UFC champs Conor McGregor, Demetrious Johnson nominated for 2017 ESPY Awards

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has picked up another nomination for an ESPY, and flyweight champ and pound-for-pound great Demetrious Johnson is finally getting some shine.

Conor McGregor

McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who won the 2016 award for Best Fighter and was nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete, is nominated again in the Best Fighter category alongside Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC).

It’s the first nomination for “Mighty Mouse” and comes two months after his record-tying 10th consecutive title defense in the flyweight division.

The UFC fighters are competing against boxers Terence Crawford, Gennady Golovkin and Andre Ward.

McGregor is also nominated for Best International Athlete, competing against boxer Canelo Alvarez, sprinter Usain Bolt, swimmer Katinka Hosszu and soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 2017 ESPY nominees were announced today, with voting underway until the awards show on July 12 in Los Angeles. The show airs live on ABC.

The timing of McGregor’s latest nomination is interesting, considering MMA is about the furthest thing from his mind as he prepares for a boxing showdown with Floyd Mayweather on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas. Johnson, meanwhile, is in the midst of a standoff with the UFC over his refusal to fight ex-bantamweight champ T.J. Dillashaw.

MMA’s fringe sport roots have given way to regular recognition from the yearly awards show, which recognizes sports stars, teams and plays. McGregor, Holly Holm, Robbie Lawler, Ronda Rousey, Lyoto Machida, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva and Edson Barboza are among the fighters nominated for honors at past ESPY Awards shows.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, including “The Money Fight: Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor,” check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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