The 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks was meant to be a moment of quiet reflection across the United States. Instead, two prominent figures from the UFC turned it into a public relations mess, drawing sharp criticism from fans and commentators alike for posts that many considered tone-deaf at best.
Conor McGregor kicked things off a day early, and not in the way he probably intended. The 38 year old took to X to mark the occasion, but got the date wrong, publishing his tribute on September 10 instead of the actual anniversary.
Compounding the error, McGregor used the post to promote his Mac Energy drink line in the same breath as his remembrance message.
“Anniversary of September 11, 2001, I will NEVER FORGET!” McGregor wrote. “I look forward to uniting with my Mac Energy comrades in support!”
He closed out the post referencing former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, who has said he was responsible for the operation that ended Osama bin Laden’s life in Pakistan back in May 2011.
McGregor and O’Neill have built a rapport over the past year, with O’Neill previously gifting him a glove tied to that mission, and the two have crossed paths several times since, including for a sit down as part of McGregor’s “1 of 1” interview series.
It’s not the first time McGregor has marked the anniversary publicly. He paid tribute in 2024 while addressing a crowd in America, and back in 2020 he earned genuine praise from 9/11 responder organizations after channeling a million dollar donation to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation through his Proper No. Twelve brand.
This year’s version, however, landed very differently with his audience.
“It’s got to stop. Most traumatic, world changing event in the 21st century and he wants to promote off the back of it. Lost any last bit of respect for this guy,” one critic wrote.
Another was blunter still: “What a disgusting human being! Promoting his brand while talking about something so sensitive.”
McGregor wasn’t alone in facing that kind of reaction. UFC heavyweight Josh Hokit, who has climbed the rankings on the back of an unbeaten record, chose the actual anniversary to post a pair of jokes about the attacks on Instagram, and the response was swift.
“Who’s the fastest readers in the world? 9/11 victims, they could go through 110 stories in just a few seconds,” Hokit wrote. “I’m usually skeptical of doing 9/11 jokes, because they usually never land.”
🗣️ Josh Hokit:
“Who’s the fastest readers in the world? 9/11 victims, they could go through 110 stories in just a few seconds.
I’m usually skeptical of doing 9/11 jokes, because they usually never land.”
(via @Josh_HokitUFC) pic.twitter.com/yw7KSStQFf
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 11, 2026
Fans who had stuck by Hokit through previous controversies said this was where they drew the line.
“Was a fan until today. So incredibly insensitive,” one commenter wrote, while another simply stated, “You just lost a fan today.”
The timing wasn’t lost on Hokit’s critics either, given he was already under scrutiny for comments made after his win at UFC Freedom 250 in June, when he referred to Michelle Obama using a false and derogatory claim about her gender.
UFC CEO Dana White called those remarks “gross” and “inappropriate” at the time, though he stopped short of taking any action against Hokit, who has since maintained he has no intention of walking back what he said.
Currently ranked sixth in the UFC’s heavyweight division with notable wins on his record, Hokit has been vocal about wanting bigger names next, including Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira. But with a growing number of former supporters publicly distancing themselves from him, his approach to building a following through provocation appears to be testing its limits.
