5 of Conor McGregor's closest friends in MMA

#4. Conor McGregor and Tom Egan

UFC 229 Khabib v McGregor: Weigh-Ins

Conor McGregor was learning plumbing and playing football back in Crumlin before he got into MMA. Although he had taken up boxing since he was 12, McGregor was influenced by a man named Tom Egan to take up MMA. It was in 2006 that the 'Notorious' megastar finally began sparring in MMA with Egan.

3) At just 12 years old, Conor McGregor began boxing at the Crumlin Boxing Club.He trained on/off for the next few years, eventually moving to another town with his family at 16.That's where he met future UFC fighter Tom Egan.They hit it off & started training MMA together. pic.twitter.com/Nfz9qLC260

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) May 16, 2021

Tom Egan would go onto become the first Irish athlete to be signed by the UFC, and he certainly deserves the credit for introducing Conor McGregor to the world of combat sports. The two Irish fighters have been friends ever since. McGregor spoke about Egan and said:

"I met Tom who was just grappling at the time. Around the same time we discovered MMA, so I'd head up to his gym in Kildare and we'd teach each other what we knew, then scrap at the end of it."

Tom Egan's UFC debut came in 2009, three years before Conor McGregor was signed by the MMA promotion. Speaking about his feelings on paving the way for Irish fighters to the UFC, including his friend Conor McGregor, Egan said:

"To think had I not taken that opportunity, maybe we wouldn't have a Conor McGregor or a Cathal Pendred or a Paddy Holohan or an Aisling Daly... I'm not taking away from their success, but only going by their words and their accounts of that night to see their friend and training partner in that big of an arena lit a fire under all of them."

---

#3. Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber

Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber on UFC Tonight Interview | Image via YouTube @SickoGabe

Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber have been friends ever since they coached against each other at TUF: Season 22. While Faber was coaching Team America, McGregor had Team Europe's command. The two fighters got into physical confrontations a bunch of times but tempers never flared up too badly, which led to them developing a definite fondness for each other.

Favourite insult in MMA? I’ll go first ⬇️@TheNotoriousMMA @UrijahFaber #conormcgregor #McGregor pic.twitter.com/y3zFtFUuMJ

— RetroWwfUfc (@RetroWwfUfc) May 4, 2021

Urijah Faber spoke of his relationship with Conor McGregor and told Submission Radio:

"Conor and I have a funny relationship. We like to talk crap to each other but I actually think he’s a decent dude. We’ve had it on a couple of occasions where we start talking and start into a physical confrontation. We’re both fighters and when personal space gets invaded…but we never really cross the line. Tempers never flare too bad. Conor can take a joke, I can dish it out and take a joke as well, so there’s a lot of banter back and forth..."

Watch Conor McGregor and Urijah Faber's friendly interactions below: