Less than a year later, he proved me wrong.
McGregor winning and becoming the first person to simultaneously hold UFC gold in two weight classes isn’t the accomplishment that stands out most about this fight for me, but rather it’s how he did it.
Alvarez is a very good fighter, had been for a number of years, and was coming off a first-round drubbing of Rafael Dos Anjos to claim the title, and McGregor had him beaten in 62 seconds. Yes, the fight lasted into the second round, but McGregor dropped him one minute and two seconds into the opening stanza, with the first true left hand he threw, and from there it was academic.
There will come a time when people will want to do the whole “Yeah, but how good was he really?” and “Yeah, but who did he actually beat?” nonsense with McGregor, and the answers are simple: from the start of his UFC run through this fight, he was outstanding, and he beat a lot of terrific talents.
The Aldo win is the most memorable, I think, but this was his masterpiece.
CODY GARBRANDT VS. DOMINICK CRUZ (UFC 207)
I can still fire this fight up and be absolutely bewildered by how well Garbrandt deals with everything Cruz brings to the table. This fight happened six years ago and I’ve watched it at least a dozen times and yet I still can’t get over what an absolutely breathtaking performance Garbrandt delivered.