Throughout Conor McGregor’s rise in the UFC, he always seemed to take a particular interest in Floyd Mayweather.

Of course, many would never have thought this dream fight would actually turn into a reality on August 26.

The fight will likely be the most lucrative in boxing history, with Mayweather the clear favourite, and McGregor the clear underdog, who, according to many boxing experts, has no chance of victory.

And, as long-time SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh explained Monday, that confidence has been the same from the very first text message McGregor sent him revealing that the fight was official.

“He just said, ‘The man has made a grave error. This is going to be Bruce Lee sh*t. This is water becoming the cup,’” Kavanagh said Monday on The MMA Hour.

“First of all, I read that and I went, oh, the Mayweather fight is actually on. I didn’t quite believe it until then, so that blew me away, and my brain starts racing, ‘okay, I’ve got to put certain wheels into motion.’

“But, I don’t think it was until a couple of weeks later, or maybe days later, that I kinda read again and I realised what he was saying about the Bruce Lee water quote that the ruleset might change and the strategy will change, but the fundamentals remain the same.

"This is something my own coach has told me a long, long time ago Matt Thornton that if you take an MMA fighter and you put him in a kickboxing match or a wrestling match, or a self-defense situation, the rules of engagement certainly change and that will affect your strategy, but the fundamentals of timing, of distance, of range, of how to hit hard, different striking techniques, they will remain the same.”

Kavanagh echoed McGregor’s confidence on Monday, predicting either a first or sixth round stoppage for the Irishman, depending on how Mayweather approaches the fight.

The split between the two sporting fans is quite clear, the boxing fans are predicting a clear and easy win for Mayweather, and that McGregor simply has no chance.

Yet, the MMA fans seem to be backing McGregor to pull off a shock victory.