– Paul Dollery reports from Las Vegas
THE OPEN WORKOUTS for UFC 189 took place last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Chad Mendes, Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald all went through light sessions for the fans in attendance, but the best was saved until last.
The open workouts are a UFC tradition during fight week. They’re for the benefit of the fans and the media. For the fighters, the hard work has already been done. Their sole objective at this stage is making weight.
That was the case for Mendes, Lawler and MacDonald, all of whom limited their appearances to less than 15 minutes each. Conor McGregor did things a little differently, however… as is his wont. According to one UFC official, McGregor’s open workout was the longest they’ve ever witnessed.
There was some vocal support for UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, but the majority were there to see McGregor. If the tricolours didn’t tell you that, the cacophony of noise that greeted the Irish featherweight did. Approximately 500 fans made it inside the large function room at the MGM Grand. Many more were outside, unable to get in.
McGregor worked out for just shy of an hour; more of a full-on training session than a token gesture for the fans. Despite being a couple of days out from a weigh-in, the Dubliner looked spritely and enthusiastic, going through stretching, padwork and wrestling with coaches Owen Roddy and Sergey Pikulskiy, before finishing up with some shadow sparring with Artem Lobov.
Then the workout ended, but McGregor still wasn’t done. Another 15 minutes were invested in ensuring that every fan in the room left with an autograph or a selfie.
Love him or loathe him, McGregor has always given his time to his supporters. They’ll make sure he’s repaid when he emerges for Saturday’s interim UFC featherweight title bout against Chad Mendes at UFC 189 here in Las Vegas.
Video: MMAFighting.com
