MMANews.com is your source for UFC 205 Results and live coverage this evening. UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor takes place live from Madison Square Garden as the UFC’s first-ever event held in New York since MMA was finally legalized in the state earlier this year.
This evening, we will be providing the absolute best live results coverage of the highly anticipated pay-per-view featuring an absolutely stacked lineup, including three UFC World Title fights and an undercard full of fights that under normal circumstances would be headlining most UFC events by themselves.
Tonight’s show includes UFC Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez putting his title on the line against UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor in the main event, while in the co-main event Tyron Woodley will be making the first defense of his UFC Welterweight Championship against top contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Also scheduled is a grudge match between two Polish strikers with the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship on the line, as Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz will finally settle their differences with one of the two walking out of the Octagon as an undefeated champion and the other suffering their first pro defeat.
UFC 205 kicks off live tonight with a two-fight preliminary card on UFC Fight Pass starting at 7pm ET. / 4pm PT., featuring Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller in the main event, as well as a four-fight preliminary card headlined by Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens on FOX Sports 1 starting at 8pm ET. / 5pm PT. After the FS1 prelims, starting at 10pm ET. / 7pm PT., it will be time for the UFC 205 pay-per-view headlined by Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor.
MMANews.com will be providing live, quick-match UFC 205 results coverage of the two preliminary cards this evening, and the fastest, most detailed round-by-round results coverage of every fight on the pay-per-view portion of the show from start-to-finish. We welcome fans to test our updates against the competition this evening, as it will not take long for you to figure out where you want to be when the big fights get started.
The following is the official lineup for tonight’s history-making event in the Empire State:
UFC 205 Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. ET.)
– Liz Carmouche def. Katlyn Chookagian via Split Decision (29-28 Chookagian, 29-28 Carmouche, 29-28 Carmouche)
– Jim Miller vs. Thiago Alves via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
NOTES ON UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMINARY BOUTS:
* In the official UFC 205 opener, Liz Carmouche, who along with Ronda Rousey was the first-ever female to step inside the UFC’s Octagon to do battle, also kicked off the first-ever live UFC fight held in the state of New York. The former title contender survived what seemed to be a near-finish after eating some huge shots from Chookagian that had her on spaghetti legs for a while. After clearing out the cobwebs, Carmouche tried getting back into the fight, but it ended soon afterwards. The judges would go on to award Carmouche a split decision, with two judges giving her the nod 2-1 after three rounds, while a third judge went with Chookagian 2-1. The fans inside Madison Square Garden seemed to boo the decision.
* Stay tuned for a detailed recap of the Alves-Miller bout, which is the second of the two fights scheduled to air on the UFC Fight Pass portion of the three-hour preliminary card scheduled as the lead-in for tonight’s historic PPV. The fight was scheduled to see Pitbull Alves move down to 155 pounds, however he would miss weight by several pounds, leading to the fight being switched to a catch weight bout contested at 163 pounds. The fight saw the two longtime MMA veterans pretty evenly matched, with Miller’s particular skill set paying dividends as several perfectly-time and well-executed takedowns, mixed with solid ground control, helped Miller earn the nod from the most important cage-side spectators — as all three judges scored in favor of the man who now holds the most wins in UFC 155-pound division history, Jim Miller. Two judges gave him all three rounds, while one judge found a round in there to score in favor of Alves, which resulted in a 2-1 final scorecard in Miller’s favor.
This concludes our notes for the two UFC Fight Pass preliminary fights here at UFC 205. Scroll down to continue with our coverage of the televised preliminary card, which features four fights, including the highly anticipated showdowns between Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens and Khabib Nurmagomedov.
UFC 205 Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET.)
– Vicente Luque def. Belal Muhammad via KO (punches) at 1:19 of Round 1.
– Tim Boetsch def. Rafael “Sapo” Natal via KO (punches) at 3:22 of Round 1.
– Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Michael Johnson via Submission at 3:12 of Round 3.
– Frankie Edgar def. Jeremy Stephens via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
NOTES ON FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMINARY BOUTS:
* In the first televised preliminary bout on the UFC 205 card, which aired live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), Vincente Luque made quick work of Belal Muhammed, scoring a quick knockout in the very first round. The official time of the knockout, which came by way of a punch at the same time as Muhammad lifted his leg off the ground to throw a kick, came at the 1:19 mark of the opening frame
* Coming up next is our second TV prelim bout, which will see Rafael “Sapo” Natal and Tim Boetsch lock horns in a UFC Middleweight bout. Boetsch would go on to score a brutal knockout victory in the first round. The official time is 3:22. Two TV prelims up, two down by first round KO.
* Alright fight fans, here’s where the tone of the evening changes, and where the goosebumps begin breaking out. Up next, UFC 155-pound killer with a flawless 23-0 pro MMA record including wins over former UFC World Champions, takes on highly-regarded contender Michael Johnson. Johnson started off sharp on the feet, rocking “The Eagle” with a bomb that had the undefeated Russian on shakey legs. From there, Nurmagomedov completely took over control of the fight, rag-dolling the UFC veteran to the mat and pounding on him in trademark fashion throughout the remainder of the round. The second round went much of the same, minus Johnson putting Nurmagomedov on dream street on the feet. In the third round, which was looking similar to the first two, “The Eagle” got the finish, forcing Johnson to tap out due to submission at the 2:31 mark of the final round.
* Up next is our final televised preliminary bout, which will see New Jersey’s favorite MMA son, former UFC Lightweight Champion going one-on-one with heavy-handed knockout artist Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens. The first round saw a lively audience inside MSG, with the energy in the building increasing at the same time as the star power inside the Octagon. Edgar is a little speed demon who keeps coming while Stephens is trying to fight like the bigger, heavier puncher that he is. In a wild second round, both guy styles’ shined through in what will be a very interesting round for the judges to score, and one that will likely affect the outcome of the fight if it goes the distance. Stephens caught Edgar with an enormous shot, dropping the former UFC 155-pound champion, who was then on rubber legs for a solid minute or two with Stephens stalking him and looking to dust him off. Instead, Edgar gets Stephens on the ground and nearly chokes him out for the win, but Stephens somehow hung on. The round ended with Edgar blasting Stephens with big elbows. In the third round, Stephens nearly got a submission on “The Answer” early on, but Edgar eventually worked his way out and got back on the offense. The rest of the round saw both guys showing championship level heart and determination. In the end, the judges gave it to Frankie Edgar with a unanimous decision by way of 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 scores.
This concludes our notes for the FS1 televised preliminary bouts for tonight’s UFC 205 event. The show will now continue on pay-per-view for the remainder of the evening.
UFC 205 Main Card (Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET.)
Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington
Round 1: Alright fight fans, it’s time for the UFC to transition to their main card pay-per-view fights, which means it’s time for us to switch over to our live, round-by-round coverage, which include in-round updates throughout each fight so you are constantly aware of what’s happening. Up first is Miesha “Cupcake” Tate vs. Raquel Pennington. Stay tuned, Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg are introducing us into the Madison Square Garden for our first-ever UFC PPV event in the state of the New York. Alright, the video package for Tate-Pennington is done, both girls have made their walks to the cage. Bruce Buffer is finishing up his business now. Here we go with our first official PPV fight of what is expected to be the single biggest UFC one-night event in history.
Round one is now officially underway. Both veteran Women’s MMA contenders are showing each other respect early on, as there’s a semi-lengthy feeling out process on the feet. Both girls are figuring out the other, but their eyes show the intensity, which is now starting to manifest in the fight. “Rocky” Pennington blasts “Cupcake” Tate with a punch that briefly stuns her. Pennington smells blood and rushes in looking for some follow-up shots. The two end up on the cage with Pennington holding Tate in a standing guillotine and pulling up hard enough, mixed with Tate pushing her feet off the cage, that it made for an unusual visual. In the end, the momentum of the two took the fight to the mat, where both fought a mostly positional and control battle. Neither has fully imposed their will on the other, but it should be a clear-cut 10-9 round for Pennington. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Raquel Pennington.
