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Home / Sport / Boxing

Conor McGregor goes where he's never gone before

news.com.au
7 Jul, 2016 12:53 AM4 mins to read

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Conor McGregor's cover shoot.

Conor McGregor's cover shoot.

It was only a matter of time before the UFC's biggest star followed some of the world's top athletes and stripped down for the bare edition of ESPN.

Posing for the magazine's 2016 Body Issue, the Irishman slipped into his birthday suit to shoot Saturday's eighth edition of the racy flipbook.

Posting a photo to his Instagram account on Wednesday (AEST), McGregor released the first snapshot of his naked images, posing with a worn-out punching bag.

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A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma)

McGregor is the fourth UFC fighter to appear in the magazine, with Ronda Rousey, Miesha Tate and Jon Jones all appearing in earlier editions.

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ESPN released an exclusive behind the scenes video of the shoot, where The Notorious gave fans some insight into his attitude to fighting, also touching on his proud family history.

"Tell ya what, them Irish genes are good, they've served me well," McGregor said.
"We are made to f***, we are made of steel.

"My family is lineage. We are warriors - the McGregor clan are famous all over the world for our fighting capabilities.

"My unpredictability is what separates me I feel. I can move in many ways. If you move in so many ways, your opponent is not focused on what he's doing, he's focused on what you're doing - it freezes him. When they freeze and you hit, they shatter like glass."

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McGregor isn't the only superstar to grace the magazine's bare-all pages, which hits the stands on Saturday July 7th (AEST).

Among the other participants is striker Christen Press, who plays football for Chicago Red Stars and the United States national team.

The 27-year-old said that her body is "100% made" for her sport.

Press said: "I'm 100 per cent a by-product of my sport. I always tell my teammates that I only have muscles where they get to play.

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'Freakiest freak show of the freak shows'

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"I have butt muscles, thigh muscles, and then my upper body is super skinny - except for in my shoulders, which you need for a little bit of strength to hold other players off the ball.

"So I think I've developed muscles 100 per cent from just shooting the ball and running. Every single thing about my body looks like soccer."

Miami Heat basketballer Dwyane Wade is one of the 18 other athletes to bare all in the magazine.

The NBA star said he had finally agreed to do the photo shoot after previously knocking back ESPN for seven years.

"It was uncharted water for me," Wade told ESPN.

"It was one of those moments where it's good to overcome a fear of something.

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"It's bigger than me showing my body off. That's not as important to me as telling a story of overcoming a fear. It hopefully gives someone confidence to really be their authentic self."

Among the 18 athletes is NFL monster Vince Wilfork, who graces the pages in all of his 147kg beauty.

ESPN THE BODY ISSUE 2016 ATHLETES

Nathan Adrian, swimming
Jake Arrieta, baseball
Antonio Brown, NFL
Emma Coburn, steeplechase
Courtney Conlogue, surfing

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A post shared by ESPN (@espn)


Elena Delle Donne, WNBA
Ryan Dungey, motocross
Adeline Gray, wrestling
Greg Louganis, diving

Conor McGregor, UFC
Von Miller, NFL
Chris Mosier, duathlon
Nzingha Prescod, fencing
Christen Press, football

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April Ross, beach volleyball
Allysa Seely, paratriathlete
Claressa Shields, boxing
Dwyane Wade, NBA
Vince Wilfork, NFL

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