Brian Lenihan had the experience of his life at the weekend in Las Vegas, when he successfully blagged his way into the McGregor inner sanctum to meet the freshly crowned interim champion.
The fight fan from Ballincollig has the pictorial evidence to prove it – a photo showing him chatting with a casually dressed McGregor, who has his new belt resting on his lap.
Brian Leinhan(right) congratulates Conor McGregor.
Lenihan went on Cork’s Red Fm this morning to discuss his adventure with Neil Prendeville, and admitted he wasn’t expecting to it go as well as it did.
“I was surprised myself when I got as near to him as I did.”
He had been at , and afterwards was determined to get to meet the Dublin fighter.
“We’d been trying to track Conor down for a while and we’d been having no luck,” he told the radio show. “I was with my brother Alan, and (some) friends”.
The group heard he was going to be at the Foxdale, the pool club attached to the SLS Hotel and made their way there, where they got the first lucky break
“We were talking to the security guards, just getting friendly, trying to find a way in,” Linehan said. “We were talking for 10 minutes and then just walked straight in.
“We didn’t get stopped, no money asked for, just walked straight in, stamp on the hand and all.”
The Irish group had struck gold, finding themselves partying in luxury with other revellers.
“Everyone was just in the pool having a good time, a bar in the middle. An unbelievable spot with the heat just belting down.”
McGregor appeared and greeted the crowd before heading to a private tent with a small group of close friends.
The rest of the gang were happy to soak up the atmosphere, but Brian was determined to go the extra mile and meet the fighter.
He slowly worked his way closer to the roped-off area where Conor’s group were partying in a tent.
“I got chatting to a guy in the VIP area, near Conor’s tent,” he described. “I just kept chatting for about 10 minutes, and then just walked over the rope, still talking to him.
“I gave him a hug and then security aren’t taking any notice because they think I’m supposed to be there.”
He knew he still wasn’t fully safe and spent time chatting to other people in the tent before making his move.
“If I rushed it or pulled out a camera I was gone.”
Eventually he picked his moment and sat down beside the UFC star and girlfriend Dee.
“I didn’t go over too soon, just went and started talking away to him, talking about the fight.”
He was well rewarded for his persistence – he has the photo with McGregor and a story he’ll be retelling for years.
Listen to Brian’s full interview on Cork’s Red FM.
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