Some celebrities are so popular that you recognize them just by their tattoos. Conor McGregor is perhaps the biggest such entity from the world of MMA. From wearing suits to press conferences to the ‘bill strut,’ the Irishman’s proclivities have inspired many to copy his antics. Is UFC 308 headliner Ilia Topuria one such McGregor copycat?

Fans and even fighters like his next opponent Max Holloway started noticing that Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor have similar-looking tattoos; their first thought was that maybe Topuria was replicating the ink. But is any of that true? Let’s find out.

What are the tattoos that Ilia Topuria and Conor McGregor have?

The featherweight star with an undefeated record of 15 wins and has a lot of prominent tattoos starting from his chest to his back and even his hands. He burst into the UFC featherweight scene after joining the promotion in 2020. As soon as he started getting the spotlight he increased the amount of tattoos on his body but has yet to reveal the meaning behind them.

On the other hand, ‘The Notorious’ is also pretty famous for his tattoos. When he debuted back in 2013 the Irishman’s body was a blank canvas for the art that was about to be inked in the future. Back then he only had a few tattoos; one on his left heel, and another on his spine. However, now the former dual-weight champion is covered with tattoos on his chest, hands, and even legs.

Both the fighters have a lot of motifs related to animals as well as their religious faith. This has prompted several people to assume that ‘El Matador’ might have copied the Dubliner since he debuted at UFC later on and McGregor had come before him and set the bar for success in prizefighting.

Did Ilia Topuria copy McGregor?

The Irishman’s best and most famous tattoo is the crowned Gorilla eating a heart, that is on his chest. Another one is a Royal Bengal Tiger on his stomach. The tattoo that he has on his back represents a crucifix that runs down his spine like a helix. What is interesting is that there was an uncanny resemblance between this tattoo and Topuria’s tattoo.

The tattoo on the Spaniard’s back is also a crucifix that is followed by a helix. He has a winged crucifix on the nape of his neck which is followed by two snakes that are intertwined in the form of a helix and extend down his spine. On top of that the featherweight even has a tattoo on his chest that is of the face of a royal Bengal Tiger with the letter T near his throat.

Hold on, because this gets more interesting. Interestingly, ahead of UFC 298, Ilia Topuria’s similarities to Conor McGregor had become a topic of conversation. The fans were speaking about ‘El Matador’s’ antics before the fight which were pretty similar to McGregor’s pre-fight habits. This is when UFC buffs have also narrowed in on Topuria’s back tattoo. Meanwhile, Max Holloway has also accused the Spaniard of copying the Irishman.

“You know the guy. He’s a copycat. This guy’s a copycat. Down to the tattoos, his aura to the way he approaches fights,” Max Holloway stated during the UFC 308 media day. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to earn that moment… he’s just trying to steal stuff. He’s already trying to steal one person’s aura. Now, he’s trying to steal somebody else’s thing [his finger-pointing motion]. So, it’s amazing.”

McGregor himself once shared a reel on his Instagram stories where it compared Topuria’s actions that were reminiscent of McGregor’s antics. However, there are also fighters like Kamaru Usman and Ian Garry who have been speculated to imitate Conor McGregor but not when it comes to having the same tattoos. They imitated his personality and plagiarised some lines that he had said. Usman had referenced a ‘green panty night’ as opposed to McGregor’s iconic ‘red panty night.’ Garry had imitated a line from McGregor where the latter said ‘We are not here to take part we are here to take over.’ Do you think that Topuria copied McGregor or it was just a coincidence? Tell us in the comments below.