For all the difficulty presented by the weight cut, there was little outward sign of Benn being weighed down by the occasion.

He was relaxed and in good spirits as he made time for the travelling British media at the UFC’s Meta Apex, with father and British boxing great Nigel Benn by his side.

The former two-weight world champion has been a prominent presence throughout fight week, despite previously suggesting he would take a step back from his son’s career.

One man Conor Benn is yet to see, however, is his opponent.

Garcia did not appear for a scheduled face-off at Mandalay Bay on Tuesday, with Benn told beforehand that the champion would not be attending.

Benn turned up regardless and jokingly squared up to his 62-year-old father instead.

He described Garcia as a “strange geezer” and said the no-show had done the champion “no favours”.

“I’m not bothered, I’ve dealt with worse,” Conor Benn added. “If he turns up or not, it makes no difference to me.

“Irrespective of how hard the weight cut is or anything else, we owe it to the public to give the fans what they want. It’s a lack of discipline and professionalism.”