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17th August 2018
11:59am BST
"The English claim athletes as British when it suits them" - that was the reaction after Michael Conlan was pictured beside a British emblem as he fought in his homecoming bout against Brazilian Adeilson Dos Santos.
Fair enough, Conlan is from Belfast so you'll have a few that will argue the case but he's always fought for Ireland and identifies as Irish.
The same could be said for UFC fighter, James Gallagher.
He has been described as the 'next McGregor' and hope to go on to the dizzy heights that the man from Crumlin has experienced.
He hails from Strabane in Tyrone but flies the Irish flag proudly above his skull any time he fights.
So you could imagine his disgust when he spotted his name beside a British emblem on the MMA Junkie website.
Good way to get @MMAjunkie boycotted fuck that. Making mistakes at a high level is acceptable! Don’t dare disrespect me like that! ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? https://t.co/CfuEUyxEbn
— james gallagher (@StrabanimalMMA) August 16, 2018
Gallagher is currently unbeaten after seven fights and returns to the octagon on Friday where he will face promotional newcomer, Ricky Bandejas.
It's his first time in an MMA cage in 14 months so we wish him the best of luck.
