Everything you need to know about Audie Attar, the man who manages Conor McGregor

Audie Attar is the founder of Paradigm Sports Management, the agency that manages former UFC double-champion Conor McGregor. Presently, the Iraqi-American entrepreneur leads the sports agency as its CEO.

But prior to flourishing as a sports manager, Audie Attar underwent a rough childhood in California. Born in Baghdad, Attar has often mentioned being racially abused post 9/11, due to his ethnicity. Attar pulled through and subsequently became a Division one linebacker at UCLA. But his stint at the university came to an end when he was involved in an off-campus fight, which was incited by attacks on his religion.

In 2009, Audie Attar established Paradigm Sports Management, primarily aimed at managing NFL players. The venture was catapulted after Attar decided to enter the MMA scene. Attar spotted Conor McGregor rising on the Dublin MMA circuit and offered to become the Irishman's manager. McGregor agreed to the proposition and the rest, as they say, is history.

Paradigm Sports' roster currently boasts some of the biggest names in combat sports, including Israel Adesanya, Manny Pacquiao, Michael Page (Bellator MMA), Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, and, of course, Conor McGregor.

Audie Attar's advice to up-and-coming entrepreneurs

In an interview with Brian J. Roberts, Audie Attar spoke about breaking stereotypes during his emergence as a sports manager. Contrary to traditional business practices, Attar chose to delve into multiple ventures.

"It was also a way for me to get involved in sectors and business that, traditionally, people would think that a sports agent or athlete shouldn't do. When I was in business school, I realized that I had, throughout my journey [up until that point], had these paradigm shifts. It's the way I approached my life, and I wanted to continue to shatter stereotypes every which way."

In January 2018, Audie Attar co-founded Eire Born Spirits along with Conor McGregor and Ken Austin. EBS is the parent company behind McGregor's Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey. According to a report by Whiskey Cast, the company was valued at more than $235 million in 2020.

Apart from the thriving whiskey brand, the manager-athlete duo also hold positions in August McGregor (Conor McGregor's clothing line), TIDL Sports, McGregor Fast (a fitness app), and Dystopia: Contest of Heroes (a mobile strategy game).

"You have to dare to dream," Attar says. "You have to be ready to fail a million before you succeed once. I would dare to dream for what people would laugh at or tell me that I couldn't do. If you have the discipline to go and work for it, anything is possible", said Audie Attar.