In a week where New York has been dominated by the colours red and blue, The Big Apple may be about to turn green on Friday night.
Following on from Thursday's predictably shambolic press conference in the Madison Square Garden Theatre, Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez will come face-to-face one final time before Saturday's bout. For McGregor it's just another performance to his captive audience, but Alvarez may finally realise the size of the task in front of him.
Thousands of Irish fans are expected in New York this weekend, for the UFC's first Manhattan show. Numerous anecdotes have told of fans booking flights before the tickets went on sale. The astronomical pricing set out by the UFC for the event has priced many fans out of seeing Saturday's action. A trip to the weighing-scales will be the only time fans could see McGregor in the flesh. It will be loud.
Moving from the Nevada desert to the American west coast has diluted the experience for some fans. The videos of fans congregating on the Las Vegas strip, or in casinos are legendary, but it's not that easy in New York. The aftermath of Donald Trump's election still rings true, and the city is already packed of tourists for the Irish to make their mark.
New York is ready for #ufc205 pic.twitter.com/24TmNojbsS
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) November 11, 2016
The Irish fans could very well make their mark on Friday night in Times Square. It only takes ten minutes to walk from the iconic arena to the interchange of Broadway and 7th, and the scenes that dominated France last summer, could become prevalent again under the Friday night lights.
Flying into New York, via Paris on Thursday afternoon, it was telling how many Irish fans, both men and women were on the flight. Adding to the amount of direct flights from Dublin to the American east coast, the numbers that travel to Las Vegas should easily be surpassed.
UFC 200 was always planned to be the organisation's marquee event of 2016, but Saturday's show will blow it out of the water. With three titles up for grabs, the focus will not only be on the main event, but it will be that fight where the headlines are made.
Logic and expert predictions suggests McGregor should win on Saturday and make history as the first concurrent two-weight champion in the UFC. As New York has already shown this week, logic and predictions don't always come true.
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