The Upshot

Conor McGregor was once considered a combat genius who ranked alongside Sun Tzu, Bruce Lee and Fionn mac Cumhaill. But then came the cocaine, convictions and carnage. As his mask slipped, the unhinged Irishmen turned into a frothing beast, smashing up buses, punching grandads and peppering popstars with dick pics. From ayahuasca in the jungle to shagging at funerals, this is the story of Conor McGregor… Get part 2 instantly when you join The Upshot’s Patreon: www.patreon.com/upshottowers Download SAILY in your app store and use our code UPSHOT at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/upshot Links from the episode: Pocketwatch: youtube.com/watch?v=MJl-O2KYYHU&ab_channel=ClippedMMA Crocodile walk: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=818213015007557 Taking the piss out of Uriah Faber: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=yJRJEvFU3Ac&ab_channel=UFC Forces translator to tell Jose Aldo he’s his daddy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YezMl2zi5Gs Red panty night: https://youtu.be/BV57_OEDU1s?si=jDhSf3T0vNiV1ZtB&t=28 Taking the piss out of Nate Diaz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6wn99sp4Tc Apologise to absolutely nobody: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1239067553130795 After party in a tree: https://www.reddit.com/r/ufc/comments/cqvb44/coked_up_conor_enjoying_an_after_party_in_a_tree/ Floyd Mayweather: https://youtu.be/UiPlPFzFkDo?si=SiHo7nyxYEq_Id2v&t=201  Ruins friend’s victory by jumping into the octagon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXx8WQPjYpo  Speeding out of car park: https://x.com/rtenews/status/936233874815897600 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You don’t make it to the top without getting a little weird. Just ask Cristiano Ronaldo. He scraps with teenagers, had an orgy with his taxi driver, and keeps a handwritten list of his silverware in his pocket. From fivesomes with teammates to getting throttled by Ryan Giggs, this is his story… Links from the episode: As a youngster: https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/SPORT-PREVIEW-young-cristiano.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1500&h=1000&crop=1 Man United debut: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73DuUGJWuzo Throws journo’s microphone in a lake: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mIgNSppc4zg Statue at madeira airport: https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/1424D/production/_95390528_ronaldobust.jpg Pat Butcher mural: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRiuR02MyRWY99xd4N7AG770iIyiQ-kjWCV1A&s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sure, Usain Bolt ran the 100m in 9.58 seconds. But has he ever been strapped to a teatray and hurled headfirst down Mont Blanc? (or an artificial slide in a concrete chinese business park) And he never shagged Hitler, murdered his rivals, or got high before races either… But I know some people who did… From Stasi spies to hot tub orgies, buckle into your bobsled for the wildest stories in Winter Olympic history… Download SAILY in your app store and use our code UPSHOT at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/upshot Links from the pod: Australian speed skater who was coming last before the final corner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUi4-H6hfw8 The actual Jamaican bobsled team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1aWFW8bOpo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the show today: Todd Boehly’s Epstein meetings, Nick Kyrgios' Australian Open bender, and Lewis Hamilton’s finally gets with the girl in the year above Get Extra shot every week when you join our Patreon: www.patreon.com/upshottowers 4 months free of Nord vpn at: www.nordvpn.com/upshot Links from the pod: Boxer gets wig knocked off: https://x.com/DevinOffWestern/status/2017778496999985203  John McEnroe's annoying fan:https://www.reddit.com/r/tennis/comments/1qtn87l/us_tennis_legend_left_australia_with_a_bang Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Graeme faces death threats, confronts gun-wielding players and is duped into signing striker by a telephone prankster. After five glorious years in Glasgow, Graeme Souness has been hounded out of his homeland by a terrifying tea lady. But he’s about to step into the biggest job of all: Liverpool Football Club.  And that’s when everything goes pear shaped… Graeme faces death threats, confronts gun-wielding players and is duped into signing striker by a telephone prankster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From gun-wielding strikers to love triangles with George Best, this is his story… In his glory years, Graeme Souness was a bonafide hunk who dated Miss World, won 3 European Cups and took meetings with his knob out. Which makes you wonder: why is he such a moody bastard? The Liverpool legend decked his own captain, scalped his friend with a pick axe, and was hounded out of Scotland by an irate tea lady. From gun-wielding strikers to love triangles with George Best, this is his story… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say you have to be mad to be a goalkeeper. And nobody is more batshit crazy than Lutz Pfannenstiel, the German stopper who played for 25 clubs on 6 continents. He kidnapped penguins, threatened to knock out Take That and spent 101 days in a grisly Singapore slammer. From fighting off murderers to dying three times on the pitch, meet Lutz Pfannenstiel: you’re going to like him…  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In September 2024 the world was a very different place.  