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.
Who would win a UFC Ballon d'Or?
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.
McGregor, Jones, Cormier, no Khabib: Fighters who would win UFC's Ballon d'Or
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 welterweight division.
Max Holloway’s two wins over Jose Aldo in 2017 see him make the list while Daniel Cormier’s defence of the light heavyweight title, followed by winning and defending the heavyweight title, make him the 2018 suggestion.
Israel Adesanya is the choice for 2019 for his achievements at middleweight, Deiveson Figueiredo’s success in the flyweight division makes him the 2020 pick.
Who would win 2022's UFC Ballon d'Or?
Kamaru Usman’s welterweight record in 2021 makes him the latest man to be suggested for the honour, though, some fans suggest Charles Oliveira. As ever, there is a lot of debate and many are suggesting the Brazilian as the 2022 winner. Many suggest that he will be the overall number one for 2022 if he beats Islam Makhachev.
It is certainly an interesting concept and the pound-for-pound rankings could be a good guide for picking an annual winner.