It’s only right that the man nicknamed The Notorious capped off UFC’s inaugural showcase at Madison Square Garden in New York with a win over Eddie Alvarez on Saturday night.
Conor McGregor—who entered UFC 205 three months removed from a grueling five-round majority-decision win over Nate Diaz—defeated Alvarez by TKO in the second round to capture his first lightweight title.
Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Junkie noted the historical significance of McGregor‘s victory:
After the win, in true McGregor fashion, he was as cocky and brash as ever, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting:
If you thought McGregor was loud and over-the-top before, making history as the first simultaneous champion in two weight classes is only going to make the notorious one even louder and more over-the-top.
Skip Bayless of FS1 offered his own unique praise for McGregor after the victory:
UFC provided video of McGregor‘s left that knocked Alvarez down for the first time in the opening round:
Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal captured a terrific image of McGregor with both of his championships celebrating while sitting atop the Octagon:
McGregor made his UFC lightweight debut on Saturday evening, and he proved once again that he’s capable of winning in multiple weight classes.
Not only did McGregor secure a knockout victory of Jose Aldo in 13 seconds at UFC 194 to become the promotion’s undisputed featherweight champion, but he took down Diaz in an August welterweight bout to assert his dominance as one of the sport’s most well-rounded and vicious fighters.
“I’m motivated by the gold, the extra gold,” he told Rolling Stone‘s Mike Bohn. “The history of it. It’s historic. Of course the money always motivates. The love for competition. There’s many factors that go into it. I said I would enter and I would dominate two divisions, win the two-weight world title. If I say it, I will do it. That’s where we’re at.”
According to Bohn, McGregor joined B.J. Penn and Randy Couture as the only fighters to win title belts in multiple weight classes. However, Bohn noted that neither Penn nor Couture owned two straps in different weight classes simultaneously.
In addition to owning two belts, McGregor has now won 17 of his last 18 fights dating back to 2011.
With McGregor‘s cockiness justified and his status as one of the most decorated fighters in UFC history solidified, there’s no doubting he’s a one-man wrecking crew capable of achieving even greater success should he choose to press on in the Octagon.
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