UFC Best Of 2016 Awards

We can argue the merits of Conor McGregor being granted a title shot at 155 pounds, criticize him for his unwillingness to defend the featherweight championship that he won in December of 2015 and debate whether or not his behavior will be a positive or negative for the sport in the long run, but what can't be debated is what a special moment his victory over Eddie Alvarez created.

UFC 205 was a massive event for the promotion, perhaps the most stacked card since the days when the organization didn't put on three fight cards per weekend. It was also their first foray into New York City after a protracted political battle to get the sport legalized in the state, and Dana White and company did so in style by bringing combat sports to the hallowed ground of Madison Square Garden.

Leading into the main event, many people predicted that lightweight champion Alvarez would use his superior wrestling to grind McGregor down, but instead he stood in front of the Irishman and proceeded to eat vicious shots to the head that dropped him multiple times in the opening round before ultimately seeing McGregor win by TKO in the second.

At no point was the fight ever competitive and Conor - in the face of a legion of critics and detractors nearly as massive as his fanbase - became the first man in history to hold UFC titles in two different weight classes simultaneously.

With the exception of the impossibly polite Georges St. Pierre, all the biggest stars in UFC history are polarizing figures: Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Jon Jones, but none more so that McGregor.

Regardless of your personal on feelings on "Notorious", history was made at MSG and it's a moment that will always be remembered and very possibly never replicated.