And the world did gaze with deep amaze as Conor McGregor lifted two championship belts into the New York City sky.
No man or woman had done what he’d just done.
And he made it look fucking easy.
Never had two world titles been held simultaneously in the UFC. All the greatest fighters in the history of the Octagon – Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Jose Aldo – none of those legends even attempted the feat, let alone accomplished it.
Yet a man from Crumlin managed to stroll to the greatest accomplishment in mixed martial arts history, quite literally without breaking a sweat.
November 12, 2016 was the date that ‘The Notorious’ solidified his status as an all-time great. And he’s still only 28 years old.
McGregor made Eddie Alvarez, the grinding wrestler who was supposed to not only have the antidote for the Irishman’s style, but expected to humiliate McGregor in the main event of UFC 205, look like a rank amateur.
Alvarez became the UFC lightweight champion by dethroning Rafael dos Anjos, the Brazilian who many saw as the UFC’s greatest ever 155lber, but ‘The Underground King’ was undeniably out of his depth on the feet when he shared the mat with McGregor.
McGregor is not only the greatest Irish sportsperson of the year but it could be argued that no athlete on the face of the earth holds a candle to the Dubliner’s success in 2016.
‘The Notorious’ is the face of the fastest growing sport in the world and his pay-per-view drawing power would have played a vital role in the $4 billion valuation of the sport’s pre-eminent organisation when it was sold in the summer to WME-IMG.
Sure, other sportspeople’s athletic feats may match up with those of McGregor in the past 12 months but what he’s been able to do outside of the Octagon has to be taken into account as the act of fighting is only part of what constitutes a great fighter.
Promo-cutting abilities, the power to make casual fight fans tune in – whether it be to watch a competitor win or lose, bringing the sport into the mainstream and the cementing of a legacy.
In 12 short months, McGregor has been able to stretch his lead even further in terms of his superiority in each of those areas over all other UFC fighters.
We saw the famous “Who the fuck is that guy?”.
We witnessed McGregor surpass the previous pay-per-view buy record.
We were treated to the first ever champ champ.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMv1QETh8nw/?taken-by=thenotoriousmma&hl=en
Cynics will point to the fact that 2016 was not a flawless year for the Irishman in terms of results. He came unstuck against Nate Diaz in March and was taken to the absolute brink in the rematch.
But revenge was his and the redemptive narrative of what was arguably the biggest bout of the year made it such.
The build-up to UFC 202’s headliner was framed around how the cockiest, mouthiest man in the promotion’s 23-year history would be able to rally from adversity and prove that he had not been found out, as many of his detractors were suggesting between March and August.
Having already seen his unprecedented knockout power, his freak athleticism and his unparalleled counter speed, UFC 202 was the stage on which McGregor could show off another side to his game.
Heart.
Having been criticised by some for tapping out to the rear naked choke that closed out UFC 196 in unexpected circumstances, McGregor was not going to wilt under pressure again.
He could have easily quit under the volume of pitter-patter shots for which Diaz is renowned but he stood firm and displayed an indomitable spirit as he kept on fighting.
He claimed a majority decision and avenged the defeat, his first in the UFC, that started off 2016 for him in less than impressive style.
While McGregor’s record for the year stands at 2-1 and the likes of Michael Bisping and Stipe Miocic may have enjoyed more stirring success inside the Octagon, McGregor has polished what was already the perfect package.
The hardcore following that makes the trip to the States fight after fight to watch the latest brushstroke in McGregor’s masterpiece is testament to the common opinion that he’s the most popular athlete walking the planet.
Ronda Rousey’s fights are fights. Conor McGregor’s fights are experiences.
We, as sports writers, often get accused of overdoing coverage of McGregor but how can we fucking not? He’s all anybody wants to read about and our analytics prove it.
I’ve never been what one would call a McGregor fanboy and I’ve actually picked against him on more occasions in the past than I’ve backed him but 2016 was the year that I was fully convinced that he’s the real deal.
The world would be a much more boring place without McGregor and we should all count our lucky stars that we’re living through the prime of a combat sports legend.
And he’s bloody Irish!
He’s the sportsperson of the year, simple as, and that’s probably more fact than it is opinion at this stage.
