UFC megastar Conor McGregor and Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney are cut from different cloths, but have managed to forge one of the most unlikely friendships in sport.
McGregor is known to be a big football fan and spent parts of last year going back and forth with Sergio Ramos on Instagram.
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But in 2019, he was asked about his favourite player in the world and his answer was Tierney.
"There's a young guy, Kieran Tierney," he begun per talkSPORT.
"He was the captain of Celtic Football Club and he signed with Arsenal.
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"He's been a phenomenal supporter of mine, he's been supporting me over the years. He's risen up and he's a phenomenal, phenomenal football player.
"I'm in conversation with him and he's a great guy, a good kid, and I'm rooting for him."
'The Notorious' is a Celtic fan and first came across Tierney at a UFC event in Dublin.
Naturally, they both hit it off when discussing the Hoops and remained in touch from then on.
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Tierney even sent McGregor a signed shirt and when speaking to the Daily Record, he admitted seeing the former 'Champ-champ' wearing it kept him up at night.
"Honestly, I couldn't sleep that night," he said. "He posted the picture at 10.50pm and I was sitting there thinking, 'No way.' That was me up the full night, and I went buzzing into training.
"I'm a massive fan, particularly the way he talks about positivity. It's all about mindset and how you react to people doubting you, and how to come back from defeats. Any athlete can relate to him."
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The 23-year-old has been a standout performer for Arsenal in an otherwise disappointing campaign, but his debut season was marred by injury.
Prior to his Premier League move, Tierney was suffering from a groin issue and it was McGregor who checked up on him.
"Throughout my injury Connor McGregor was brilliant with me," he continued. "He has a programme he does on the watt bike that helped him get fit and he was giving me tips on that, which was amazing.
"I was doing work on the watt bike with the Celtic physios anyway - that's what gets you fit through different programmes. But I found out his programme and had a look to see if mine was similar.
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"I was still doing Celtic's programme but the little tips from him helped too. He's my biggest hero outside of football so it was amazing. I don't know how my results compared to his but it was pretty good.
"It was just brilliant to hear from him. When you're injured you always feel a bit lower than usual because you're not out on the pitch training with everyone.
"To hear from your hero and get advice from him lifted me that wee bit."
Featured Image Credit: Kieran Tierney, Conor McGregor/Instagram & PA ImagesTopics: Conor Mcgregor, Football News, Football, MMA News, Kieran Tierney, Premier League, Arsenal, UFC, MMA
