UFC 205 delivered.
Madison Square Garden finally played host to the UFC, and history was made. The sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, put on a show in the main event to walk away as the new lightweight king. He owns the 145- and 155-pound divisions….
UFC 205 delivered.
Madison Square Garden finally played host to the UFC, and history was made. The sport’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, put on a show in the main event to walk away as the new lightweight king. He owns the 145- and 155-pound divisions.
What’s next for the Irishman? A question that immediately follows with how many enemies he has made.
But that isn’t the only question following UFC 205. Two more titles were up for grabs and a bevy of contenders were in action.
You want to know what fights UFC matchmakers should book next? Then let’s take a look at the best options for all the winners and losers from UFC 205.
UFC 205 was a special night, but, alas, normalcy returns at UFC 206. The card was an ugly thing from top to bottom, with an unexciting main event and little else of value behind it, but some shake-ups to the UFC 205 card saw a few interesting names add…
UFC 205 was a special night, but, alas, normalcy returns at UFC 206. The card was an ugly thing from top to bottom, with an unexciting main event and little else of value behind it, but some shake-ups to the UFC 205 card saw a few interesting names added.
The full lineup of fights is as follows:
Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson
Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis
Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown
Tim Kennedy vs. Rashad Evans
Cub Swanson vs. Dooho Choi
Nikita Krylov vs. Misha Cirkunov
Zach Makovsky vs. Dustin Ortiz
Valerie Letourneau vs. Viviane Pereira
Jordan Mein vs. Emil Weber Meek
John Makdessi vs. Lando Vannata
Jason Saggo vs. Rustam Khabilov
Chad Laprise vs. Li Jingliang
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober
Mitch Gagnon vs. Matthew Lopez
Naturally, Bleacher Report is here to give you an early look at the card. So buckle in and read on.
Any time Conor McGregor fights, it’s huge news for the UFC.
The Irish fighter is aware of his notoriety and plays it up every time he has a big fight. He will be stepping into the cage Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for New York City’s UFC deb…
Any time Conor McGregor fights, it’s huge news for the UFC.
The Irish fighter is aware of his notoriety and plays it up every time he has a big fight. He will be stepping into the cage Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for New York City’s UFC debut, and he spent much of Friday’s weigh-in and press conference trying to egg on opponent Eddie Alvarez, the lightweight champion.
That’s standard operating procedure for the reigning featherweight champion, who excels at the pre-fight hype activities. No one ever accused McGregor of being a shrinking violet of any kind, and that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
But as the pre-fight hours go by, the need for hype disappears and preparation increases. McGregor (20-3) is a strong fighter with excellent striking ability, but Alvarez (28-4) offers a stiff test.
Odds Shark has McGregor as a minus-155 favorite (wager $155 to earn a $100 profit), while Alvarez is a plus-135 underdog. Additionally, Odds Shark has McGregor at plus-130 to win by knockout (or technical knockout), while Alvarez is plus-490.
Alvarez is plus-450 to win by submission, while McGregor is plus-2,000. The Irishman is plus-450 to win by decision compared to Alvarez at plus-475.
McGregor is a dominating striker with knockout power in both hands, but he should not underestimate Alvarez. The lightweight champ has won three fights in a row, and that includes a first-round stoppage of former titleholder Rafael Dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos is a powerful bull of a man whose style is to come forward and attack. That proved to be made to order for Alvarez.
He will not be so fortunate against McGregor, though, because the Irish fighter is not going to telegraph his attack by moving in just one direction. He is also quicker than Dos Anjos.
McGregor may come across as wild and out of control at weigh-ins and other publicity events, but he is a smart and thoughtful fighter when he steps in the Octagon. He excels at setting his opponent up with crisp strikes, and he will not force them.
He learned his lesson in March when he attempted to go for the early knockout against Nate Diaz and tired himself out, but Alvarez can’t count on that again.
McGregor believes he will hurt Alvarez. “I predict I rearrange his face,” McGregor said at the pre-fight news conference. “He’s too easily hit.”
If Alvarez is going to win this fight, he has to stay out of range of McGregor’s strikes and use his best holds to neutralize the Irishman. Alvarez can strike, but he doesn’t want to trade shots with McGregor because that’s not going to work out for him in the long run.
Alvarez does not lack for confidence against his favored opponent, though. “I will go down as the best lightweight in history,” Alvarez told reporters, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com. “It will start with him, but then I’ll make UFC great again. I’ll continue to fight the No. 1 guys who belong here.”
Prediction
McGregor knows how to fight on the big stage, and no stage is bigger than Madison Square Garden. A calm, confident and in-control fighter will replace the out-of-control image that he displayed at the weigh-in.
McGregor will pick his spots and find the right moments to deliver his best shots. Alvarez will get in his own punches and throw in some takedown attempts, but it will only buy him a bit of time.
Alvarez will eat several stunning combinations in the second round, and that’s when McGregor will win the fight.
Any time Conor McGregor fights, it’s huge news for the UFC.
The Irish fighter is aware of his notoriety and plays it up every time he has a big fight. He will be stepping into the cage Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for New York City’s UFC deb…
Any time Conor McGregor fights, it’s huge news for the UFC.
The Irish fighter is aware of his notoriety and plays it up every time he has a big fight. He will be stepping into the cage Saturday night at Madison Square Garden for New York City’s UFC debut, and he spent much of Friday’s weigh-in and press conference trying to egg on opponent Eddie Alvarez, the lightweight champion.
That’s standard operating procedure for the reigning featherweight champion, who excels at the pre-fight hype activities. No one ever accused McGregor of being a shrinking violet of any kind, and that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
But as the pre-fight hours go by, the need for hype disappears and preparation increases. McGregor (20-3) is a strong fighter with excellent striking ability, but Alvarez (28-4) offers a stiff test.
Odds Shark has McGregor as a minus-155 favorite (wager $155 to earn a $100 profit), while Alvarez is a plus-135 underdog. Additionally, Odds Shark has McGregor at plus-130 to win by knockout (or technical knockout), while Alvarez is plus-490.
Alvarez is plus-450 to win by submission, while McGregor is plus-2,000. The Irishman is plus-450 to win by decision compared to Alvarez at plus-475.
McGregor is a dominating striker with knockout power in both hands, but he should not underestimate Alvarez. The lightweight champ has won three fights in a row, and that includes a first-round stoppage of former titleholder Rafael Dos Anjos.
Dos Anjos is a powerful bull of a man whose style is to come forward and attack. That proved to be made to order for Alvarez.
He will not be so fortunate against McGregor, though, because the Irish fighter is not going to telegraph his attack by moving in just one direction. He is also quicker than Dos Anjos.
McGregor may come across as wild and out of control at weigh-ins and other publicity events, but he is a smart and thoughtful fighter when he steps in the Octagon. He excels at setting his opponent up with crisp strikes, and he will not force them.
He learned his lesson in March when he attempted to go for the early knockout against Nate Diaz and tired himself out, but Alvarez can’t count on that again.
McGregor believes he will hurt Alvarez. “I predict I rearrange his face,” McGregor said at the pre-fight news conference. “He’s too easily hit.”
If Alvarez is going to win this fight, he has to stay out of range of McGregor’s strikes and use his best holds to neutralize the Irishman. Alvarez can strike, but he doesn’t want to trade shots with McGregor because that’s not going to work out for him in the long run.
Alvarez does not lack for confidence against his favored opponent, though. “I will go down as the best lightweight in history,” Alvarez told reporters, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com. “It will start with him, but then I’ll make UFC great again. I’ll continue to fight the No. 1 guys who belong here.”
Prediction
McGregor knows how to fight on the big stage, and no stage is bigger than Madison Square Garden. A calm, confident and in-control fighter will replace the out-of-control image that he displayed at the weigh-in.
McGregor will pick his spots and find the right moments to deliver his best shots. Alvarez will get in his own punches and throw in some takedown attempts, but it will only buy him a bit of time.
Alvarez will eat several stunning combinations in the second round, and that’s when McGregor will win the fight.
Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor will headline the biggest card in UFC history on Saturday evening, when a blockbuster UFC 205 lineup makes its way to New York City.
Madison Square Garden will bear witness to a pay-per-view schedule so jam-packed…
Eddie Alvarez and ConorMcGregor will headline the biggest card in UFC history on Saturday evening, when a blockbuster UFC 205 lineup makes its way to New York City.
Madison Square Garden will bear witness to a pay-per-view schedule so jam-packed with elite fighting talent that the aforementioned duo’s lightweight championship showdown is merely the icing on the cake of the event.
Also in action, fans will see welterweight champion TyronWoodley defend his belt against Stephen Thompson, while women’s strawweight titleholder Joanna Jedrzejczyk will defend her crown against Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Alvarez’s wrestling background and heavy-handed approach promises to throw a spanner in the works for McGregor, making the move up from featherweight, although The Notorious’ movement will be a major variable.
Read on for a full preview of the UFC 205 card, information on what time the fights are expected to start, odds and a prediction for the main event.
The UFC’s maiden card in New York City is packed to the rafters with quality fights, and audiences will want to tune into the action long before the main event if they’re to make the most of the evening’s entertainment.
Alvarez (28-4) may draw a home crowd due to his Philadelphia roots, but McGregor himself was happy to share the love he received from the Madison Square Garden fans at Friday’s fake weigh-in:
The UFC is on the verge of making attendance history at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, and MMA Fighting reporter Ariel Helwani emphasised the magnitude of the occasion in anticipation of Saturday’s clash:
Although McGregor is the featherweight champion, the Irishman is technically coming down in weight for this duel after back-to-back meetings against Nate Diaz at welterweight, where he won at UFC 202 back in August.
Lightweight champion Alvarez promises to be another test altogether at what many would call McGregor‘s more natural weight class, however, with the main event expected to start at around 5 a.m. GMT (12 a.m. ET), per The Independent’s Jack deMenezes.
Mystic Mac’s Prediction Realised
Not for the first time in his career, McGregor has envisioned a quick finish against Alvarez, and it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see a stand-up brawl finish inside one round.
Speaking at the UFC 205 press conference back in September, when the fight was first announced, The Notorious shut Alvarez down with a first-round knockout prediction, per The Independent’s Jim Edwards:
Shut your f–king mouth. I run New York. I run this whole s–t. And Mystic Mac predicts I’m going to KO you inside of one round.
I’m very happy with the 155-pound weight limit. I feel like with all the divisions I ran around and ran through, 155 I feel will be the one where I take over the most.
Despite doubts over some of those claims, it could be true the Dubliner is at his most comfortable in the 155-pound division, considering his frame is so large compared to his peers at featherweight, with Alvarez his first test subject.
ArtemLobov has trained with McGregor and become accustomed to this kind of fortune-telling for years, and the Russian Hammer also backed up his friend’s vision of an early knockout, via The42.ie:
The odds have always rung in favour of McGregor since betting opened on the event, as explained by Smart Bets, and although Alvarez may look to assert his position on the mat, his opponent’s takedown defence has proved impressive in recent fights.
The Silent Assassin can take on a very primal punching stance, and while he finished Rafael Dos Anjos in impressive manner to clinch the lightweight belt, McGregor is sure to be a far more elusive customer.
For all the hype behind the UFC 205 main event, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the matchup between Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor is a fascinating tactical matchup.
Fans are so used to hearing McGregor talk about jumping from one weig…
For all the hype behind the UFC 205 main event, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that the matchup between Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor is a fascinating tactical matchup.
Fans are so used to hearing McGregor talk about jumping from one weight class to the next that it’s hard to keep in mind that this is his first trip to the lightweight division. His fights against Nate Diaz were at 170 and he obviously rose to prominence by dominating the 145-pound weight class.
In short, we’re going to see a new rendition of McGregor.
And the scary thing is this might be his best weight class.
