McGregor – the highest-paid MMA fighter of all time – was an apprentice plumber in Ireland before he packed it in to pursue combat.

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Conor McGregor with boxing coach Bra Brady

He was still training at Crumlin Boxing at the time under the coaching of Olympian Phil Sutcliffe and Patrick “Bra” Brady.

Bra was a career plumber himself and gave a teenage McGregor €70 (£60) to get himself some tools under the promise it would get paid back.

But the future multimillionaire never squared his debt.

Bra told SunSport from the famed Crumlin gym: “I’m a plumber all my life, retired now, but Conor wanted to be a plumber so when he started off, he’s 16, I said I’ll get him his tools.

“I knew a fella that worked in the trade that could get the tools for cheap.

“I said, I’d get him the tools and he can pay me back week by week because he used to be at the club.

“I said, ‘You got them?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll pay ya back.’ But, he never did.”

McGregor went onto become an icon of the UFC, winning titles in two divisions at the height of his rise.

In 2017, he crossed over to the boxing ring for a lucrative bout against American great Floyd Mayweather, losing in round ten.

McGregor regretted not reuniting with the boxing team who first honed his skills.

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So, after defeat to Mayweather, the UFC superstar returned to Crumlin to train once again with Sutcliffe and Bra.

And McGregor repaid them for their hours of dedicated training by spending thousands renovating the club.

McGregor even boxed on their club show to raise money and kitted out the club and its coaches in custom tracksuits.

But, there was still one more thing left to do.

He gave us a few things, a new ring and things like that, tracksuits and all that. He said, ‘Are you happy with that?’ I said, ‘Yeah, but one more thing… I want my 70 quid!’

Patrick “Bra” Brady

Bra revealed: “It was 15 years later he paid me back, that’s when he wanted to get on the show.

“He gave us a few things, a new ring and things like that, tracksuits and all that. He said, ‘Are you happy with that?’

“I said, ‘Yeah, but one more thing… I want my 70 quid!'”

McGregor still goes into Crumlin Boxing while in training camp but is currently nursing a toe injury.

It forced him out of his return against American Michael Chandler, 38, which was set for June 29 but now looks to be postponed until next year.

McGregor returned to box on a Crumlin show