"How do you like that New York City?!"

As he cupped his ear to the crowd and confidently swaggered his way around the octagon, Oban Elliott duly and unashamedly lapped up the glory of what was already the most special night of his career.

To appear at the iconic Madison Square Garden is the realisation of a dream on its own. To win with a stunning third-round knockout with the likes of Donald Trump and Elon Musk watching on is something else entirely. When Elliott saw off Bassil Hafez back in November at UFC 309, he did just that.

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The significance of this achievement, the latest eye-catching episode in what's been a hugely impressive debut year in UFC, isn't lost on the former railway worker from Merthyr. But at the same time, the man known as the 'Welsh Gangster' insists he's not all that surprised by it all.

"It’s a little surreal, but it’s where I wanted to be," he tells WalesOnline. "So as surreal as it is, I’m finally satisfied being in that changing room.

"I’m finally satisfied cutting the weight. I’m finally satisfied going for the hard yards. Finally satisfied sitting and sweating in the sauna. I’m satisfied doing it all. Feeling the nerves. Feeling the emotions. The emotional rollercoaster. I’m satisfied with it all because I’m where I wanted to be.

"Even if it all came crumbling down now, as far as I’m concerned I’m a legend forever."

There's been no shortage of graft, but Elliott's journey to this point, he claims, has been something of a personal manifest destiny. In his mind, there wasn't even a shred of doubt that he'd be on this stage.

"If I hadn't made it when I did, I would have gone back to the gym. I would have just got back to the grindstone and I would have kept knocking that door down, so they let me in. I would have kept coming back. I’m that drunk at the bar that doesn’t take no for an answer.

"Straight back to the bar. No chance. There was no way I wouldn’t have made it happen. I said right before the fight that if it was the day I stumbled, I was going to bounce straight back up and go after them again."

Such was the supreme level of confidence in his own abilities, Elliott claims he even made a pact with himself that he wouldn't even set foot inside the famed Madison Square Garden unless he was on the bill.

"It's belief in myself," he says casually, almost affronted by the perceived audacity of the question. "It was just a way of making it so that I had to make it.

"It didn't really feel like a big deal to me, saying that. I didn't want to go to a UFC even there unless I was on the bill.

"I didn't want to go to America for a little holiday unless I was there for a fight. Same as Vegas. Same as New York.

"I would've felt like an imposter if I'd gone to those places if I wasn't there to fight."

For many, those musings would have felt lofty even when he earned his UFC contract on the back of the Contenders Series in 2023, and downright absurd just year before that.

Back then, having previously spent time working on the railways to earn his keep, Elliott was grilling chicken at his local Nando's, plotting his world domination in between each half chicken and Fino Pita.

"I got a memory on my phone earlier," he laughs. "Someone had a photo of me in my Nando's gear and I was proud as hell of it."

A return to Nando's probably isn't in the pipeline, but it's possible we might well see him back on the railways again soon, despite his grand plans to further make his mark on the UFC in 2025.

"I'll probably do bits and bobs [on the railway]. Why not? Stipe Miocic can fight fires and still win the world title then why can't I do a little shift on the railway.

"I have not done anything in this sport to warrant any sort of pat on the back.

"The reason I started this sport in the first place was to escape the reality I was going through as a youth. It was dark. Dark as hell. As dark as three in the morning."

The 'darkness' he references has been far more of a driver in the trajectory of his career than any thirst for fame and sporting greatness, however attractive they may be.

Tragedy, rather than glory, has always been the more potent feeling.

When Elliott was just seven-years-old, he lost his beloved father Paul to suicide, a tragedy beyond the comprehension of most children, and one that blew a hole into what were supposed to be his formative years.

"It was hell," he says looking back. "I was in and out of shrinks. I was kicked out of school. I was lost.

"When I was I fighting in the streets or fighting on the school fields., it was the only time I ever felt at peace. Outside of that, I wasn’t interested in anything."

The anguish was so great, Oban says he even considered ending his own life.

"I was an incredibly tormented and tortured soul," he said. "I didn’t want to be here any more. That’s from a young age. I lost my dad to suicide and at seven that was suddenly an option. For a seven-year-old.

"So I wrestled with that. The only time I ever felt I could get any control of it was when I was in the gym So I turned that into good. It’s so gratifying to sit here and talk about it now."

His dad Paul, who came from a boxing background, was hugely influential in introducing his son to the world of MMA before his untimely passing, and losing him has been a massive driver on Elliott's journey to stardom. His dad's name is emblazoned on the Welsh flag that accompanies him on fight night.

"I thought that I had to replace this void," he says. "I always had the dream and the love for the sport. But when I lost my dad, I just knew I had to make it. I can never replace him, but I can at least distract myself trying to fill it. Every day I’m trying to fill that void. That’s where the journey really truly began, January 5, 2005. I’ve got it tattooed on my arm.

"If my mother had had her way, there’s no way she would‘ve taken me to a fighting gym before. It was always the influence of my father. Then when he passed away my mother just said that this is what my dad would‘ve wanted, lets keep going. She kept taking us to the gym and I never stopped. It was the only place where I could hide from the reality as a little kid.

"I‘d be skipping in the mirror and I’d be hitting the bag, I’d be sparring, and in my head I was in Madison Square Garden. Winning. In my head I was always here. So when people talk about pressure. I just think, well what is pressure any more? The pressure was getting there, and I gave an amazing moment to my mother and saw her so happy, and that just meant the world to me. From here on out, this is the real golden age now, where I can sit and just enjoy this. What have I got to worry about?"

After a brief pause to collect his emotions, which are clearly still raw after all these years, he adds: "It will always be the fire under my arse. At least then he didn’t die for nothing, because I’ve still got that fire."

That burning passion has clearly served him well so far. Having racked up a 3-0 record in his rookie year, Elliott is now gearing up for what many believe will be a massive 2025.

He's already pushed his way into the “Second 15” in the welterweight division rankings, and further success over the coming months means he will surely soon be knocking on the the door of the top 15, where titles and further sporting immortality await.

"I’m taking one fight at a time and I’m taking it all in," he says thinking about his plans for the next 12 months. "I'm taking every second I can. I’m enjoying every moment that’s come my way.

"That’s the real trick. Enjoying it.

"You take one fight at a time. I don’t really care what’s next. I’m where I want to be and I’m just each day as it comes.

"What will be, will be. I just know I’m giving this one million per cent until there’s no air left in my lungs."