Regina Konstantinova — Islam Badurgov transformed into the Ultimate Fighting Championship megastar Conor McGregor and pulled off one of the most viral pranks of the summer. A video of him walking along the streets of Los Angeles surrounded by countless fans, who really thought they were strolling along with their idol, collected more than 20 million views in just two days after it was published on Badurgov's YouTube channel on July 25 (available with English subtitles).
Badurgov who is a street workout enthusiast and can literally do anything on bars and beams, told Sputnik about the idea of his prank.
"Back in January-February, when I was in Santa-Monica, I recorded one of my workout videos for Instagram. This minute-long clip went viral, and many people started noticing that I looked pretty much like Conor. Ahead of my arrival here, in L.A., one of my friends suggested transforming me into McGregor and seeing what happened," he explained.
"I admire Conor McGregor, he is a great MMA professional, a showman, a man who has reached an incredible level in his career in a short time — this is a huge motivation for many people including me. So I thought, why not to have a go. We teamed up with some friends and played this prank to support him ahead of his forthcoming boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr.," Badurgov added.
"Conor, […] we dedicate this prank to you and your forthcoming triumph over Floyd Mayweather. We don't question your victory," the enthusiasts wrote in the description to the video. The much anticipated fight between the current UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor and undefeated eleven-time five-division professional boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. will take place in Paradise, Nevada on August 26.
The "Conor transformation" part didn't take much time: according to Islam, he spent one day shopping in order to dress in McGregor's style. Two professional make-up artists worked 5 hours in total to paint fake tattoos and make his ears look similar to Conor's deformed "cauliflower" ears. Add a fresh haircut, ginger beard and a pair of cool sunglasses — that's it, Conor is ready!
"It was literally shocking that nobody noticed I was a ‘fake' Conor! I felt an adrenaline rush and got the taste of his crazy popularity. This gave me a boost of confidence; I got into this role so much, I lived through it!" said Badurgov of the experience.
After getting away with the prank in L.A., Islam and his team decided to surprise New York with a "sudden visit" of the UFC lightweight champion. Given the wild reception evident in the video below, the public were insanely happy to meet and support McGregor.
"The most stunning thing is how people react. They were so sincerely happy to meet ‘Conor'! And I can perfectly understand them because I also have a dream to meet a Hollywood star, Dwayne ‘The Rock' Johnson who has always inspired me in terms of sports and life goals," Badurgov told Sputnik.
Interestingly, the news about Conor's lookalike even landed on the UFC star's official website but in a weird way.
"After we played the prank and before we released our video, they published a post that some 40-year-old dude desperate for a slice of fame impersonated Conor. But since we revealed that was just a prank, I guess, their team already found out what was actually going on," Badurgov said.
Another fun fact about this prank: Islam Badurgov doesn't speak English.
"Amir Allahverdi, whom I met here in L.A. played a personal driver of Conor, and he saved me all the time, answering most of the questions in English," he said. "I was just smiling, laughing, posing for photos, saying ‘thank you' and ‘bye guys', trying to behave naturally and not to give myself away," the street workout athlete said.
Healthy living is becoming a trend, and street workout is rapidly gaining in popularity. It is completely free, doesn't require expensive gym equipment or coaches, it can be performed almost anywhere and it promotes a healthy living.
Islam who is a 27-year-old enthusiastic representative of the sport is the first vice president of Kazakhstan's Street Workout Federation. According to him, Kazakhstan is the first country where such a federation was officially recognized by the National Olympic Committee.
"We started back in 2012, and I think, we managed to help popularize this activity," Badurgov said. "According to official statistics, about 50,000 people are involved in street workout in Kazakhstan. But I'm sure there are much more than that," he added.
"My main goal is not just about becoming famous; I aim to popularize a healthy life style among younger generations as much as possible. I came to the US as a representative of Kazakh street workout to participate in championships and to exchange experience with other athletes," Islam said.
