Ranking Conor McGregor's 10 UFC Performances

'The Notorious One' was very disparaging about his opponent going into his pay-per-view debut, but he couldn't afford to take Poirier lightly. Dustin had won three straight going into this fight, and was well placed to upset the apple cart.

By the time UFC 178 came around, it was obvious the UFC knew they had something special on their hands - but Poirier was given an opportunity to derail the hype train before it really got started.

Normally one to allow the fight to come to him, he pushed the pace early with some flashy kicks believing he could drop him at any time. While it was exciting to watch, it allowed Poirier to have some early success. Conor very rarely eats leg kicks, but his desire to fight in close opened that up for Poirier, who subsequently utilised his jab to try and frustrate the Irishman.

In the end, Conor abandoned his kicking and pressure game and went back to basics, staying just out of range and landing the left hand with precision. A couple of straight left hands down the middle got Poirier's attention, and then a left hook finished the job. It was the first time anyone had stopped Poirier with strikes, and McGregor did it at just 1:46 of the first round. He used his post-fight interview time to predict the future.

He offered to take out Chad Mendes to set up the fight everyone wanted to see: Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor.