Conor McGregor sends heartfelt wishes to 'coach's favorite fighter' on occassion of his birthday

Conor McGregor is showing his appreciation for one of MMA's all-time greats on his birthday.

Conor McGregor took to Twitter and shared a heartfelt message to B.J. Penn, who turns 44-years-old today. He shared the message in a quoted tweet that included a video of Penn's bout against Joe Stevenson, writing:

"G! Happy birthday, @bjpenndotcom! My coach's favorite fighter, all time. We studied."

G! Happy birthday, @bjpenndotcom! My coach’s favorite fighter, all time. We studied. twitter.com/vm_tv_/status/…

'The Prodigy' responded to his tweet and mentioned that he's looking forward to the Irishman's return to the octagon, writing:

"Mahalo Conor! You're da man. Look forward to seeing you comeback in 2023"

@TheNotoriousMMA Mahalo Conor! You’re da man. Look forward to seeing you comeback in 2023 🇮🇪 🤙🏽

It was a nice message from 'Mystic Mac' and a very nice compliment that he, along with his coach John Kavanagh studied the UFC Hall of Famer. Some fans may look past Penn's achievements at times as he fought past his prime, but there's no denying that he was one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport during the height of his career.

Penn vs. Stevenson, which was included in the quoted tweet, took place at UFC 80 and saw 'The Prodigy' submitt him with a rear-naked choke to win the vacant UFC lightweight championship and the Submission of the Night bonus. He successfully retained the title on three occasions before losing it to Frankie Edgar at UFC 112.

Conor McGregor shares many similarites with B.J. Penn

Mar26.2005

17 years ago today,

BJ Penn moved up to the Heavyweight division to fight Lyoto Machida. https://t.co/rf2gNa8D7n

Conor McGregor shares many similarities with B.J. Penn in terms of accomplishments and weight-divisions he competed in.

Like Penn, 'The Notorious' is a former two-division UFC champion, having won both the featherweight and lightweight championship. 'The Prodigy' is a former lightweight and welterweight champion, and split time between the weight-divisions during his career. However, he wasn't able to achieve double champ status as he was defeated by then welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre.

Penn and 'The Notorious' have also not shied away from a fight as they have both moved up more than one weight-division in their careers. Penn moved up from welterweight to openweight after departing the UFC in 2004. Meanwhile, 'The Notorious' famously moved up from featherweight to welterweight when he fought Nate Diaz at UFC 196.