7 Years 57 days Sober - Mac is Back7 Years 57 days Sober - Mac is Back
I'm Quitting Alcohol
David Boyle reflects on Conor McGregor’s comeback and uses it as a stark comparison to his own fears about returning to alcohol. He talks about ageing, lost confidence and how relapse fantasies look grim against the reality of his current life.
8:24•11 Jul 2026
Mac Is Back: Boyle Weighs Comebacks, Chaos and Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Heavy drinking and drugs can strip away real self-confidence and replace it with delusion.
- Trying to recreate past chaos often feels sad and forced once age and responsibilities set in.
- Years of partying leave lasting damage that affects timing, wit and presence.
- Relapse fantasies can quickly slide into dangerous scenarios, both physically and emotionally.
- Nostalgia for wild times needs to be balanced against the reality of current life and priorities.
“What happens is when you get heavy into drinking and drugs and all that sort of stuff you lose that self-confidence you have in yourself, you replace it with delusion.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This short, punchy episode of "I'm Quitting Alcohol" sees comedian David Boyle using Conor McGregor's long-awaited return to fighting as a mirror for his own fears about relapse. Boyle talks about watching McGregor's interviews, press conferences, weigh-ins and face-offs, and noticing a familiar wobble. The sharp, fearless energy McGregor once had now looks strained, and Boyle maps that onto the version of himself who might go back to drinking.
As he puts it, the years of "partying and cocaine and ayahuasca and drinking and owning a bar and fucking just being a loose individual" leave marks that you can't quite shake.
He's brutally honest about how a comeback bender might look: trying to hype up "the king is back", rallying the boys for a big night, but everyone quietly wondering, "should Boyle really be doing this?" The fun, chaotic spark has been replaced by something sadder and more desperate, tangled up with age, families, and worries like "tariffs and shit". A big theme here is how heavy drinking and drugs slowly erode genuine self-confidence and replace it with delusion.
Boyle contrasts McGregor's current vibe with the fearless fighter he once was, and with the rare exception of someone like Jon Jones, who he calls "the most dangerous human being that has ever walked the planet". McGregor, in Boyle's eyes, is now "trying to remember what he used to be like" but can't reach that old spark.
He even imagines his own relapse night ending with 30 shots, a fight in a bar, his head cracked on the dance floor, and an ambulance called as he's "conscious but convulsing". It's dark, funny, and sharply self-aware, showing how easily nostalgia for old chaos can slip into real danger. If you're curious about the messy, honest fears that haunt long-term sobriety, this episode gives you plenty to think about and maybe a reason to stay on the wagon.
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