When tickets went on sale for UFC 205, the cheapest was available at $105, and that only gave fans something similar to a barstool at the very back of the arena.
On the morning of the fight in New York, there will very little people who people who pay less than $1,000 to take their seat in Madison Square Garden. The UFC's debut in New York City has been big business for the city itself, and especially for the company.
Saturday's event has been based around the aura of Conor McGregor. The Dubliner has become the face of the UFC, and his recent fights are among the best-selling pay-per-view events of all time. Ticket sales are great, but pay-per-view buys are key.
Households will be charged $60 to watch the fight, and reports this week in New York claim, that the UFC could break the two-million mark for the first time.
Deafening in @TheGarden as McGregor arrives. #UFC205 #UFCNYC pic.twitter.com/AdDpWsivqf
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) November 11, 2016
Speaking to numerous Irish fans around Madison Square Garden on Friday evening, a lot have travelled without tickets, and they are not expecting to get in to the arena. They simply want to be in New York, if McGregor makes history. It's like Euro 2016 coming to Manhattan for a November weekend.
At Friday's weigh-in, MSG was covered in Irish tricolours. It was the only chance fans would be to see McGregor this weekend, and they let their voices be heard. Chris Weidman, the former UFC champion, is the only New York-based fighter on the card. The cheers that greeted him, when he took to the scales, were pale in comparison to those given to McGregor.
The Dubliner said very little after weighing-in but told the Irish fans to; "Stand up! We're about to do it again". Such is the Irish crowd that has descended on 7th Avenue, the maybe more Irish fans in the bars around The Garden, than there will be inside.
Either way, their voices will be heard.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
