Paige VanZant has claimed she predicted Conor McGregor would become a "mega star" in the UFC after meeting him for the first time.
McGregor is considered the UFC's leading star having fought in eight of the top ten best selling pay-per-views in the promotion's history.
He is currently out of action after suffering a broken leg against Dustin Poirier last time out but is eyeing a return before the end of the year.
And VanZant believes his stardom was inevitable and has hailed the Irish star as a "fight genius".
“That is like No.1 on our list of things to do in Ireland. I know his dad, his step-dad, and my dad are all extremely excited to go to Conor McGregor ’s bar,” VanZant said to fans in an Instagram Q&A.
“I remember meeting him and telling my dad he was a fight genius and that he was going to be a mega-star.”
VanZant will fly over to Ireland to watch her husband Austin Vanderford headline Bellator's 275 card where he will challenge Gegard Mousasi for the middleweight title.
She hopes to visit McGregor's Black Forge Inn Pub with the event taking place at the 3 Arena in Dublin.
McGregor purchased the bar in 2019 and it has attracted some famous visitors since his acquisition with his accolades on display around the drinking spot.
His earnings have been significant from his time in the UFC topping the Forbes rich-list for 2021 having earned $180 million.
This included an estimated $30 million from his two fights against bitter rival Poirier with his other income coming from a majority stake sale of his whiskey company Proper Twelve.
McGregor has suffered a decline in recent years losing three of his last four fights in the octagon with just one win against Donald Cerrone.
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He is eyeing redemption in the lightweight division having slid down to ninth position in the rankings with Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson calling out the Irishman.
However McGregor's manager Tim Simpson believes McGregor could make a return to face the winner of the title clash between Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje.
"Let's see what happens in the title fight... Would you be surprised?," Simpson told the MMA Hour. "The thing with Conor is he's always had options.
"He'll have options when he's ready and regardless of everything else that's going on in the division, he sells. He can fight anybody, regardless of what could be said is 'right' for the division. In the end business rules and he could step into that title fight if he wanted to.
"After that injury it was like ‘now might be the time’ but he wants to fight again which to me is baffling and says a lot about him. I don’t think it will be in the summer but it will definitely be some stage this year."
