MMA star Brendan Loughnane admits he had to pinch himself when he began training with Conor McGregor.

But before long, he was on the receiving end of the UFC legend’s famously powerful left hand.

The two linked up in Dubai IN November when McGregor was preparing to make his return to the octagon.

And Loughnane revealed it was a long time coming.

He said: “It was a bit of a pinch me moment.

“It was quite crazy because when I went to commentate in Dublin we’d never met at that point, I went down to the Forge and we met.

“We were talking and I said, ‘It’s nice to finally meet you.’ And he said, ‘We’ve never met?’ He couldn’t believe it either.

“We’d been talking back and forth on Instagram for a while and I said, ‘When you come to Dubai, let’s train.’

“And he did, he messaged me, we trained I think six weeks back to back, a couple of times at least five nights a week, sparring, training. And I really enjoyed it.”

Loughnane, 34, returns to the cage on Friday in Chicago, coincidently against McGregor’s training partner Pedro Carvalho, 28.

And he does so having been knocked out in his last bout in June.

So Loughnane wanted to experience McGregor’s feared southpaw left to knock some confidence into him.

Loughnane said: “I did, yeah! And I did feel it, a good few times on the chin.

“And to be honest, I was chin-checking anyway because of my last fight and I was thinking, ‘I wonder if this chin still works.’

“And there’s nothing like a McGregor backhand to see if it’s still happening and it’s still going and we’re still good.”

Loughnane in 2022 won the Professional Fighters League season at featherweight, scooping the $1million cash prize.

But he was knocked out by 2023 winner Jesus Pinedo, 27, and failed to qualify for last year’s knockout stages.

So he returns with a vengeance this year in his season opener against Carvalho, coached by McGregor’s trainer John Kavanagh.

And then Loughnane hopes to help McGregor, 35, in his UFC 303 return against Michael Chandler, 37, set for June 29.

He said: “Obviously now I’m fighting one of John’s guys, that’s put a bit of a spinner in the works for this camp.

“But after, I’d love to jump in to his Chandler camp and be around it in some capacity.”

Conor McGregor’s MMA champ sparring partner lifts lid on training with UFC star for return… and his famous left hand | The Sun

UFC 300 proved to be one of the most unforgettable nights in the promotion’s history.

The historic card – which took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – was filled with thrills and spills from the get-go.

MMA fans in attendance at the T-Mobile Arena and those watching at home were treated to two viral knockouts from Max Holloway – who KO’d Justin Gaethje with ONE SECOND left of their fight – and Alex Pereira.

But there were plenty of ongoings that TV cameras didn’t show the millions of fans back home.

But thankfully for you, SunSport was live on the scene and on hand to capture the moments TV cameras didn’t.

Israel Adesanya and Dricus Du Plessis’ near miss

Israel Adesanya stunned fans in attendance by taking in all the fights on the historic card, which lasted nearly eight hours.

That wasn’t surprising given how stacked the card was. But what was surprising was the fact the UFC had him sitting so close to rival Dricus Du Plessis.

SunSport spotted that the newly-crowned middleweight champion was around seven or eight seats away from The Last Stylebender, whom he came closer to as he wandered around the VIP area to speak to other fighters.

However, unlike the last time he was in Vegas, Du Plessis didn’t get involved in a scrap with his future opponent.

But the Meta mogul didn’t make a grand entrance to the T-Mobile Arena, instead making a subdued arrival for the early prelims.

He enjoyed a handshake and a brief conversation with UFC president Dana White before the stacked main card.

Perhaps they were talking about how his MMA training is going and if he’s still keen on fighting Elon Musk.

Charles Oliveira’s worried girlfriend

Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira locked horns with Arman Tsarukyan in a pivotal match-up for the progression of the division.

‘Do Bronx’ was cheered on by his girlfriend Vitoria Brum, who had one of the best seats in the house next to the media section.

Brum was emotional before the fight got underway, fighting back the tears as her other half prepared for battle. And she was visibly upset during several stages of the fight.

Oliveira, however, consoled her as he made his way backstage after suffering a decision loss to Armenian-Russian Tsarukyan.

