Podcaster Marcus Deegan has revealed the inspirational messages Conor McGregor sent him while he battled pancreatitis in hospital last month.
Deegan - who is an avid fan of McGregor - hosts his own podcast 'The Marcus Deegan Show' and has interviewed several of McGregor's coaches and teammates.
McGregor is currently sidelined after breaking his tibia against Dustin Poirier in July but made a return to hitting pads this week for the first time since his injury.
Deegan was in hospital three weeks ago dealing with the painful condition and during that time he received messages from McGregor of which he shared on social media.
He wrote: "When i was in hospital three weeks ago very sick with pancreatitis getting messages of encouragement from this legend absolutely unequivocally helped me with my recovery!
"Thanks for putting things in perspective mate, Pain is temporary class is permanent."
And the messages from McGregor read: "Get well soon my man!... Still in the game bro!... Listen to the docs you will get there. Pain is temporary, class is permanent. Stay the course brother Marcus."
McGregor has been in the headlines since his last fight mostly for the wrong reasons.
He allegedly assaulted an Italian DJ last month in Rome and was involved in a scuffle with singer Machine Gun Kelly at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.
The UFC star has also been vocal on social media, often tweeting and later deleting rants aimed at other fighters.
McGregor caught the attention of fight fans earlier this week when he suggested his UFC 264 loss to Poirier was going his way before breaking his leg.
He wrote accompanied with a video of the fight: "Good angle. Can see the leg was broke before I even stood up.
"It was broke before the guillotine even. It’s why I went for it. 4 shots to zero here in this clip to close the fight before the injury. This fight was going my way 100%. But big congrats lads hahaha ye right. Rats.
"Can see the weight in those upkicks he was eating here as well. Which weren’t even the two heaviest upkicks I landed. Where was he going from open guard top here?
"He not like upkicks thru the face? Elbows down thru the crown? No like? Tough s***, see ya soon."
McGregor also claimed he broke his tibia from throwing a kick early in the first round, not one of Poirier's checks.
Fans accused McGregor of "losing touch with reality" and "changing the narrative" of his loss after his string of tweets.
