Main card
Lightweight championship: Conor McGregor def. Eddie Alvarez via knockout (punches) 3:04, R2 to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion
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Welterweight championship: Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought to a majority draw (47-47, 47-47, 48-47), Tyron Woodley retains the UFC Welterweight Championship
Women’s Strawweight championship: Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Middleweight: Yoel Romero def. Chris Weidman via TKO (flying knee & punches) 0:23, R3
Women’s Bantamweight: Raquel Pennington def. Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelims
Featherweight: Frankie Edgar def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Michael Johnson via submission (kimura) 2:31, R3
Middleweight: Tim Boetsch def. Rafael Natal via TKO (punches) 3:22, R1
Welterweight: Vincente Luque def. Belal Muhammad via knockout (punches) 1:19, R1
Early prelims
Catchweight (162.6 lbs): Jim Miller def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Women’s Bantamweight: Liz Carmouche def. Katlyn Chookagain via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Mixed Martial Arts is finally legal in the state of New York, and the UFC has decided to put on its biggest ever card at the iconic Madison Square Garden. Three title fights headline UFC 205, with lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez putting his belt on the line against featherweight champion Conor McGregor at the top of the card. Join The Roar from 2pm AEDT for the action.
Arguably the greatest ever female fighter, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk has proven herself as one of the scariest fighters on the roster.
Unbeaten in MMA, Jedrzejczyk has successfully defended her belt in emphatic fashion three times since knocking out Carla Esparza to win it last year.
Now, the first ever female champion to fight at Madison Square Garden has her sights set on a fellow Polish-woman.
Also unbeaten in MMA, Karolina Kowalkiewicz will have a lot of momentum behind her, as she comes off the biggest win of her career over Rose Namajunas.
Despite being 3-0 in the UFC, Kowalkiewicz has been criticised for having all of her wins come by decision.
A dominant win over Jedrzejczyk at Madison Square Garden is no easy task, but 2016 has proven to be the year of the underdog.
Tyron Woodley stunned the world when he won the welterweight championship by knocking out Robbie Lawler in the first round, and he now looks to do the same to Stephen Thompson, a man who many believe is the next dominant force in the sport.
Woodley’s win made even more impressive, factoring in the fact that he had faced an 18-month layoff prior to the fight with Lawler. Before that he was riding a two-fight win streak, over the likes of Dong Hyun Kim and Kelvin Gastelum.
Riding a seven-fight win streak, including a dominant decision win over Rory McDonald in his last bout, Stephen Thompson is one win away from realising his dream.
The unorthodox striker is one of the most hyped fighters in the UFC, with many believing that he is next man to replicate the success that Georges St-Pierre had with the welterweight title.
Thompson will face Woodley as the challenger, but also as the betting favourite to take the gold back home.
After a shaky start to his UFC career, Eddie Alvarez finally managed to capture UFC gold in his last bout, and become a world champion for every single organisation he has fought at.
Alvarez challenged then-challenger Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight belt last July, and stunned the Las Vegas crowd by knocking out the Brazilian in the first round.
With split decision wins over Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez in his fights before the title shot, Alvarez silenced the critics by proving that he was more than a wrestler who grinds out decisions.
Now that Conor McGregor can put his fierce rivalry with Nate Diaz on ice for now, the featherweight champion can solely focus on making history and becoming the first man to hold two UFC belts at the same time.
McGregor won the featherweight belt with a stunning 13-second knockout win over Jose Aldo late last year, before challenging former-champion Rafael dos Anjos for his lightweight title.
Dos Anjos was forced out with a broken foot, however Nate Diaz stepped up to fight McGregor, and won the bout with a second-round submission.
McGregor came back to defeat Diaz at UFC 202 in August, and now it’s just Eddie Alvarez that standing in the way between him and a historic win at Madison Square Garden.
Predictions
Joanna Jedrezejczyk defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz via TKO in round three
Stephen Thompson defeats Tyron Woodley via TKO in round three
Conor McGregor defeats Eddie Alvarez via TKO in round two
AZ_RBB
Guest
A great event. Often these cards are at risk of being underwhelming but it was far from it. Started with two big fast KOs. Khabib looked a little shaky early on but once he took down Johnson it was all over. It was an absolute mauling once it went to ground. Edgar v Stephens was a great battle. Edgar has one hell of a chin and shows that he can still mix it with anyone. Unfortunately he'll have to wait for a while before getting another shot at the FW belt. Tate v Pennington was a little disappointing. After her performance in this fight it was probably best for Tate to retire. Weidman v Romero was bubbling along until Romero exploded and took out Weidman. With Rockhold v Jocare being called off, I think Romero will get Bisping and beat him. So happy to see Joanna defend her title again. She had me worried in the 4th but being the champion she is, she got the job done. Defending a title 4 times is an extraordinary achievement and very rare in this era of UFC. Woodley v Thompson was undeniably the fight of the night. As expected they took some time to get going but it was still edge of your seat stuff cos you know it'll explode any moment. That 4th round was just out of this world. I honestly thought it was all over. A draw is a pretty fair result and a rematch is a must for the first half of 2017. I was backing Alvarez in the main event mostly because I get really annoyed at the hype Conor gets despite having never defended a title. But man Conor was incredible. His striking is on another level. It's a dangerous mix of power and accuracy. He barely wasted a punch in the fight. Where to now for Conor? I would like to see him fight Aldo which I'm certain he will do with ease. He needs to forget about FW then. It's not worth the cut. He has a long list of contenders at LW. Khabib and Ferguson should fight for the chance to fight Conor for the title next. Alvarez will want to have a go at Diaz. What a great division. Also as a side note, this event saw a staggering amount of trash talking from every direction in the lead up. But tonight saw some wonderful sportsmanship in every fight. Not just after fights but also in between rounds. Great to see. Bring on 206!
