There was a time when Conor McGregor was restricted by his Irish celebrity. It made him feel hesitant about heading out the door to go shopping, for something to eat or other normal activities.
Speaking on BT Sport, McGregor explained that his outlook has changed.
For a period of time, it was messing me up. I was like 'didn't want to go nowhere', not that I didn't want to go anywhere but I was just that it was an 'event' to go somewhere. I can't just go somewhere and do something. Now, I just don't give a shit. Now I am going places.
When I was in Vegas and LA and I was planning on coming back [to Ireland], I was thinking that this is going to be insane. I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to come back. It's going to be too heavy. I can't be coming here for training and fight camp. It's just going to be like I'm in a fish bowl. Then I came back and I was like, 'I fuckin' love this place, this is my home'.
I was walking into the gym and there's a lot of kids and a lot of things to sign and people asking me to take pictures, but that's OK. I helped build that gym [SBG]. I helped build that place to what it is. That is my home. I feel comfortable in there no matter what.
Even at SBG, he is not unaffected by those wanting a piece of him.
People are just sitting there videoing me. I'm just sitting there eating food and I see a guy holding a camera trying not to make eye contact with me. Before that would have freaked me out, but now I'm cool with it.
Not everyone is happy to see a man succeed, as wrong as that is. That maybe was in my head a little too much. But now I just put my feet up and relax. Now I feel free to go anywhere with no hesitation.
Out for food at Nando's recently, the featherweight felt akin to a member of a boy band.
It's a great thing to walk down the street and see a little kid and he's a fan and he's shaking. The other day we were in Nando's eating food. There's was a girl sitting there and I turned around and she was balling crying, literally in tears crying, like I was someone from 'One Direction'.
