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Hello everyone,

Following Conor’s Cage Warriors exploits, both in the cage and in interviews, there was a lot of excitement among the MMA community as the fight approached. It peaked during an interview with well‑known reporter Ariel Helwani live on his show, The MMA Hour. Conor had never been exposed to such a large audience, particularly in North America, so it was going to be intriguing to see how it all unfolded. His charisma and sense of humour had already made him popular with fans in Ireland and the UK, but would that also translate across the Atlantic?

I watched the interview and what I saw was Conor just being Conor – no act, no gimmick, what you see is what you get – so I wasn’t anticipating the incredible reaction that followed. The internet exploded. I really didn’t expect people to be so captivated by him. They thought he was hilarious and were intrigued by his confidence. I already knew he had the ability to fight his way to the top, but as I observed how people were so taken by his personality, I thought: This isn’t going to do any harm at all. From there, the media couldn’t get enough of him.

Of course I know the usual/standard meaning of the phrase in question.
But it sounds really odd (at least to me) in this particular context.

What exactly does it imply in the context above?
Does it mean there was no need to worry about that interview? -- "Conor had never been exposed to such a large audience, particularly in North America..."

Or does it mean it's a good thing that people like Conor?

Thank you.