Why did Machine Gun Kelly and Conor McGregor fight at the VMAs?
The 2021 VMAs red carpet clash between Machine Gun Kelly and Conor McGregor still gets referenced whenever the awards season circuit rolls around. The rapper turned rockstar and the MMA fighter exchanged words, a drink flew, and security stepped in before the night moved on. Years later, new details have filled in some of the blanks while the surrounding personal stories have shifted in ways no one on that carpet could have predicted.
The brawl that took place
Footage that circulated the same night showed McGregor approaching the area where Machine Gun Kelly stood with Megan Fox. McGregor later said Kelly responded with the line “we don’t f— with you.” Moments after the comment, McGregor threw liquid and lunged forward. Security quickly separated the two men while voices rose and the situation stayed contained. In 2021 McGregor told Entertainment Tonight he did not know Kelly and only fought “real fighters,” yet he also referenced Fox by name, revealing he knew more than the initial denial suggested. The 2026 account from McGregor added the specific trigger that had been missing from earlier reports.
McGregor’s 2026 explanation of the spark
On The Ariel Helwani Show in June 2026, McGregor gave his first detailed public version of the exchange. He said the comment “we don’t f— with you” came after he greeted Fox and that he viewed it as direct disrespect. He compared the moment to another recent perceived slight involving Terence Crawford. The explanation clarified the sequence without reigniting any active conflict and gave fans the missing piece they had speculated about for five years.
The aftermath
Kelly and Travis Barker still took the stage that night to perform “Papercuts,” complete with the guitar smash that became one of the show’s talking points. Fox and Kourtney Kardashian introduced the pair as their “future baby daddies,” a line that drew immediate online reaction. The performance itself went off without further incident even though the earlier red-carpet moment remained the dominant off-stage story.
MGK and Megan Fox relationship timeline since the VMAs
The couple announced their engagement in early 2022. In March 2025 they welcomed daughter Saga Blade Fox-Baker after an unplanned pregnancy that both described as a happy surprise. By late 2024 the relationship had already ended, closing the chapter that began with the 2021 VMAs spotlight. The earlier rumors about weddings and immediate pregnancies were eventually replaced by these concrete milestones and their later split.
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker family update
Kardashian and Barker welcomed son Rocky Thirteen in November 2023. The birth came after an earlier miscarriage that the couple had spoken about publicly. Their discussion on Keeping Up with the Kardashians about wanting another child aligned with the arrival of Rocky, giving fans the update that had been missing from 2021 coverage.
What happens next?
No police reports were filed after the red-carpet exchange. The security team handled the moment on site and the evening continued without further physical escalation. Kelly never released a diss track aimed at McGregor, and no sustained public feud developed between the two men.
No further escalation or diss track
McGregor referenced the incident again in 2026 without ongoing hostility, treating it as a closed moment rather than an active rivalry. The absence of any musical response or continued back-and-forth matched the pattern seen in other brief celebrity encounters that never turned into long-running storylines. The VMAs moment remains a single-chapter footnote rather than an ongoing saga.
