It’s been a Notorious year for the UFC, with mink wearing, title stealing, PPV record breaking superstar Conor McGregor making headlines globally.
To celebrate a fantastic 2016, MMA Plus‘ Andreas Georgiou and Stuart Rodger have collated the most comprehensive list of McGregor callouts from the past year.
Today we release 25 – 1, CLICK HERE TO READ PART 1, Top 50 Conor McGregor callouts of 2016: 50 – 26.
It’s been proven that everyone wants a slice of the champ champ’s pie, well here are the best, worst, funniest and down right cringy McGregor callouts of 2016.
25. Nieky Holzken
Former GLORY Welterweight champion Nieky Holzken; a man who went undefeated between 2012 and 2016, called for a fight with McGregor in 2016.
With so many names from boxing and MMA calling to fight the Mac, Holzken remains one of the very few relevant kickboxers who threw their name into the hat.
So how did Holzken call for the fight? Well he sent McGregor a photo of Chuck Norris with his face photoshopped onto the image. Kudos for coolness, Nieky.
If @FloydMayweather @TheNotoriousMMA is not gonna happen i want to fight conor and i dont ask 100 million #BOXING pic.twitter.com/jRj13xWnfb
— Nieky Holzken (@niekyholzken) 23 May 2016
24. Paddy Pimblett’s fans
Expect “The Baddy” to feature prominently later in the list, but first we look at the dedicated fans Paddy Pimblett who flew the flag for the CWFC Featherweight champion at a European football match.
Featured during the Liverpool FC vs. Sevilla Europa League Final, a banner reading “McGregor, you’re getting smoked lad” earned Pimblett coverage from a host of international sporting websites.
We must say, a 10 for effort and originality lads!
.@PatrickPimblett Uses Banner to Call Out Conor McGregor During Europe League Final https://t.co/qujQhFyQrz pic.twitter.com/NRVGEMOGuf
— FIGHTLAND (@FIGHTLAND) 19 May 2016
23. Roman Reigns
When McGregor made a comment that he considered the WWE roster ‘messed-up p–sies’ during the UFC 202 media call, many wrestlers jumped to the defence of their sport and colleagues.
This included the new face of World Wrestling Entertainment, superstar Roman Reigns who would not back down to the comments and welcomed the UFC star to step inside “my locker room.” The three-time WWE champion laid down the challenge in an interview with The Mai Morning Interview where he was only happy to throw some trash talk back in the Dubliner’s direction.
Roman comments on Conor McGregor. #RomanReigns pic.twitter.com/C6xOz20pEw
— Roman-Reigns.ℕet (@RomanReignsNet) August 11, 2016
22. Donald Cerrone
The UFC”s resident “Cowboy,” Donald Cerrone has never shied away when it’s come to bad mouthing the brash Irishman.
In the past, Cerrone has been involved in press conferences where McGregor’s ego has outshone an entire roster of UFC fighters. Despite acting like the ultimate tough man in front of the cameras, “Cowboy” insists it’s all just a facade.
“He hides from us,” Cerrone told Sports Illustrated. “When they line us all up they take Conor and put him in another room because he can’t be around other fighters because we don’t play that s***.
“(He is disliked) by all. By all. He’s not one of the fellas, he’s not a good dude.”
21. Chris Van Heerden
PROPAGANDA. claimed former IBO and IBF welterweight boxing champion Chris van Heerden, who took aim at McGregor following a botched clip which depicted the UFC fighter whippin’ his ass!
Sparring partner of McGregor took to Twitter following the release of the footage claiming the video was edited to make McG look good.
“When you have to Cut & Edit a video clip to putting pieces together to look Good It show me your Real Character #ISleepPeaceful #DoYou?”
The tweet has since been deleted.
God bless the advancement of video editing technology.
20. Fabricio Werdum
Prominent UFC Heavyweight Fabricio Werdum took particular offence at McGregor’s actions in 2016, especially after his treatment of fellow Brazilian Aldo.
We’ve seen other athletes take jabs at McG, calling him names from a phoney to a Leprechaun… Well, Werdum took a massive Brazilian sh-t on that banter and branded him, ‘a prostitute’.
In an interview with Combate, Werdum said: “Conor started out well, but then he went over the line, he started talking about Jesus. He just looks like a clown. In Brazil, we call them prostitutes, because they do anything for money. He’s a sellout. Of course it’s important to fight for money, but that guy will sell out for anything. I wouldn’t doubt he would sell out his ass. I wouldn’t do it.”
