When his crowning moment arrived, it was all too much for Conor McGregor. The man who throughout his meteoric rise through the mixed martial arts world has constantly insisted that nothing could faze him was finally fazed.
That moment, the one that stopped in his tracks came at a deafening MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night when McGregor knocked out Chad Mendes and claimed the interim UFC featherweight title and fulfilled a life-long dream.
The scenes were as wild as anything this sport - or, for that matter, most others - has seen. The Irish hordes who had decamped to the Las Vegas Strip went wild but the object of their wild affection took a moment of reflection.
"I didn't really think about what way I was going to react. But when I put him away and then I jumped on the cage and my coach was right there with me. I was just looking around at everything and it overwhelmed me and I came to tears," said McGregor.
"It has been a hell of a ride. Just over two years I've been here. I've just about broken every record in the game. Trust me when I tell you there is a lot of work involved.
"I have been home for 19 days this year. I have constantly been working, constantly promoting this fight as well as keeping on top of my weight and skill level."
McGregor's triumph came after he had been in real danger for large parts of the fight. Mendes dominated much of the first round despite the undefeated Dubliner, in a signal of what would be the fight's denouement, connecting with some strong lefts and solid body shots.
"It's the efficient fighter who will prevail. I knew when I hit him that I would hurt him."
McGregor, bloodied from a hard elbow that had split open his right eyelid, then spent almost the entirety of the second round on his back but fought off an attempted guillotine choke got back on his feet and duly floored Mendes.
In doing so he floored so many doubters too, especially those who insisted he didn't have the requisite wrestling skills to be a champion.
"It's been a long road here. The [wrestler] question never really bothered me," said McGregor. "I knew what I could do. You cannot have a singular approach in this game. You must be free to fight in all forms.
"I feel if it's a fight to the death between two men, and there's no clock, takedowns don't really matter. It's the efficient fighter who will prevail. I knew when I hit him that I would hurt him."
For his part, Mendes was incredibly magnanimous in defeat, just the third of his glittering career.
"I remembered getting back to my feet and my feet were tired," said the Californian. "Conor was able to stand there in front of me and tee off. That was the mistake I made.
"I felt like I had complete control on top. There wasn't a whole lot he could do when I was on top of him. I think he was weakening but you have to give it to him, the guy didn't stop talking s*** the whole time. I would land a giant elbow on his face and he would say 'is that all you got'."
McGregor's entrance to the ring was a remarkable moment to witness. Sinead O'Connor performed a stirring rendition of The Foggy Dew as the huge Irish contingent in the 16,000-plus crowd sent decibel levels soaring on a record-breaking night for the sport.
"That was some moment," admitted McGregor, who will now face champion Jose Aldo, with early indications that the mouth-watering unification bout could take place in January.
"I look up and Sinead is surrounded by lights and smoke and she just points at me. Sinead is an absolute legend, an Irish hero, a passionate, powerful, strong woman and her voice just sends chills through my spine any time I listen to her. To have her there singing live was an absolute honour.
It's a crazy game and I absolutely love it. I love this job, I love this game, I love this ride that I'm on. I am happy to have taken the gold. This was my belt. This was my night."
