Conor McGregor’s coach puts Reebok on blast for UFC Ireland Map shirt

Just a few months following the initial release of the UFC uniform kit, which included unfortunately misspelled names like "Giblert Melendez,' Reebok has once…

By: Karim Zidan | 8 years ago
Conor McGregor’s coach puts Reebok on blast for UFC Ireland Map shirt
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Just a few months following the initial release of the UFC uniform kit, which included unfortunately misspelled names like “Giblert Melendez,’ Reebok has once again released another controversial t-shirt, this time with an indirect political statement that has enraged Irish fans.

Reebok released the ‘UFC Ireland Map Tee’ ahead of this weekend Fight Night show in Dublin. However, the multi-million dollar apparel company also opted to remove Northern Ireland from the picture entirely to leave the Republic of Ireland solely present on the t-shirt.

If that wasn’t enough, they added the caption: “Show your UFC territorial allegiance with this UFC Ireland map tee. You know in your soul the best fighters come out of Ireland, and you’re not afraid to scream your pride in the gym or at the Octagon.”

Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, who recently signed an exclusive deal with Reebok for his SBG gym, took to social media to show his displeasure with the “incredibly insensitive stupid divisive idea.” He even suggested that he would no longer work with Reebok unless this shirt is removed from stock.

Angry Irish fan comments can be found on r/MMA.

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About the author
Karim Zidan
Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.

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