Oh and if that’s not enough, he also said he’d hit him with a chair. Sounds like someone’s been watching a bit too much WWE.
19. Asylum Clown
After speaking out about the “Scary Clown” craze which was sweeping the globe in 2016, McGregor would not have been expecting a response from the insane clown posse (we’re guessing that’s their name) and certainly not from within his home country after saying he would “slap the head off” any clown who approached him.
Enter scary motherf–ker, Asylum Clown. The “creepy clown” from The Asylum theme park in Bruff, Co. Limerick would challenge the Lightweight champ to enter his scare house if he dared in a video posted on YouTube.
“I dare you to come to The Asylum where we will frighten the s***e out of you,” said the clown. “Fifteen minutes with me and you’ll be wanting a nappy.”
18. Kurt Angle
Way to go Conor, not only did you piss off an entire generation of wrestlers and wrestling fans, but you inadvertently picked a fight with the man who won an Olympic gold medal with broken FREAKIN’ neck.
WWE Legend Kurt Angle was far from impressed with the Irish celebrity’s comments towards the WWE, and blasted back saying he would smash him in a ‘shoot’.
“I’d take him down, then ground and pound him until I knocked him out,” said Angle. “Conor is a polished fighter, but with my size, I would overpower him. It wouldn’t be that difficult for me.”
Basically McGregor, ‘You Suck’.
17. Paulie Malignaggi
Former two-weight World Champion Boxer Malignaggi offered to welcome Conor between the ropes on hearing about the former two weight CWFC champion obtaining his boxing license in California.
The New Yorker took to Twitter to post a video announcement saying he would “knock the beard off” the UFC champion and would “teach him a lesson” for showing disrespect to the sport of boxing.
Got to thinking about this @TheNotoriousMMA situation… I’m interested. Wanna get into #boxing, I’ll introduce you to how our side lives… pic.twitter.com/s79aYMZl5L
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) December 2, 2016
During a Q&A session shortly after, McGregor responded in now almost trademark fashion exclaiming, “Who the f**k is that guy!”
16. John Cena (and SNL crew)
The WWE superstar turned actor hosted his own edition of skit show Saturday Night Live at the end of 2016, and the outcome saw ‘Super Cena’ play part in a super funny McGregor spoof.
The skit was titled “Where’d Your Money Go,” and saw SNL host Cena as New England Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski, alongside Alex Moffat portraying ‘ignorant millionaire’ McGregor.
From mink coats to super charged sports cars, we know “Mystic Mac” loves to indulge the finer things in life, and this spoof really played that up.
15. Saenchai
Muay Thai legend and master of the cartwheel kick Saenchai may not be a name that is on the lips of MMA fans across the globe but he sure as hell would be a fun fight for McGregor.
The multiple time Muay Thai world champion who has had over 300 professional fights during his 14 year career sat down with popular outlet “That Muay Thai Guy” and didn’t mince his words when talking about his chances against the MMA star.
“Well, bring it on. I would win,” he said, laughing. “I would definitely win. If he were to stand and trade with me I wouldn’t have to do much. I would just teep and kick. I would just have to block or evade his punches. I would not worry about his kicking at all. My kicking is way better. If he and I were to fight McGregor couldn’t beat me.”
14. Max Holloway
Despite not pushing as aggressively as some to be matched up with the Mac, Holloway has taken his opportunities to drop himself into the conversation especially since winning the Interim-Featherweight title at UFC 206.
The Lightweight champion, angry at having the Featherweight title taken away by the UFC, had some choice words for Holloway and newly crowned champion Jose Aldo in an interview with RTE.
“The current champion (Jose Aldo) is a guy I KO’d in 13 seconds,” McGregor said. “The current interim champ (Max Holloway) is a guy I have destroyed as well. Officially I don’t care what nobody says. I am the two-weight world champion, and that’s that.”
When the Hawaiian fighter got wind of McGregor’s comments, he responded on Twitter that if they are to fight again, he should not expect it to go the same way as their previous meeting in 2013 where an injured McGregor took a decision win over Holloway.
Well looks like someone is finally speaking up. Forget pass tense ask yourself how we match up now.
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) December 18, 2016
13. Dana White
‘I’m not angry, I’m just disappointing’, the heart wrenching worlds we imagine UFC President Dana White texted McGregor after removing him from UFC 200.
