Askar Mozharov recently inked a tattoo on his chest and fans have been speculating that it is similar to Conor McGregor’s renowned silverback gorilla tattoo.
However, Askar Mozharov, who is making his UFC debut next weekend, defended himself by saying that his chest tattoo was not inspired by Conor McGregor.
When McGregor first entered the UFC in 2013, he had just a few tattoos on his body. Now he is known for having a large number of them.
The most prominent tattoo is a big silverback gorilla tattooed on McGregor’s chest, wearing a crown and grasping a heart in its jaws.
The tattoo is a spin-off of his Straight Blast Gym emblem. Mozharov’s tattoo looks very similar to the original chest tattoo inked on McGregor.
No word yet on if Mozharov is aware that McGregor actually swagger jacked another model in the space.
Mozharov said the following:
“No this is not Conor McGregor’s [tattoo]. Guys, this is the same style, old school but another picture.”
“Actually in my country people know me as the Ukrainian Conor McGregor but this is different, I like Conor but I am Askar.”
The Ukrainian stated that preparing for his UFC debut has been difficult given his country’s continuous Russian invasion.
In a time when many Ukrainian sportsmen were abandoning their sports to protect their country, Mozharov explained why he did not.
“It’s a very tough time,” he said. “A lot of people and athletes ended up going back to protect the country.”
“A lot of my friends suggested, it’s much better and easy for me to pursue this path. I have an opportunity to be able to do that and show my country in a better way.”
Prior to his debut, Mozharov’s professional record was drastically changed. This was because fresh information about his multiple victories and defeats became available.
The record used to be 25-7, but it’s now 21-11 after four of his prior victories were reversed. According to Mozharov, the misconception stemmed from a change in his surname many years ago.