Conor McGregor is as polarising as it gets – this is how we strike the right tone in our sports coverage

Editor’s Letter: Covering the UFC star’s sporting achievements while acknowledging his notorious life outside the Octagon is a delicate balancing act

The returning Conor McGregor won his UFC bout against Donald Cerrone in under a minute at the weekend (Reuters)

At the weekend Conor McGregor made his long-awaited return to the UFC by defeating Donald Cerrone in just 40 seconds in Las Vegas. Unless this is your first time on the internet or you happen to live under a rock, you are most likely already aware of this fact.

You are also most likely aware that McGregor’s list of legal indiscretions is almost as long as his professional mixed-martial arts record (22 wins, 4 losses) and far longer than his professional boxing one (0-1). In 2018 he was charged with three counts of assault and one of criminal mischief for throwing a sack trolley through a Brooklyn bus window. Last March he was charged with strong-armed robbery for taking a fan’s phone and smashing it on the ground. And in November he pleaded guilty to assault after he was recorded punching an elderly man in a Dublin pub and was fined €1,000 (£850).

The senior citizen’s crime? Rejecting a glass of McGregor’s own brand of whiskey.