“What time does McGregor fight?” When I receive those words in the group chat, I question my life choices. What is usually the traditional ‘invite the boys over for a BBQ Paul Vaughn would be proud of while watching the UFC,’ has attracted a lot more mates of mates being added to the group chat.

Despite what Tom thinks, UFC days aren’t about picking fights with guys with spacers. It’s about enjoying some blokes in the company of blokes. It’s pouring a bloke into your shoe when Tuivasa walks out to a banger tune. It’s reminiscing on the times when BlueBet took you for a ride, or telling the boys how confident you are in an O’malley KO just to watch him hurt his leg. It is bragging to everyone about that time Alex Volknovski replied to your inbox on Facebook.

I, like my fellow punters and dribblers, get around a bit of atmosphere, cheering and chanting. For a UFC day, the more the merrier is generally the rule. “McGregor days” are an exception to the rule. I just struggle for motivation when the messages read “is Nate fighting?” or “Is Mcgregor still the double champ?”. Do I cancel? Do I enforce a lockout time? I reckon that if the door gets locked around the middle of the prelims, that will weed out those that know that there are weight classes and those that think there is just one belt.