(The Notorious) Conor McGregor had just one UFC fight under his belt in July 2013 but he was already living up to his nickname.
Enough that he got a nighttime tour of the Las Vegas Strip in UFC boss Dana White’s Ferrari convertible.
"It’s the king of Las Vegas, Dana White, with the king of Dublin, the Notorious Conor McGregor," the Irish featherweight giggled in a video selfie during the ride.
A cackling McGregor then focuses his camera on the famous Ferrari logo on the steering wheel. "Get that fellow in there. The little horsey."
"What speed can this go?," McGregor asks.
"It’ll go fast," White replies. "We’ll open it up on the freeway a little bit."
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC 178 prelims Saturday on Sportsnet 360 starting at 8 p.m. EST
Two fights later, McGregor (15-2) is back in Sin City. This time to test his talents and trash talk against Dustin (The Diamond) Poirier on Saturday at UFC 178. Most bookies have the Irish mixed martial arts star as more than a 2-1 favourite to win despite the fact that Poirier is a significant step up in class.
So what does it mean to be back in Las Vegas, this time to fight?
"It means I’m about to get my own Ferrari, that’s what it means," McGregor said with a laugh.
For many fight fans, the McGregor-Poirier bout is the talk of a MGM Grand Garden Arena card that originally featured a juicy main event between light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones and Daniel Cormier. Then Jones got injured and flyweight title-holder Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson was moved into the showcase fight against Chris (Kamikaze) Cariaso.
Many are looking at McGregor-Poirier as the main event.
"I would be too," said the Irishman, who is looking to stretch his win streak to 12.
The card may have changed but the charismatic McGregor has not stopped talking, focusing his razor-sharp tongue on Louisiana’s Poirier.
McGregor is predicting a first-round KO.
"Don’t get me wrong. I like the kid," the 26-year-old from Dublin said as Poirier looked on from the same stage during UFC 178 Media Day in early August. "He’s a quiet little hillbilly from the backass of nowhere. I’ve nothing against the guy, you know what I mean. I’m sure he grew up in a circus or a fair. He’s a nice little kid. His cousin’s probably named Cletus.
"He’s a nice kid but his chin’s going to be cracked and it’s going to get cracked early."
Poirier, a 25-year-old native of Lafayette, La., who moved to Florida to train out of American Top Team, has largely resisted the urge to match wits with McGregor.
"I walk the walk. Connor talks the talk," he said by way of summation on the UFC’s "Countdown to UFC 178" show.
Poirier (16-3) is 8-2 in the UFC, beaten only by Chan Sung Jung, better known as The Korean Zombie, and Cub Swanson. Ranked No. 5 among 145-pound contenders, he is on a three-fight winning streak that includes a first-round knockout of Diego Brandao.
McGregor also knocked out the Brazilian, winner of Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter," when they met in the main event of a Dublin show in July. The crowd was so loud during McGregor’s win that it registered 111 decibels, according to White. A rock concert measures 110.
"It actually got so loud that it wasn’t sound any more," McGregor recalled afterwards. "It was like a buzzing. It went past sound. It was phenomenal."
That kind of fighter appeal catches the UFC’s attention. MMA is a sport where sizzle sells, especially when there is substance behind it.
McGregor’s UFC resume is short, with three wins in as many fights, but sweet. It’s a measure of his success that he has climbed the ladder so fast despite being sidelined by knee surgery in September 2013 after his second UFC outing.
The Irish fighter turned to Montreal’s Georges St-Pierre for rehab advice. McGregor says the two have more than anterior cruciate ligament injuries in common. Like GSP, McGregor says he will quit when he’s ahead.
"He went out on top. That takes intelligence. That’s a smart man right there," McGregor said of the former UFC welterweight champion. "Not a lot of people can walk away from this sport. And one thing I know. I won’t stay in this game longer than I should. I’m going to clean out the division, clean out both (featherweight and lightweight) divisions, make my money and then I’m gone."
Of course, the verdict is still out on whether St-Pierre makes his hiatus permanent.
For the moment McGregor has no shortage of plans, including winning titles in multiple divisions. White is watching — and scheming.
"I like he’s ambitious, he just needs to relax a little but I love the way he is," White said after McGregor’s last fight. "I love the things he says. I’m telling you he reminds me of (women’s bantamweight champion) Ronda Rousey. Him and his visions remind me of Ronda Rousey. Ronda Rousey has a million visions."
Rousey is also the UFC’s reigning rock star, a celebrity fighter who has branched out into film and other ventures while dominating her weight class.
Is McGregor a rock star, White was asked at the Dublin post-fight news conference.
"People like him," White replied.
It’s hard not to. McGregor has buckets of charisma and style, delighting in dressing up in a tailored suit. He looks the part of a fighter — slim and elegant. The chest tattoo of the gorilla logo from his Straight Blast Gym is topped with a crown.
McGregor clearly loves his creature comforts.
Until he gets that Ferrari, he will be wheeling around in a Range Rover, having bought his and hers for he and his girlfriend.