Ilia Topuria’s long stare

Featherweight king Ilia Topuria was one of several champions in attendance at UFC 300, with the Georgian-born Spaniard having one of the best seats in the house.

Topuria had a vested interest in the BMF title fight between Holloway and Gaethje, the former of whom used to rule the division he presides over.

And ‘El Matador’ – whose reaction to the brutal finish went viral – stood up for the majority of the pair’s incredible showdown.

He proudly strutted along with his camera crew as he donned a waistcoat to show off his ridiculously large arms and chest.

Several fans behind the expensive seats wanted selfies with the muscle machine, who happily obliged.

Five things UFC 300 cameras didn’t show from Adesanya’s DDP near miss, Zuck & Dana White, Topuria’s antics & nervous WAG | The Sun

JOE ROGAN insists there’s more to Alex Pereira’s game than UFC fight fans think. 

Fight fans have seen Pereira showcase deceptively blistering knockout power in his seven fights in MMA’s top promotion.

The former two-division Glory kickboxing champion has knocked out four of his seven opponents, including ex-middleweight king and long-time rival Israel Adesanya. 

Pereira’s explosive power will no doubt be on display in his first defence of the light-heavyweight title early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 300.

But Rogan believes the overall skillset of the Brazilian bruiser is lost on viewers because of the devastating results of his fights. 

During a recent episode of his podcast, he said: “The thing about Pereira, though, is he’s ultra high-level.

“People just think about only his power and only think about it because he’s got the most insane touch of death. 

“It’s insane. He just sleeps people, with everything. 

“But when you see his movement and you see the sneaky shit he does where he gets his calf kick off, you don’t see s**t, man. You don’t see s**t.”

It isn’t just Pereira’s kicking prowess that Rogan is impressed with, he’s equally blown away by his defence.

“And when he checks his kicks, he doesn’t check them,” the MMA icon said. “He gets his foot like a hackey sack position.

“He just lives his shin up so you’re just sliding under it. You ain’t getting shit and he’s coming down with a right hand every time. He’s fucking good. 

Rogan similarly believes a large percentage of fans underestimating returning former 205lbs king Jamahal Hill. 

He said: “Jamahal Hill is f***ing dangerous.

“Watch the fight with Glover [Teixeira], he pieced Glover up. And Glover is f***ing good. 

“People underestimate him for some strange reason and I don’t understand it.”

Joe Rogan reveals ‘sneaky’ UFC 300 star who has ‘touch of death’ is being underestimated by fans | The Sun

MMA fans all said the same thing after getting wind of Conor McGregor’s latest training footage.

The UFC‘s poster boy is seemingly on course to make his long-awaited octagon return in the summer.

McGregor, 35, scaled back his training last month due to his intense obligations to promote his Hollywood debut in ‘Roadhouse’.

But the Irishman has seemingly ramped things up in recent weeks ahead of a proposed June joust with Michael Chandler.

The former two-division champion recently shared a clip of himself sparring with one of his training partners to his Instagram and Twitter pages.

But scores of the UFC’s poster boy fans were quick to express concerns over how he looked.

One wrote on X: “He looks stiff as a board. Conor use to have a bounce to his stance.”

Another said: “He’s really not [looking sharp].”

And another said: “Looking as sharp as a spoon.”

One remarked: “He is on flat feet entire time how is this sharp?”

Another chimed in: “Conor was ahead of the game. Then the game caught up while he stayed stagnant.

“Dude has been throwing the same combos for the last 9 years.”

McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

Fan favourite Chandler was announced as his opponent last February but their showdown somehow failed to come to fruition in 2023.

It even failed to materialise for UFC 300, which takes place in Las Vegas early on Sunday morning.

But scores of fans reckon Dana White will announce the blockbuster desert dust-up at some point during fight week.

One said: “They’re going to announce Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler for UFC 300 at the #UFC300 press conference.”

Another said: “Bet McGregor vs Chandler gets announced during UFC 300.”

And another said: “I hope they announce McGregor vs. Chandler for June 29th on UFC 300 night.”

Conor McGregor’s new sparring footage has fans all saying same thing days before UFC 300 | The Sun