These lads are ready.
After months of build-up, months of hard-training and weeks of trash-talk, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are ready to fight.
Both men made weight, the Russian tipping the scales on the button at 155 lbs while Conor McGregor was half a pound lighter.
McGregor made everybody wait a while at the weigh-ins but his team put that down to the Dubliner “sleeping in” in his Las Vegas home this morning. Meanwhile, Khabib, who has had weight issues in the past, had the weight made five hours before he needed to.
It is expected that both fighters, after cutting down on carbs and even water intake to make the lightweight mark, will put on over a stone in timber by the time they take to the ring on Saturday night.
The ceremonial weigh-ins and the face-offs took place in the T-Mobile Arena on Friday evening and the stare down everybody was waiting for, in typical UFC fashion, didn’t pass without its controversy.
With Dana White holding the pair away from each other, Conor McGregor couldn’t contain himself any longer as he slapped down on Khabib’s hands. Scarily, the 26-0 Russian’s head didn’t move nor did his facial expression change.
Here’s the video, from Dana White’s perspective.
KHABIB vs MCGREGOR!!! pic.twitter.com/XNtCTBBklr
— danawhite (@danawhite) October 6, 2018
You can watch the face-off from an alternative angle here.
The FINAL faceoff!
🇷🇺 @TeamKhabib vs. 🇮🇪 @TheNotoriousMMA
SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT! #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/3jVTuFL1Hp
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2018
Backstage, Conor McGregor caught up with one of the world’s most famous rap-singers Drake, with the Canadian draped in an Irish flag for the big occasion.
The 6 God and The 12 animal! pic.twitter.com/S1KfNlwam3
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 6, 2018
💔 Drake & Mystic Mac | 🇨🇦 and 🇮🇪 team up at #UFC229 weigh-ins pic.twitter.com/0HGl9Lyrnn
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2018
That’s a night in the UFC for you.
And with that, the ceremonies were brought to a close. The fighters will go back to their camps now and put in the final preparations for fight-night itself.
