When Seungwoo Choi said he "admired" Conor McGregor early in his MMA career

In 2019, Seungwoo Choi had many positive things to say about Conor McGregor. The South Korean only joined the UFC in 2019 and has had mixed success in the organization.

In the early days of Choi's MMA career, he said that he used to admire McGregor's self-confidence and also his ability to maintain a large and loyal fanbase.

In an interview with the UFC, the 29-year-old had this to say about the Irishman:

"During my early days in MMA, I admired Conor McGregor a lot. He had such confidence in him and every word he said was backed inside the Octagon. He proved himself each and every time. Also, he was the fighter that best knew how to market and promote himself fight-wise and fashion-wise with his huge fan base."

Seungwoo Choi made his professional MMA debut at Top FC 8: Heart of a Champion, where he beat Tae Seung Yoon in round one. After just eight professional fights, the 29-year-old managed to gain the attention of the UFC and signed in 2019.

Choi is yet to emulate his idol's success in the octagon, winning just three of his six UFC fights. However, the 29-year-old is doing a decent job of marketing himself, always open to interviews and posting on social media regularly.

This has seen his Instagram grow to over 22,000 followers, with most of his posts only being written in Korean.

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Seungwoo Choi vs. Joshua Culibao: Height, weight, reach and UFC record comparison

Seungwoo Choi is set to face Joshua Culibao at UFC 275 this weekend. The South Korean will have a significant height advantage when the two fighters square-off.

Choi stands at 183cm tall, which, when compared to Culibao's 177cm, should give the 29-year-old a healthy advantage on the feet. However, the reach difference isn't as much as you'd expect. The Australian has a reach of 185cm, which is only 4cm smaller than Choi's.

Seungwoo Choi last weighed in at 145.5 pounds, which isn't much lighter than Culibao, who last weighed in at 146 pounds. The two fighters haven't been in the UFC very long, with the South Korean joining in 2019 and the Australian signing in 2020.

However, Choi is definitely the more experienced fighter, having six bouts in the UFC within this short space of time. Culibao, meanwhile, has only fought three times in the organization, winning once. The 28-year-old has a record of 1-1-1 in the UFC, whereas the South Korean has a record of 3-3.