Conor McGregor's Extravagant UFC 178 Press Conference Is The Moment A Megastar Was Born

Conor McGregor mania grew exponentially when he waxed lyrical about his destruction of Dustin Poirier at UFC 178 in 2014.

McGregor stole the show at the UFC 178 post-fight press conference as he spoke eloquently about his stunning victory.

'The Notorious' made an emphatic Las Vegas debut when he took out top featherweight contender Poirier in under two minutes with a flawless display.

And speaking after his big win, the young, brash and witty man from Ireland put on a spectacle as he declared his love for his job while hollering some classic soundbites.

"I cannot hate the man who has the same dreams as me. I have no emotion toward them at the end of the day. I am on my journey," he said, owning the podium.

"I have nothing but respect for these competitors. Make no mistake: I am cocky in prediction, I am confident in preparation, but I am always humble in victory or defeat."

McGregor added: "This is all fun and games for me. I love it. I love my job. I whoop people for truckloads of cash. How could I hate this life? I love it so much.

"That's what it's about. This game is about growth. I find a lot of mixed martial artists, a lot of athletes period, get to this stage where they are happy with their ability. And then it's about maintenance. It's about showing up at the gym. It's about getting hard round in. It's about getting miles on the road in. But, really, their skill level is not growing.

"Don't try and tell me that gold belt sitting up there on this table would not look great to go alongside this ivory elephant trunk suit that I've got on me right now.

"I know Dana [White] wants to see it. I know Lorenzo [Fertitta] wants to see it. Shout out to Uncle Frank [Fertitta], I know he wants to see it. It's what the fans want. It's what I want."

McGregor, of course, fulfilled his prophecy three fights later when he dethroned Jose Aldo of the UFC featherweight title in 13 explosive seconds.