Star Wars icon Liam Neeson is nothing if not outspoken, but as one of Ireland's most famous and iconic actors, you may be surprised to hear the Taken star take a shot at one of the country's most famous and notorious athletes!
Conor McGregor is a legend in the world of UFC, but also someone who has frequently made headlines for his antics outside the octagon. He's found himself surrounded by controversy on several occasions, and that could be why Neeson has nothing good to say about the first MMA fighter to hold UFC Championships in two weight classes simultaneously.
Oh, and he's not keen on UFC in general either.
"UFC I can’t stand," Neeson says in the video below (via TheRingReport.com). "That to me is like a bar fight. I know the practitioners are like, 'Mo, you're wrong - the months of training we do...' Why don’t you just grab a beer bottle and hit the other guy over the head? That’s the next stage of the UFC. I hate it."
The actor added, "That little leprechaun Conor McGregor, he gives Ireland a bad name. I know he’s fit, and I admire him for that. But I can’t take it."
That's fighting talk, and probably means we can forget about ever seeing Neeson and McGregor share the screen. Recently the UFC fighter has started lending his talents to Hollywood, with a remake of the action movie Road House among his first projects alongside co-star Jake Gyllenhaal and filmmaker Doug Liman.
As for Neeson, while he's dismissed the notion of returning to the Star Wars and Batman franchises, The Taken star has his own fair share of action projects on the horizon, including a reboot of The Naked Gun. We'll also see him in Retribution and In the Land of Saints and Sinners.
Watch the full Q&A with the actor in the player below.