When the biggest night of your life ends up being over before it started, you can quickly start thinking of the next night.
So it was for Conor McGregor, Ireland's remarkable mixed martial artist, in Las Vegas last night. Fresh from his jaw-dropping dethroning of Jose Aldo at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, a historic 13-second takedown of a man whose reign had lasted since day zero, McGregor stepped up to the microphones and delivered as quickly as he had in the octagon minutes earlier.
"Mystic Mac strikes again. There are many great fighters, who do great things. But when you combine it all together, the whole fight game, I don't think there's anyone who does it better than me," he said after his UFC 194 triumph that secured a undisputed featherweight title and a payday estimated to be in or around $5million in about the time it takes for the rest of us to tie our laces in the morning.
If anything, McGregor wished the fight, and the most remarkable night yet, hadn't been so brief.
"Jose has been a phenomenal champion," said the 27-year-old, himself now an indisputable phenomenon.
"It would have been nice if the contest had stretched out a little longer. I still feel the same process would have happened. Timing beats speed, precision beats power. I respect Jose, I wish him well but we're on to the next chapter."
"I'm looking forward to going home and building a Christmas tree with my girlfriend and spending time with my family and eating good, good food" - Conor McGregor
The next chapter might have to be the greatest page-turner ever penned if it's to live with this riveting if oh-so-brief instalment. McGregor's simply wicked left hook that connected with the chin of the Brazilian, beloved in his homeland, actually hit the mark just after ten seconds. The fight was over there and then, even if it took another three for it to be officially put in the books.
The next chapter is one that could now feature any number of protagonists on the other side of the page to the Notorious one. After this, his most remarkable triumph, nothing is off the table.
"Things change and things grow in the fight game. These hooks appear and we capitalise, that's what we do here at the UFC," said McGregor, unified gold draped over his shoulder.
"I've put in a hell of a lot of work this year, it's been a crazy, crazy year for me. I'm looking forward to going home and building a Christmas tree with my girlfriend and spending time with my family and eating good, good food."
WOW! @TheNotoriousMMA KOs @josealdojunior in 13 seconds. 🇮🇪👊 #AndNew #UFC194 https://t.co/53rqGJ2OhB
— #UFC194 (@btsportufc) December 13, 2015
While back in the comfort of Dublin, McGregor can plot that next move. A move up to lightweight seems most likely, but he also spoke of defending his new crown against Frankie Edgar. In the octagon, with chaos reigning around him, he also offered a stunned Aldo a rematch.
"Options are a good thing in the fight game." said its leading man. "I am looking to replicate what I did in my previous promotion, two-weight world champion, held consecutively. I said I would do it, and I'll do it. I believe [I'm the best pound-for-pound fighter].
"I had a little moment where I felt sorry for Jose. It's been a long road and I appreciate that he showed up here. I've no doubt there were options to pull out and this time he stuck around. I just said we can do it again but he was off in his own world. They're still resentful and bitter. Winners focus on winning, losers focus on winners."
What a winner McGregor has become. The kind of winner a lot of people will pay a lot of money to see do his thing. Having shattered the mark he set last time out in July with a $10.1million gate total here, he immediately turned his eyes to the biggest records out there.
"Tonight was a phenomenal night. A $10.1million gate, a phenomenal number. We've done it again. What did Mayweather-Pacquiao do?," he asked of May's fight of the century in the same venue that he had just near taken the roof off. "$72 million. That's [the aim]. I'm catching up [with Mayweather] I'm only 27, those motherf***ers were 40. I'm only warming up.
"I said to [UFC owners] Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White, I'm breaking these big numbers, I'm breaking these half a billion dollar revenue numbers like the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. At 27 years of age I stand here as the unified world champion with back-to-back gate records at the MGM Grand. This is trending as the highest PPV I believe of all time for the UFC.
"At 27 years of age with every record in the book, with divisions above ready for me to go at, super fights left and right. I'm going straight up, I'm bringing these big numbers, the sky is the limit. Anything can happen."