Chamatkar Sandhu of MMA Fighting put together a mashup of his weigh-in photos from all three weight classes. By appearances, it looks like Goldilocks may have found the weight class that was just right:
Just how good McGregor looks at 155 is one of many mysteries that will unfold in the main event. Here’s a look at how each man can force the right terms of engagement on their opponent and walk away victorious in New York.
How Eddie Alvarez Can Win
One of Eddie Alvarez’s greatest weapons as a fighter is his versatility.
Alvarez is a more than capable striker. That was on full display in his title win over Rafael dos Anjos. The former Bellator champion was able to use RDA’s aggressiveness against him, countering his attacks and capitalizing quickly in a first-round finish.
But that Alvarez wasn’t nearly the same one who won fights against Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis. Going against an explosive counter-striker in Pettis, Alvarez opted to turn the pressure on, using the clinch and takedowns to wear down his opponent over the course of three rounds.
The fact is, the less exciting this fight is, the more it swings in Alvarez’s favor.
The former Bellator champion is an all-terrain fighter in the fact that he can play the counterpunch game, but that’s not necessarily his best route to victory against someone in McGregor who is much more crafty than RDA in his striking approach.
Alvarez can’t forsake the stand-up game completely and focus solely on bringing the featherweight champion to the mat, but it needs to be the cornerstone of his game. Lost in the fact sometimes that Alvarez has excellent boxing is the fact that he averages 3.9 takedowns per 15 minutes, according to FightMetric. That’s a little over one takedown per round.
That’s the exact goal that Alvarez should have.
He can win exchanges on the feet, certainly, but the exchanges on the feet should be started with the idea of ultimately pinning McGregor to the cage or dragging him to the mat.
As good as McGregor has been on his feet, doubts about his ground game still exist. Nate Diaz obviously submitted him and Chad Mendes had his moments before McGregor’s comeback knockout win once the fight was stood back up.
Ultimately, the Alvarez who pinned down Pettis is more likely to win this fight over the course of five rounds than the one who looked for a striking match against Rafael dos Anjos.
How Conor McGregor Can Win
For Conor McGregor, this bout needs to be a continuation of the development he showed in the rematch with Nate Diaz.
In that fight, McGregor understood that his output had to change from when he fights at featherweight. At 145 pounds, the power disparity is so large between McGregor and his opponents that he could end most fights with a cleanly landed left. Against bigger opponents, that isn’t the case.
In his first fight against Diaz, McGregor put all of his energy into winning the fight early and came away gassed to the point that Diaz easily finished the bout.
In the second fight, McGregor took a slightly more measured approach, picked his spots and was able to fight effectively for five rounds and take a decision.
Fighting Alvarez gives McGregor yet another opportunity to show that he can adapt his fighting style to a bigger weight class than 145.
In many ways, Alvarez is a bigger, more versatile Chad Mendes. He has wrestling chops, the ability to attempt takedowns in volume and some power on the feet.
McGregor still needs to pressure. If he chooses to sit back and try to counter Alvarez, it opens himself up to spend the night against the cage, frustrated by his lack of opportunities. However, he needs to pressure with his footwork, rather than volume.
That means managing the distance so that Alvarez has to respect McGregor’s kicking game and lead hand, but he doesn’t have to be constantly throwing to back him up.
If McGregor can keep this fight standing for all five rounds and attack with more efficiency than volume, it’s going to be his fight to lose.
Prediction
Ultimately, the fact that Alvarez has two paths to victory might be what hurts him in the end.
His clear advantage lies in grappling. Making the fight boring and closing the distance both play into his strengths and minimizes the risk of being rocked by a straight left hand.
But that doesn’t appear to be his plan.
“I think we do it under the nine-minute mark,” Alvarez said, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports. “Big, big heavy shots, he goes down and then submission.”
That’s a game plan that’s based on an older version of McGregor. Regardless of how one might feel about the brash Irishman, the fighter has developed every time out there.
After learning how to fight at a higher weight, drawing Alvarez into a striking contest is his clearest path to victory. If that’s the way that Alvarez wants to approach the fight, he’ll be playing right into McGregor’s hands.
Any time