Lincoln City player’s Conor McGregor walk celebration wasn’t your average tribute to the UFC star

It wasn't enough that everyone was dressing like Conor McGregor, they had to start walking like him too.

'The Notorious' can be credited with sparking the great "Billy Strut" resurgence of the 21st century. It may look ridiculous, but when performed with the right amount of charisma, a dash of gravitas and an extra serving of 'big Irish balls' confidence, there's something very hypnotic about the 'billionaire strut'. The silly walk has really taken off with the NFL, the NBA and even the FA Cup bearing witness to McGregor's trademark taunt. Lincoln City's Alan Power caused a storm when he imitated McGregor after firing home a penalty against Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup at the end of January. While to the untrained eye, the Dubliner may have looked like he was jacking McGregor's swag (note the ginger beard), there was a little more to the tribute than just hero worship. https://twitter.com/DarrMurphy/status/825392525200461824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Power explained in an interview with The Telegraph that he knew McGregor way back when, before he exploded into the superstar that we know him as today. The two have shared a pitch together, before going on separate paths in the athletic world.

“Conor is huge in Ireland, especially in Dublin. He’s someone I admire greatly, what he has achieved, it’s remarkable. We used to knock around in the same circle of friends back home when we were growing up. He played Sunday League football where I did, actually he wasn’t a bad footballer, but he chose a different path."

He added that both he and his teammates are huge fans of the UFC star and had planned that celebration in advance to pay their respects to the champion. Although he knows McGregor has bigger fish to fry, Power hopes he has seen the celebration.

“I’ve not spoken to him in years, he’s a superstar now. The last time I spoke to him he was cage fighting in Dublin and wasn’t too sure if he was going to continue with it, but he’s a phenomenon. When he went over to America to fight in the UFC, we lost touch, but everyone who knew him then, we’re so proud of everything he has achieved."