Uncle Dana made the call to remove McGregor from his fight with Nate Diaz after the champ decided to fly out to Iceland and train instead of attending the pre-event presser.
When asked about the decision, White commented: “I didn’t prevent him from fighting at UFC 200. He knew what the deal was. I told him what the deal was. He opted to do that.”
Many suggested that Conor’s involvement in UFC 200 would help the promotion break their record – previously set at 1.5m for UFC 100 – and for White to remove him, and risk a serious amount of dollars, it reaffirmed the fact that McGregor wasn’t the one calling the shots.
It just goes to show, don’t p–s off the boss.
12. Piers Morgan
Following on from the last item on our list, Conor’s removal from UFC 200 incited the Irish fighter to announce his retirement from the sport of MMA.
His tweet, announcing his desire to retire, became the most retweeted status from a sportsperson in the history of the social sharing platform.
I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya’s later.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) 19 April 2016
With all the media attention surrounding McGregor, it was no surprise that other celebrities would try and capitalise on the hot topic. This is why captain bullsh-t himself, Piers Morgan decided to take a shot at the millionaire fighter.
Media standout Morgan tweeted a picture of McGregor following his loss to Nate Diaz, branding the Irish fighter as a ‘quiter’ and a ‘loser’.
You’re going to QUIT as a LOSER, @TheNotoriousMMA?
Seriously? pic.twitter.com/fwdg2EYKTn— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) 20 April 2016
Pot calling the kettle black, Piers. The British personality actually left news network CNN after six months back in 2014 following the cancellation of his talkshow due to record low ratings. Touche, Piers.
11. Seth Rollins
McGregor’s beef with the WWE has been well documented throughout this list, and former WWE Champion Seth Rollins was one of the names to fire back when speaking on ESPN.
“It sounds to me like Conor’s taking a page out of our game and trying to sell a couple [of] extra pay-per-views before Saturday,” said Rollins. “It’s just Conor being Conor, he’s doing his thing. And if he was serious about it, [the] guy’s, you know, 5-foot-6, 145 [pounds] or whatever he walks around at, I don’t know. But you can see me here, I’m a full size human being. So if he wants to come around and try to slap the face off me or whatever insult he’s got for the day, by all means come step in our ring and see what you got.”
He didn’t stop there as he later paid the Irishman a backhanded remark about his size by saying he “would make a fantastic Cruiserweight.”
Seth is reportedly 1.85m, to McGregor’s 1.75…
10. Paddy Pimblett
Earlier in our list you saw Paddy Pimblett’s fans send a message to McGregor, now let’s see what the brash Scouser had to say…
The 21-year-old has been branded as Liverpool’s answer to McGregor, a comparison the Cage Warrior fighter claimed ‘does his head in’.
Pimblett also said: “I’m not afraid of anyone, I’ll take them on, anywhere, anytime – McGregor included!”
To add further fuel to the fire, Irish bookmakers Paddy Power priced the odds at 5/1 for Pimblett to beat “The Notorious” one by 2020. And they said gambling was a fool’s game…
9. Eddie Alvarez
Immediately after defeating Rafael Dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight title in July, Eddie Alvarez would use the post-fight press conference to ask Dana White to give him “an easy fight like Conor McGregor” and accused the then-Featherweight champion of ducking more difficult opponents.
This set the wheels in motion for October’s UFC 205 in New York where McGregor would make the Philadelphia native eat those words, dismantling him over two rounds and becoming the first simultaneous two-weight UFC champion with a TKO victory.
Alvarez has labelled himself as “stupid” since the fight and hasn’t been heard talking any trash about Conor since.
Humbled.
8. Harry Kane
In March, Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane took to Twitter to issue a tongue-in-cheek challenge to McGregor shortly after his loss to Nate Diaz.
The England Football star would however insist on just one rule stipulation before agreeing to the fight.
I’m ready… Can I wear my mask though?! 😂 @TheNotoriousMMA @ufc @UFCEurope pic.twitter.com/oC8qGj5dtm
— Harry Kane (@HKane) March 16, 2016
UFC Europe were only happy to reply on McGregor’s behalf and hinted that Kane shouldn’t give up his day job of leading the line for Spurs.
