On September 27, 2014, Conor McGregor annihilated Dustin Poirier with the whole support of Ireland behind him.

It was the day an Irishman from Dublin began his route to superstardom and eventual double champion status.

Notorious quickly ran through the featherweight division after his win over PoirierGetty Images – Getty

It also earned him respect from fans across the world, who believed McGregor was nothing more than a hyped-up contender following his UFC debut one year prior

Since that day 10 years ago, McGregor may not have been in the headlines for all of the right reasons, but back in 2014 at UFC 178, most people couldn’t get enough of him.

Even as the ninth-ranked featherweight at the time, McGregor’s trash-talk and larger-than-life personality had skyrocketed him to be one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.

The atmosphere was electric inside the MGM Grand as McGregor came out to what would become his iconic walkout tune, ‘The Foggy Dew’, before ‘Hypnotize’ by the Notorious B.I.G filled the air in Las Vegas.

Both McGregor and Poirier had been getting on each other’s nerves for weeks, and the latter even admitted at one point that he had never hated an opponent as much as the Irishman.

Those were the kind of circumstances that McGregor thrived in.

His relentless mind games continued right up until the two were touching gloves, when he signalled Poirier to come at him, which received a frustrating slap from the American.

Many fans believed this was the biggest test of McGregor’s career, but he oozed confidence right from the moment referee Herb Dean told both men to fight.

Immediately McGregor opened with a hook kick, before following up with two trademark spinning back kicks – all the while constantly chatting to Poirier as he circled around the octagon. 

Then McGregor’s moment arrived around the 90 second mark.

TNT SPORTSMcGregor was full of confidence as he headed to the octagon[/caption]

TNT SPORTSThe mind games continued right up until the fight[/caption]

TNT SPORTSThe ‘Notorious’ nearly caught Poirier with a hook kick in the first few seconds[/caption]

TNT SPORTSThe left hand caught ‘Diamond’ on the back of the head, sending him to the canvas[/caption]

TNT SPORTSMcGregor followed up with hammer fists that put the American to sleep[/caption]

He caught the back of Poirier’s head with a left hand that sent the ‘Diamond’ to his hands and knees.

It was then only two seconds later that McGregor had landed four more blows to his opponents head which meant it was all but lights out and the fight was over.

Legendary UFC commentator and podcaster Joe Rogan called ‘Notorious’ the real deal after the fight, but it was the Irishman who sold an even more iconic line with the microphone.

“I don’t just knock them out, I pick the round,” he told Rogan. “I said I’d knock him out in the first round and I knocked him out in the first round, you can call me ‘Mystic Mac’ because I predict these things!”

Rogan would go on to tell McGregor that 10 per cent of the ticket sales for the event at the MGM Grand came from Irish support.

The entire venue pretty much cleared out after he had left the arena too.

It was clear McGregor was already more popular than Demetrious Johnson, who was the reigning flyweight champion and headlining the same card.

Of course, it is well documented what McGregor would go on to achieve in the UFC.

Among numerous other record-breaking moments, he infamously knocked out Jose Aldo inside 13 seconds to become the first UFC fighter to hold two belts in two weight classes at the same time.

Poirier, however, would get the opportunity to exact revenge on McGregor seven years later.

And so he did by knocking out McGregor in the main event at UFC 257 in January 2021, which set up the pair’s trilogy six months later.

McGregor broke his leg at UFC 264UFC

Ultimately, the trilogy ended in disaster for McGregor as he broke his leg in the final 10 seconds of the first round giving ‘Diamond’ the victory in what is his last appearance in the octagon to date.

McGregor, now 36, was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler at UFC 303 but was forced to pull out after he suffered a broken toe.

Chandler is now fighting Charles Oliveira on the undercard of Jon Jones vs Stipe Miocic at UFC 309.

With no clear timeline as to when the ‘Notorious’ will feature again in the octagon, many MMA fans are worried it may never happen again.