MMA history was made three times in one night at Madison Square Garden.
Before the night even began, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s 205th event made history as the company’s first foray into the Big Apple after New York authorities lifted their ridiculous ban on the sport.
It should come as no surprise that an event of this caliber attracted plenty of stars. Among them were the Queen of Pop herself . . .
The "Queen of Pop" @Madonna is inside @TheGarden tonight!
#UFC205 #UFCNYC pic.twitter.com/bqMlF1HvIH
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) November 13, 2016
. . . and Scotland’s fiery chef Gordon Ramsay.
.@GordonRamsey is stirring it up a bit in the audience, watch out #UFC205 pic.twitter.com/98PopnhZjc
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2016
Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and Raquel Pennington got things going for the main card. Pennington put on an impressive show against her former TUF coach, tagging her with hard shots and sinking in some deep ten-finger guillotine chokes that Tate literally had to climb the fence in order to escape.
Pennington’s performance earned her a unanimous decision win over her biggest opponent to date, showing everyone that she was a force to be reckoned with in the women’s bantamweight division.
The fight will also be a memorable one for Tate . . . because it was her last. In a bittersweet post-fight interview with veteran UFC color commentator, Joe Rogan, Tate told fans in New York and around the world that it was her time to go. She will retire with an 18-7 MMA record.
Wait WHAT?!
Thank you, @MieshaTate #UFC205 #UFCNYC https://t.co/oVmfbU8G8L
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2016
Former UFC Middleweight Champion and New York’s hometown hero, “The All-American” Chris Weidman, was next on the card, set to take on Yoel Romero. Weidman was able to control Yoel’s power throughout most of the fight, utilizing his world-class wrestling skill.
However, early in the third round, Romero caught Weidman with a devastating flying knee that knocked the former champion out cold.
As the “All American” bled profusely on the ground, Yoel, apparently taunting the almost exclusively pro-Weidman crowd, jumped over the cage and began marching around the outer perimeter of the octagon.
Wow!! @YoelRomeroMMA with a DEVASTATING knockout at #UFC205 https://t.co/43WvXyyM2I
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) November 13, 2016
Reigning middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, was less than impressed with Romero, putting his thumbs down and flipping the “Soldier of God” off. Romero apparently didn’t take much offense to it, though, yelling “I love you!” at the champion.
The other women’s fight on the card followed next, as UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk faced off against challenger and fellow Pole, Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
For most of the fight, Joanna easily countered Karolina, keeping the challenger out of her range and staying lighter on her feet.
However, in the fourth round, it looked like things were going to start looking up for Karolina, who smashed Joanna right on the nose with a hard right. Jedrzejczyk wobbled backwards, but stayed in the fight. Karolina gave it her all in the fifth round, but it just wasn’t enough. Joanna Jedrzejczyk won via unanimous decision and remains as the only undefeated champion in the UFC.
The Champ does it again…for the 5th time in a row!
Congrats on a hard-fought victory, @JoannaMMA! #AndStill #UFC205 #UFCNYC @ufc pic.twitter.com/0sSNeQAhhs
— Reebok (@Reebok) November 13, 2016
The second championship fight and co-main event followed: newly crowned Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley took on Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Woodley owned the first round, taking Thompson down and busting him wide open with punches and elbows. However, in the second and third round, the champion chose to stand and bang with his opponent, letting Wonderboy utilize his karate skills to even out the score.
Woodley came back strong in the fourth round, though, nailing Thompson with a huge shot before teeing off on his head. Amazingly, Thompson stayed in the fight, but more trouble lay ahead when Woodley locked in a tight guillotine choke and pulled with all of his might.
Yet still, Wonderboy stayed in it.
The fifth round was much like the second and third, featuring the two warriors standing and trading shots with each other.
After the match, as Woodley and Thompson stood there, waiting for their hands to be raised, The Veteran Voice of the Octagon Bruce Buffer mysteriously walked out of the cage to the judges. When he walked back in, he awarded the fight to Tyron Woodley via split decision.
#AndStill @TWooodley | Presented by @Geico #UFC205 #UFCNYC pic.twitter.com/hhoXL4FMO4
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2016
However, for the second time, history was made at Madison Square Garden, when it was revealed that Bruce Buffer had pulled a Steve Harvey and announced the wrong results. It turned out that the judges determined the match was a majority draw.
Woodley still retained, though, so no harm was done.
Finally, it was time for the main event, as Conor McGregor was set to make history for the third time that night by becoming the UFC’s first champion to simultaneously hold two belts in two divisions.
And that’s exactly what he did!
McGregor dominated the fight, keeping Alvarez at a distance and knocking him down three times in the first round. When the second round rolled in, Alvarez had no answer to the McGregor puzzle. His first takedown was stuffed and his punches were deflected by the seemingly relaxed Irishman, who knocked him down for a fourth time early in the round.
Again, Alvarez worked his way up onto his feet, but Conor came in yet again with a devastating combo, putting the former lightweight champion down for the final time and earning the himself a second-round KO win and a spot in the annals of UFC history.
History #UFC205 pic.twitter.com/T0W7rD0ZI3
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2016
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