Conor McGregor dethrones Jose Aldo

After the all the talk, the build up, the anticipation, Conor McGregor put the Jose Aldo saga to bed in emphatic fashion. Once that cage closed and John McCarthy ordered both fighters to get ready, the MMA world awaited a potential fight of the year candidate but instead we were given perhaps a moment that will reverberate around the MMA world for a long time. What we got was the 10 year reign of a king come to a resounding end within 13 seconds of the first round. If you blinked, like Aldo, you too might have missed the perfectly timed left hand that Conor McGregor delivered to down the champion. If there was any signs of a resurgence left in Jose Aldo it was swiftly terminated by a hammer fist to the face and when Herb Dean stepped in, history was made. It was a fight that promised much yet might just have delivered so much more. A fight that saw one king fall and a new one take his place. A fight that could define a legacy and conclude another.

As the MMA world comes to grips with what occurred during the main event, one man will revel in what he claimed was his destiny. Take away the bravado, the boisterousness, the cavalier swagger and underneath it we saw the common ingredient all great champions possess, the will to win. We witnessed a man that that has fought his way to the top, showcase everything he had learned on the way there. Analysts will look at the fight and find they are working with bare bones, but look closely and you will see the difference in sharpness, in precision. Jose Aldo hadn't fought for a year whilst McGregor racked up two big wins in that space of time and as we know the only way to sharpen Iron is for it to clash with iron. They say in combat sports, the punch that hurts you the most is the one you do not see coming and tonight we saw that old age adage proven correct once again.

As we prepare for the dawn of a new era, the McGregor era, we cannot forget about the man that has been at the top of the hill for so long. Jose Aldo has reigned supreme for 10 years and for it to be cut short in such a shocking and abrupt fashion will hurt. The fact that the clown had the final laugh may haunt him for even longer, but true champions are defined by their ability to get back up when they have been brought down to their knees and now more than ever we will see what Jose Aldo is truly made of. What lies next for the new featherweight champion? A homecoming to end all homecomings in his beloved Ireland. His country went to war with him and they returned with the spoils and whilst McGregor has done what he set out to do from the very start, now comes the hard work. They say you aren't really the champion until you defend the belt and further obstacles lie ahead in his pursuit for greatness, but for now he can bask in the present moment and embrace the plaudits and accolades because like everything in his life ,he has earned it.