Conor McGregor said 'there's no place' for racism in the world amid raging US protests — despite his long history of racially insensitive comments

• Conor McGregor said on Instagram that "there's no place" for racism.
• The Irish UFC striker made the comments at a time when there is great civil unrest in the United States, as protesters demonstrate in many American cities after George Floyd, a black man, died in police custody.
• Even though McGregor said "we must listen and learn from those in pain," he has a checkered history of making prejudiced comments regarding an opponent's race, nationality, or religion.
• The controversy was so bad his father was once forced to say his son "is unequivocally not racist."

Conor McGregor appeared to support the Black Lives Matter movement by saying on Instagram that "there's no place" for racism "in this world."

The former two-weight UFC champion's comments follow more than a week of civil unrest in the United States, as people have taken to the streets of major cities every day to protest the killing of George Floyd, a black man, who died in police custody on May 25.

A video that sparked outrage across the US showed Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, kneeling on the handcuffed 46-year-old Floyd's neck for over eight minutes.

"There is no place for injustice, racism and intolerance in this world! We must really listen and learn from those in pain," McGregor said.

"Be the example of the change you want to see!! Praying, hoping, and believing everyday that this is all a part of the Lord's plan to lead us to a better and brighter future ahead. God speed everyone."

McGregor has a history of making many prejudiced comments

McGregor, though, has been criticized for the way he has used an opponent's race, nationality, or religion as promotional material to help sell a mixed martial arts fight in the past.

Often, McGregor has used his opponents' backgrounds to belittle them, and has been accused of racism on several occasions.

Here are a handful of examples:

1. In 2013 he deleted a tweet in which he told a German opponent, Denis Siver, to "kiss them feet, Nazi."
2. Two years later, he told a Brazilian fighter, José Aldo, that if times were different he'd invade "his favela on horseback, and kill anyone who wasn't fit to work."
3. In 2017 McGregor told Floyd Mayweather, a black American, to "dance for me, boy." The activist Shaun King said this showed McGregor was a "bigot."
4. Days later, the Irishman reignited a racism feud by leaning into a racial trope and telling the media he can't be racist because he's "half black from the bellybutton down."
5. McGregor then said: "Here's a little present for my beautiful black female fans," while thrusting his groin into the air.
6. In 2018 he called Khabib Nurmagomedov a "smelly Dagestani rat."
7. That same year he sparked another "racism controversy" when he said Mayweather and Tenshin Nasukawa's media event looked like "something out of rush hour 5."
8. McGregor called Nurmagomedov's wife a "towel" in 2019, which many considered an Islamophobic insult, in a photo tweet he later deleted.
9. He also posted a photograph of Nurmagomedov's wedding day, which showed the Russian alongside his wife. McGregor ridiculed the bride's attire by saying "it's a goat under the towel." He deleted that tweet.

Despite these comments, Tony McGregor, Conor's father, defended his son during a media interview on "The MMA Hour" in 2017. "Conor McGregor is unequivocally not racist," he said.

McGregor, 31, has fought once in 2020, defeating Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in Las Vegas at the start of the year.

He has apparently been texting the UFC president Dana White to say that he wants to compete on "Fight Island," a mystery private island the UFC has reportedly leased to circumvent coronavirus-imposed travel restrictions so it can host international events.

It is unclear who McGregor would fight, though he did appear keen to compete against Anderson Silva, who would be the tallest, biggest, and heaviest opponent he's ever fought.

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