Nearly ten years ago to the day, Conor McGregor made his first appearance as a professional fighter in the United States, defeating future hall-of-famer Max Holloway at Boston's TD Garden.
Before the Lamborghini yachts, before a thousand phones recorded his every move and before he acquired more money than he could spend, McGregor was still mystified by the world that was opening up in front of him.
Back home, his supporters were equally in awe. In late 2013, he was perpetually flanked by a film crew - his first entourage - who would later produce 'The Notorious’ documentary for RTÉ, another nod to his ascending stardom in Ireland.
Jaded American journalists were animated getting their first look at the surging, heavy-handed Irishman in Peter Welch’s boxing gym on Dorchester Avenue. After his open workout, McGregor encountered a man speaking fluent Irish in the shower room of the facility, and his jaw hit the floor.
Beantown may as well have been Crumlin on the night.
"It was green walking out there," remarked McGregor at the post-fight press conference.
"It was green, green flags, f***ing leprechauns were walking around, it was unbelievable."
A wall of sound fit for Larry Bird greeted him at the home of the Celtics. UFC president Dana White, a proud Bostonian who had travelled to Trinity College earlier in the year, had been inundated with questions about McGregor headlining an event in his hometown ever since his debut in Stockholm.
The Boston love-in, while far from being a masterclass, did much for the prospects of a homecoming.
Ian Machado Garry is the best Irish mixed-martial-artist on the planet today.
Ranked among the welterweight division’s elite following a signature knockout of Daniel Rodriguez, should he get through short-notice replacement Neil Magny on Saturday night, another victory will lead him to the title stakes.
Like his idol back in 2013, his wide-eyed enthusiasm for the game is evident as he stares down his sixth UFC outing. He speaks his aspirations out loud, unbothered by the bounty of criticisms from his onlookers. He’s visualised his path to gold since his amateur days and everything is going according to plan.
In his Boston debut, despite being seven fights from the main event, McGregor was given the blackout treatment during his entrance, usually reserved for champions.
Although there may be a massive bantamweight title fight on Saturday’s card between champion Aljamain Sterling and the effervescent Sean O’Malley, Garry sees himself as the main attraction.
"Who in good f*ck is waiting up up until 5am in the morning in Europe, or the rest of the world for that matter, to see Aljamain Sterling and Sean O’Malley?" he asked the media at Thursday’s press conference.
"They’re waiting up to see me."
Garry has studied McGregor’s career closely and he knows the power of a Boston ovation and how it could play into him fulfilling his prophecy of leading the UFC back to Ireland.
"I feel like this is the cherry on top," Garry told RTÉ Sport.
"This fight is about me breaking into the top ten. I’m going to go out there, I’m going to finish Neil Magny and I’m going to be ranked in the top ten on the Monday following the fight. But also, we’re in Boston. There’s a massive Irish contingent here. When I walk out, when I finish the fight, when I’m at the weigh-ins, when I’m at the press conference, you’re going to feel the energy of the Irish people there - they’re going to be behind me and they’re going to be out in full force.
"It’s gonna show that this kid is legit. They’re going to know I’ve got Ireland behind me, and this isn’t even Ireland. If you feel this kind of energy here, imagine what it will be like in Dublin…imagine what this kid can do in Dublin."
After sustaining a knee injury in Boston, McGregor emerged from a hiatus in July 2014 in Dublin, headlining an event that would become his calling card to pay-per-view events, world titles and an abundance of luxuries.
He brought his fellow Irish martial artists with him and they combined for a clean sweep, with each win elevating the passion of the support at 3Arena, which is still considered one of the greatest live crowds in the history of the UFC.
Garry too takes pride in giving his fellow Irish charges a share of his spotlight.
"Whether there’s an army of Irish fighters or it’s just me, we’re still fighting for Ireland. The fact that me having success can transfer to someone else having success - like a Caolan Loughran, like a Paul Hughes, like Rhys McKee, like all of these guys - they’re saying "Ian is doing it, why can’t we?’"
While much of the population was introduced to the sport through McGregor’s ascent and that magical night in 2014, ten years later, mixed-martial-arts is old hat and rather commonplace.
Five major events will take place in Dublin this year, the community itself is still passionate albeit fractured, and although a strong fan base remains, the general public are as jaded as the veteran journalists in Peter Welch’s gym a decade ago.
McGregor, once lauded, has become as infamous for generating negative headlines and sentiment outside of the Octagon as he was for his spellbinding performances inside of it.
Could a Dublin event in 2024 with a new cast led by Garry change how people feel about the sport in Ireland? People involved in the sport in Ireland would certainly hope so.
But first things first, let’s see if Garry can get through Magny on Saturday night.
