Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani was 17 and freshly stuffed from the biggest meal of his life when his dad called with news no teenager wants on a full stomach. Conor McGregor was at the gym, and he needed a training partner right now.
Lebosnoyani told the story in a clip Ariel Helwani posted on X on Tuesday. His first thought, by his own account: “Oh my God, I’m gonna barf all over this guy.”
He doesn’t say whether he did. The two went through a run of jiu-jitsu rounds, and Lebosnoyani kept training with McGregor for about two weeks before McGregor met Dillon Danis. Lebosnoyani called it “the highlight of my high school childhood,” which is about the right ranking.
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The contrast is what stuck with him. McGregor was at the top of the sport then, and Lebosnoyani said he would roll up to the gym in two Rolls-Royces, “and the second he stepped on the mat, that whole persona, the whole ego was just gone.” He described McGregor as humble and down-to-earth with a kid who had no business sharing a mat with him. He said he’ll always respect McGregor, even with all the controversy that follows him around.
The relationship didn’t end when those two weeks did. Lebosnoyani said McGregor has messaged him at various points in his career. When Lebosnoyani signed with the UFC, McGregor sent a note congratulating him.
In a second clip Helwani posted the same afternoon, Lebosnoyani explained the other thing he’s known for, which is turning himself into a walking meme.
Most of the time, he said, he’s deliberately recreating viral moments. The I Am Feel bit was the exception. That one was just him being himself, and he was glad the camera happened to be on him. He traced the habit back to the Arman kick, then the Petr Yan scream. Then came the cartwheel on the scale around Yan’s fight with Merab. Lebosnoyani saw it on his feed and knew instantly what his next move was. “Thank you, Petr Yan. I already know what I’m going to do next,” he said.
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There’s a reason behind the bit. Lebosnoyani said he has lost fights because he was too serious. He’s learned that being himself and having fun puts him “in alignment with my highest self,” in his words.
Neither clip got into his record or his next booking, so watch for that announcement.
My take: I’ll always ride with a fighter who can explain exactly why he’s goofing around at weigh-ins over one who glowers at the scale and fights like he’s filing taxes. Lebosnoyani answered both questions straight, credited the guy who gave him the cartwheel idea, and remembered the most famous fighter on earth for leaving his ego in the parking lot next to two Rolls-Royces. Sounds like the 17-year-old took notes, full stomach and all.
