The UFC officially announced the main and co-main event for UFC 197 last week. Conor McGregor IS getting his lightweight title shot against Rafael dos Anjos.
It’s becoming a bit of a trend to see Irish MMA fans flock to Las Vegas for every McGregor fight and this will be yet another historic one as ‘The Notorious’ aims to become the first man to hold two UFC titles simultaneously.
The co-main event isn’t too shabby either as Holly Holm puts her newly-earned bantamweight title on the line against Miesha Tate in the co-main event.
The event takes place on March 5 in Vegas and we’ve decided to be sound and work out the cheapest way to make sure you’re there for Mr McGregor’s eighth, and most important, UFC bout yet.
Flights
A brief trawl through the internet led us to the cheapest flight tickets available which are €468 but we’ve looked at the more realistic options timewise and they’re priced at just €530.40.
Most flights had you coming home at 00:30 on Sunday morning which is a nightmare. Just a nightmare! So we’ve looked at the more doable alternatives.
Going through eBookers, you can get a British Airways flight to London with a pretty lengthy layover before it is on to Las Vegas where you land on Friday afternoon in time for the weigh-ins.
The return trip is (thankfully) shorter and you don’t have to head to the airport at midnight on Saturday night. Rather, you get a bit of a lie-in and fly out at 16:35, landing on Monday afternoon.
Presuming you want to be there for the weigh-ins, we have you flying out after work on Thursday but arriving on time for work on Tuesday morning… jet-lagged to f*ck.
Bed
With UFC 197 taking place in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, you presumably want to stay as close as possible to the venue for as little as possible.
Through Booking.com, a double room at the MGM Grand for the two nights (Friday 4th and Saturday 5th) will set you back €469 or €234 per night.
Those prices are expected to go up so if you’re looking for an even more inexpensive option, why not take a look at staying in the Flamingo Hotel where a double room will set you back €298 or €149 per night. The Flamingo is just a 20 minute walk from the MGM or five minutes in a taxi.
Hooters, where your loyal author will be staying, is across the road from the MGM and is cheap as chips at €272 or €136 per night.
Tickets
Tickets for UFC 197 go on sale to the general public on January 22 and tickets are priced at €1330, €872, €598, €415, €278 and €186
What we would advise you to do, if you haven’t done so already, is to sign up for UFC’s Fight Club service for an up-front fee of €70 which entitles you to access to presale tickets more than 24 hours before they go on sale to the general public.
Where in the arena you’d like to sit will obviously dictate the price of the tickets but if you’re a member of Fight Club then, at least, you’re avoiding being disappointed when the tickets inevitably sell out.
*Updated from piece first published on January 8
