MMA fighter Paul Hughes has said Conor McGregor “came at” his Irish identity following a spat between the pair.
The Derry man, who trains out of Belfast, has been on a meteoric rise, getting a Bellator world title shot much earlier than expected.
However, Hughes (27), narrowly missed out on a sensational win over undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov at the weekend, moving him to a record of 13 wins and two losses.
Having always had a cordial relationship, it appears that Hughes showing respect to his opponent’s team and distancing himself from McGregor has upset the former UFC champion.
After the fight, Hughes could be heard saying, “I’m not like this other guy (McGregor), I’m my own man” as he told Nurmagomedov’s team he has always respected them.
A now deleted post from McGregor shared on social media said: “Get that (Irish) flag off you you little know what you are c*** from up there.”
In an X post, Hughes responded: “TheNotoriousMMA (Conor McGregor) always said u were the goat (greatest of all time), paid homage at every opportunity.
“But coming at my Irish identity just shows where your head is at.”
There is a heated history between McGregor and the Nurmagomedov family.
In the lead-up to his 2018 UFC title fight against the legendary Khabib Nurmagomedov, a lot of unsavoury comments were made by the Irishman.
Those included personal insults about the Nurmagomedov family and Dagestan, where they’re from. Khabib went on to defeat McGregor via submission.
But ugly scenes followed as the victor leapt over the cage to confront McGregor’s team and Khabib’s team-mates scaled the cage to throw punches at McGregor.
Hughes has praised McGregor in the past and even suggested he could have been part of his corner for the fight at the weekend. That never materialised and in the period since making the suggestion, McGregor lost a civil case in which he was accused of raping Nikita Hand at a Dublin hotel in 2018.
McGregor has kept the rivalry between him and the Nurmagomedovs alive.
In what appears to be a deleted tweet from the weekend, McGregor said Hughes “dominated” the fight and directed further insults at the Nurmagomedovs, describing them as “non-fighting fighters”.
But Hughes’ fight ended with a mutual show of respect as Khabib praised his skills and thanked the Irish people for supporting Palestine.
He even invited Hughes to Dagestan, saying it would serve as a good example for future generations.
Reciprocating, Hughes posted: “Thank you Team Khabib. I have great respect for you, your team and your nation.
“I would be honoured to take you up on this offer someday and then return the favour in Ireland.
“But please, only after I get to rematch Usman.”