Sleepy Joe was in the White House, The United Strand had a short back and sides, and Ruben Amorim was the most vaunted young coach in Europe. But 14 months on, United’s latest saviour left a familiar mess in his wake: seething fans, mutinous players and Gary Neville harping on about the Club’s DNA. From naked fans to nightmares in Grimsby, this is the story of the Worst Manchester United team in history… LINKS FROM THE POD: Day one for United Strand: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAx2tTEISrB/ Gary Cotterill demands Ruben speaks English: https://x.com/Footballtweet/status/1853503399402393680 Ed Sheeran gatecrashes his interview: https://x.com/AshMeppers/status/1860759173715071084 Naked fan in Bilbao: https://x.com/turkishphysio/status/1925514123195957743 Sad open top bus parade: https://www.tiktok.com/@livescore/video/7509524698829425942?lang=en  Ruben dancing his way out: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1q4s4oq/amorim_daps_up_a_paparazzo_after_leaving_his/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keep listening to Extra Shot every week by joining The Upshot’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/upshottowers   (Sign up in your browser, not the patreon app - it’s cheaper). Get tickets to to the Upshot’s Live shows in April: https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-upshot-live-tickets-adp1637635 Download SAILY in your app store and use our code UPSHOT at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/upshot  Links from the pod: Rio Ferdinand on Solksjaer: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bzNNy6gf-2k  Brendon McCullum doing the crossword: https://x.com/CricketSangrah/status/2007677153513738741  Ashes commentator fuck up: https://x.com/MonsieurJudge/status/2008787604754636947  Ugandan president grilling the players: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DO8MljIgDw5/  Congolese AFCON fans: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTIjUONjbai/?img_index=1  Pep on weighing his players: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cm20dd4md8qo  Michael Owen ranks his Christmas dinner: https://www.instagram.com/p/DSakKS7AA_u  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From pornstar girlfriends to birthday cakes delivered by concorde, buckle in for African football’s maddest moments… Follow Moses: @mosesduckrell LINKS FROM THE POD: Mbutu leopard outfit: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/bfgp2w0COKqnrhqELPl0dfTfPDri3ZCn8oRsqNsGdNdKEHEGoi_rUilHZr0eMCOn-mVp6Bl4hoa-t9cSSfJ1Pt6Mmv7SUEWnJaP41QjKlemJB8S6dSKHNn5jf94 Zaire defender boots ball away: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYDXkVGpMpc Man blocks camera: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/piza3e/during_ugandamali_match_in_african_wcq_person_was/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rope and Anchor, 2013. The pub’s 53-year-old darts champion gulps as his opponent puts down his PSP and step up to the oche. It’s Luke Littler, the six year old sensation whose rise to the top has just begun. From splurging prize money on vapes to chirpsing girls on Xbox live, this is the story of darts’ first wonderkid… Links from the pod: Luke playing at 18 months old: https://x.com/JumbleBag/status/1748617919368499612  Crowd singing “you’ve got school in the morning”: https://www.skysports.com/darts/video/12288/13035515/school-in-the-morning-16-year-old-luke-littler-loves-crowd-chant  Michael van Gerwen aged 17: https://share.google/H8BENZ9THwVUf4OqA  Rival’s post match interview: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=845583344145998  “Nah chill begging it”: https://x.com/AFC_Iddy/status/1916919883578647002 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join us as we dish out the only gongs more worthless than Fifa’s peace prize. LINKS FROM THE POD: Lamine Yamal party: https://x.com/JackMacCFB/status/1944719886992744913 Emmanuel Petit announces Pat Rice’s death: https://x.com/AlleyMatty/status/1881478083313906032  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Jerry Springer’s threesomes to infiltrating the Taliban, this is the story of The Fake Sheikh… Mazher Mahmood has been caught out using the claims of a serial fantasist to flog a bollocks story about Posh Spice being kidnapped. And his downfall has only just begun… Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plus: Samuel Eto’o’s AFCON meltdown and a knife-wielding Sunderland striker. Get tickets to to the Upshot’s Live shows in April: https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-upshot-live-tickets-adp1637635 We’re hiring! Apply for the role as The Upshot’s new video producer: https://www.upshot.email/p/we-re-hiring-a-video-producer-36e9  Download SAILY in your app store and use our code UPSHOT at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/upshot  Join The Upshot’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/upshottowers   (Sign up in your browser, not the patreon app - it’s cheaper). Links from the pod: Kolkata riot: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1plfmgo/ani_fans_at_salt_lake_stadium_got_angry_with_the Statue unveiling: https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/12/12/12/104672397-15377981-image-a-45_1765543002051.jpg Hola Messi fanzone: https://assets.telegraphindia.com/telegraph/2025/Dec/1765375010_hola-messi-1.gif Suarez nutmeg: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1pmfjzm/suarez_got_nutmegged_by_a_teen_indian_girl/?utm_source=www.upshot.email&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=i-see-a-snake&_bhlid=16c820a8f979cb6080947e9b36af165b189dceb7 