Conor McGregor is set to come face to face with the rival he called a "ginger t***" in a showdown which could set sparks flying just days before his rematch with Dustin Poirier.
The Notorious star will be in the presence of UFC commentator and active lightweight Paul 'The Irish Dragon' Felder next week in the days leading up to his fight on Saturday January 23.
Felder will be involved in the pre-fight meeting between the pair, and will be sitting opposite McGregor.
There has been some bad blood between them in past, after McGregor questioned Felder's Irish heritage before telling him to "shut up you ginger German twat."
But despite the cross words back in February last year, Felder is not expecting things to turn sour next week.
“I was talking to my producer because we have to do fighter meetings and hopefully we can get through that without any German comments,” Felder said on Thursday (via Pundit Arena).
Explaining his side of the row, Felder continued: "My last name is German and I hate talking about this with people who aren’t American because I know I’m not Irish, I’m not German, I'm not Italian, I’m not Swedish! I’m American and I get that.
“I also did not give myself the ‘The Irish Dragon’ nickname and, as a matter of fact, I fought against it for the first few fights of my pro career because I hated it and I thought it was stupid.
“I’m not trying to claim any heritage. Obviously I’m of Irish descent if you take one look at me. You can also see the German in me with my better jawline."
McGregor had snapped at Felder after a fan had tagged both men in a post on Twitter, but the latter feels the reaction was all for show.
“It’s silly and McGregor has poked fun at me on social media and then deletes them. I think he’s just f***ing with me, to be honest. He’s like that.
“He’s not an idiot and he’ll poke at anybody in case you climb the rankings and you’re next.”
Who should McGregor fight after Poirier? Have your say below.
Felder is currently ranked eighth in the list of top UFC lightweights, four off McGregor's current standing.
But as things stand there is little chance of them meeting inside the Octagon, with McGregor's eyes firmly set on bigger, more lucrative targets.
Felder added: “If I ever have to fight him then maybe I’d come out as ‘The German Dragon’ for that fight.
“It’s all good and I don’t think that’s going to come up in the fighter meetings but we shall see."
