In 2012, James Gallagher, of Strabane, Northern Ireland, dropped out of school at the age of 15 and moved 130 miles south -- by himself -- to train in mixed martial arts in Dublin.
He did not do so to become the next Conor McGregor.
That is the assumption, however, many fans make regarding Gallagher (6-0), who faces Chinzo Machida at Bellator: NYC this weekend in New York. It will mark Gallagher's first pro fight in the U.S.
The 20-year-old sports an imposing chest tattoo, similar to McGregor's. He fights out of the same gym, SBG Ireland, as the UFC superstar, and can occasionally sound a bit like him on the mic.
But when Gallagher took his first MMA fight at the age of 13, there was no Conor McGregor. There was essentially no Irish presence, period, at the sport's highest level. True, McGregor has carved that path for Gallagher -- but Gallagher says he's still on his own journey.
"When I quit school and moved hours away from my home and family, I didn't know if it was even possible for someone from Ireland to make it to that level," Gallagher told ESPN.com. "Once Conor done it, I knew it was real. It felt that much closer to me.
"He set that path and your hat's off to him. All over the world, MMA would not be what it is right now without Conor McGregor. No one has ever done what he's done, but I'm planning on doing more than what he's done."
More? Than McGregor? The same McGregor, 28, who became the first fighter to ever hold multiple UFC titles simultaneously last year? And has positioned himself to face Floyd Mayweather in a nine-figure boxing match in August?
"One-hundred percent," Gallagher said. "I'm 20 years old, you know what I mean? I know the training he's done. He's done so much more trial and error. He's tried things that worked, and tried things that didn't work. The things that didn't work, he threw them out.
"I can see that through my coaches. The trial and errors that he's done aren't happening with me. It's a focused plan. It's not 'Try this, see if it works.' It's 'Do this. This works.' Conor has set that path and made it clear what works."
When Gallagher was a 17-year-old amateur, he spent 10 weeks in Las Vegas, living and training out of a mansion McGregor rented prior to an interim title fight against Chad Mendes at UFC 189.
This weekend, he'll compete at Madison Square Garden, the same venue in which McGregor won his second UFC world title last November against Eddie Alvarez. Gallagher says the same Irish bars that plastered McGregor fight posters in their windows late last year have done the same for him. The Irish Voice, an Irish-American-centric publication in New York, will feature Gallagher in its issue this week.
There's no question McGregor has had a positive influence on Gallagher, directly and indirectly. But the kid from Strabane -- "The Strabanimal" -- is his own man. His temperament differs from his famous stablemate, as does his fighting style.
Under coach John Kavanagh, Gallagher has finished all but one of his pro fights via submission. He'll eye another finish on Saturday as he continues to work toward his own legacy.
"The more people watching, the better I do," Gallagher said. "I thrive under that. It makes me want it more. It's not like 'Oh s---, I have to perform because 20,000 people are watching me live.' It's nothing like that. It's 'I get to show these people what I can do.'
"This is a warm feeling for me. No one from back home, 20 years old, has been close to this. A few years ago, I was just running around, training something I love. Now I'm here in New York with the world at my fingertips. I'm going to put on the best performance of my life this week."