Castillo 'lost a ton of respect' for Conor McGregor on TUF

Lightweight veteran Danny Castillo used to be a fan of Conor McGregor. The 36-year-old believed McGregor's antics were good for the sport, but seeing the Irishman in person on the latest series of The Ultimate Fighter has changed things for Castillo.

"Before the show, I really liked Conor," Castillo told TUF Talk this week (per fox sports). "I thought he was great for the sport, bringing all those people into the sport, and bringing so much recognition to the sport I thought it was great. But just listening to him and being around him, I'd rather not deal with it."

McGregor, 26, has emerged as one of the fastest growing stars in UFC history. His featherweight title unification bout with long-time champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194 is the most anticipated fight of the year.

"The Notorious" has antagonized Aldo similar to how he's teased Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male (TAM) on TUF. One of the recent highlights of the show was when McGregor called T.J. Dillashaw a "snake in the grass" for training with Duane Ludwig.

But, according to TAM representative Danny Castillo, the Dubliner's bravado is all for show.

"I just lost a ton of respect for him because (when) the cameras were off, he was acting totally different than when the cameras were on. I lost a lot of respect for him because I'm the same way whether my mom's there or my homies are there or you're there, I'm going to talk the same way, I'm going to act the same way because I'm me. I'm that person. I don't turn the switch on when the cameras are around."

McGregor will square off with Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on December 12th in Las Vegas, Nevada, while Castillo will look to spring back into the winners column against Nik Lentz a week later at UFC on FOX 17.