Lebosnoyani Recalls Training With McGregor At 17

UFC fighter Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani trained with Conor McGregor for two weeks as a teenager, a memory he calls the highlight of his high school years.

Lebosnoyani was 17 when the opportunity arrived in 2016, just before McGregor's first fight with Nate Diaz. The timing caught him at an awkward moment — he'd just finished a massive meal at a Mongolian barbecue when his father rang to say McGregor needed a training partner immediately. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm gonna barf all over this guy,'" Lebosnoyani told Ariel Helwani, per Sherdog.

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The sessions ran roughly two weeks before McGregor connected with Dillon Danis. American Bandit said the Irishman's behavior inside the gym didn't match his public image. McGregor would arrive in expensive cars, but the swagger disappeared once the work started. "The second he stepped on the mat, that whole persona, the whole ego, was just gone," Lebosnoyani said.

The former two-division champion has kept in contact over the years, reaching out when Lebosnoyani won his contract through the Contender Series in 2025. The 12-2 fighter has rattled off three straight wins inside the Octagon, including a recent stoppage of Farman Hasanov at UFC Vegas 123 on October 31.

Lebosnoyani said the experience at 17 shaped how he views McGregor despite the controversies that have followed. He called the Irishman humble and down-to-earth during their time together, a side that stuck with him even as McGregor's career spiraled in later years.

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• Sherdog — UFC fighter recalls training with Conor McGregor at 17