“McGregor dominated from the off and had Alvarez on the floor of the Octagon three times in the opening round, with the American wriggling free on both occasions.
“The Irishman, with a five-inch reach advantage over his opponent, began showboating in the second, holding his hands behind his back as Alvarez, 32, looked to respond.
“It was one-way traffic and the bout was stopped when three consecutive punches knocked Alvarez to the floor and with McGregor ready to pounce, McCarthy dived in.”
Start spreading the news #UFC205 #UFCNYC https://t.co/K973N6MKWJ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 13, 2016
In the New York Times, Victor Mather made reference to Muhammad Ali:
“McGregor’s popularity is unsurpassed in the sport. The fans at the Garden roared every time he appeared in a promo on the big screen. But those cheers were dwarfed by the sound that emerged when the man himself appeared in the flesh.
“McGregor has a gift of gab that reminds some of the young Muhammad Ali. In the days before the fight, as is his wont, he berated his opponent, slinging invective as easily as he slings punches. Showmanship is part of the ethos of the U.F.C., and no one is better at it than McGregor…
“Overlooked in the McGregor hype was Alvarez, who after all was the champion. Alvarez seemed to try to match McGregor’s insults but never quite had the Irishman’s panache, and certainly could not match his popularity in the Garden. The Irish and Irish Americans were well represented in the crowd.
“‘The Irish, we built this town,’ McGregor had shouted before the fight. ‘Now we’re coming back to claim what’s ours.
“How right he was.”
When you're a two weight UFC champion….
He's the daddy alright #UFC205 pic.twitter.com/KU6UuAuR9E
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 13, 2016
Jagroop Shinbt, writing for BBC Sport, was equally understated:
“They needed something special to be worthy of the first ever UFC event in the iconic Madison Square Garden – it was the magic of McGregor.
“The superstar delivered yet again and is now the first of a new breed of fighter in the UFC who can conquer on different levels of the game.
“History has been made.”
For Canadian sports website The Score, Themistoklis Alexis writes about McGregor’s ‘deadly left’ and his opponent’s ‘futile attempts’ to stand toe-to-toe with him:
“The victory effectively outed Alvarez as a one-and-done champion, as he’d just handed Rafael dos Anjos a similar fate to win the title this past July.
“‘The Underground King’ appeared doomed from the opening horn, as McGregor promptly took the center of the Octagon before treating him to his deadly left at will.
“Alvarez’s futile attempts to return fire amounted to little more than a handful of strikes to the body, at which the Irishman casually balked.”
More bodhrán!! #UFC205https://t.co/Al5krUQx5v
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 13, 2016
Martin Rogers, writing for USA Today, calls McGregor a “genuine superstar.”
“As Conor McGregor strutted and swaggered and talked up a storm as Sunday morning hurtled toward sunrise, it was just as well that this is a city that never sleeps. The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s loudest, boldest and undeniably biggest star had no intention of allowing it to.
“McGregor’s fame and notoriety has never been higher and in some ways this was his most satisfying night. A complete performance saw him never troubled against Alvarez and the spoils were manifold. Not only did his efforts land him the UFC lightweight belt and a place in the record books as the company’s first simultaneous two-division champion, but he now has unprecedented leverage over the organization’s powers that be.
“For maybe the first time the UFC now has a genuine superstar, a real one in every sense of the word.”
McGregor doesn't trust him https://t.co/kT523ZajYo
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 13, 2016
And Brazilian Combate paid the Irish fighter his dues.
“You can love or hate Conor McGregor. Twisting heart or dry fervently. But the reality is that the Irish did what nobody has ever done. (You) May question the privileges, the fact that others have not achieved the same opportunity, but the Notorious tried to take advantage of that and had became the first athlete in the history of Ultimate (Fighting Championship) to have two belts in two different categories at the same time.
“The already known power of his left hand claimed another victim by knocking out Eddie Alvarez to 3m04s of the second round in the main event of UFC 205 in (the) return (of) the organization to New York, causing uproar in Madison Square Garden. Now, the controversial and talented fighter is the champion of the division of sentences (up to 66kg) and lightweight (70kg), remains to be will give up one of the belts.”
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