Conor McGregor trains with ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones

THERE’S one man on this planet no sane person would ever attempt to fight. It’s safe to say UFC fighter Conor McGregor isn’t sane, then.

McGregor vs Game of Thrones’ ‘The Mountain’

SOME people lay off the carbs when training for a big event. Some people improve their cardio fitness and some people hit the protein shakes.

But what do you do if you’re UFC fighter Conor McGregor? Easy. You find the biggest human (if someone this size can still be classified as human) you can, and spar with him.

Popular Game of Thrones character “The Mountain”, also known as Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson, visited the Irishman at the Straight Blast Gym in Dublin, and the pair decided to go at it in a bare-knuckle face-off.

Today I had a bare-knuckle fight off a 180kg monster called 'The Mountain' I'd never fought a man that big before. pic.twitter.com/BM22JOeZK1

— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 31, 2015

McGregor’s fists might be some of the most dangerous in the world, but even he would admit the match-up was lopsided in Björnsson’s favour. McGregor stands at 175cm tall and weighs roughly 65kg. By comparison, “The Mountain” is more than two metres tall and weighs in at 180kg. That’s almost three times heavier than McGregor.

Björnsson has played “The Mountain” (whose character name is Gregor Clegane) in seasons four and five of the hit TV show and, not surprisingly given his huge physique, is no stranger to acts of violence in the program.

He seemed to enjoy himself with McGregor and his Icelandic teammate Gunnar Nelson, posting a photo on Instagram with the caption: “Had a good day today with these champs.” Even with his yellow and green socks he still managed to look scary.

Björnsson is a strongman competitor and former basketballer. In February this year he smashed a record that had reportedly stood for 1000 years by carrying a 650kg, 10m long log on his shoulders for five steps during the World’s Strongest Viking competition in Norway.

McGregor is training in preparation for his clash with Jose Aldo at UFC 194 on December 12 in a featherweight unification fight. If the 27-year-old can handle “The Mountain”, then he can be confident of taking on anyone in the world.

He has 18 wins to date in his MMA career and only two losses.

Originally published as Conor McGregor trains with ‘The Mountain’ from Game of Thrones