Round 2: In progress now, stay tuned and keep refreshing this page for the next update. The second round starts off with both girls looking similar to the early portion of the opening frame, with a little more persistance and less hesitation. A Pennington hook sneaks through the guard of Tate, jacking her jaw to the side. The two are now clinched up against the cage with the action slowing down momentarily. The rest of the round saw Pennington establish control of the offense, dictating the pace and location of the fight. She touched up Tate with some clean shots and by the end of the round, “Cupcake” Tate’s face was showing the wear of the punishment. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Raquel Pennington.
Round 3: The third round sees Pennington firmly in control from the start of the round. The fight ends up on the floor quicker in this round than the previous two, with Pennington on top and Tate wedged between “Rocky” and the Octagon. Tate tries to wall-walk from her back, only with her feet instead of scooting her shoulders and wiggling her back and hips. In mid movement, Tate, who had one of the arms of Pennington locked up, threw up the leg and tried yanking, hoping for an armbar finish, but Pennington managed to get enough space to take the pressure off the elbow. Tate turned her hips over again and tried a second time, but again, Pennington defended well. The rest of the round saw Pennington in top position with Tate not able to do much while Pennington rides out what should likely be 30-27 scores across the board, unless any judges went 10-8 in any of the three rounds. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Raquel Pennington.
Raquel Pennington def. Miesha Tate via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero
Round 1: The former UFC Middleweight Champion, Chris Weidman, in his first fight since losing the title to Luke Rockhold, returns in his home state of New York. He meets top-ranked 185-pound contender Yoel Romero in Romero’s first fight back from a USADA suspension. Weidman-Romero is up next. The video package for our next fight has concluded and Yoel Romero is making his first walk to the Octagon since being served a suspension by USADA. Former 185-pound champion and the hometown boy, Chris Weidman, is now making his walk. Our final three round fight of the evening is about to get underway. Mario Yamasaki starts the two off and here we go. Weidman comes out bouncing, loose on his feet. He blasts a leg kick to Romero, connecting with the first shot of the fight. Romero is backing and circling while Weidman is commanding the center of the Octagon. It is Weidman who actually scores the first, and thus far the only takedown of the fight at the half-way point of the round. Weidman again dives in deep on a takedown, and he gets Romero off his feet, but Romero nearly reverses him on the way down. The two immediately return to their feet. After some light striking work on the feet, Weidman gets the decorated amateur wrestler on the mat with a third takedown. He moves to the back but again they scramble back to their feet and separate. Weidman gets a body lock on Romero against the cage with 10 seconds left, likely looking for one final takedown to score points and solidify the round for himself. Romero, however, grabs onto a standing kimura to take away one of the arms of Weidman, controlling it long enough to ride out the round. MMANews.com 10-9 for Chris Weidman.
Round 2: The second round is delayed due to Romero, who Joe Rogan points out in between rounds is already starting to show signs of gassing, having too much water and/or ice poured on him in his corner. Romero shrugs his shoulders with his arms extended as the crowd boos, clearly recognizing how shady that picture seems considering siimilar past incidents, and even worse tactics such as his infamous “Stool Gate” scandal with Tim Kennedy. The second round finally begins and it’s all Weidman for the first two minutes. The former champ is smashing leg kicks into the thick thighs of Romero, taking the spring and driving force out of his legs while tiring him out by wrestling and clinching a lot. Romero claims he got poked in the eye after eating a knee from Weidman, but on the replay seemed to have a pretty delayed reaction. He catches another potentially sneaker breather and the action resumes. Out of nowhere, Romero looks like Popeye right after he finally eats his spinach, rag-dolling Weidman down to the mat for his first takedown, and easily the most impressive of the four in the fight thus far. Romero controls Weidman for the rest of the round. You could argue Weidman 10-9, or 10-10, or 10-9 Romero because he won the second half of the round. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Yoel Romero.
