Crazy weigh-in figures prove the McGregor effect is in full working order

For those who thought the main event of UFC 196 not being for a world title would be detrimental to interest levels, think again.

The weigh-ins for the Conor McGregor-headlined card drew an attendance higher than that of most UFC Fight Nights.

UFC Vice President of Public Relations Dave Sholler confirmed Friday’s weigh-in event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena was attended by a staggering 8,560 fight fans.

To put that into perspective, more people were in the arena to watch 24 fighters stand on the weighing scales than the attendance of four of the last ten UFC events.

Nearly 8,000 in attendance and climbing for weigh-ins today at @MGMGrand! #UFC196

— Dave Sholler (@DaveSholler) March 5, 2016

UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Cowboy (7,330), UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson (7,422), The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale (2,566) and UFC Fight Night: VanZant vs. Namajunas (1,643) all drew less interest than Friday’s weigh-ins in terms of bums on seats.

And it just wasn’t fans in Las Vegas who were intrigued by the welterweight debut of McGregor, who meets Nate Diaz on Saturday night, as the online audience was just as impressive.

The live stream of the weigh-ins reportedly peaked at just under 200,000 viewers, with fans most likely hoping to see a repeat of Thursday’s press conference antics.

We simply can’t wait to see the gate figures and pay-per-view buy rate.