Conor McGregor’s first meetings with John Kavanagh perfectly embody his rags to riches journey

Conor McGregor may be living the high life now but he has strained every sinew to get there.

So says McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh. The Straight Blast Gym head coach was on RTE Radio One, this morning, to speak about MMA and McGregor's quest for the UFC lightweight belt. Kavanagh has been working with The Notorious for the past 11 years and is delighted his charge is finally getting the recognition his hard work merits. Recounting the pair's first encounter, Kavanagh said, "

"His first day was not a lot different to anybody else's. There was no clouds splitting or ray of sunshine hitting me. He just joined a gym. He was 16. "[His talent] was apparent. He came from Crumlin Boxing Club, which is a good boxing club and he was already good at boxing. "He was the same personality he is now. He's loud - people call it arrogant - he's confident, brash. He's funny; very witty. He is incredibly sharp-minded. "All those qualities were there when he was young. Any trainer when they see something like that, and he can also compete and fight very well, they think 'This guy can do something'."

As Kavanagh notes, McGregor is now heading to Las Vegas in an attempt to be the UFC's first ever consecutive title holder. However, even though McGregor showed signs of early promise, the struggle was real in the early years.

"We were scraping along. "Maybe he can be a little bit brash now about what he has but, I can tell you now, when we were pushing his girlfriend's car down the car park, trying to get it started on cold winter nights, after doing a third or fourth session that day, it was tough."

Right now, McGregor calls the shots. As he claimed earlier this week, "I'm here to fight. I'm here to win every belt and then I'm gone. Then I'll see the game later. I'll set it ablaze and walk away." Humble beginnings, glory days and a future untold. It has been some journey.