As Conor McGregor gets set to take on Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in Las Vegas, Colm Parkinson sets the scene from the weigh-ins and gets the predictions of the fans before the two meet on Saturday Night.
The weigh-ins went off without any major controversy here on Friday, despite the fact that many were expecting Nate Diaz to respond after McGregor punched his hand at Thursday's press conference.
Dana White spoke to the media before the weigh-in and told us he wasn’t going to allow a situation like that to occur again. The two fighters were obviously warned about that, because they stood well apart during the face-off.
When they eventually stepped up to take to the scales, McGregor looked huge this time. We’re used to seeing him looking gaunt and dehydrated after cutting so much weight, but this time he's a different beast both in terms of build and possibly power too.
Naturally he has a big frame, and the higher weight class has really allowed him to fill out properly. He looks so comfortable at welterweight it’s difficult to imagine him ever returning to featherweight to defend that title.
Image: John Locher / AP/Press Association Images
There was a big crowd too; the MGM arena was about two-thirds full, just for the weigh-in. To travel in such numbers to Las Vegas, over 15 hours away just two months after Christmas is incredible. While I’m pretty cynical about this whole 'Irish takeover' that the UFC is trying to push, I can see where they’re getting the idea from and how effective it has been already.
The majority of the fans I spoke to were predicting a first round knockout for McGregor, while the rest were American!
Speaking to his coach John Kavanagh and strike coach Owen Roddy after the weigh-in, they both highlighted the mood in their camp and how happy Conor has been all week. Kavanagh stated that he's had almost nothing to do as a result, but that's all set to change on Saturday night.
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