Top 10 sports stories of 2016: (8) Two belts

UFC 205: Alvarez v McGregor

There’s no secret Conor McGregor is one of the most animated personalities in sports today. From his usual press conference antics, to his constant banter with former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., the Irishman always finds himself in headlines whether he is in or out of the octagon.

Despite what some may feel about McGregor, he had quite an accomplished and historic 2016.

After avenging an early 2016 loss to Nate Diaz by defeating Diaz at UFC 202, the then UFC Featherwight Champion set out to do what no one had previously done in the 20-plus year history of the UFC.

Having conquered the Featherweight division, McGregor was set to move up to the Lightweight division to challenge then UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. A win would make him the first person in UFC history to hold a two titles simultaneously.

At UFC 205, the first UFC event to take place in New York City, McGregor put up a calm, yet dominating performance, defeating Alvarez 3:02 into the second round by TKO via punches. Just like that, history was made as McGregor sat atop the octagon with a belt draped over each shoulder.

Though the glory of being a two-division champion did not last long as McGregor either vacated or was stripped of the Featherweight title due to inactivity depending on who you ask (trust the latter), he will still go down in UFC history as the first ever two-division champion.

Join us tomorrow as we remember a man simply known as the greatest.

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