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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Ben Davies

"Who the f*** is that guy" UFC star quits six years after Conor McGregor insult

Jeremy Stephens - the victim of Conor McGregor's now infamous "who the f*** is that guy" insult back in 2016 - has left the UFC.

The American star's incredible 34 appearances is the fourth highest ever in the promotion with Stephens spending more than six hours in the cage.

However he hasn't fought since an opening-round defeat to Mateusz Gamrot in July which was the final fight on his UFC contract, Mirror UK reports.

Stephens has now decided to quit the UFC and not re-sign a new deal with the promotion.

The 35-year-old, who never challenged for a title, has been removed from the UFC roster with officials confirming the decision.

Despite his career now coming to an end, Stephens holds records including ranking in the top five for decision victories, Fight of the Night bonuses and knockdowns.

But his legacy in the UFC is largely remembered for his clash with one of the sport's leading superstars McGregor at the UFC 205 press conference in 2016.

The Dubliner was set to face Eddie Alvarez as he attempted to become the promotion's first double-champion by holding belts in two weight classes simultaneously.

Stephens was fighting Frankie Edgar on the bill and was interrupted by McGregor after being asked a question about the best athlete at 145lbs.

McGregor turned to him in the press conference and shouted: "Who the f*** is that guy?"

It would be a line which plagued Stephens throughout his UFC career, with his social media posts regularly littered with comments quoting the infamous phrase.

Stephens fought on the prelims of the historic UFC 205 card but was defeated by Edgar.

Despite this defeat Stephens recorded top-level victories throughout his career against the likes of Rafael Dos Anjos, Renan Brao and Gilbert Melendez.

However he was unable to halt a six-fight skid at the back end of his career losing to the likes of Calvin Kattar, Jose Aldo and Yair Rodriguez in a torrid winless run.

McGregor went on to stop Alvarez in the second round in arguably his most impressive performance.

The 33-year-old also faced Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring generating huge wealth for himself before losing to bitter rival Nurmagomedov in the most-bought pay-per-view in the promotion's history.

However he will be looking to halt a winless run after back-to-back defeats against Dustin Poirier, which has left him recovering from a broken leg injury.

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