Is Paul Felder Irish and why does Conor McGregor dislike him?
Conor McGregor and Paul Felder have exchanged some harsh words with regards to the latter's Irish ancestry. Felder's nickname, "The Irish Dragon", doesn't sit well with McGregor, who claims that Felder is not Irish, but German.
Speaking at a media scrum in Abu Dabhi ahead of UFC's tripleheader, Felder addressed his Irish heritage and stated that Conor McGregor is just "f*****g with him". The No.8 ranked lightweight said that he is not Irish, but identifies himself as an American.
Felder was born in Philadelphia, United States, to parents who had partial ancestry from Ireland. He has also acknowledged that he is not German either, as opposed to what his last name may suggest, since 'Felder' is a German surname.
"My last name is German. My dad's side - I hate talking about this - I know I'm not Irish. I'm not German. I'm not Italian, I'm not Swedish, I'm American," said Felder.
Explaining how he started getting recognized with the nickname of The Irish Dragon, Paul Felder stated that it was not him who came up with the moniker, but someone else. The 36-year-old said that he hated the nickname because he is not actually Irish, however, he has Irish roots in him since he was born to Irish-American parents.
Why does Conor McGregor dislike Paul Felder?
Conor McGregor has repeatedly targeted Paul Felder over his Irish origins. McGregor, of course, is the biggest name from Ireland in the UFC. And Felder being tagged as The Irish Dragon when he is not even from the country, irks McGregor.
In several deleted tweets, McGregor had noted that Paul Felder is German, and not Irish.
Ahead of Paul Felder's fight against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Vegas 14, The Irish Dragon had some mean words for McGregor.
"If he’s talking about my name which is more German, then let’s talk about his Scottish name and how he’s Scottish then. Shut the f**k up... Go blow some lines and shut the f**k up," Felder told MMA Fighting.
Conor McGregor also took a dig at Felder after his win against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. The Notorious referred to him as "melty fool at the desk".
In the above-mentioned tweet, Conor McGregor once again hit out at Felder, by tweeting "good morning from the Felders" in the German language.
Speaking at the press conference, Felder, however, embraced the war of words with McGregor and said that The Notorious will poke fun at anybody who climbs the ranks in the UFC.