TSN.ca Best Of: King Conor

The annual TSN.ca 'Best Of'' takes a punch a year in fighting, with looks at the rise of Conor McGregor, the fall of Ronda Rousey and the final fight for Floyd Mayweather. 

McGregor takes the belt

Conor McGregor did not bite the fake left, right hook combo from Jose Aldo 10 seconds into their long-awaited featherweight title bout at UFC 194 on Dec. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

McGregor leaned back slightly, cocked his left hand and put Aldo on the mat, setting a new record for the shortest championship fight in the organization's history.

"I did say that the right hand would be his downfall," McGregor told ESPN after the fight. 

"I felt he would tense his body, he'd load the right hand and he would overextend and I'd catch him. I said that would be the shot that landed and that was the shot that landed like usually happens. If I say it's going to happen, it happens."

The brash Irishman has painted a pretty picture since he came into the UFC in 2013 and 2015 was his masterpiece so far.

He demolished Dennis Siver in two rounds in January and waited out a furious start from Chad Mendes in July to earn his sixth knockout in seven fights and the interim featherweight title.

McGregor has called every shot since he came into the organization and his 13-second knockout of former pound-for-pound king is no different.

He continues to set promotion records and was most recently projected by Zuffa (UFC's parent company) co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta to be "our first one-hundred millionaire."

In 2016, he aims to move up a class and fight Rafael Dos Anjos for the lightweight title while simultaneously defending the featherweight belt.

Here's guessing this called shot won't be ignored.
 

No More Money

As the clock wound down on Sept. 12, minute by minute, second by second, boxing fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and around the world watched an era come to an end.

The bell rung, the judges never had any doubt and Floyd (Money) Mayweather defeated Andre Berto to finish his illustrious career 49-0.

"You've got to know when to hang it up, you know?" He said in the post-fight interview. "I think it's about time for me to hang it up. I'm knocking at the door, I'm almost 40 years old, been in the sport 19 years, been the champion 18 years, broke all the records, there's nothing else to prove in the sport of boxing."

The five-division world champion's resume is one of the most respectable in the history of the sport. From Arturo Gatti and Oscar de la Hoya, to Miguel Cotto and Manny Pacquiao, he beat everyone that dared to step in the ring with him - even if it was a few years late.

And it all ended - in lacklustre fashion, if you will - on a September night against a hand-picked opponent. Skeptics came out of every corner to criticize the matchmaking and Berto's worthiness of fighting one of the all-time greats.

But Mayweather had a different opinion.

"Andre Berto has heart, tremendous chin, he wouldn't lay down. It was a good fight," Mayweather said. "I knew he would be a tough competitor. Experience played a major role tonight. He's a very athletic boxer and what can I say, I was the better man tonight."

As for his own legacy?

"Money don't make me, I make money."

Fall From Grace

Ronda Rousey lost in 2015.

The undefeated women's bantamweight champion, who starred in two movies this year and was proclaimed on the cover of Sports Illustrated as the "world's most dominant athlete," fell in less than six minutes to 18-time boxing world champion Holly Holm at UFC 193 on Nov. 14 at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

The first half of the year was a dream come true for the former Olympic bronze medalist.

She starred in the blockbuster action flick "The Expendables 3" and in the long-awaited "Entourage" movie. She submitted Cat Zingano in 14 seconds at UFC 184 in February and knocked out Bethe Correia in 34 seconds at UFC 190 in August.

Then came Holm, the perfect mismatch. Holm stood in front of Rousey for their entire fight, bouncing on her toes and landing shot after shot. She was aggressive and patient at the same time. So much so that when Rousey thought she had an opening for a quick left hook, Holm went down on one knee and avoided the blow with Matrix-esque ability, sending Rousey spinning and bouncing off the cage in disbelief.

Thirty seconds after the moment stunned the crowd of over 50,000, Holm put Rousey down with a stunning head kick knockout. 

First loss of 2015. First loss ever.

"I'm just really f---ing sad," she told ESPN The Magazine in an exclusive interview at the beginning of December.

"I just feel so embarrassed. How I fought after that is such an embarrassing representation of myself. I wasn't even f---ing there."

Rousey is healing on the sidelines for now and is expected to get her rematch with Holm for the bantamweight title at UFC 200 on July 9, 2016.

A year to remember … and forget.