- Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly criticized
Conor McGregor for meetingVladimir Putin four years ago. - Former
UFC champ McGregor embraced and praised the Russian president at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
During a 45-minute meeting in Kyiv over the weekend, Irish politicians Sean O Fearghail and Mark Daly met with President Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine's bid to join the European Union and Irish support for Ukraine in its war against Russian invasion.
Daly told The Independent that the Ukraine president felt McGregor, who he was once a fan of, wasn't being "supportive of Ukraine" due to his past praise of Putin.
In 2018, McGregor was seen on video shaking hands and embracing Putin at the World Cup final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
In an Instagram post that appears to have since been removed from the platform, McGregor said he was invited to the event as a guest of Putin's. In the post's caption, McGregor wrote of Putin: "This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him."
The Independent reported that McGregor's spokesperson said the photo was "years ago" and that the fighter "takes photographs with event hosts."
Regarding Zelenskyy's comment, Daly told the Independent:"This man is fighting a war but he knows what's going on all around the world, including in Ireland."
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 and, in the months since, more than 12 million people have been displaced as multiple cities in that country have been shelled. More than 3,000 civilians have been killed there, according to the UN.
McGregor, meanwhile, continues to recover from a broken leg he suffered in the first round of a second consecutive loss at UFC 264 to Dustin Poirier in 2021.
The 33-year-old was rumored to headline International Fight Week in July, but his comeback has been pushed until later this year, according to UFC boss Dana White.