Gavan Casey reports from Las Vegas

THERE WAS AN odd moment in the Park MGM corridor at 8:59am Vegas time when the UFC’s security guards demanded that the few of us loitering about put away our phones.

Seconds afterwards, lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov emerged from his chambers, flanked by his sizeable entourage, head bowed and buried inside his hood.

Nurmagomedov weighed in at the championship limit of 155 pounds flat, and no sooner had he taken to the scales did he take to his haunches beside them and consume a drink of some description.

It had been a battle, naturally, but he’d made it: Nurmagomedov was the first fighter to weigh in on Friday morning, and seemed keened to simply get the job done, leaving in his wake the entire undercard to weigh in before his foe on Saturday night, Conor McGregor, who arrived with about 50 minutes to spare.

And we have a fight: The Notorious weighed in at 154.5 in order to best deal with the Russian mauler.

As is his trademark, at this point, McGregor feigned a snarl at the assembled media before exiting quickly stage left.

Both fighters will face off for the final time at the ceremonial weigh-ins tonight (1am Irish time).

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