his brashness and lack of boundaries when it comes to trash talk and insults.

Someone else felt the same way. The user commented, “Damn, @jimmyfallon @FallonTonight, shame on you for inviting this criminal!!” If the Hand case wasn’t enough, McGregor was also once arrested for punching an elderly man in a Dublin pub after the man refused a drink from him.

The next fan also criticized Fallon. “@jimmyfallon is a b—h. He is fake AF. He’ll laugh and giggle, and anyone on his show, regardless of how s—ty of a person the guest is. Fallon is a despicable human being with no spine,” the fan wrote.

Meanwhile, this user was unhappy that McGregor was trying to get into the spotlight. “It’s pathetic and disgraceful that he is trying to get back in the public eye. This dude belongs in prison,” the user claimed. McGregor’s appearance on the show is largely an attempt to promote his return at UFC 329 next month.

Whether the backlash affects how Fallon books future controversial guests remains to be seen, but the reaction underscores how polarizing McGregor’s comeback narrative has become.