Kildare fans hanging out in Las Vegas for McGregor fight

Thousands of Irish fans including from Co Kildare have flown to Las Vegas as Sin City prepares to be taken over by McGregor mania ahead of tomorrow night's mega-fight with Russian Khabib Nurmagomedov at the T-Mobile Arena.

Friends David Byrne and Gavin Byrne, both 28 from Kilcock, are looking forward to the spectacle.

David said: "It's great to be back in Vegas.

"We were planning on doing something at the end of the summer. I was at the Mayweather fight last year with a mate.

"I was more of a boxing fan than an MMA fan so it was a perfect storm. It was absolutely nuts and we had a brilliant time."

Speaking about his opinion of the former two weight UFC world champion, David told the Irish Daily Mirror: "I think he's the most underestimated fighter in the UFC.

"No matter what he's done he's still underrated. They [critics and media] ignore everything he's done, Khabib's fought nobody."

The pair, who have tickets for the T-Mobile Arena mega-fight, are both predicting a rousing win for the 'Notorious' and neither of them believe two years out of the Octagon will be a major factor for the Crumlin fighter.

The Irishman has not fought competitively since losing to Floyd Mayweather in the multi-million dollar boxing match in August 2016.

This weekend's mixed martial arts bout is being shown live on BT Sport - before online streaming service Eleven Sports take over UFC rights from January 2019 onwards.

Broadcast restrictions mean that fans in Ireland who have subscribed to UFC Fight Pass will not be able to watch the bout live, only BT Sport subscribers will be able to see the live action.