Fans around the world had the opportunity to see the biggest fight card in UFC history at Madison Square Garden and it is safe to say, UFC 205 did not disappoint. We saw five finishes out of eleven bouts and some incredible fights going the distance. Although we saw only one newly crowned champion, Connor McGregor dominates the headlines as he becomes the first fighter in UFC history to hold two different belts simultaneously.
Preliminary fights
All four of the preliminary fights could arguably have been main events and the fighters certainly put on a show: first round knock out victories by both Vicente Luque and Tim Boetsch set the pace for the evening and a dominant submission victory for Khabib Nurmagomedov over Michael Johnson will put him into lightweight title contention.
Nurmagomedov technically dismantled Johnson on the ground, eventually submitting him whilst shouting at Dana White throughout the fight that he wanted his title shot. It's certainly an unorthodox way of getting the UFC President's attention. The final preliminary fight saw Frankie "The Answer" Edgar win via unanimous decision against Jeremy Stephens, surviving a brutal head in the second round but using his wrestling and excellent movement to subdue Stephens' knockout power.
Main Card
Ex Ultimate Fighter coach and former Bantamweight champion Miesha Tate kicked off the main card against Raquel Pennington. Pennington fought incredibly hard over three rounds, negating Tate's wrestling and securing a unanimous decision victory.
Following the loss, Tate announced her retirement from mixed martial arts. This is a surprise for UFC fans, who saw her win the Bantamweight title only two fights ago.
Chris Weidman and Yoel Romero was a great match up against two very accomplished grapplers, with Weidman fighting a very technical fight for two rounds. The tables turned in the third however, when Romero landed a brutal flying knee and forcing the stoppage in the third round.
The heated exchange during the post-fight interview with Michael Bisping seems to have all but confirmed who Bisping's next title defence will be.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk against Karolina Kowalkiewicz started the first of three championship fights and fans were treated to five full rounds of action from both fighters. Joanna was dominant through four of the five rounds, but was rocked in the fourth after a perfectly timed right hook saw the champion on shaky ground for a few minutes.
Although Joanna won by unanimous decision, both fighters showed heart and fans saw the champion take the most punishment she has taken throughout her MMA career.
The co-main event between Tyron "The Chosen One" Woodley and Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson was one of the tightest championship fights, with Woodley retaining his title with a majority draw result, only the third in UFC history. Many fans will be calling for a rematch, as it could be argued that either fighter deserved a win.
Finally, the main card of the evening certainly did not disappoint: "The Notorious" Connor McGregor looked cool, calm and composed as he picked apart Eddie Alvarez, knocking him down five times and finally finishing him with strikes in the second round.
A patient McGregor exploited his reach advantage, with his famous Celtic cross finding the target and doing damage that Alvarez could not withstand. McGregor gave the performance of his career against Alvarez, who never seemed to find his range from the first bell. With McGregor's announcement that he is a father to be, it will be interesting to see what the feather and lightweight champion will do next. His strong performance will definitely see him climb the pound for pound rankings, who adds yet another big name win onto his fighting CV.
From the weigh-ins, to the fight card, UFC 205 has provided some historic moments and this will be the first of many more UFC events in the state of New York.
