The result of UFC 205’s main event was never in doubt for Conor McGregor’s team.
According to the betting lines, the bookies thought McGregor would make history and become the first fighter to hold two UFC belts in separate divisions at the same time. However, McGregor was only a slight favourite by the Vegas bookmakers in the build-up to UFC 205, suggesting that they didn’t envisage such a one-sided contest.
Many people thought that Eddie Alvarez’s skill-set, experience and toughness would be enough to cause the Notorious problems. Some even suggested that the Underground King possessed the requisite tools to solve the puzzle that left so many past opponents stumped and he could utilise them to beat the Dubliner.
However, McGregor absolutely dominated Alvarez on the feet to the point where the Philly native resembled a human punching bag inside the Octagon. Three knockdowns and a knockout later, he had two belts resting on either shoulder, just as he predicted at the pre-fight press conference.
That's a shame https://t.co/p22Z18A3ds
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 14, 2016
McGregor’s dominance against a fighter of Alvarez’s reputation really sent shockwaves throughout the MMA community. However, one man who wasn’t shocked by just how magnificent McGregor looked was his striking coach, Owen Roddy. The Irish MMA pioneer gave his reaction to Submission Radio in Madison Square Garden after the card had ended and he clearly felt that the result was never in doubt.
“It’s unbelievable… well obviously Conor believed and we believed as well.”
“We had been saying all the time that he was there to be hit. I’ve been moving around with Conor for a while and I even said it to him beforehand, you’re going to be able to hit him with everything. He did, he did hit him with everything.”
Roddy believes that was the best version of McGregor that he’s ever seen inside the Octagon and yet, he expects we’ll see even better performances from him in the future.
“By far that was the cleanest performance I’ve see from Conor until the next one. This is what happens all the time. You think you’ve reached the pinnacle with Conor until he goes up again. It’s unbelievable.”
