UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor may not have a fight lined up inside the Octagon just yet, but he did make an appearance at yesterday’s UFC Gdansk event to support teammate Artem Lobov.
McGregor was cageside throughout the entire fight, shouting advice “The Russian Hammer’s” way so loudly to the point that referee Marc Goddard had to pause the action and address the Irishman by asking him “What’s gotten into you, Conor? Be professional.”
“The Notorious One’s” fellow SBG Ireland teammate was going toe-to-toe with Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili, who would go on to defeat Lobov via unanimous decision. It was such a devastating loss for the Russian that he even took to Twitter to contemplate retirement after the event’s conclusion.
On their way back to the locker room area, video surfaced of McGregor consoling Lobov as they walked together, and it appeared as though the audio may have picked up McGregor making a few homophobic slurs towards Fili.
You be the judge:
Conor and Artem backstage, choice words from McGregor.. #UFCGdansk pic.twitter.com/5P17nBETHH
— McDuckMMA (@McDuckMMA) October 21, 2017
Oh Nooooo!!! Conor’s a Bad Boy??? #UFCGadnsk#Notoriouspic.twitter.com/VBUqPzNkLi
— ?Curtis? (@fuufnf) October 21, 2017
While it may sound like McGregor called Fili a f****t in the video and the UFC subsequently deleted all of their videos containing the supposed slur, McGregor has actually been a proponent for same-sex marriage in his native Ireland.
He was a vocal supporter of it being passed in his home country two years ago, voicing that support with the following quote (via MMA Fighting):
“We all deserve equal rights. We’re all human here at the end of the day — regardless of color, gender, sexuality. Any of that. It’s all meaningless. We all deserve the same rights. It just feels right to me.”
His Straight Blast Gym (SBG) also tweeted out support for the measure:
Myself and my team are urging everyone to please VOTE YES TO EQUALITY! Every human deserves equal rights #WeAreAllOne pic.twitter.com/PbyTXNHzKQ
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 19, 2015
But regardless of McGregor’s past support, if he did indeed use the slur, it’s not the best look for the UFC considering former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum used the slur several times in a public scuffle with interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at a UFC 216 media event this month. McGregor has also been accused of being less than sensitive in the past, gaining criticism for supposedly being racist towards Floyd Mayweather in the over-the-top promotional world tour for their boxing match in August.
During the promotional events, McGregor told Mayweather to “dance for me, boy,” and said he was black “from the bellybutton down,” while gyrating his hips for his “beautiful black fans.” While there will always be a certain amount of off-color remarks from MMA’s most infamous trash talker, some believe his smack talk is beginning to blur the lines of pure disrespect, while others think those offended by it are being too sensitive.
What do you think?
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