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Conor McGregor’s name forever will be etched in the logs of UFC history, the iconic image of two UFC belts simultaneously draped over his shoulders. Yet in 2018, Daniel Cormier found a way to top that feat.

Sure, McGregor became the first fighter in UFC history to hold belts in two different divisions – and one can hardly blame him for subsequently chasing the riches that came by accepting a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather rather than defending his titles. But Cormier (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) went one step further in the past calendar year by not only obtaining his second UFC title but also defending it.

Cormier’s year opened in January, taking on a hard-hitting Volkan Oezdemir. With Jon Jones still mired in a battle with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Cormier was given back the title he lost to his nemesis in 2017. “DC” defended that title in spectacular fashion, proving that there are, indeed, levels to this game, and Cormier resides at the very highest.

While it was an impressive start to the year, Cormier’s next move was historic, moving up a division to take on then-heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 226. Cormier was a live underdog heading into the contest, to be sure. With incredible wrestling skills and relentless pacing on his side, Cormier certainly had the ability to grind out Miocic if he played his cards right, but things unfolded in an entirely different manner.

Cormier looked content to stand and trade with Miocic, and the risky strategy paid off. After some initial struggle to find his range, Cormier landed clean, unloading on Miocic at the end of the first round, and punching his way to an incredible knockout victory in the opening five minutes.

Pandemonium followed, with Brock Lesnar entering the cage to challenge Cormier, who basically just observed along with the rest of the world with a look of pure glee on his face.

Those two fights alone would be enough to qualify as an incredible year, but Cormier had one more trick up his sleeve, accepting a fight with Derrick Lewis on just one month’s notice when the promotion was in desperate need of a main event for the company’s annual trip to New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Levels.

Cormier gave the hard-hitting “Black Beast” no chance of landing his patented haymakers, ouwrestling Lewis and eventually submitting him in the second round.

Three fights. Three finishes. Three championship wins. Two “Performance of the Night” bonuses, too. Throw in a year’s worth of quality analyst work on the FOX Sports desk just for fun.

Cormier’s 2018 will be remembered as one of the most special years of all time, and it’s certainly enough for him to take home MMAjunkie’s “Male Fighter of the Year.”