Irish megastar Conor McGregor met another combat sports icon, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, during his trip to Saudi Arabia
Tyson and McGregor are both on hand in Riyadh this weekend to take part in the festivities at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh where ex-UFC titleholder Francis Ngannou will make his professional boxing debut against undefeated WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury.
It will be a star-studded evening as some of the biggest names in both boxing and MMA are expected to be in attendance. That includes former legendary knockout artist Mike Tyson who has been coaching ‘The Predator’ for his highly anticipated clash and is expected to be Ngannou’s corner.
Also in attendance will be former UFC two-division champ Conor McGregor, who was spotted standing alongside Tyson and other superstars, including Manny Pacquiao, in Riyadh courtesy of Jed I. Goodman on X.
Conor McGregor Reignites His Rivalry with Manny Pacquiao Ahead of their appearances in riyadh
Earlier this week, Conor McGregor confirmed that he had received and accepted an invite to attend the event. In multiple voice notes, the Irishman shared his analysis of Ngannou vs. Fury, but he also made sure to send a word of warning to Manny Pacquiao, who had also accepted an invite to attend the event.
McGregor and Pacquaio are not on the best of terms after ‘PacMan’ was ordered to pay $5.1 million to Paradigm Sports, the same management firm that represents McGregor. Pacquaio was found to be in breach of contract and was ordered to pay back a $3.3 million advance from Paradigm in addition to another $1.8 million in damages. The former eight-division world champion is also on the hook for Paradigm’s court costs which are said to be more than $2 million.
Conor McGregor has repeatedly taken digs at Pacquiao online in light of the ruling and has issued another threat to the Filipino boxing star ahead of his travels to Saudi Arabia.
“You only just signed the contract, are you crazy? Are you stupid, Manny? Are you guys stupid? I’ll kick you in the head, in the neck, the inside leg, and take you off your feet and drag you by your ankle across the stage,” McGregor said in a since-deleted voice note on X. “And what then?“
Wtf did Manny Pacquiao do to piss off Mcgregor this bad
pic.twitter.com/IIZjCTs07B
— Kenny Okoye
(@TruthfulUfcFan)
Pacquiao has since responded to McGregor’s remark, simply saying, “Oh. He’s not active anymore.”