@HKane @TheNotoriousMMA @ufc We admire your bravery Harry. Think the rules are as long as you don’t chat sh*t, you won’t get banged 😉
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) March 16, 2016
7. Amir Khan
Ole’ glass chin himself, Amir Khan has taken every opportunity to call out McGregor this year and stepped up the attempts to get the Irishman’s attention after his own defeat to Canelo Alvarez.
Co-owner of the Super Fight League MMA promotion in India, Khan has even expressed a willingness to meet McGregor in an MMA bout in an exclusive interview with SunSport.
“I love trying new sports out and maybe there could be something that happens in the future — if the deal is good enough, why not?” Said the former World Champion. “It would take me six to eight months to prepare. It would be a lot of hard training and I would focus on MMA. I can kick quite hard!”
Ever heard of James Toney, wobbly legs? Sit down.
6. Brock Lesnar
Don’t p–s off the Beast! Former NCAA, UFC and WWE champion Brock Lesnar dropped literal flames when questioned by podcaster Sam Roberts about McGregor’s comments towards Lesnar’s colleagues at the WWE.
What followed was a savage and brutal attack by the currently suspended UFC Heavyweight.
“I take sh-ts bigger than that kid,”. “Come on, guys. I know you guys all play f–king video games, and you live in this f–king false sense of reality and s–t. I’m 200 and f–cking 90 pounds, all right; this guy’s 145 pounds, and that’s if he’s lucky and gets up and f–king eats his Wheaties.”
insert Michael Jordan meme
5. Jose Aldo
Ever since suffering an embarrassing defeat to “The Notorious” by KO in 13 seconds, the Brazilian fighter has been desperate to get back into the cage with him and prove once and for all that lightning doesn’t strike twice. Aldo attempted using Twitter to try goad McGregor into coming back down to Featherweight for UFC 205.
Where you at @TheNotoriousMMA? Come back down and I’ll see you at UFC205 or drop the belt! #hitandrun
— Jose Aldo Junior (@josealdojunior) August 21, 2016
Despite once again being UFC Featherweight champion, the UFC veteran still desires his rematch with the Irishman and this week as again became embroiled in a war of words culminating in Aldo revealing in a Q&A with Ariel Helwani that he believes McGregor is running scared and will not return to face him again.
4. Jeremy Stephens
Fellow UFC Featherweight Jeremy Stephens tried to one-up McGregor during a UFC press conference, claiming he had more knockout power than the flash dressed Irishman.
Let’s just say, that sh-t got shut down. REAL QUICK.
3. Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz has pretty much talked about his nemesis McGregor on near enough every calendar day in 2016, or so it feels. After a big call out in 2015 after a win against Michael Johnson, Diaz got his wish replacing the injured RDA to face McGregor in March.
Since then, two high profile and exciting fights between the two have left the score tied at one fight each and the Stockton fighter is desperate to complete the trilogy calling out “The Notorious” continuously since the second fight at UFC 202 and even as recently as this week.
Diaz posted a video to Instagram aimed at McGregor and his team about how he feels the Irish fighter is ducking him and wants no part of another fight against him.
2. Khabib Nurmagomedov
In November, undefeated Lightweight monster Khabib Nurmagomedov immediately challenged champion McGregor after severely impressing in his fight at UFC 205.
The Russian demanded, “I want to fight your chicken as it’s the easiest fight in the Lightweight division.” Since then he has been relentless in taunting the Irishman further on Twitter and making clear he feels next in line to face “The Notorious.”
I am old school and try to do this man to man but the he don’t want anything to do with a real man. Time to move on @danawhite @seanshelby pic.twitter.com/ilAL4yM6O7
— khabib nurmagomedov (@TeamKhabib) November 23, 2016
With rumours that the UFC are aiming to put the fight on in Russia at some point in 2017, cue the Rocky IV soundtrack…
1. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Our number one pick for top Conor callout, none other than retired boxing megastar Floyd Mayweather Jr.
2016 saw massive rumours over a potential Floyd, Conor money fight, but innuendo it remained.
The 9-times world boxing champion – who remained undefeated during his 49-fight career – continued his long running verbal assault on the Mac.
In an interview with TMZ, Floyd loudly stated “never compare Conor McGregor to me, that’s a total disrespect.”
If that wasn’t enough, Floyd also released an Instagram video of McG tapping out to Diaz at UFC 196 and offered followers $10,000 for whoever could come up with the best caption and would later post another video calling the SBG Ireland trained fighter “Conor McTapout.”
Straight up, McSavage.
