UFC interim featherweight champion Conor McGregor recently took part in a media luncheon in Los Angeles, ahead of his unification fight with champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194. The conversation was wide-ranging, and turned to McGregor’s impromptu sparring session with Hafthor Julius Bjornsson.
Bjornsson is 6′ 9″ and weighs 400 lbs. and is the world’s strongest man. He is also famous for playing the role of The Mountain on Game of Thrones. As Gregor Clegane, casts a massive, eye-gouging shadow over the award winning series.
The bareknuckle sparing session was not planned. The pair were doing a photoshoot to recreate the legendary shots of Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s 7′ 2″ NBA’s all-time leading scorer in the NBA.
Suddenly ‘Notorious’ found himself being chased by a man well over twice his size.
It was a lot of fun, said McGregor, as transcribed by MMAjunkie. That’s a big man – 6-foot-9, 400 pounds, and I still folded him up. I was hitting him with some shots – I had to hit him with some shots. He was trying to hit me, as well.
“People say, ‘He was taking it easy.’ He tried to grab me and tried to pull my head off and I defended – freed the head. I was like, this motherf—er is so big, I have to start smacking him to the body. … But I sunk him good. Not even a ‘Mountain’ can take these shots from me.
mcGregor’s confience vs. a 400 lbs man is not surprising given that he recently reckoned he could take Jesus Christ.
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Saturday’s fight could represent the future of mixed martial arts. Jose Aldo is arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. If Conor McGregor beats him, MMA has its Muhammad Ali – that figure who is larger than the sport.
To certain extent, Ronda Rousey already fulfilled the role, becoming for example the most searched for athlete on Yahoo in the last year. The effect of her recent loss will hopefully not be catastrophic for her popularity. And every queen needs a king.
With Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor at the fore, the world’s fastest growing sport will accelerate. If both lose, the future glows, but is murkier.
