UFC Star McGregor Spars with 'The Mountain' of 'Game of Thrones'
Everyone knows him as "The Mountain," that huge individual from the award-winning "Game of Thrones" HBO series, and for sure it's easier to remember than his real name, Hafthor Bjornsson. Europe's reigning strongest man had an interesting sparring session with UFC's Conor McGregor, who, in turn, will see himself back in The Octagon again in December.
No, it's not a scene out of a video game — it's as real as it can get. The sparring, which is all over the Internet as of this posting, featured the 145-pound McGregor against the 6'9" former professional basketball player, who actually weighs 419 pounds.
While many observers will say that this is all about building some hype for McGregor's upcoming UFC 194 fight card, the thing is that the mixed martial artist seems to be quite an expert in entertaining fans aside from being one of the most exciting fighters today.
The sparring matchup came into fruition as part of McGregor's preparation for his December 12 battle against fierce rival Jose Aldo, taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. But obviously, it was more of an entertainment than an actual sparring for training. If it were for real, everyone would be seeing a badly beaten McGregor, considering the size difference. Both men became acquainted when they bumped into each other at the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, the same gym McGregor is training for his fight against Aldo.
Bjornsson is a former professional basketball player who quit the game after suffering an injury at age 20. He came in second in the recent World Strongest Man competition.
The Irish mixed martial artist meanwhile is the current UFC interim featherweight champion and the number 1 ranked featherweight. Before coming to UFC, he reigned as Cage Warriors' featherweight and lightweight champion. He also is 11th in the UFC's pound-for-pound best fighters ranking.
