Conor McGregor, a UFC star, has been accused by Joe Duffy of trying to make UFC fans hate him when he entered the UFC.
Duffy and McGregor met in Cage Warriors in 2010 with McGregor winning the fight with an arm-triangle choke.
Joe Duffy was 4-4 in UFC after five years of promotion starting in 2015.
McGregor challenged Duffy's abilities and his nationality.
Duffy was signed to the UFC by McGregor in 2015. McGregor has already had five UFC fights under his belt. His eyes are set on a fight for the featherweight title against Jose Aldo.
Duffy stated that McGregor might have been intimidated by Duffy's appearance at the UFC as an Irishman who had defeated him before.
He stated that Conor tried to turn the fans against him because he didn't like the attention I was getting and the tie between us at the time. He tried to turn fans against me."
McGregor asked Duffy about his fight abilities and Irish-ness in 2015 shortly after signing for the UFC. He said: "I'd love see Duffy climb that rank. Do I believe he is capable? I don't think so. He is a journeyman, I believe."
He quit the sport, moved to another country, changed his teams. He started out as Welsh Joe. Then he became London Joe. Finally, he is Canadian Joe. He sees my success, and suddenly he is Irish Joe."
McGregor said, "I would love to see him climb up. I would KO his stiff just because of the way it has all turned out." He is a journeyman to me. He won't make that climb, but it's something I see.
Duffy said that McGregor's attempts at discrediting his talent and nationality made him disgruntled.
He stated, "That was frustrating too, because obviously that's something we've clearly been proud of." I was proud to be an Irishman, even though I was born in Wales.
Duffy said, "That was irritating because that's why you're fighting because it's one reason you're fighting because your country is proud of you and you want to be a part of it."
Duffy was 4-1 in his first five UFC fights and lost only to Dustin Poirier, another McGregor foe.
He was beaten by three opponents in consecutive losses and he decided to leave the UFC with a record of 4-4. He will retire from the sport in 2020.
