Conor McGregor is arguably the biggest name in the world of combat sports. He has inspired millions around the world through his backstory, what he has achieved in and out of the Octagon, his business moves, and more. However, even the UFC’s highest-paid athlete has his own role models.
Aside from Muhammad Ali, Conor McGregor has gone on record several times mentioning Arnold Schwarzenegger as his lifelong idol. Arnold has not only been a huge impact on the Irish megastar’s life. The 7-time Mr. Olympia has also been captured on tape to have met the fan in Conor, three weeks away from the scheduled Jose Aldo fight in 2015.
A documentary named ‘Conor McGregor: Notorious’ came out in 2017, which gave fans an up close and personal look at Conor’s earlier struggling days, his preparation for the Jose Aldo fight, and more. In a particular segment of the documentary, Conor appears star-struck, and why wouldn’t he be? He finally got to meet his lifelong inspiration in flesh.
“I’ll tell you what, Arnie [Arnold], you were my hero growing up. But Heather [Milligan] is my hero now, yeah?” Conor said, while referencing Arnold’s Physical Therapist, who also happens to be the Hollywood legend’s current girlfriend.
“I know it’s a long way away, I know you’re a busy man, but, I’ll put you down as there. But, I’ll understand if you’re not.” added Conor, insinuating he wants Arnold to be part of the audience as he attempts to capture UFC gold at the then-upcoming UFC 189 bout.
However, Conor’s nostalgic bubble appeared to pop when Arnold responded with “When I say I’ll be back, I mean it.”, referencing the famous line from his 1984 classic ‘The Terminator’. McGregor couldn’t control his joy.
Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to inspire Conor McGregor
This isn’t the only time we saw Conor speaking candidly about Arnold. A year and a half after suffering defeat at the hands of Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 during their rubber match, Conor posted the following image on his social media. He captioned, “If @schwarzenegger and @brucelee had a mad Irish baby”.
While McGregor was recovering from his devastating leg injury, he met with Arnold at the medical facility that the former double-champ frequented during his stay in California. The former Governor of California seems to be sharing words of advice with ‘The Notorious’, in regard to healing his broken tibia.
Conor took over to Twitter to wish his idol a happy birthday. He referenced Arnie’s arguably most famous line, “I’ll be back.” Conor also hinted at his upcoming major studio film ‘Road House’ in the same tweet.
I’ll be back!
For the sake of humankind!
I must return! 🦸♂️
Happy birthday my man, @Schwarzenegger! Hope you and H are proud of my recovery / work and my latest move on the board.
Fun times ahead, bring it 🦿❤️ pic.twitter.com/v7z2Fppn9K— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 4, 2022
Conor McGregor is slated to return later this year against Michael Chandler at the end of TUF 31. Even though the exact weight class and venue for the bout remain unclear, what we do know is that the fight is going to be fireworks.
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