"Cow-Towing to murderous dictators won’t do it" - When Conor McGregor's praise of Vladimir Putin almost got him cancelled
Conor McGregor is no stranger to controversy, having been involved in many scandalous and illegal activities throughout his storied career. But an incident that took place in 2018 involving Vladimir Putin almost saw 'The Notorious' get canceled for good.
McGregor took to Twitter to declare Putin "one of the greatest leaders of out time" after he was invited to attend a football match at the FIFA World Cup, hosted by Russia in 2018.
Conor McGregor said this:
"Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark"
See the tweet below:
Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark… instagram.com/p/BlQwXEBAHlN/…
Putin has been accused of a slew of human rights violations, according to an article published in 2018 by the BBC. It seems that fans were less than pleased with McGregor's praise of the Russian president, and took to Twitter to voice their anger. See the tweets below:
"Just lost a fan. Cow-Towing to murderous dictators won’t do it for me."
@TheNotoriousMMA Just lost a fan. Cow-Towing to murderous dictators won’t do it for me.
"You may be my favorite fighter of all time but no,man, Putin is not a great leader. Unless you consider leading by fear and murder is considered great. Then yeah I guess he's great at murder"
@TheNotoriousMMA You may be my favorite fighter of all time but no,man, Putin is not a great leader. Unless you consider leading by fear and murder is considered great. Then yeah I guess he's great at murder.
"Ufff. Should do a bit of research on him, man. "If Adolf Hitler flew in today, they’d send a limousine anyway”"
@TheNotoriousMMA Ufff. Should do a bit of research on him, man.
“If Adolf Hitler flew in today, they’d send a limousine anyway”
"Putin is no great man... he is a thug and a criminal"
@TheNotoriousMMA Putin is no great man... he is a thug and a criminal.
@TheNotoriousMMA Just him getting inside the head of Khabib. The Russian himself didn't get invited, so now he's wondering why his rival gets invited but not him. Conor is a troll, don't you know this by now? He says shit just to get a rise out of people, it's all PPV buys #justbusiness
@TheNotoriousMMA You're my favorite fighter, but I can't get on the same page with you on Putin. He's an animal...
@TheNotoriousMMA @JackPosobiec Hey Conor, your an idiot, go read some current event stories about your new bud, he makes you look like a p@$$# for all the evil he has done and continues to do.
@TheNotoriousMMA You have no idea what you're talking about. #Putin is the opposite of great. His war crimes are outrageous, & your ignorance is grand. He's responsible for the deaths of thousands, & you call him great? You're either ignorant or give praise to his murderous ways #TreasonSummit
@TheNotoriousMMA @SandhuMMA He's a murderer you fooking dumbass.
@TheNotoriousMMA Praising Putin?.. Wow
Ariel Helwani believes Conor McGregor will be back in 2024
Conor McGregor last set foot inside the hallowed octagon at UFC 264 in July, 2021, where he broke his leg against Dustin Poirier. 'The Notorious' completed his rehabilitation on the injury towards the end of last year, and fans believed they would see his return in 2023.
He was announced as the coach for season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Michael Chandler, and until recently the pair were expected to face off in the octagon later this year.
McGregor's USADA-debacle has led to speculation that he may not return to the sport this year, or possibly at all, much to the dread of fans around the world.
However, prominent MMA journalist Ariel Helwani believes that Conor McGregor will make his return to the sport, but it may only be next year. During a recent interview with Seconds Out, he said this:
"I think we'll see him back... the big question is how he's gonna look. I don't know but I think we'll see him maybe next year, maybe for UFC 300. But I definitely think we'll see him back"
Watch the interview below from 7:30: