Conor McGregor takes his act to New York City

NEW YORK — It has been said that nobody drives in New York.

UFC superstar Conor McGregor is not one to live by such conventions.

In fact, for his time in the Big Apple preparing for his UFC 205 bout Saturday at Madison Square Garden, one of the most expensive cars on the planet wasn’t enough.

“Two Rolls (Royces),” McGregor said Thursday, correcting a reporter who asked about the Rolls-Royce Ghost in which he had been cruising around Manhattan. “The second one came today. One for each gold belt. I’ve just been driving around, embracing the city. The city has treated me amazingly. I walk out from my spot and all the fans are outside. I’ve been driving around having fun, training, shopping, preparing for this fight, just living my life.

“It’s what I do. It’s the Mac Life.”

Life is certainly good for McGregor. It could get even better Saturday.

McGregor, who holds the featherweight title, will challenge Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt in the main event of the UFC’s first card in New York.

There was a lobbying effort of almost 10 years that cost UFC officials millions of dollars to finally get the sport legalized in New York, the last holdout in the United States.

Now that the world’s most famous arena can host the world’s fastest growing sport, it only made sense for the UFC’s biggest star to headline the show.

McGregor has quickly embraced New York, and the attraction appears to be mutual. A massive crowd jammed into the Garden for weigh-ins Friday night and overwhelmingly voiced its support for McGregor.

The 28-year-old Dublin native has received huge ovations everywhere he has gone this week, and the welcome in the arena is expected to be no different Saturday.

McGregor took particular joy at all the Irish fans screaming and chanting for him at the news conference Thursday.

“The Irish are back,” he said. “We’ve taken back control of New York City.”

McGregor has a chance to tighten his grip on the UFC when he meets Alvarez. He already holds the featherweight title and could become the first fighter in organization history to concurrently hold belts in two weight classes with a win over Alvarez.

“That second belt has never been done,” McGregor said. “Nobody’s even come close. My legacy is set in stone. I’ll be immortalized after this one.”

Alvarez, who says he has enjoyed playing the villain to McGregor’s legion of fans, thinks he will have something to say about that.

“I’m prepared to completely destroy Conor McGregor and silence this whole damn crowd,” he said. “Thank you for coming.”

That type of setback certainly isn’t part of McGregor’s plan. He was hoping to win the second belt in March when he was scheduled to fight then-champion Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title. Dos Anjos pulled out less than two weeks before the fight and was replaced by Nate Diaz, which set up two fights between Diaz and McGregor that significantly raised the profile of both fighters.

Alvarez was matched up with dos Anjos in July and knocked him out in the first round to take the title and set him up for the biggest fight of his career against McGregor.

The bout headlines what appears to be the UFC’s deepest card ever. Along with three title fights on the main card, former champions and top contenders fill out the remaining spots.

Tyron Woodley will defend his welterweight title against top contender Stephen Thompson in one title bout, and Woodley could have a future meeting with McGregor and the lucrative payday that comes with it should he retain the belt.

At Thursday’s news conference, McGregor looked across the dais at Alvarez and Woodley with their belts sitting in front of them.

“I’m only warming up,” he said. “I’ll take all them damn belts over there.”

That statement didn’t apply to women’s strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s belt, which she will defend against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

All three championship fights will be part of the pay-per-view card, which begins at 7 p.m. But the conclusion of the card won’t be the end of the drama.

McGregor has for at least the past month teased a major announcement that he will make after the fight. He refused to divulge details when asked Thursday.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Just buy that pay per view twice.”

Always the showman. He’ll do just fine in this town.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.