UFC superstar Conor McGregor dressed as Mexican gangster Joaquín Guzmán, better known as ‘El Chapo’ ahead of his ill-fated fight with Rafael dos Anjos, who held the lightweight title at the time.
By 2016, McGregor was already the biggest star in the sport after knocking out Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds to become the featherweight champion.
Intent on replicating his achievements in Cage Warriors, ‘Notorious’ moved up in weight to attempt to become the first dual-weight champion in UFC history by beating dos Anjos at UFC 196.
Just days prior to the UFC 196 press conference, ‘El Chapo’ being captured by Mexican authorities was worldwide news and McGregor decided to dress as the infamous criminal when he squared off against dos Anjos for the first time.
Not everyone immediately got the joke though and the MMA legend used one of his verbal tirades at his Brazilian opponent to address the costume he had put so much effort into.
“I’m speaking Spanish. I’m dressed like 'El Chapo' in his prime. I’m running this company like half a wise guy. I’m up here verbally destroying this man. I am a multicultural individual, I am up here doing whatever I want,” McGregor said.
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During their face-off, the 33-year-old once again steered into the skit as he copied the pose 'El Chapo' used when meeting actor Sean Penn for their notorious Rolling Stone magazine interview.
Although it wasn’t an instant hit, many found McGregor’s El Chapo costume hilarious, including UFC commentator and popular podcaster Joe Rogan.
“Did you ever see when Conor McGregor bought that same shirt and was taking pictures with people with that same pose? Conor was doing that same pose and not telling anyone. Everybody had to figure out what Conor was doing," Rogan said on his podcast.
Rogan’s producer then pulled up footage of McGregor posing alongside dos Anjos as they compared it to El Chapo’s photograph with Penn.
“Look at him. Look at his face! He’s just a f****** animal. God damn, I love that guy. Come on man it’s pretty f****** close,” the 54-year-old added.
"It’s just the handshake thing. Conor is normally putting his fists in peoples’ faces and talking s*** and in that one, he looks like he’s going to shake hands.
“Look at that, it’s like the same thing. He’s holding his hand out and dos Anjos isn’t even thinking about holding his hand. Dana is going, ‘Oh my god. I’m going to make so much money from this fight.'"
Unfortunately, the fight never took place as dos Anjos was forced out of the bout with a foot injury and replaced with Nate Diaz who picked up a monumental upset victory over McGregor.
‘Mystic Mac’ ultimately did become the first dual-weight champion in UFC history when he stopped Eddie Alvarez, the man who dethroned Dos Anjos, inside two rounds at UFC 205 in 2016.
McGregor has become rich beyond his wildest dreams in recent years but has struggled for form and has just one win since etching his name in the history books.
The Irishman is currently rehabbing after suffering a fractured tibia and fibula at UFC 264 in July 2021 ahead of his eagerly anticipated comeback which is expected to take place later this year.
Dos Anjos moved up to welterweight after losing his title but was never really a contender in that weight class and ultimately dropped back down to 155lbs in 2020.
The 37-year-old, who will headline UFC Vegas 58 alongside Rafael Fiziev this weekend, has picked up two wins over Renato Moicano and Paul Felder since then to re-establish himself as a genuine contender for the currently vacant title he once held.
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