For Conor McGregor, Boston is somewhat of a home away from home.
The Irish UFC fighter will make his boxing debut Saturday in a megafight against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather, Jr. at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. And people in the Boston area most certainly will be filling up the numerous Irish bars around the Hub to cheer for McGregor.
Boston is an ethnically diverse city, but since immigrants from Ireland began arriving in the 19th century, people of Irish descent have remained its largest ethnic group. McGregor gained their support when he beat Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night Boston in 2013, and it only grew in 2015 when he returned to TD Garden to a soldout crowd and beat Denis Siver.
What was most telling about McGregor’s support then was the fact that 2015’s UFC Fight Night Boston took place on the same night as the 2014 AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts — you know, the one that started Deflategate. And as McGregor has kept dominating opponents in the UFC, his Boston Irish fan base has grown.
Two years ago, in the lead-up to UFC 189, the 29-year-old told a raucous crowd in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood that “it feels so good to be home.” Later in 2015, actor and Boston native Mark Wahlberg said he wanted to make a movie with McGregor. And we could go on.
So, if you were planning on hitting up a bar in Boston to watch Saturday’s fight, you might want to think about getting there early.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
