Despite losing his bout against Usman Nurmagomedov at PFL: Road to Dubai, Paul Hughes kept receiving support from Conor McGregor. But that was until a video of ‘Big News’s interaction with Khabib Nurmagomedov went viral on the internet. Hughes seemingly dissed ‘The Notorious’ by saying, “I’m not like this other guy. I’m my own man.” Well, this was after he showed gratitude for the praise Team Khabib had for him. And the former UFC double champion decided to take all of his support back with a series of tweets, some of which he has now deleted. And the X-wars began with a stern response, “Too right YOU’RE NOT.”

But the volcano kept erupting when ‘The Notorious’ pointed out that he employed over 200 people in Ireland alone and branded Hughes as a ‘weasel’. McGregor attacked Hughes’ right to put the Irish flag on his shoulders and wrote, “Get that flag off you you little know what you are c— from up there.” And he erased the post soon after he posted it. In another tweet, McGregor wrote, “Up the real irish.” This didn’t really sit well with ‘Big News’. He was always a fan of ‘Mystic Mac’, but getting attacked by his (former) idol regarding his nationality wasn’t something Hughes could absorb. He shared his emotions with a tweet and wrote, “[McGregor] always said u were the goat, payed homage at every opportunity. But coming at my Irish identity just shows where your head is at.”

However, ‘The Notorious’ had his response ready. He tweeted, “DERRY IS IRELAND! It is not true Irish behavior to grovel at the hands of someone who has disrespected your nation’s flag and is playing a game right in your face as you bow and kiss feet. I am so embarrassed for him caught like that. Hughes born in Oz raised in Derry, trains in Florida, I don’t give a f—, no self respecting Irish man would bow to a man who has disrespected his countrymen and women and their flag time and time again. He got caught as a weasel. Horrid stuff to see. Yuck.” And you know what he had to say when he found a photograph of Hughes in a papakha edit? He quoted, “Boot licker Hughes.”

Well, Conor McGregor wasn’t done. When the backlash rose, people began to doubt his loyalty to Ireland. The 36-year-old responded to all of that with one single tweet. He wrote, “I love Ireland and I cannot be bought. I am a self made, generationally wealthy Irish man. Thriving and true! What everyone outside of the political paywall feels is disdain. Not one citizen outside of the Irish political sphere is happy with government.” He continued, “Not one successful policy has it ever achieved. Not one!” But the heat was a bit too strong to go down easily. He had to respond to his countrymen and women who were raising their voices in his support.

Conor McGregor continues his verbal attack while replying to his fellow Irish people

Things continued to escalate as Sinead Kavanagh, the Bellator women’s featherweight contender, claimed that one simply couldn’t trust anyone these days. She reflected on the past when Hughes was star-struck when McGregor cheered him, but as soon as he received praise for Nurmagomedov, he turned his back on ‘The Notorious’. To this, McGregor replied, “It’s deplorable Sinead! No self respecting Irish man would grovel in this manner to a person who has disrespected their flag time and time again and that is a fact. A groveling weasel of the highest order!” And this too, seems to have been deleted by the Irishman. 

Top Comment by PATRIOTFORGOD777

God bless Hughes and the Great fighters from Dagestan

Share your take

Debate

Even James Gallagher joined the charades and shared a picture of himself, donning a hoodie made with Irish colors, and wrote, “United we stand.” McGregor sent nothing but praise for ‘The Strabanimal’ in response. He quoted, “Proper Irish! Never folded, never turned, fought valiantly every time, and paved the way for all those after him! THE STRABANIMAL!” Soon, an Irish fight fan caught McGregor’s attention when he recounted how ‘Big News’ promoted his fight against Nurmagomedov. Well, he called his Dagestan vs. Ireland 2 and used McGregor’s stardom to promote it. ‘The Notorious’ replied to the tweet and wrote, “Fact. NOT IRISH.”

‘Big News’ also reflected on the beef with McGregor on The Ariel Helwani Show. Hughes admitted that he wouldn’t be accepting McGregor’s apology if he happened to offer it to him. However, he did realize that referring to McGregor as ‘the other guy’ wasn’t appropriate. Nevertheless, he claimed that he didn’t really give it much thought, although it did seem to have affected him and his people. And yet, Hughes held McGregor on a high pedestal. He claimed that he was indeed the greatest to have ever achieved the kind of success that he did.

What are your thoughts on the heat between Hughes and ‘The Notorious’? Do you think it was wise of Hughes to go up against the former UFC double champion? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.