Tiernan Bradley has seen some fascinating things as he started his journey to become one of the best boxers in the world today. His journey started from being a small fish from Omagh to drifting with the whales of Las Vegas. Little did the Irishman know that his talent would sail through to none other than UFC superstar Conor McGregor who personally approached him to be his main sparring partner ahead of the latter’s fight against Floyd Mayweather.

Now after almost a decade, ‘The Notorious’ shared his support for the 10-0 undefeated pro boxer for his latest fight against Ben Crocker. McGregor has shown his support for boxers before. He showed his backing for Galway boxer John Cooney who suffered a brain haemorrhage. McGregor donated $25,304 for his recovery but unfortunately, the MMA world lost Cooney on February 9, 2025.  McGregor later paid tribute to him saying, “Rest in Peace Warrior John Cooney,” communicating his condolences and recognizing Cooney’s bravery in the ring as a “warrior.”.

Apart from that the former dual weight champ is also the part owner of BKFC eagerly planning fights, making the promotion reach new heights. So it is natural when two undefeated boxers like Ben Crocker and Bradley are set to collide on 4th April at York Hall, McGregor’s excitement would be off the charts. ‘Mystic Mac’ posted the news about the fight on his Instagram story and expressed his excitement stating, “Let’s go ©tiernanbradleyboxing! Excited for this one!”

Tiernan is already known in the MMA world as ‘McGregor’s sparring partner‘. However, he got out of the shadow of McGregor’s fame and forged a career and legacy of his own. As for 14-0 undefeated boxer Ben Crocker, he recently won against Stelios Papadopoulos. Crocker has always been in love with combat sports, thanks to the Rocky films, and did kickboxing until he was 12. His goal was clear—turn professional by 23, reach 100 amateur bouts, and pursue a journey leading to the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

Did the journey go as planned? Unfortunately, no but as they say; when one door closes, another opens! After a series of hand injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic, Crocker finally turned pro with a debut win over Naeem Ali in Cardiff on September 2021. The 14-0 Crocker now seeks to defend his IBF European title.

Conor McGregor’s support to his fellow Irishman is obvious, and unwavering, also given the history of them being sparring partners. But remember when he went after another Irishman when the latter tried to disassociate himself from the former two-weight UFC champion?

When Conor McGregor humiliated Paul Hughes and his Irish roots

It isn’t news that Conor McGregor despises Irish MMA star Paul Hughes. ‘Big News’ had the ‘Mystic Mac’ as one of his major influences, even inviting McGregor to corner Hughes against Usman Nurmagomedov at PFL: Road to Dubai. However, after the civil lawsuit case against the Irish UFC star, Hughes subtly slid away from all the drama and distanced himself from his former idol. Naturally, this did not sit well with the former dual champ and he started taking shots at the young Irish fighter. Their interaction turned ugly because Hughes and Team Khabib embraced each other after the bout.

Basically, Hughes suggested that he wasn’t anything like Conor McGregor while speaking to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Naturally, McGregor didn’t like this and proceeded to attack Hughes with a vicious attack on X.

When a fan asked McGregor about Hughes, ‘The Notorious’ replied, “Use was born in Australia,”, perhaps purposely misspelling Hughes’ name. He did not stop there and followed up with a screenshot of Hughes’ Wikipedia page, emphasizing the fact that he was indeed born in Sydney, Australia.

In the aforementioned attack on Paul Hughes, McGregor questioned the former’s Irish origin which also carried the weight of a volatile Irish history behind it. The Bellator star is originally from Northern Ireland, which is officially a part of the United Kingdom. This area is different from the Republic of Ireland, where McGregor comes from. “Get that flag off you. You little know what you are c–t from up there,” McGregor wrote in a previous social media post. 

With McGregor’s support for Tiernan Bradley will win? If Bradley loses, will he also lose McGregor’s support? Share your thoughts in the comments below.