Where to watch the Conor McGregor fight in Dublin

Conor McGregor at his pre-fight press conference

Ryan Nugent

Dublin hotels are the place to be very early on Sunday morning as Conor McGregor fever kicks in for thousands of fans across the city.

With most pubs in the capital not licenced to open when McGregor's latest fight begins at 5am, a select group of hotels are gearing up for an event that looks set to rival any of the great Irish fight nights.

McGregor, from Crumlin, takes on American Chad Mendes for the UFC interim featherweight title in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Pavillion at the Red Cow Complex - a short distance from McGregor's Straight Blast Gym - and Krystle Nightclub on Harcourt Street will serve up music and some of the undercard, which will include Irish pair Cathal Pendred and Neil Seery, before the main event.

Sin Nightclub is also set to show the pay-per-view event, with all venues charging entry fees ranging from €10-€20.

Tickets cost €20 at the Pavillion, €10 at Krystle and €15 for general admission at SIN. Envision promoter Chris Boyne, who's organising the event at the Red Cow for around 600 people, told the Herald he expects a carnival atmosphere.

undercard

"It's going to be something else. We'll have a DJ on beforehand and with a couple of the undercard Irish, the build-up will begin there.

"There will be a couple of other surprise guests. I want to create a feel similar to that of the great Ireland World Cup games of the past - like the Submarine in Crumlin for the Italy game in 1994 - jam packed," Mr Boyne said.

Manager of Krystle Johnny Cosgrove is telling fight fans to get there early, before it sells out.

"We've got a great response so far, so we're looking at a couple of hundred people. It'll be in the hotel.

"We're going to be turning on the actual commentary during the fight, but there'll be a serious party atmosphere too," he told the Herald.

Separately, Harry's on the Green are set to play host to a couple of hundred members from McGregor's Straight Blast Gym.

Meanwhile, Woolshed Baa and Grill manager Matt Hudson said they contemplated opening their venue for the fight, but decided against it.

"We were humming and hawing about showing it, because there's a lot of money involved," Mr Hudson said.

"The pay-per-view fee would cost us a couple of hundred euro, but that would be easily covered by the money you'd make by showing the fight. But we decided against it."