Conor McGregor jetted into Aintree last weekend for the Grand National, and walked away with a tidy profit thanks to a £17,000 each way bet on Blaklion in the racing calendar's showcase event.

The Dublin Megastar strutted around the Liverpool track's hospitality areas in typical understated fashion. With sunglasses flipped, revealing his steely stare, and shirt unbuttoned, displaying a plethora of tattoos on his battle-hardened midriff.

There was no mistaking the man who has propelled his sport to new heights of popularity.

The 8/1 odds were enough to tempt the UFC flag bearer into a £34k wager, and although the pre-race favourite faded away in the latter stages to finish a distant fourth to race winner One For Arthur, McGregor still collected a £17,000 profit on his hefty stake. 

It is not clear whether the windfall will have taken care of the bar bill after the Irishman's post race bash at Liverpool's Mansion nightspot, although with a potential £100m bout with Floyd 'Money' Mayweather in the offing, it's unlikely the 'Notorious' MMA star will be losing any sleep over picking up the tab anyway!

The UFC lightweight champion currently has no official upcoming engagements in the octagon, or indeed the squared circle.

Recent noises from the Mayweather camp have been along the lines of 'put up or shut up', but so far, McGregor is yet to take the bait.

Mayweather's assertion that he is the 'A side' in any showdown and therefore McGregor should be happy to accept the thin end of the wedge when it comes to dividing up the millions will not sit particularly well with UFC's undisputed money spinner.

It may, however, be the only terms that can tempt the undefeated megastar out of retirement.

Before any 'superfight' can be signed and sealed, agreements must be reached, not only between the principle protagonists, but also with McGregor's current paymaster UFC boss Dana White.

With available dates at a premium in Las Vegas (almost certainly Mayweather's preferred venue), there is plenty of work to be done before the fun and games of pre-fight build up can officially begin.

So, while the fight world waits for the cards to fall into place, McGregor will have to make do with high profile outings like his Aintree adventure to keep the hype machine, and indeed his bank balance, ticking over.