McGregor, Jones, Cormier, no Khabib: Fighters who would win UFC's Ballon d'Or

The Ballon d’Or is seen as the ultimate individual accolade in football, where achievements over a calendar year are recognised.

In recent times it has mainly gone to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, with this generation of football supporters having the privilege of watching two of the greatest players in the history of the sport at the peak of their powers in the same era.

A similar concept in MMA could provoke great interest among fans, with achievements by fighters in different weight categories compared. And this proved to be the case over the weekend when a fan posted his choices for a UFC equivalent.

The list covers the previous nine years and eight different fighters feature.

Jon Jones was the choice for 2013, when arguably he was at his best. He was the UFC light heavyweight champion between 2011 and 2015 and some fans regard him as a contender to be the best of all time.

The following year TJ Dillshaw was deemed to be the UFC number one. He began the year with a victory over Mike Easton, before beating Renan Barao to win the UFC bantamweight title. He followed this with two successful defences. Some fans, however, have suggested Robbie Lawler, who won the welterweight title.

The only man to be listed twice was Conor McGregor. 2015 saw the charismatic Dubliner at the top of his game, claiming the UFC featherweight title, winning two performance of the night awards and winning all three of his fights. McGregor also had a great year in 2016, winning the lightweight championship.

However, his defeat to Nate Diaz at welterweight had many fans on Twitter questioning whether he was the company’s best overall fighter in this year, with Tyron Woodley being suggested as a replacement due to his success in the