Conor McGregor calls his shot, puts away Dustin Poirier in first round

LAS VEGAS -- There was a main event feel when Irish superstar Conor McGregor entered the Octagon on Saturday night and he wasted no time making short work of Dustin Poirier before calling for a featherweight title shot.

For all the bad blood leading up to the fight, neither McGregor or Poirier came out of the gates with an emotional response, instead opting for a tactical attack as both men realized how dangerous each of them were in a big exchange.

Poirier was confident early and he popped McGregor with a good shot to open the fight to let him know he wasn't going anywhere.  Unfortunately, McGregor ate the punch and that only seemed to fuel his confidence.

The Irish fighter started stepping forward and stalking Poirier across the cage just waiting for the moment to unleash a strike of his own. When he finally did, he clipped him with a punch that landed just above Poirier's ear and the Louisiana native fell to the mat.

McGregor followed up with a few more punches as Poirier's arm laid out stretched on the canvas and the referee swooped in to stop the fight. The stoppage came at just 1:46 into the first round.

"I don't just knock them out, I pick the round," McGregor said following the win.  "I said I'd knock him out in the first round and I knocked him out in the first round."

It was revealed while McGregor was in the Octagon that 10-percent of the tickets sold for UFC 178 came directly from his home country of Ireland showing once again the kind of drawing power he has all over the world.  McGregor's star is planted firmly in the sky and it seems like the only place for him to land now is in a title fight against the winner of Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes.

"You know what's next," McGregor said.  "That world title is next."