Conor McGregor has no shortage of enemies, both inside and outside of the octagon, and the controversial MMA fighter recently found that he had a new one in the form of actor Liam Neeson. During an interview with Men’s Health, the famously outspoken Neeson shared his completely unfiltered thoughts on the UFC as an institution, and his fellow Irishman McGregor. His words were choice and, it is fair to say, not very flattering.
“UFC I can’t stand,” he said. “That to me is like a bar fight. I know the practitioners are like, ‘no, you’re wrong—the months of training we do…’ Why don’t you just grab a beer bottle and hit the other guy over the head? That’s the next stage of the UFC. I hate it… That little leprechaun Conor McGregor, he gives Ireland a bad name. I know he’s fit, and I admire him for that. But I can’t take it.”
Neeson was unclear as to whether he believes McGregor “gives Ireland a bad name” due to his involvement in the UFC, or because of his track record for aggressive behavior in other areas of his life. He attacked a UFC bus in a fit of temper in 2018, injuring two of his fellow fighters in the process. McGregor attended mandatory anger management as a part of his plea deal and promised to learn his lesson in a public apology, then got arrested the following year for smashing a fan’s phone. Once again, he said in a statement that he needed to work on his patience. In 2021, he was accused of starting a fight with Machine Gun Kelly on the red carpet at the VMAs.
It seems that McGregor has definitely seen Neeson’s interview, and in a move that may come as surprising to those who have followed his career and various legal struggles, he appears to have taken the high road. In a tweet (or more accurately, subtweet) that he posted on Friday 3rd February, McGregor simply wrote: “Irish proud – always,” accompanied by an emoji of the Irish flag.
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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