Conor McGregor ain't exactly spewing venom -- he's complimenting the hell outta Cowboy Cerrone ... in what might be the NICEST press conference he's ever been in.
Not only did Conor arrive 15 minutes EARLY for the event (super unusual for McGregor) ... but when the opportunity presented itself to trash talk, he didn't launch the missiles he fired at guys like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Floyd Mayweather.
Instead, Conor praised Cowboy as a real accomplished fighter, a worthy opponent and an all-around good dude.
"Although there will be blood spilled on January 18th, it will not be bad blood," Conor said.
McGregor still predicted a knockout victory at the Palms Casino Resort ... but in the nicest way possible.
Conor was also asked if he was worried about getting banned from the United States due to his legal issues over the years, but the Irishman said he's all good and how grateful he is for the U.S.
McGregor also said he's cut out booze in preparations for the fight ... which means no beloved Proper 12.
Conor and Cowboy are set to throw down on Saturday night at UFC 246 at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas (only available on ESPN+) ... that's when the compliments will end.
As for Cowboy, he returned the love!!!
"I'm looking forward to 4-5 rounds of battle with this man ... Conor's one of the last dying breeds of the last fighters, so it's good to be in there with him and really get in there and f**king give it all we got."
"So, yeah man, I'm going 5 rounds with this dude and I can't f**king wait 'til Saturday night."
The presser was a nice fest ... and even had a Chad Johnson appearance!!!
No, seriously ... the ex-NFL star put on his journalist hat with Bleacher Report and asked a question!!!
The guys even shared a moment over their style -- Conor complimented Cowboy's python suit and both fighters bonded over PETA coming after them.
Oh ... and both fighters have said this won't be a grapple-fest -- they wanna stand and bang!