Round 3: We went 10-9 for Romero, again, because Weidman started strong, while Romero finished the round strong and also had the most impressive spot of the round with that wild takedown. Very early into the third, Weidman ducked right into a Romero flying knee that landed flush. Weidman immediately turned his back, turtled up and was badly grimiscing while his face quickly became a crimson mask. Romero follows in with some powerful punches and the referee jumps in. Highlight reel finish for Romero. Weidman remains on the ground bleeding profusely and clearly in great pain while Romero’s post-fight celebration goes all over the place and starts to look bad as he returns basically standing right next to Weidman, unaware of how badly he is hurting while he is showboating. Second brutal loss in a row for Weidman, as the Luke Rockhold fight had one of the most violent scenes in recent MMA with Rockhold blasting Weidman from full mount with a solid 40-50 unanswered power punches. Another violent finish in modern MMA will now be the flying knee of Romero to Weidman, and even the follow up punches which had evil intentions behind them. After the fight UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping is shown flipping off Romero from the balcony while he is doing his Octagon interview with Joe Rogan. “The Soldier of God” does nothing but kill “The Count” with kindness in his best broken english, blowing kisses to the reigning division king and telling him he loves him.
Yoel Romero def. Chris Weidman via KO (flying knee) at 0:24 of Round 3.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Joanna Jedrzejczyk (c) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Round 1: What many die-hard MMA fans are expecting to be one of the most exciting style matchups of the entire card tonight, which is also unanimously praised as the most stacked card top-to-bottom in UFC history, is up next as the two undefeated Polish stars with decorated striking backgrounds and an intense dislike for each other look to meet inside the Octagon for the UFC Women’s 125-pound title in a rematch of a fight the two had against each other outside of the pro MMA ranks, which Joanna won. The Women’s Strawweight grudge match is next in what will be the first of three straight title bouts to close out this historic evening in NYC. Both girls are in the cage, the pre-fight introductions are done and round one is now underway. The intensity in the air can be cut with a knife as both women look determined and are moving forward with evil in their eyes as they feel each other out but in a completely not-boring fashion. When the smoke clears, the patterns are studied and the leather starts flying, it is Joanna that starts connecting and stringing together combos, typically finishing with a strong leg kick, both inside and regular, or body / middle kicks. Joanna is turning on the aggression now as we reach the end of the first of a scheduled five rounds. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Round 2: The second round starts off with Joanna clearly looking to be more confident and settled in, as she quickly starts connecting with two and three shots on the undefeated challenger, clearly controlling the action and winning the rounds thus far. The two clinch against the cage at the half-way point of the round. As the two break and separate, returning to a close-quarters standup battle, exactly the type of fight everyone anticipated, Mike Goldberg points out some blood coming from the nose of Jedrzejczyk. Now they point out that the champion is starting to have issues with the nose while at the same time, Karolina is putting together her best offensive series in the fight thus far. The action evens out a bit with Joanna starting to turn it on more, putting together combos and again finishing with kicks. One of the kicks she threw up high, which made for a good slow-motion highlight in between rounds. Could be a round that judges score differently, but we’ll go with the champion again, 10-9. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
