WHEN UFC Featherweight champion Conor McGregor squares off against Welterweight contender Nate Diaz this weekend at the MGM Grand Arena, thousands of Irish fans will descend upon the Las Vegas strip in what is quickly becoming a ‘must-see’ event for Irish sports fans, writes Jack O’Toole.
With the fight nearly certain to sell out and with more and more Irish fans making the trip over after every McGregor win, Sin City is quickly becoming an Irish stronghold for McGregor fights and the travelling Irish fans only too happy to show their support.
“It’s what I expected and more,” said Tony O’Brien who attended UFC 189 in July of last year.
“The atmosphere was just incredible, even when we were at the airport the flags were out and everyone was already kind of in party mode, but it really hits you once you get to the strip.
“Every hotel you go to there’s Irish there and everyone is in good form. After the fight it was an unbelievable feeling because out in the lobby everyone’s singing with the chants and the songs.”
The amount of Irish fans travelling has brought this carnival-like atmosphere to the fight capital of the world and McGregor’s support in Las Vegas has almost captured as much attention as the man himself.
Willie Hough, who was in the MGM when McGregor defeated former Featherweight champion Jose Aldo in December, claimed that the American people could not believe what they were seeing from the Irish fans who he estimated accounted for nearly 90 per cent of those in attendance.
“They were in shock, they couldn’t believe it,” said Hough of the American onlookers in the aftermath of UFC 194.
“They had never seen anything like it; the American people were all taking pictures and videos and they couldn’t believe how crazy the Irish people were. They all got a good kick out of it; the whole casino was at a standstill watching it.
“But there was no fighting; everyone was just there to have the craic. There was no messing or damage done; everyone was just there to have a good time.”
McGregor’s 13 second knockout of former champ Aldo was a historic moment for not only Irish MMA, but also for Irish sport, as the 27-year-old became the first Irishman to ever win a world championship in the UFC, MMA’s premiere organisation.
His rise in the sport has been meteoric and has attracted a huge amount of support from the Irish public with hordes of supporters making the trip over for every fight, including Emma and Barry Delaney who decided to marry after McGregor defeated Chad Mendes at UFC 189.
The couple have been with each other for nearly two decades and decided to set a date for a wedding after McGregor’s win in July.
“We had always said we would get married in Vegas,” Emma told Dublin People.
“When Barry went in June he went with a group of guys and he swore if McGregor won, we would return and get married so that’s what we did.
“After 16 years together and two children we wanted to do something different. When my mother passed away a couple years ago from cancer, I just didn’t want the big fuss of a traditional wedding at home. She always told me to go off and do it our own way so that’s what we did.
“My husband always jokes about it saying ‘we went to a fight and a wedding broke out!”
