It seems like only yesterday that Conor McGregor was headlining UFC Fight Night 46 in his native Dublin.
‘The Notorious’ finished opponent Diego Brandao in the first round of just his third ever Octagon outing and a superstar was born.
Following on from the victories of SBG teammates Paddy Holohan, Cathal Pendred and Gunnar Nelson earlier that evening, as well as the wins of fellow Dubliner Neil Seery and Antrim’s Norman Parke, McGregor closed the show in style and made it a clean sweep for homegrown fighters on the night.
It was then that he clutched the microphone after Dan Hardy took to the mat to interview him.
“We’re not here to take part,” McGregor roared. “We’re here to take over.”
That statement of intent from the man leading the Irish charge into the world’s preeminent mixed martial arts organisation has already gone down in sports history and it’s clear to see that McGregor is no longer the biggest draw in an underground sport.
The mainstream has McGregor now.
After coaxing Floyd Mayweather out of retirement, the Irishman is set for a bigger payday than he could have ever dreamed of and his words of wisdom remain a source of much inspiration for many, regardless of their sport of choice.
Just take a look at the below banner, which was spread across the Celtic Park terraces on Wednesday night, when the Hoops hosted Astana in their Champions League qualifier.
Banner inside #Celtic Park ahead of the #ChampionsLeague play off match against Astana pic.twitter.com/MaPhFcSDkH
— Chris McLaughlin (@BBCchrismclaug) August 16, 2017
We look forward to the “I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to absolutely nobody” banner in the second leg.
