Conor McGregor before fame: What did the Irishman do prior to his UFC stardom?

Conor McGregor might be the biggest star in mixed martial arts right now, but life was not always easy or glorious for the Irishman. Prior to his UFC stardom and million-dollar paychecks, 'The Notorious' was a regular working-class Joe.

During his early years, the fighter even had a short stint as a plumber in Dublin. The Crumlin native was clearly unhappy with his profession and quickly left the job to pursue his dream of being an MMA athlete.

In an interview with late-night host Conan O'Brien, the fighter said that even though his parents were not very happy about him leaving his plumbing job, they eventually supported him in following his dreams.

Watch Conor McGregor talk about his plumbing days below:

During his early days competing in MMA, 'Notorious' even had to rely on social welfare money from the Irish government to survive. In his post-fight interview after his UFC debut, McGregor revealed that he was collecting 118 euros a week in social welfare prior to joining the UFC.

Watch Conor McGregor talk about living on welfare below:

McGregor started his professional mixed martial arts journey with Cage of Truth in Dublin. The fighter won his MMA debut against Gary Morris with a second-round TKO.

The Dubliner would then go on to win both the Cage Warriors featherweight and lightweight championships at Cage Warriors 47 and 51, respectively, before being presented with a UFC contract in 2013.

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Conor McGregor reveals how he deals with fame

During a pre-fight presser before his UFC 246 fight with Donald Cerrone, 'The Notorious' explained that the fame that came with his success in the sport had both pros and cons.

The Irishman stated that he always keeps his focus and surrounds himself with people he respects to tackle the downside of fame:

"Some time it's [the fame] tough. But I'm grateful for the position I'm in... You know, if it brings in some bad I think if I keep my focus right and my positivity sharp and keep the people that I respect around me, that will overcome all of that."

Watch Conor McGregor talk about how he handles fame below:

The 34-year-old further explained that his immense fame sometimes almost seems like a witch hunt. He added that even though he was able to handle it, sometimes his family is troubled by it:

"Sometimes I feel like it's like a witch hunt at times... It's not so much me, I'm cool with it... I understand it... It's my family and things like that it gets a bit heavy at times."