Conor McGregor has been accused of being "jealous" of the attention that Tom Brady has received after returning to American football from retirement after just a few weeks.
Brady, a legend of his sport, had confirmed he was quitting on February 1, but less than two weeks into March he had confirmed that he was back.
And UFC star Belal Muhammad joked that McGregor was going to react poorly to being pushed out of the headlines by Brady's shock u-turn, mocking the Irishman for a previous incident that happened at a Dublin pub.
“'Conor getting jealous seeing all these headlines Tom Brady is getting'," Muhammad theorised in a tweet accompanied by a gif of WWE star Adam 'Edge' Copeland. "Then spots an old man at the bar..."
McGregor infamously punched a man at the Marble Arch pub in Dublin during a 2019 incident, which he has since purchased and plans to reopen in the coming months. It will be his second hometown location after opening The Black Forge Inn last year.
The victim of McGregor's attack, Dubliner Desmond Keogh, is often referred to falsely as an "elderly" pub customer, despite being just 48 at the time of the incident. McGregor has joked that he is "barred" from the venue when it reopens, which has left Keogh unfazed.
He told the Irish Mirror last year : “I’m not really concerned because I probably wouldn’t be going back to it now. I wouldn't be going back anyway, probably especially now. I wouldn’t want to be spending money in his pub to be honest."
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Keogh has said that he isn't too concerned about McGregor saying that he is barred, despite having a number of friends who will drink at the newly reopened venue. The incident happened in April 2019, and McGregor pleaded guilty the following November.
The Irishman is currently working on a comeback of his own, although it remains to be seen if it will rival that of Brady's return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He suffered a gruesome broken leg against Dustin Poirier last summer, but has returned to boxing training, with full sparring to come next month.
He is eager to return to a world title fight, most likely against the winner of Justin Gaethje and Charles Oliveira's May 7 lightweight title bout, but possibly with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
The former two-weight world champion has tacked on considerable weight during his recovery, but insists that he will have no problem getting down to 155lb for a comeback, while also keeping his eye on a fight with Usman at 170lb.
McGregor responded to Brady's return, posting on Instagram : "Champions come back stronger and better! Love the sport and it shows! Tom Brady - thank you for the Irish spirit and the big news!" The football star then responded to McGregor, commenting with a respectful fist bump emoji alongside caption: "LFG!"
