Throwback: When Conor McGregor was given Tyron Woodley's belt after becoming two-division champion
Conor McGregor put on one of the greatest performances of his illustrious MMA career at the UFC 205 event on November 12th, 2016. The then-UFC featherweight champion McGregor moved up in weight to face the then-UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for the latter's title at UFC 205.
Their super-fight served as the headlining matchup for UFC 205 and witnessed McGregor put on a masterful display of MMA brilliance against 'The Underground King.'
The Irish striking savant craftily staved off Alvarez's takedown attempts and forced the lightweight kingpin into a standup battle. More importantly, McGregor impressively countered and knocked his foe down on multiple occasions in rounds one and two.
"He didn't just do it, he did it flawlessly."
Calm. Composed. Clinical.
Conor McGregor with one of the great title fight performances vs Eddie Alvarez 🙏
#UFC246 | January18 | BT Sport Box Office https://t.co/UKliXiTJF8
The end came at the 3:04-minute mark of the second round after 'The Notorious' dropped Eddie Alvarez yet again and followed up with ground strikes, prompting the referee to wave off the fight. Conor McGregor thereby captured the UFC lightweight title and became the first fighter to simultaneously hold two UFC titles in separate weight classes.
During his post-fight octagon interview with Joe Rogan, McGregor criticized the UFC for not handing him two UFC title belts to celebrate with after his incredible win. Thankfully, then-UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley — who retained his title via a majority draw against Stephen Thompson in the UFC 205 co-headliner — came to the rescue.
Woodley lent his UFC belt to the organization's officials, permitting them to hand it to McGregor for the monumental accomplishment of him becoming a UFC double champion. McGregor subsequently posed with both UFC belts over his shoulders, leading to several iconic photographs and videos of his memorable 'champ-champ' celebration.
Conor McGregor provides a timeline for his UFC return
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor's most recent fight was a lightweight bout against Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The matchup saw McGregor suffer a gruesome leg injury and lose via first-round TKO. The 34-year-old hasn't competed ever since. However, it's believed that he'll return to the octagon this year, likely at welterweight.
During a live video on social media in October 2022, Conor McGregor suggested that he was busy shooting for his part in the remake of the 1989 action movie 'Road House.' The MMA icon indicated that he'll commence fight camp soon after wrapping up his filming obligations. Eyeing a UFC comeback in the first quarter of 2023, McGregor stated:
"I'm gonna be back soon hopefully. Early 2023 I'm aiming for. You know, sometime in that first quarter. That'll give me a good couple of months. Once I wrap this in a couple of days, get this camp going, good couple of months and get going."
Watch McGregor discuss the topic in the video below: