Conor McGregor Posed with Vladimir Putin, and People Are Not Happy About It

From Men's Health

Most of the world stopped this weekend to watch France beat Croatia in the World Cup final. But the notorious MMA champ Conor McGregor still found a way to stir up controversy when he watched the match as a guest of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

McGregor was given the opportunity to live out every soccer fan's dream: viewing the game in person from what appear to be prime seats. The fighter's kind words about his host, however, have sparked controversy.

"This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him," McGregor wrote in the caption of his chummy Instagram photo with the Russian leader. "Today was an honor for me Mr. Putin."

As a reminder, the Russian president has been accused of interfering with the 2016 U.S. election; he has also been accused of overseeing a wide range of human rights violations, including crackdowns on dissenters, journalists, and LGBT people. So reactions to McGregor's endorsement of Putin were not kind.

After the fallout from his UFC 223 bus-attacking antics and half-assed apology, McGregor was already on thin ice with fans. But buddying up with an accused human rights violator and outright endorsing him might be another step too far.

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