Three Trips to Vegas in 10 Months Is Too Much for McGregor's Army

The frenzied national following of 'The Notorious' Conor McGregor has become one of the unique selling points to the Irish superstar's showcases in Las Vegas, but all signs are pointing to UFC 196 being less attended than both UFC 189 and UFC 194.

There are a few tell tales signs that the Irish won't show up in the same numbers as they did in July and December, one of which is the fact that tickets are still on sale for the event.

The lack of complaints when Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out and obscured McGregor's chances at becoming the first man to hold two UFC belts simultaneously also suggested that the same numbers weren't committed to the March 5 date. There was a mass uproar for days when Aldo pulled himself and his featherweight title out of UFC 189 all over social media threads, but this time, the news came and went without any notable mentions of people feeling cheated out of a title fight.

Famously, McGregor's last two outing at the MGM Grand broke records, which was in no small part due to the thousands that travelled to see him fight in Sin City.

Dana White told Jim Rome that McGregor's capture of the interim title coincided with the "biggest gate we've ever done in the U.S". Following that, the polarizing Dubliner claimed the UFC's gate and attendance record when he unified the title against Jose Aldo in December. Based on the great numbers that travelled over for both of them events, it isn't all that surprising that UFC 196 is not forecast to be another record-shattering main event for McGregor.

And it's not like his popularity has waned; in fact, he's probably more popular than ever. However, without the million dollar rewards for their efforts at the events, and at the rate that they spend, it's becoming very hard for the McGregor faithful to afford the trips to see their hero.

According to Dana White, the Irish made "$200 million dollar impact" on Vegas before even placing a bet back in July, following UFC 189.

"The Conor McGregor fight that we had (in Vegas) had a $200 million dollar impact on the city of Las Vegas.

"That's before gaming, that's before people take one dollar out of their pocket and put it down to gamble. We had a $200 million dollar impact."

While the Irish were more than happy to part ways with their hard-earned cash, we can't forget that the majority of MMA fans are from working class backgrounds. McGregor himself as spoken about how much it means to him for his national support to make their way over to Sin City to watch him perform. Famously, he claimed that he only took the fight with Mendes back in July because he knew how many people were coming from Ireland to see him.

An emotional McGregor told Joe Rogan, after his second round TKO of the Team Alpha Male man, that he was "shaking" due to the amount of people who made the journey across the Atlantic.

"I'm absolutely blown away by the support. I can't put into words how grateful I am So much went on in the build-up to this, so much media obligation, I travelled around the world twice and did two takes. One in case it was Jose and one in case it was Chad. So to just come in here and hear all the support yesterday and today, I'm shaking with it," he said which elicited a massive cheer from the Green Army in the MGM Grand.

After a lot of people chose Vegas as their summer holiday in July, and others travelled in December when money is so tight due to the looming festive season, it seems way too much for working class people to afford three trips to the famously expensive Las Vegas Boulevard.

And it isn't only his travelling support that seems to be tiring of their trips to the desert metropolis. Speaking to SevereMMA.com before he left for Vegas, McGregor claimed that he was tiring of competing in Vegas.

"Fuck Vegas, I'm serious," he boomed. "I want east coast next. If they don't give me Ireland, give me east coast. I'll go back to Boston, I know they're lobbying for New York. We had a great time when we went to Boston and the east coast is just a five-hour flight.

"I'd go back to The Point (Dublin). I don't care if it's nine thousand or whatever. They're saying I've outgrown that but I haven't outgrown my hometown. I'm still fuckin' here. I still show up here every day. I'm still me.

"Vegas for this one, Vegas for the next one probably because I committed to UFC 200, but then fuckin' east coast or Dublin. I'm just trying to get the fights, get the wins and to stay busy."