Ian Garry has detailed exactly what happened when he met Conor McGregor before UFC 285.
A video emerged last week of the two meeting at a weigh-in event at the MGM Grand.
The pair embraced before going their separate ways and it was the first time they had met since being pictured together in a suit shop in the mid-2010s.
Garry appeared on Ariel Helwani's MMA Hour and spoke about meeting his idol.
He said: "Coming out here I knew he was filming The Ultimate Fighter and I said I don't care how I'm going to cross paths with him at some point in time.
"At the weigh-ins, I was just about to do an interview and the guys from BT Sport said Conor is here".
Members of the BT Sport crew told Garry that McGregor had just appeared and the up-and-coming MMA star made his way over to introduce himself.
"I'm not waiting for some crossing of paths, I'm going to make it happen myself," he added.
"Even the fact when I turned the corner, he was like: "Iano, there you are".
"It was just cool to see him, he started pounding my chest and telling me I'm a champion and he appreciates the love and respect and support I've given him and I just said to him you motivated me to be here.
"He's the guy that inspired my entire nation to want to train MMA. The scenes when Conor was on the rise is nuts".
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