Conor McGregor was given warning when putting arm round Vladimir Putin during meeting

You may best know Conor McGregor from his MMA fighting and social media outbursts, but whatever it is, the Irishman has never shied away from controversy.

While the 36-year-old's combat sports career has slowed down in recent years, it looks like his focus may be turning to something very different: politics.

He has been very active on social media recently, speaking about his intention to run for president of Ireland at the country's next election.

McGregor claimed that he would put the EU Migration pact to referendum, as he said he greatly opposed the notion, but insisted that it's up to the people of Ireland.

He added: "This is the future of Ireland with me as President."

"Vote McGregor and have your voice heard!"

The former UFC champion recently made a visit to the White House, meeting with President Trump and highlighting his intention to 'Make Ireland Great Again'.

McGregor is pushing for immigration reform in his homeland, and even threatened to use his relationship with Trump to get them to bend his way.

It's yet another chapter of controversy during the sportsman's time in the limelight, which has never seen a dull moment.

Rewind back to 2018, and the MMA fighter made headlines for something he did when speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The same year where the Irishman lost by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov, the fighter was invited to Moscow for the 2018 World Cup Final between France and Croatia by Putin, with one of their interactions caught on camera.

McGregor can be seen talking and joking with the Russian leader, with his bodyguards listening closely, before stopping to allow the pair to pose for a photo.

The fighter was told not to put his arm around Putin (ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

While the Irish fighter put his arm around Putin at first, one of his bodyguards quickly intervened and apparently signalled for him to refrain from touching the leader.

He quickly obliged, putting his arm down and holding a pose next to the Russian president, though not before a picture of two was snapped while his arm was up.

McGregor then described Putin as 'one of the greatest leaders of our time', garnering more negative attention after being criticised for accepting the invitation to the biggest game in football in the first place.

Even though the moment took place almost seven years ago, the clip has resurfaced and people online have shared what they think of the uncomfortable interaction.

Taking to Reddit, some users commented on the video of the interaction, with one writing: "That was…awkward. I pretty much anti-Stan Conor, but that even made me feel a little bad for him. For someone so full of himself, to know his place as the inferior human was just weird to witness."

Another said: "Putin was all for it, dude had his hand on Conor's shoulder too, haha."

On YouTube, a different user agreed, saying: "I honestly like how putin handled the situation by putting his arm on Conor and making the situation a lot less awkward."

A fourth joked: "Putin doesn’t mind but the guard is jealous," with a laughing emoji.

This comes as the woman who accused McGregor of raping her won her civil case against him in November 2024, meaning he will be forced to pay her £200,000 in damages.