Paul Hughes responds to Conor McGregor's wild social media attacks

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Drew Beaupre | Last updated Jan 29, 2025 12:12 PM ET

(Jose Peñuela / PFL)

It looks like the mutual respect between Conor McGregor and Paul Hughes has deteriorated rapidly in the aftermath of PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series.

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The PFL kicked off its 2025 schedule and brought the Bellator MMA era to a close last weekend with Road to Dubai Champions Series, which featured a headlining bout between Hughes and undefeated Bellator Lightweight Champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

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“Big News” ended up losing a majority decision in a fight that many fans felt was far closer than the final scorecards indicated, and after the event McGregor was quick to celebrate Hughes’ performance and reignite his feud with the Nurmagomedov family that dates back to his rivalry with UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.

(Jose Peñuela / PFL)

Anatomy of a Fighter recently put out a video focusing on the PFL Road to Dubai main event that featured a clip of Hughes telling Nurmagomedov and his team “I’m not like this other guy, I’m my own man.” Based on a now-deleted post, “The Notorious” apparently took that statement as a personal affront.

“Too right YOU’RE NOT! #BumholeLicker” - McGregor wrote.

Combat sports fans are more than familiar with McGregor’s habit of going on wild social media rants before deleting his posts, and after his initial comment the 36-year-old decided to raise things significantly with a tasteless reference to Hughes being from Northern Ireland.

(Jose Peñuela / PFL)

“get that flag off you, you little know-what-you-are c*** from up there”

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Hughes Responds To McGregor's Attacks

Rather than match McGregor’s vitriol, Hughes simply reiterated his previous respect for the UFC star and expressed disappointment at the direction he chose to go with his deleted comments.

@TheNotoriousMMA always said u were the goat, payed homage at every opportunity.

But coming at my Irish identity just shows where your head is at.
— Paul Hughes MMA (@paulhughesmma) January 29, 2025

“Always said u were the goat, payed homage at every opportunity. But coming at my Irish identity just shows where your head is at.”

“Big News” told MMA Knockout ahead of PFL Road to Dubai that he felt he was “flying the flag” for Ireland in MMA currently, and even after coming up short against Nurmagomedov the incredible fight seems to have only raised Hughes’ stock in the MMA world.

(Jose Peñuela / PFL)

Meanwhile, McGregor’s fighting future is an open question that looks like it won’t be answered any time soon.

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Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

The 36-year-old hasn’t fought since July 2021 and was scheduled to return at UFC 303 against Michael Chandler last year, but a toe injury forced him out of the fight and there have been no concrete updates regarding plans for an Octagon this year.