Conor McGregor And 10 Other Memorable 'Middle Finger' Moments In Sport

Last night Conor McGregor defeated Dennis Siver in Boston via TKO in the second round and in doing so earned himself a shot at Jose Also and the UFC featherweight title. It was a big night for Irish MMA, with Paddy Holohan and Cathal Pendred also claiming wins, but it was McGregor's actions as the referee called both fighters to the centre of the octagon that has become one of the major talking points.

McGregor, despite calling Dennis Siver every name under the sun during the pre-fight build up, offered to touch gloves before the fight, a gesture that was snubbed by Siver. Instead, Conor McGregor gave him a good 'ol fashioned "fuck you" in the form of a raised middle finger, and then proceeded to beat the living shit out of Dennis Siver until the ref called an end to it.

So that got us thinking? What other memorable (good or bad) moments could we recall where someone flipped the bird in the sporting arena?

Here are 10 that stood out:

Cristiano Ronaldo caves to Benfica fans' taunts in the Stadium of Light.

Back in 2005, Manchester United were eliminated from the Champions League group stage when Benfica beat them 2-1 in Lisbon. At the time Cristiano Ronaldo divided opinion, but the Benfica fans absolutely tore into him, booing him every time he touched the ball. Ronaldo responded with a flip of his middle finger, which he later explained, kind of:

I don't have to justify my gesture, I felt the public treated me badly. They were unsympathetic and so I gave them my answer.

Johnny Manziel makes a great start to life in the NFL.

It's pre-season in the NFL, and the Washington Redskins bench are telling high-profile rookie Manziel what he thinks about them. Johnny Football responds:

Nice old lady suddenly becomes football hooligan upon seeing Ryan Giggs.

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This is football.

Kimi Raikkonen exhibits the drive-by finger in F1 practice.

Kimi shows off the type of thing you would see at the Red Cow Roundabout during practice for the Bahrain grand prix in 2007.

Nate Diaz lets Benson Henderson know what he thinks of his ground game.

The Diaz brothers could legitimately have their own collection of middle finger clips in a power ranking, but top of the chart may be this moment when he flipped the bird while stuck in an awkward ground position.

Shinji Kagawa and Alex Buttner, straight up gangstas.

You best not mess with these two badasses who played a minor role in Manchester United's 2012/13 title win and then celebrated with a big F U to the world of social media.

Cheeky young Leinster fan becomes absolute legend to his mates.

This young hell-raiser took his opportunity to impress his mates on the big screen at a Leinster game, but we bet Mammy wasn't too thrilled.

Didier Drogba goes mad at Burnley fans and sparks media outrage.

In November 2008 Chelsea played Burnley in the Carling Cup, and Didier Drogba let everybody know that, like The Inbetweeners, he hates Burnley. Drogba went mental when Chelsea scored and threw a coin back into the crowd before showing them the finger, he was later charged with violent conduct by the FA. Luis Suarez would do something similar to Fulham fans in 2011 and get himself a nice one match ban.

Tommy Robredo hates Andy Murray for being too good.

This was great. Murray collapses in a heap after a grueling win over Tommy Rebredo in the Valencia Open final back in October, and the Spaniard can only flip him a sarcastic double-barrelled middle finger as a light-hearted jab.

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