Liam Neeson criticises Conor McGregor: “He gives Ireland a bad name”
The Irish actor Liam Neeson, famed for roles in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Taken, has come out to say that his fellow countryman and UFC star Conor McGregor has given Ireland “a bad name”.
Speaking in an interview with Men’s Health, Neeson specifically named the UFC star, stating: “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”. Not a fan of the mixed-martial arts sport, the actor adds: “UFC I can’t stand. That to me is like a bar fight. I know the practitioners are like, ‘No, you’re wrong – the months of training we do’”.
Continuing, he sarcastically adds, “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”.
McGregor was ranked as the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2021, earning a reported $180 million. Despite stating on several occasions that he would like to retire, McGregor remains active in the sport, though hasn’t fought a professional flight since facing off against the UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Dustin Poirier in July 2021, losing the fight via technical knockout.
Meanwhile, Neeson outright said “no” to starring in a Star Wars spinoff, though warmly recalled his time working with Ewan McGregor on The Phantom Menace in 1999. I’ll tell you what we did the first day we had to take out lightsabers out,” the actor stated: “Ewan and I did this at the exact same time. We pulled out lightsabers out and went ‘dzhhhhhhewww.’ George Lucas said, ‘You don’t have to do the sound effects; we put those in later.’ We felt like twats”.
Still, despite his reluctance to return to Star Wars, he still provided a cameo in Obi-Wan Kenobi and lent his voice to the animated series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi.
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