Lroy
Guest
BigJ
Roar Guru
No surprises there good on him or becoming a duel champ
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Thank you to everyone who joined The Roar for this live blog, we look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Bigstu
Guest
Thanks Isaac really appreciate your round by round updates for those of us who do not have pay tv.
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Main card Lightweight championship: Conor McGregor def. Eddie Alvarez via knockout (punches) 3:04, R2 to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion Welterweight championship: Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought to a majority draw (47-47, 47-47, 48-47), Tyron Woodley retains the UFC Welterweight Championship Women’s Strawweight championship: Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship Middleweight: Yoel Romero def. Chris Weidman via TKO (flying knee & punches) 0:23, R3 Women’s Bantamweight: Raquel Pennington def. Miesha Tate via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) Prelims Featherweight: Frankie Edgar def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Lightweight: Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Michael Johnson via submission (kimura) 2:31, R3 Middleweight: Tim Boetsch def. Rafael Natal via TKO (punches) 3:22, R1 Welterweight: Vincente Luque def. Belal Muhammad via knockout (punches) 1:19, R1 Early prelims Catchweight (162.6 lbs): Jim Miller def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) Women’s Bantamweight: Liz Carmouche def. Katlyn Chookagain via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Here are the full results from this event:
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
THE OFFICIAL DECISION: Conor McGregor def. Eddie Alvarez via knockout (punches) 3:04, R2 to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Incredible performance by Conor McGregor! Unbelievable performance!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
(C) Eddie Alvarez vs (C-FTHW) Conor McGregor – ROUND 2/5 Second round underway. Kick to the body lands for Alvarez. Another left hand lands for McGregor that staggers Alvarez. Alvarez moves in for a takedown and McGregor stuffs it easily. You have to wonder how much Alvarez has left. Side kick lands to the leg of Alvarez. McGregor is really looking to tee off. Alvarez is pushing forward and he lands a right hand. McGregor lands another left that staggers Alvarez, but Alvarez gets the clinch and puts McGregor against the fence. McGregor is able to break. McGregor lands more shots and Alvarez is out. Conor McGregor is lightweight champion!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
(C) Eddie Alvarez vs (C-FTHW) Conor McGregor – ROUND 1/5 Round one is underway. Alvarez misses with a side kick, and lands another one early that forces McGregor to trip. Another inside leg kick lands for Alvarez. Front kick to the body lands for McGregor. Both men are quite patient starting off. McGregor lands a left hand that drops Alvarez! Alvarez is hurt bad, but he gets back up to his feet. Alvarez looks for the clinch but McGregor shakes him off. Another left hand lands for McGregor that drops Alvarez. McGregor looks for a head kick. Another left hand lands for McGregor and Alvarez is dropped a third time. McGregor lands big shots on top. Alvarez is looking to survive early. Alvarez gets back up to his feet but he is hurt bad. Another kick lands for McGregor. They clinch and McGregor lands a knee to the body before pushing him off. Another inside leg kick lands for Alvarez. McGregor counters the punch of Alvarez. Kick is blocked by McGregor. Alvarez lands a shot to the body. McGregor lands a counter after eating a shot to the body. Time. My score: 10-8 McGregor Overall score: 10-8 McGregor
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Moments away from the biggest fight in UFC history!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Eddie Alvarez has entered the octagon!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Here comes the lightweight champion, Eddie Alvarez!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Conor McGregor has entered the octagon!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Here comes the featherweight champion, Conor McGregor!
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
McGregor came back to defeat Diaz at UFC 202 in August, and now it’s just Eddie Alvarez that standing in the way between him and a historic win at Madison Square Garden.
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Dos Anjos was forced out with a broken foot, however Nate Diaz stepped up to fight McGregor, and won the bout with a second-round submission.
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
McGregor won the featherweight belt with a stunning 13-second knockout win over Jose Aldo late last year, before challenging former-champion Rafael dos Anjos for his lightweight title.
Isaac Nowroozi
Roar Guru
Now that Conor McGregor can put his fierce rivalry with Nate Diaz on ice for now, the featherweight champion can solely focus on making history and becoming the first man to hold two UFC belts at the same time.