"I grew a big beard, he grew a big beard" - When Tyson Fury accused Conor McGregor of copying his style
Tyson Fury once accused Conor McGregor of copying his style after he noticed many similarities with their respective looks. Both competitors are two of the biggest stars in combat sports, so naturally there'll be comparisons made between them.
The Irishman had a meteoric rise to superstardom as he surged the featherweight rankings before earning a title shot against then champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194. It was a massive bout for the promotion and both fighters participated in a world press tour ahead of the bout.
Ahead of the highly anticipated undisputed featherweight championship bout, 'The Gypsy King' appeared on The MMA Hour and wasn't so complimentary of 'The Notorious'. Fury mentioned that McGregor was copying him and detailed what he noticed him doing. He said:
"All of a sudden, he starts copying me. This Conor McGregor guy. I grew a big beard, he grew a big beard. I talk bullsh*t about everybody, he starts talking bullsh*t about everybody. So, it works for the heavyweight champion of the world, it must work for Conor McGregor. Some guy who's like 140-pounds or whatever it is...I'm a fan of his but he's copied my style, so I've got to admire him for it."
Check out Tyson Fury's comments below:
Tyson Fury claims beef with Conor McGregor was for publicity
At one point, many fans believed that there was real animosity between Tyson Fury and Conor McGregor; however, the heavyweight champion boxer claimed otherwise.
While speaking to Queensberry Promotions in 2022, 'The Gypsy King' claimed that the beef between himself and the UFC star was strictly about publicity. He mentioned that it accomplished what they hoped it would as it trended during the weekend of the NFL's Super Bowl. He said:
"That [back-and-forth] was Super Bowl weekend. Good time to get some publicity, great timing actually. And we were trending all over Instagram, Twitter [X], Facebook. Pretty good work...McGregor is this big [shorter] and I'm about this big [much taller], so how could there be any animosity? And we're in totally different sports." [0:10 - 0:48]
Check out Tyson Fury's comments regarding his beef with Conor McGregor below: