Justin Bieber used his VMA acceptance speech to give a huge shoutout to his buddy, Conor McGregor ... saying the UFC superstar will be back better than ever after his devastating leg injury.
33-year-old Conor was at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards to present the "Artist of the Year" award Sunday night ... rocking a bright, pink suit, his walking cane and a massive smile.
While McGregor got into an intense scuffle with Machine Gun Kelly before his appearance, he was all calmed down once it was time for him to announce the category's big winner.
"New York is back and so is the Mac," Conor said. "2022 will be our greatest year yet."
And when it was time to reveal the winner ... McGregor couldn't be happier.
Of course, Conor and Bieber have gotten pretty close recently -- from catching rays poolside to being guests at each other's concerts and fights -- so it was only right The Notorious was able to share the awesome moment with the "Peaches" singer.
Bieber name-dropped his wife, Hailey, and rapper Travis Scott after grabbing the Moonperson ... and then guaranteed Conor will make a big comeback after snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.
Congrats to @JustinBieber for winning Artist Of The Year at the 2021 #VMAs! pic.twitter.com/taTycEqyNJ
— MTV (@MTV) September 13, 2021
"Conor, we're gonna get 'em next time, my boy," Bieber said. "Let's go."
Bieber's been a huge McGregor fan for years -- even siding with Conor in his feud against Nate Diaz -- and this is more evidence his loyalty is unwavering, despite McGregor's recent struggles.