Conor McGregor's dad Tony asked him if he was going to "get a real job" during the early stages of an MMA career that has made him a multi-millionaire.
The Irishman was offering support to newly-signed UFC hopeful Ian Garry when he told the amusing anecdote, recalling that before a bout on the Irish regional scene, his father told him to give up the sport.
Garry made his UFC debut at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night, and was given a similar message by his mother when he quit university to become a fighter.
"I was fighting in the Good Counsel GAA club in Drimnagh years and years ago," McGregor recalled.
"And on the morning of the fight me da said to me 'if you lose this are you going to get a real job?'"
McGregor also joked that he would now take his father off the payroll at his company McGregor Sports & Entertainment saying he would "sack him now".
"On the morning of. I'm going to ring him and sack him now.
"Da, you're sacked. get the f*** off my yacht."
The Irishman also noted that he has since bought the land where that old venue is based, noting he had made a deal that makes him owner of the entire area.
The land covers a good portion of the area just off Dublin's Grand Canal, and he joked that he would let his dad keep the yacht, named the 209 after the amount McGregor would receive in dole payments when he fought on regional shows.
"Funny enough I bought that entire canal strip where that GAA club sits on," McGregor continued.
"From the Marble Arch down, that whole canal is mine.
"This is the strip of canal where that exact GAA club is. Davitt Road, Drimnagh. Where my father told me if I lose, get a real job.
"I bought the whole thing today. That whole canal strip is now mine. From the Marble Arch down, watch what I build here..
"You tell you what you're gonna do. No else can tell you nothing. Never give up!
"Ah go on da you're hired again and you can have the yacht. I've two new ones."
Garry's mother told him that "being the next McGregor is not a f***ing plan" after he dropped out of university before having even trained in MMA after being inspired by his countryman.
And he recalled the message, which was written in a letter that was slid under his bedroom door, during a documentary showing his rise to the UFC after an unbeaten start in Cage Warriors.
"Ian, taking a year out to figure out what you're going to do is stupid," Garry's mother said in the letter.
"I will not support someone who gives up on themselves and takes the easy way out. Being the next Conor McGregor is not a f***ing plan!"
Garry won the Cage Warriors welterweight title earlier this year, the same promotion where McGregor made his name as a double champion before signing to the UFC.
