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By Tony Connelly, Sports Marketing Reporter

August 18, 2016 | 3 min read

UFC sponsor Monster Energy has made the most of the chaos which erupted at a press conference for UFC 202 yesterday with an opportune social media post in reference to the actions of its star fighter Conor McGregor.

The ritual press conference promoting the highly anticipated rematch between McGregor and Nate Diaz this Saturday (20 August) escalated into violence when the two fighters’ camps began hurling projectiles at each other.

As the official energy drink of the UFC, Monster Energy always has its cans displayed front and centre on the tables during the press conferences, something which the 28 year-old McGregor utilised when tensions boiled over moments after he arrived at the Las Vegas venue.

The incident has since exploded across both the MMA and mainstream press and Monster responded to the attention around the fracas with a humorous Vine in reference to McGregor’s actions.

The entire episode began when Diaz and his entourage appeared to take exception to the Dubliner’s typically late arrival and unexpectedly stormed out of the press conference, shouting obscenities and throwing bottles of water at him in the process.

The featherweight champion responded by gabbing every can of Monster Energy on the table which he then aimed at Diaz and his team from across the room. While the event did not unfold as planned, it has subsequently generated far more media attention and will likely boost pay-per-view buys in the US.

The US energy drink brand signed a multi-year deal with the mixed martial arts promotion in March 2015 and has since gone on to agree individual endorsement deals with a number of athletes in the organisation, including McGregor himself.

With the recent $4bn sale of the UFC, Monster Energy will be in a position to expand its brand to new territories as the new owners look to build on its growing success and break into the Chinese market. The organisation's surge in international popularity was enough to convince BT to renew its broadcast agreement with the company.

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