Nitin Kumar walking out: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedarter88/video/7583727677526396193  Killing the Ally Pally wasp: https://x.com/MarkWilsonRadio/status/2000235018254459016 Cameron Menzies meltdown: https://x.com/_shaunmiller_/status/2000578781082251448 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dubai, 2006. Sven Goran Eriksson sips Dom Perignon with an Arabian prince on the deck of a 70ft superyacht. But Sven’s white-robed companion is no oil-rich Emir: it’s the Fake Sheikh. For three devious decades, the tabloid hack lived life undercover, exposing everyone from murderous GPs to Mick Jagger. From Jerry Springer’s threesomes to infiltrating the Taliban, this is the story of The Fake Sheikh… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’re hiring! Apply for the role as The Upshot’s new video producer: https://www.upshot.email/p/we-re-hiring-a-video-producer-36e9  Plus: England’s Ashes flops are throwing cash at Aussie children and why 70s hit YMCA is NOT a gay song EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/upshot Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 🌐 Get tickets to to the Upshot’s Live shows in April: https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-upshot-live-tickets-adp1637635 Join The Upshot’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/upshottowers  (Sign up in your browser, not the patreon app - it’s cheaper). Links from the pod: Rio Ferdinand’s awful banter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P03LgqfQ4BA  Conor McGregor teaching Mike Tyson to box: https://x.com/HappyPunch/status/1997749158711894184 And looking coked off his nut: https://x.com/GeneralBohs/status/1997793388016636392  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Britain already has a royal family. But if the entire Windsor bloodline is ever wiped out in a freak yachting accident, there’s a ready made replacement. The Beckhams. For two glorious decades, Victoria, David and their offspring have ruled the worlds of music, sport and bacon sandwich making. From shagging on trains to necking cups of bleach, this is the story of the other Beckhams… Watch Finlay Christie’s stand up special, Aura Farmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oQiTfnFNUQ  Links from the pod:  Brooklyn’s bacon sandwich on NBC: https://metro.co.uk/video/brooklyn-beckham-cooks-english-breakfast-sandwich-2518705/  Cruz’s music: https://wwsw.tiktok.com/@cruzbeckham/video/7452826349779160352  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tickets to to the Upshot’s Live shows in April:  https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-upshot-live-tickets-adp1637635 Plus: The BBC colleague who drove Wayne Rooney to get the snip and Jamie Redknapp’s secret alter ego for picking up girls Download SAILY in your app store and use our code UPSHOT at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase! For further details go to https://saily.com/upshot  Links from the pod: Troy Parrott’s missed panenka: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1paoohe/troy_parrott_penalty_miss_vs_twente_908_at_10/  Vietnam’s intervision entry: https://youtu.be/EIqntldQyE0?si=9MEw4Wzb-2sQyVK2&t=61  Wayne Rooney on Mr Tumble: https://youtu.be/Ad2w_WgZhB8?si=GblGv5FHHWpBpLRC&t=159  In case you don’t know Mr Tumble: https://youtu.be/jMwbHIQRVME?si=bCyD1r1CvFphHXCX&t=300  Paul Chuckle’s gangster movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AHwNkf4_QI  Gary Lineker in Mexico with his daughter-in-law: https://x.com/GaryLineker/status/1995172259494056379  Ajax fans mental pyrotechnics: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRss_VCkrDm  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The name Kevin Keegan should conjure images of glittering European nights, mazy dribbles and Balon d’Or wins. But for most people, football’s unluckiest icon is remembered for four words: I WOULD LOVE IT. And he’s had plenty of bad luck. He was beaten up by drug dealers, discovered Father Christmas’ lifeless corpse, and got shot in the face with a bow and arrow. From undercover gigolos to getting banged up in Serbia, this is his story… Links from the pod:  Green Cross code ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE8Lk2kSCDo Scoring in FA Cup final: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=gagQcslGM0t59KHN&t=223&v=xFY67LtZn-0&feature=youtu.be His hit single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJdW7-MnXtc&t=21s I would love it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=ip99jIR-GKnNQwij&t=5&v=mk87a7r0V60&feature=youtu.be Will he score: http://www.youtube.com/watch?si=1-R7l9C-zzx9NIfq&t=9&v=k6Bupc_sE4g&feature=youtu.be Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Get tickets to to the Upshot’s Live shows in April:  https://www.livenation.co.uk/the-upshot-live-tickets-adp1637635 (Tickets go on sale 10am Thursday) Plus: John Terry fights to free Britain’s most notorious prisoner, Newcastle fans shagging in the Marseille toilets, The Olympic Star whose lawyer advised him to murder a witness. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/upshot Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee 🌐 Links from the pod: Dennis Wise video for Charles Bronson: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRKU6KPjIM4/  And Razor Ruddock’s: https://www.tiktok.com/@freecharlesbronson/video/7533271684023930134 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices