The Notorious was not on hand to pick up his award in person.
Robbie Lawler must wonder what else he must do to win ‘Best Fighter’. True, the ESPYS [annual awards handed out by ESPN] are not the pinnacle of sporting accolades but it’s nice to be recognised.
Lawler, who defeated Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit in two welterweight wars in the past year, faced stiff competition from undisputed middleweight boxing champion Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez and McGregor.
Congrats @TheNotoriousMMA on your #BestFighter @ESPYS! See you at #UFC202 in Las Vegas! #ESPYS pic.twitter.com/c5uMfSHabq
— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 2016
The Dubliner claimed UFC interim and undisputed featherweight belts, last year, and put it up to Nate Diaz when stepping up two divisions to welterweight.
McGregor backed up his talk in 2015 but 2016 has not gone to plan. After losing to Diaz at UFC 196, his planned rematch, at UFC 200, was postponed when he failed to show up for a Las Vegas press conference. He is booked in for UFC 202, against Diaz, so a ‘Best Fighter’ accolade should add more fuel to his verbal fire.
One suspects Diaz will not be too impressed with his opponent’s latest award, or time in the spotlight.
Cristiano Ronaldo took home the Best International Athlete award, to add to his Champions League and Euro 2016 winners’ medals.
You can check out the full list of ESPY winners here.
