For years, Conor McGregor has produced some of the most memorable trash-talking moments in UFC history. The Irishman’s distinctive style has become so iconic that fighters like Ilia Topuria are often accused of copying him. However, Tyson Fury has once again turned the tables, claiming that McGregor actually learned how to “talk shit” from him.

During a recent interview with ALF Global’s Alfredo Auditore, ‘The Gypsy King’ explained that trash talk comes naturally to him. Fury even joked that he would be an undisputed champion if combat sports had a world championship for talking.

“It’s about popularity today, how many tickets they can sell, and how many views they can generate,” Fury stated. “For me, it’s always been easy. Talking is what I do best. If there were world championships for talking, I’d be the undisputed champion.”

When Auditore brought up Conor McGregor, the former WBC heavyweight champion immediately claimed that the Irishman had copied his approach to trash talk.

“Yeah, maybe, but I taught him,” Fury claimed. “He copied me. He copied my style. I’ve been talking sh-t from the beginning, for a long time.”

Fury’s claim that he influenced the former UFC champion’s trash-talking style is hardly new. The British heavyweight made virtually the same argument more than a decade ago.

“I am familiar with a man named Conor McGregor. I think he copied me in everything he does,” Fury told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour in 2015. “I was the first trash talker, big time, in these shores, first one in Ireland. Then all of a sudden, he started copying me, this Conor McGregor guy.”

The comments marked another chapter in the long-running tension between two of combat sports’ biggest personalities.

At first, McGregor refrained from making a comment on Fury’s claim. Five years after that comment, the former boxing heavyweight champion claimed that he had been speaking to Conor McGregor about his MMA debut. However, ‘The Notorious’ refuted Fury’s comment in an interview with BT Sport, stating that he had never spoken to the British heavyweight and accused him of lying.

Fury vs. McGregor’s saga of animosity didn’t stop there. In 2022, Fury praised the Irishman’s eternal rival Khabib Nurmagomedov for returning “on top” on social media. That sparked a targeted rant from McGregor, who labeled Tyson Fury a “Versace twat” on social media. Given that history, Fury taking another swipe at McGregor should come as little surprise.

Tyson Fury explains what makes his trash talk different from Conor McGregor’s

While Fury believes he taught McGregor how to trash talk, he also acknowledged that the two fighters have different motivations when they verbally attack their opponents.

According to the former heavyweight champion, he doesn’t necessarily trash talk because he wants to get inside an opponent’s head. Instead, Fury views it as part of the entertainment business and a way of selling fights.

“I don’t do it to get in their heads,” Fury added in the same interview. “It’s show business. Boxing is Hollywood. Boxing is a movie. The fans have to be entertained. So, when they tune in and pay for the pay-per-view, the press conference buildup, they’re going to see a show. That’s what they come to see. It’s like a circus.”

McGregor, meanwhile, has previously suggested that getting inside an opponent’s head isn’t necessarily the primary purpose of his trash talk either.

“If it has an effect on my opponent, that’s great,” the Dublin native said during a 2015 Q&A. “If it doesn’t, I would still whoop him.”

On the surface, that philosophy sounds similar to Fury’s approach. However, McGregor has repeatedly demonstrated that he puts considerable effort into researching his opponents before fights, looking for personal details he can use during press conferences and interviews.

Perhaps the most famous example came during his buildup to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229, when McGregor repeatedly targeted the Dagestani fighter over his family, teammates, religion, and background.

That suggests that although Conor McGregor may view trash talk as part of the spectacle, he has also understood the value of using carefully selected personal attacks to create psychological pressure.

Whether Tyson Fury truly deserves credit for influencing McGregor is another question entirely. Both men have established themselves as elite promoters of their own fights, but their styles, and the eras in which they rose to prominence, are completely different.