UFC 189's Conor McGregor 'inspired' by Ronda Rousey, says they're both at the top of the game

If you had any questions remaining at just what kind of star power Conor McGregor has, they were all answered this week in the build  up to his much-anticipated title fight against Chad Mendes, which went down last night (Sat. July 11, 2015) at UFC 189.

That's because the pay-per-view (PPV) event broke the all-time gate record for a mixed martial arts (MMA) event in the United States, earning over $7 million in tickets sales. That is good enough to eclipse the previous mark of $6.9 million, which was set by UFC 148, featuring a title fight rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen.

His accomplishments thus far were good enough to convince Conor that he's at the top of the game at the moment. But, he isn't alone, as he says he shares that honor with UFC women's bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey.

A woman "Notorious" says he draws inspiration from.

Check out McGregor make his case as the biggest mover in MMA while giving praise to "Rowdy" during the UFC 189 post-fight press conference.

"I don't think weight has got to do with anything, you know? It just happened to be that the heavyweights were, there was a buzz in the heavyweight division, but the heavyweight division in the UFC right now is building steam. But, right now I am running the game. I have every record in the book. The gate, the pay-per-view (PPV), all the viewing figures on FOX, UFC Fight Pass, highest attended weigh-ins. I have every record right now, and at the end of the day I am only 26 years of age. I am still very, very young in this game. So I feel myself and Ronda Rousey, Ronda is an absolute machine. She is an animal. I relate to Ronda a lot because I know the work she puts in media wise and training wise. I look at her and I take a great inspiration from Ronda and her work ethic. I feel it's me and Ronda at the top of the game. And I am honored. But there are many name and exciting fights coming up. I mean Robbie Lawler was phenomenal. That Robbie and Rory fight was absolutely phenomenal. I must pay my respect to that. Two absolute warriors took every shot and still came forward. This is what the sport is about. What a night of fights, this is what it's all about. I'm just happy to close the show in the sport that I love. I'm glad to have maybe introduced someone who may have never watched it. This is our sport, this is UFC and this is as real as it gets."

McGregor earned even more bragging rights, as he helped draw the biggest crowed for a UFC weigh-in ever.

That's right, the weigh-ins.

The fiery Irishman put the cherry on top of his current run inside the Octagon by knocking out Chad Mendes in round two of the main event bout to capture the interim featherweight title (video here).

Now, not only is he making the big bucks, earning blue chip sponsors left and right, and breaking all the records, but he's also a champion, too.

It's truly good to be the king ... and queen.