Round 3: As the third round gets going a bit, a pattern is becoming more and more evident as both ladies have enough respect for the other to not over commit, seemingly aware of the fact that they could and if the fight stays at this pace and style, will need some reserve energy to access for the championship rounds. Joanna is a little too experienced, a bit more technically proficient and definitely more aggressive. The combination is starting to show more, and as our unofficial card continues to show, is also earning Joanna a healthy lead in the scoring heading into the final two rounds of this championship contest. The horn sounds to end the third round as some slow-motion replays of some clean, in-close elbows to the face from the champion to the challenger are immediately cued up. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Joanna Jedrzejczyk.Round 4: Joanna spends the first minute or so in the same offensive pattern as the previous three rounds. Just as the announcers put over Karolina for still being game despite being seemingly a step behind the champ, she sneaks in a power shot that puts Joanna on dream street. Joanna stumbles back as Karolina charges in with punches looking to finish this one up. She sneaks in another shot that again jacks the champs head back and takes her legs away from her again for a few seconds. Joanna then tosses up two head kicks, one of which got through pretty solidly. She gets behind Karolina standing and gets her down to the mat and gets one hook in. Instead of securing the back she tries to transition over into full mount, allowing Karolina to escape out the back door, leading to the two returning back to their feet. Both girls land a couple of decent shots, including Karolina getting in another clean couple of punches in easily the most exciting round of the fight. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Round 5: This should be an interesting fifth and final round and depending on how the judges scored the fourth round, as you could go 10-8 for Karolina, we could be looking at a wild scorecard reveal. The two go for broke throughout the rest of the final round, with Joanna having the more effective offensive output. Having said that, her eye started badly swelling up in an unusual fashion. The round should go to Joanna, but I guess you could give it to Karolina if you’re determined to go against the grain and be different. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Joanna
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via Unanimous Decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) to retain the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship.
UFC Welterweight Championship
Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson
Round 1: Coming up next. A preview video for UFC 206: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 is airing now. Up next is our co-main event of the evening, as Tyron Woodley makes the first defense of his UFC Welterweight Title against the clear-cut number one contender, knockout artist Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Okay, both fighters have made their way to the cage. Bruce Buffer is wrapping up and then our second of three title fights to close out tonight’s big event is up next. Here we go. Dan Mirgliotta has both guys do one final mid-Octagon faceoff and here we go. Wonderboy comes out with a wild side stance, with his legs spread wide apart and the side of his body facing Woodley. He gives Woodley some creative, Wonderboy trademark style kicks to think about as “The Chosen One” is slowly becoming frozen in front of the challenger, seemingly unsure what to make or expect from the unorthodox standup style that only Thompson has at the level he does. Woodley gets in on a takedown and he gets Wonderboy down. The key question we need to get the answer to here is can Thompson, an elite striker, find a way to get the decorated wrestler Woodley off of him, or can he reverse or threaten offensively from his back. We’re a solid two minutes into the ground battle and it’s been basically Woodley holding down and controlling Wonderboy. Woodley finishes the round super aggressive, blasting Wonderboy with a shot, likely a forearm or elbow, that has Thompson badly bleeding as he goes to his corner. Could be a broken nose, might be a cut. A replay in between rounds shows it’s a short, tight, in-close elbow that landed flush and may have busted the nose of the challenger. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Tyron Woodley.
Round 2: Thompson’s bloody mess of a face is cleaned up between rounds and he looks to be good to go. The two come out and here we go. Not a lot of action in this, a slow-paced second round. Woodley holding Thompson against the cage for a while now. Thompson finally creates some space and for the remainder of the round, has Woodley either backing up and on the defensive while he flicks wild kicks at him from the perfect distance, which he seems to have finally round with the shorter, compact wrestler here in the latter part of the second round. Just as the ten second warning hits, Woodley tries to steal the round, turning on the offense but not doing nearly enough to win that round. We should be 1-1 after the first two. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Stephen Thompson.
