Brian Grace (centre) and his mates get up close to the action at Mayweather-McGregor. Photo/Facebook
Brian Grace (centre) and his mates get up close to the action at Mayweather-McGregor. Photo/Facebook
An Irish teenager managed to bluff his way into the "Fight of the Century" in Las Vegas on Saturday to see Conor McGregor battle it out against Floyd Mayweather, and ended up in US$80,000 ($110,000) ringside seats with his friends.
Brian Grace, 19, from Limerick, posed as part of McGregor'sfamily to get past the first round of security at T-Mobile Arena, before carrying a ladder through the second round as a way to go unnoticed.
Grace, who went to the event ticketless, was in Vegas with two friends, who had paid for cheaper seats to the event.
Grace detailed how he got through the two security checkpoints to joe.ie.
"The first one was metal detectors and sniffer dogs," he said. "I hung around for a bit and then I noticed that Conor's family - not his close family, maybe his extended family, like his cousins or something - they all turned up.
"I was well dressed, so I just walked in with them and there was so many of them that it wasn't a problem."
At that point, he noticed a ladder by a nearby door, and decided to pick it up and walk in through the open door.
"I was walking around a bit and I noticed this ladder just lying there by a door, so I picked it up and walked in, no security pass or anything, just straight through this door," he said.
"Then I put the ladder down, found my mates inside and we played the waiting game."
Once inside the venue, Grace and his mates looked around for empty seats near the centre of the arena. When they saw three empty courtside seats, they made their move.
After the fight they headed backstage, where they met actors Gerard Butler and Wesley Snipes, but not McGregor himself.
Meanwhile, a British barman also snuck into ringside seats by posing as part of the American boxer's security team.
Oliver Regis, 32, had bought a US$2500 ($3450) ticket for the fight, but was disappointed to find that it was in the nosebleed seats at the top of T-Mobile Arena.
So instead of staying in his allocated spot, the McGregor super-fan posed as part of Mayweather's security team to walk past other guards, who failed to scan his ticket, and ended up in the third row.
Regis, from Stamford, Lincolnshire, said there were quite a few empty seats near the boxing ring and he couldn't believe his ploy was successful.
"I did feel a bit cheeky, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance," he told the Sun. "I sat down in the third row and Mike Tyson then sat down behind me.
"LeBron James was on my row and I could see Leonardo DiCaprio."
Oliver Regis enjoys his ringside vantage point for Mayweather-McGregor. Photo/Facebook
As Regis revelled in his blagging glory, he decided to snap selfies with the celebrities, star athletes and businessmen surrounding him.
He got pictures with Mayweather's father, Floyd snr, as well as Vinnie Jones, Gerard Butler, Jeremy Piven, P Diddy, JLo, Demi Lovato, Eric Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Amir Khan and Chris Hemsworth.
After mingling with the A-listers, Regis took a seat in the 10th row, near Jones and James.
Oliver said that as the fight was broadcasted live on TV, friends started messaging him saying they saw him in the background.
"It was very surreal, but it was the biggest fight in history,' he told the Sun. "I'm sure everyone will be talking about it when I go back and I have the pictures to prove it!"
Oliver was enjoying a five-day vacation in Las Vegas with pal Alex Miller, 27, when he went to the fight.
The barman is a massive fan of McGregor and has attended four of the UFC fighter's last five fights.
He even has a collage of drawings of McGregor tattooed on his right leg.
Unfortunately for him, his hero lost the highly anticipated boxing match in the 10th round.
Following a bright start, the UFC star tired badly in the middle rounds and became easy pickings for Mayweather, before referee Robert Byrd stepped in.
After winning his 50th undefeated match, Mayweather swore it would be his last fight, as the 40-year-old made off with the coveted "Money Belt" and at least US$100 million ($138m) for his night's work.
The money-spinning showdown is likely to break all records and surpass the US$600 million generated by Mayweather's fight with Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
