Conor McGregor is speaking out.
In a fiery public service announcement video issued Tuesday, the former UFC two-division champion spoke on the global coronavirus pandemic.
Using fight analogies along the way, McGregor acknowledged the large task at hand and called for unity in combating the virus. He listed numerous ways people and government officials should help slow the spread of COVID-19 and called for a “complete lockdown” worldwide.
“While we are all currently debating a full lockdown, I feel that we must,” McGregor said. “Any time spent debating this is needless time from the clock. I know a good, tough fight when I see one, and we have one on our hands now. I want to call upon my people – the great people of Ireland. This fight needs us all. We’re all in the red corner together, awaiting the bell. Let’s gather together and ring the bell ourselves, including the people of the rest of the world. A true lockdown must begin, and it must begin now – a true lockdown together, a lockdown united.”
Additionally, McGregor pointed out the lead time Ireland has on coronavirus safety compared to other countries. McGregor indicated Ireland (and beyond) should be doing everything it can to prevent potential devastation.
“We have the advantage here in that we can see this coming,” McGregor said. “We can see this coming. But if we do not act on our advantage, we cannot expect different results. … Ireland, we’ve got this. Not only do we have the formula, we have it ahead of time. Let’s go, Ireland. Let’s go, rest of the world. Lock down united. Together we stand. God bless us all.”
India is set to go into lockdown at midnight local time (2:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday), which would bring the total number of people affected by a partial or total lockdown to 2.5 billion worldwide.
As of this writing, the number of global coronavirus cases was nearing 400,000, resulting in more than 17,000 deaths. There are no at least 48,000 confirmed cases in the U.S.
As the pandemic expanded in recent weeks, McGregor frequently posted opinionated written statements on his Instagram page. This was the first time McGregor spoke on camera about the pandemic.
Check out McGregor’s full PSA in the video below:
Conor McGregor calls for 'a lockdown united' against coronavirus in fiery PSA video