Conor McGregor and Max Holloway first fought 13 years ago -- without the tattoos, the fame, or attention.
McGregor and Holloway weren't the main event, they weren't even on the main card, but they stole the show at a UFC Fight Night event in 2013.
This is what happened in the first fight between McGregor and Holloway.
Why was this venue and opponent chosen for McGregor?
McGregor, then 25, had fought only once in the UFC -- a swift knockout of Marcus Brimage in Sweden in early 2013 -- but had cruised down the Las Vegas Strip with UFC CEO Dana White in a Ferrari. The type of treatment reserved for White's top stars, not a one-fight newcomer.
Back home in Ireland, McGregor had already been featured on "The Late, Late Show" where they described him as an "Irish Muhammad Ali."
It is largely forgotten that Andy Ogle was McGregor's original opponent for August 17, 2013, before he withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Holloway, a then-21-year-old with a humble 3-2 UFC record.
The location -- the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts -- became an intrinsically important detail because of the city's famously Irish roots. McGregor, already with his popularity on the rise, found himself fighting in a home away from home surrounded by Irish flags.
If McGregor was on the prelims, who headlined?
McGregor and Holloway were, remarkably, not even the top fight of the preliminary section of the card. That was reserved for Michael McDonald who submitted Brad Pickett. Future McGregor rival Diego Brandao also fought, and won, on the prelims.
On the main card, a McGregor rival who he never ended up fighting, Urijah Faber, beat Iuri Alcantara. Travis Browne knocked out Alistair Overeem at heavyweight, while Chael Sonnen won the main-event by submitting Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
McGregor's words -- and his entrance -- gain attention
A documentary film crew were following McGregor around Boston in the days prior to his fight against Holloway, which was beginning to feel like a breakthrough opportunity. His way of speaking made him stand out.
"I have shots in the book that haven't been seen yet," he said. "Rituals, superstitious, are just other words for fear. And I don't fear nothing."
Rather than go through the motions of the public work-out like many of his peers, McGregor broke a sweat and showed off some of the movements which would later make him a star. His pre-fight attire of a suit and sunglasses also caught the eye.
The lights in the arena were dimmed ahead of McGregor's entrance -- for a prelim fighter, it was an unprecedented sign of faith in his superstardom. He walked out to the Dropkick Murphys song "I'm Shipping Up To Boston."
Explaining the fight -- and the injury
Skinny at 145 pounds, and without the fearsome tiger chest tattoo that he has become known for, McGregor's unorthodox striking quickly became a problem for Holloway in the first round. An uppercut in the second round hinted at the knockout that much of the Shamrock-wearing crowd wished for, but it never materialised.
Instead, the latter half of the fight was spent predominantly on the ground with McGregor enjoying enough control to earn a unanimous decision victory and improve his record to 14-2, and 2-0 in the UFC.
He had injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee midway through the fight, it was soon revealed.
"I wanted to keep him standing and put him away," McGregor said post-fight. "But in the second round I caught a kick, tried to advance it past his half-guard ... He caught my leg in an awkward position and bridge and rolled, and my whole knee just popped out midway through that second round.
"When we stood back up, I was just wobbly on it. That's why in the third [round] I had to change it up and look for the take-down. I'm not happy I didn't get the finish."
He said later: "It feels like a loss to me, to be honest. I wanted the finish. I felt the finish was there for me. I injured my knee midway through the second, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. But looking back, I should have just pulled my knee from my leg and hit him with it."
Tellingly, White added: "Why am I promoting this kid? Why am I getting behind him? Because I love what he's about."
What came next?
McGregor took inspiration from Georges St-Pierre's recovery from a similar knee injury, and returned after a 10-month absence. He was dropped straight into his first headline fight, at home in Dublin, Ireland. He knocked out Brandao on a famous night for Irish MMA in front of a partisan crowd who knew they were watching a star.
McGregor knocked out Dustin Poirier, then beat Denis Siver as he returned to Boston, then Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo.
The rest is history -- a career which yielded titles in two divisions, a money-spinning boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and heights which no MMA fighter had ever hit before.
For his opponent 13 years ago, Holloway? He embarked on a 13-fight win streak after losing to McGregor, capturing the featherweight title. Last year he beat Poirier for the BMF title but, most recently, Holloway was beaten by Charles Oliveira. He remains firmly at the sharp end of elite competition, now aged 34.