President Donald Trump is an avid supporter of the UFC, and his fandom even stretches as far meetings with the heads of states from other nations.
On Wednesday, Trump met with Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin as part of his annual engagements surrounding St. Patrick’s Day. While they spoke a lot about trade agreements and tariffs that have taken center stage since Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January, it seems the UFC is never far from the president’s mind.
Speaking with reporters, Trump actually took time to praise former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor along with his general admiration for all fighters coming from Ireland.
“I do happen to like your fighter, he’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen,” Trump said. “Conor’s great, right? Talking about Conor ,but you have a lot of great Irish fighters actually. Great fighters.
Of course, McGregor has been a longtime supporter of Trump and even attended his inauguration earlier this year in Washington D.C. After arriving in the United States for the inauguration, McGregor celebrated by saying he was going to watch Trump “become double champ” after winning his initial election in 2016 and then winning again in 2024.
While Trump praised McGregor on Wednesday, he’s also spoken out in support of one of the Irish superstar’s biggest rivals.
In the leadup to the election this past November, Trump called Khabib Nurmagomedov his “favorite fighter” while discussing his plans to intervene in the ongoing conflict between the Ukraine and Russia.
That didn’t sit too well with McGregor, who called the pick “abysmal” but obviously he didn’t hold onto any grudges after getting his invitation to attend the inauguration where he was joined by UFC CEO Dana White, UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones and combat sports enthusiasts like Jake Paul and Logan Paul.
“I don’t know what that is but Ireland’s always had a lot of really good fighters. You know why? Because they’re tough people. They’re smart people and they’re passionate people.”
