A 200-pound statue of former UFC champion Conor McGregor will be on display in London before the artist gifts it to the fighter for his 30th birthday.
What do you get for the man who has everything?
Apparently, you get a £50,000 pound marble statue of yourself because, why not?
According to Versus, a Lithuanian artist, Edgar Askelovic, living in Birmingham has gifted former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor a 16 stone (roughly 224 pounds) sculpture, which will be on display at London’s JD Malat Gallery until McGregor’s 30th birthday this July.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BirxD1inXyq
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkS8A7uHWpt
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkxykeSnyv6
“He is a phenomenon of our time – not just a smart athlete,” Askelovic said. “But also a visionary. To create the piece, I looked back to antiquity, when athletes were immortalized in sculptures as gods.
The statue is made of silicone and marble and resembles the ancient Greek God’s which were carved by Michelangelo in the 14th century. Luckily McGregor is clothed in this statue, unlike Michelangelo’s David.
“It’s up to you what you see in it,” Aspencrow said. “You can see him as a prisoner, or a god, or just as a person.”
Next: 30 little-known facts about Conor McGregor
The life-like face of McGregor is striking and even features his famous McGregor stomach tattoo, sans the lion.
“I combined some details from a Michelangelo statue with modern day graffiti to capture the present day’s warrior sensibilities,” he said.
The statue took more than five months and is titled “Atlas.” The artist considers himself a “hyperrealistic interpretative sculptor” and more of his work can be seen here.
McGregor turns 30 on July 14 and is likely to celebrate big like he has in the past.
He’s rumored to make his return to the Octagon, his first appearance since Nov. 2016, but there is no official date — likely due to his pending assault charges which stem from a bus attack earlier this year.