Round 3: The first-half of the third round was identical to the majority of the second round, with Wonderboy keeping the perfect distance and slowly getting Woodley more and more discouraged. Between the distance and the perfect use of his longest limbs and unusual kicking style keeping the shorter Woodley on the outside mixed with his ability to utilize excellent foot work to avoid Woodley’s rare but committed attempts to blitz in and get close enough to touch him with one of the bombs “The Chosen One” has in his hands that has knocked out the likes of Josh Koscheck and Robbie Lawler in the past. Near the end of the third round, Woodley smashes Wonderboy with a leg kick that takes out the challengers leg from under him. It appeared that Wonderboy might have jacked his knee up on that one, but moments later he starts throwing kicks with it. Woodley now bum-rushing Wonderboy, with a seemingly rejuvenated sense of confidence. The champion looks determined to bull-rush forward and get close enough to land one of the multiple power punches he is winging in his opponent’s direction as the third round is coming to a close. Woodley connects with a couple of solid shots to end the round in the lead. The question is — Which fighter earned the nod in that round, as the first-half went to Wonderboy and the second to the champion. As noted earlier, often judges go with whoever finishes the round the strongest, which in this case is “The Chosen One.” That puts this 2-1 in favor of Woodley going into the championship rounds, however it could very easily be 2-1 in Wonderboy’s favor depending on what you look for when scoring. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Tyron Woodley.
Round 4: Wonderboy opens up the fourth round throwing low kicks, whacking away at the legs of the champion early on. Woodley drops Wonderboy as he was putting together some strikes. Wonderboy is down and he’s hurt. Woodley is trying hard for the finish, connecting flush with a couple of violently clean shots in the process. They scramble back standing, but Thompson, still not fully recovered by any means, shoots in looking for a desparation takedown on the champ. Woodley slaps on a guillotine and sinches up. Wonderboy is in trouble but after a bit, finally breaks free. Woodley gets it back on and this time pulls guard, seemingly thinking he’s got the perfect opportunity with Thompson hurt and desparate and he’s in deep enough that he’s squeezing with everything he’s got. If Wonderboy somehow survives again, this series of offense from Woodley could have emptied out his tank with the all important fifth and final round still to go. That’s exactly what happens, too. Wonderboy eventually escapes, gets top position and finishes the round hammering down with ground and pound. Still, have to go clear-cut 10-8 score in favor of the champ. MMANews.com scores the round 10-8 for Tyron Woodley.
Round 5: After a wild fourth round, we now enter the fifth and final round of what could be a very interestingly scored Welterweight Title fight. It would appear that Woodley won the first with ease, but whether some judges went 10-8 due to the potential broken nose and incredible amount of blood pouring on Thompson’s face is the question. The rounds Thompson won were clearly 10-9, with the third possibly going to Woodley as well, depending on what you were looking for and emphasizing when giving your nod to either guy after the round. This round doesn’t provide terribly much action. Woodley has some moments, as does Thompson. In the end, it’s likely a 10-9 Thompson round. We’re going to the cards after five. MMANews.com scores the round 10-9 for Stephen Thompson.
Tyron Woodley and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson fight to a Majority Draw. As a result, Woodley retains the UFC Welterweight Championship.
UFC Lightweight Championship
Eddie Alvarez (c) vs. Conor McGregor (c)
Round 1: Alright fight fans, all that remains is the main event. It will be Champion vs. Champion as the UFC’s reigning 145 pound and 155 pound kings do battle inside the Octagon with Alvarez’s 155-pound title on the line. McGregor drops Alvarez three times with ease. Alvarez barely hung on a few times there but by the end of the round he was looking to start to come alive a bit. Alvarez has awful swelling. Easily 10-8, possibly 10-7 for the Featherweight Champion in round one. MMANews.com scores the round 10-8 for Conor McGregor.
Round 2: The second round is all she wrote folks. The son of a bitch did it again. Conor McGregor makes history on a number of levels tonight, the latest of which is unfolding right now. For the first-time ever, MMA fans will witness a UFC fighter wearing two World Title belts as the undisputed top dog of both the Featherweight and Lightweight
Conor McGregor def. Eddie Alvarez via KO (punches) at 3:04 of Round 2 to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion.