What a time to be alive, but unfortunately that is all we have time for. Make sure you stay tuned to VAVEL.com for more top quality content, I have been Ayden Hussain. GOODNIGHT!
The UFC set out to make history in New York, and that is exactly what happened.
'The Notorious' Conor McGregor made history by becoming the first fighter in UFC history to hold two belts from two different weight divisions.
On a truly wonderful night, we saw Miesha Tate announce her retirement. Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Tyron Woodley both retained their belts.
McGregor is parading around with his two belts, a moment he has dreamt of his whole life.
With the win, Conor McGregor becomes the first person in UFC history to hold two belts from two weight divisions simultaneously.
A totally one sided and dominant performance from your new UFC Lightweight King!
Another knockdown forces referee John McCarthy to step in a stop this fight, there was no way Alvarez was going to get up after that.
IT IS ALL OVER! MCGREGOR IS THE NEW UFC LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION!
Round 2: McGregor needs to keep focus here, Alvarez landed a very good right hand.
McGregor is putting his hands behind his back.
A total of three knockdowns for McGregor in that opening round.
First round for McGregor by far. Total domination so far.
Alvarez is back up.
THE LEFT OF MCGREGOR IS BRUTAL!
HE'S DROPPED AGAIN!
HE'S RECOVERED!
ALVAREZ GOT DROPPED!
HERE WE GO!
The height between the two is exact, but McGregor will have a five inch reach advantage.
Next is the moment we have all been waiting for, Eddie Alvarez - Conor McGregor!
Which means Tyron Woodley retains his welterweight title.
Bruce Buffer called it wrong, it was a majority draw, not a Woodley split decision victory.
It will be a very close decision.
INCREDIBLE FIGHT!
THEY GO THE DISTANCE!
Round 5: Cagey affair once more. Everything rides on this last round.
Round 5: Wonderboy has put Woodley back up against the cage.
Final round. THIS IS INCREDIBLE!
END OF ROUND 4! HOW IS STILL GOING ON?!
Round 4: HE'S OUT! HOW?!
Round 4: A GUILLOTINE IS LOCKED BUT WONDERBOY WILL NOT TAP!
Round 4: WONDERBOY HAS BEEN DROPPED!
Hard to say who won that round. Very close indeed.
Round 3: Woodley landed a thunderous leg kick which sent Wonderboy to the ground, he recovered but the sheer power made Wonderboy fall. It wasn't a knockdown to be clear.
Round 3: Wonderboy's reach advantage is working a treat here.
Round 3: Wonderboy is landing combos here and he is finding his rhythm. Very good from the challenger.
Woodley didn't offer much in the second, he just kept backing off. So far it's 1-1.
Round 2: Not many shots being thrown but this is his round.
Round 2: Very good so far for Wonderboy. He's keeping Woodley up against the cage.
Round 1: Woodley has battered Wonderboy. The challenger is bloodied up from the ground and pound he recieved. He will want to keep the fight off the ground from now on.
Round 1: Very slow start, Woodley catches a kick and takes the fight to the ground. This is where Woodley has the advantage.
HERE WE GO!
Thompson will have a height and reach advantage.
Next, Tyron Woodley will defend his welterweight crown against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson.
Joanna has never looked worse, she has never taken as many shots as that.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk remains strawweight champion! She wins via unanimous decision!
Respect to Karolina, she took everything Joanna threw at her and she even wobbled the champ. Surely we will see a second fight between the two.
That is it! The judges will call the winner!
Round 5: A lot of swelling around the champions eyes.
Round 5: Joanna has landed over 220 shots and not one has wobbled Karolina. The challenger is unbelievably tough.
Round 5: Joanna has recovered and normality has resumed.
Final round!
Joanna now has swelling around her left eye. If Karolina wants to win, she will need a stoppage.
What an incredible fight, Joanna was on top and a massive over hand right from Karolina wobbled the champion.
Round 4: Joanna is still slightly wobbly, but she is recovering.
Round 4: She has managed to recover slightly, momentum has shifted.
Round 4: The champion is rocked! Heavy shots from Karolina have wobbled Joanna. She is in trouble here!
Credit to Karolina, she is absorbing every shot being thrown toward her. Joanna is on another level.
Round 3: Same old story in round 3, total domination by Joanna. Free flowing striking is working wonderfully.
Joanna is using the same combination, multiple head strikes followed by a leg kick, and it's working a treat.
Joanna is a lot quicker and she is more inventive. Unless something drastic happens, Joanna will end the night as champion.
Round 2: Joanna is having some trouble with a bloody nose, but it doesn't seem to be causing too many problems. The champion is still on top.
First round to Joanna. If Karolina wants to win this, she needs to become more inventive and she needs to loosen up. Joanna is on top.
Round 1: Joanna has been very loose, a beautiful performance so far. Karolina is flat footed, nowhere near as smooth as her opponent.
Round 1: So far a very good start for the champion, landing multiple combos.
HERE WE GO!
Jedrzejczyk will have a three inch height advantage, the rest is virtually identical.
Next is the first title fight of the night. Joanna Jedrzejczyk - Karolina Kowalkiewicz is for the womens strawweight title.
Yoel Romero has already sent some words toward Michael Bisping. What a fight that will be!
Surely Yoel Romero has earned his title shot here, and for Weidman, that's two losses in a row now. What next for him?
Chris Weidman is pouring blood here, some concern for the American. The blood seems to coming out of his ear, it's like a tap.
A flying knee landed flush to the face of Weidman and that was all she wrote.
ROMERO WINS VIA KNOCKOUT!
IT IS ALL OVER!!!
Round 2: Romero stepped it up in round two, he has stuffed the takedown attempts from Weidman and also completed a couple of his own. Final round is decisive.
Round 2: Weidman still looking for takedowns, but so far, Romero has been equal to his attempts.
Round 1: First round should go to Weidman, he's been pressuring Romero and he has landed more shots.
Round 1: Weidman knows constant pressure will cause Romero to gas out, because he has pretty poor cardio.
Round 1: Slow round so far for Romero, Weidman is pressuring with kicks and attempted takedowns.
HERE WE GO!
Weidman will have a two inch height advantage and a significant reach advantage.
Weidman is coming into this fight off the back of his first ever loss, it'll be interesting to see how he bounces back from defeat.
At 39-years-old, Romero looks incredible, he is a true physical freak.
The former UFC Middleweight champ is up next, Chris Weidman will face off against Yoel Romero!
Miesha Tate has just announced her retirement! What an unexpected announcement. The former UFC Womens Bantamweight champion has called time on an illustrious career.
Pennington wins via unanimous decision! Thoroughly deserved victory!
What a performance here by Raquel Pennington, I'm sure she will win via unanimous decision.
We go to the judges score cards here!
Round 3: Pennington has Tate up against the cage here, and she's landing multiple shots here.
Round 3: Tate has taken the fight to the ground again, but so far Pennington has turned to tables and is controlling the fight.
Final round! Here we go!
Round 2: The stiff jab and then straight right is working a dream for Rocky. It's easy to see it's taking it's toll on Tate.
Round 2: Tate doesn't seem to be able to match Pennington at striking, but Pennington can't match Tate at grappling.
Round 1: Tate used her ground and grappling advantage to stop Pennington from applying striking pressure. So far so good for both fighters here. It'll be interesting to see what happens in Round 2 where tactics from both fighters is concerned.
Round 1: Pennington has been great so far, landing multiple combos and almost locking in a guillotine choke. Tate has been applying pressure in the clinch.
HERE WE GO!
Pennington will have a height and reach advantage.
Hello everyone! We are moments away from our first main card fight between Miesha Tate and Raquel Pennington. Stay tuned!
“I think the fight will end inside of two rounds. Around the nine-minute mark I should be able to overcome him. We will put him in some bad situations early and start getting him to doubt himself and when that happens it’s the beginning of the end.”
The Irishman is also the king of trash talk and during trash talk aimed at Alvarez, McGregor also spoke about the lightweight champions wife and daughter. This of course has given Alvarez more of a reason to shut McGregor up, “As far as shutting his (McGregor) mouth and giving him some humility, it will be an honour.” Alvarez said.
McGregor feels beating Alvarez and picking up his second title will see him immortalised, “A second belt, it's never been done. No one has ever come close, no one has attempted it. My legacy (is that) I'll be immortalised after this.”
Alvarez won his lightweight title when he also knocked out his opponent, then champion Rafael dos Anjos in July 2016. Alvarez won via first round knockout.
McGregor will be aiming to become the first man in UFC history to hold two belts at the same time. He currently holds the featherweight belt, which he won at UFC 194 when he knocked out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds.
After the welterweight title fight, comes the moment everyone has been waiting for. Eddie Alvarez will be defending his lightweight belt for the first time against Conor McGregor.
“Sage Northcutt is a good karate guy but we still have a lot of differences between each other’s style. It’s very difficult to figure out and adapt to once you’re in the octagon.”
Thompson is coming off the back of a unanimous decision victory over former top contender Rory MacDonald. As Thompson is rated as one of the best strikers in the UFC, Woodley enlisted the help of ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt, but ‘Wonderboy’ feels even with the additional help, Woodley won’t be ready. “I don’t think he’s ready to be honest with you, Thompson said.
The challenger is one of the most exciting and unique fighters in the UFC today. Thompson’s striking ability is like no other and he will pose a serious threat to the champion.
This will be Woodley’s first title defence since he spectacularly knocked out ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler at UFC 201.
Tyron ‘The Chosen One’ Woodley will be up next and he will be defending his welterweight title against Stephen 'Wonderboy’ Thompson.
Both fighters are strikers, so expect fireworks once the cage door is locked.
Jedrzejczyk knows her opponent will have planned especially for the fight, but she feels come fight night, the challenger’s game plan won’t work out, “Karolina has some plans for our upcoming fight. But the thing is, I’m a different fighter, I’m a really tough fighter, and on the night of the fight I’m like the person from hell. So until the first punch she might have some game plan, but after that, not anymore.”
A win for either would not only mean they would be the champion of the division, but their perfect record will remain intact.
Since then, both fighters have come on leaps and bounds and are both currently undefeated.
The two met back in 2012 on the amateur circuit and Jedrzejczyk won via submission due to a read naked choke.
Next up is our first title fight of the night. The bout will be for the women’s strawweight belt. Joanna Jedrzejczyk will be defending her crown against fellow Polish fighter, Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Weidman knows a win will give him his shot to reclaim his belt, for Romero a win would mean a first ever UFC title fight.
Weidman has not fought since UFC 194, where he lost his belt via TKO to Luke Rockhold. Romero has also not fought since UFC 194 but he won that night, beating Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza via split decision.
Next up another former champion will be making their return to the Octagon. Former middleweight king Chris Weidman will face Yoel Romero.
‘Rocky’ Pennington is currently ranked eighth and a win for her would certainly turn some heads and maybe even put her in the mix for title contention.
Tate has not fought since UFC 200 where she lost her title to current champion Amanda Nunes. Tate will want to win and get herself back on the title path.
The first fight on the UFC 205 main card will be in the women’s bantamweight division, between former champion Miesha ‘Cupcake’ Tate and Raquel Pennington.
However, before we can get to the main event, there are four other fights on the card. There was supposed to be five before the main event, a bout between Kelvin Gastelum and Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, but unfortunately for ‘Cowboy’, Gastelum didn’t make the weight required to fight so the bout was cancelled. Cerrone will be in action at UFC 206 in Toronto, as he is set to face Matt Brown.
The main event of UFC 205 sees ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor take on the UFC Lightweight Champion, Eddie Alvarez. If McGregor can win, he will be the first person in the history of the UFC to hold two belts simultaneously from two different weight classes.
So to this point, UFC 7 was the only event contested in the state, taking place in September 1995 at Buffalo.
UFC 205 marks the first time a UFC event will be held in the Big Apple. It will also be the first UFC event held in the state of New York after the longtime professional MMA ban was revoked in early 2016.
Hello everyone and welcome to VAVEL.com’s live coverage of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden! My name is Ayden Hussain and I will be taking you through tonight’s main card on this historic night in New York City.