MMA News

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

Last Saturday, in the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor knocked out lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez with beautiful, second-round combination. This seemingly effortless victory rendered the Irish star the first fighter in UFC history to own titles in two divisions simultaneously. While many members of the MMA community were shocked by the ease with which McGregor defeated Alvarez, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh was not. Being very careful not to disparage Alvarez’s personality or toughness, the famed coach explained his confidence in McGregor on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

On Saturday night, the UFC touched down in glimmering New York City for the very first time. They did so with UFC 205, a stacked card headlined by a lightweight title fight between divisional king Eddie Alvarez and featherweight champ Conor McGregor. The bout marked McGregor’s opportunity to become the first fighter in UFC history to wear two UFC titles simultaneously, and in the end, he accomplished this feat with apparent effortlessness. After dropping his foe three times in the first round, he polished him off with a lightning-quick, four-punch combo in the second. Alvarez hit the deck, and McGregor had earned his place in the history books. UFC 205 also reset the record for the highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history – surpassing UFC 202, another McGregor helmed card, to do so. The card also set the live gate record for Madison Square Garden, which is an incredible feat considering the massive boxing matches, concerts, hockey games and basketball games that have occurred inside the hallowed venue. Like the PPV sale record that UFC 205 set, this accomplishment can be attributed to the incredible drawing power of McGregor.

Russell Ess - November 14, 2016

UFC star Conor McGregor made history at Madison Square Garden at UFC 205 when he finished Eddie Alvarez by TKO to become the first fighter in the UFC to hold two weight division’s titles simultaneously. The biggest thing that fans of Conor McGregor are waiting on is what fight comes next for the Irish superstar.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

In the wake of UFC 205, streaking lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that he exchanged some words with Michael Johnson during their exciting undercard battle. “Yeah, I little bit talked with him,” the lightweight contender explained. “I told him ‘hey, I have to fight for the title, you know this.’ I told him, ‘I don’t want to smash your face, and I already beat you. You have to give up.”

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight king Conor McGregor made history as the first fighter ever to hold two UFC titles in two divisions simultaneously. He did so with a thunderous, second-round knockout of lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

On Saturday night, in the main event of UFC 205, UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor knocked out lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles simultaneously. Earlier that same night, UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley defended his title with a tooth-and-nail majority draw opposite Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. In the buildup to these two memorable fights, McGregor and Woodley had a number of tense encounters. They also had a pretty heated exchange on Twitter. Given that McGregor spent much of 2016 in Woodley’s welterweight division, where he went 1-1 across to bouts with Nate Diaz, his run-ins with Woodley immediately generated buzz about a potential fight between them.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

One year ago today, the UFC took over sunny Melbourne, Australia’s Etihad Stadium with UFC 193. In the evening’s main event, transcendent MMA star and women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey sought to make another defense of her title against Holly Holm. By all accounts, it was expected to be a blowout for Rousey, who was identified by some oddsmakers as as much as a -1650 betting favorite. The fight was not the blowout we expected.

Tom Taylor - November 14, 2016

The hugely hyped UFC 205 has now come and gone. Unsurprisingly, the stacked event was a massive financial success. As UFC President Dana White pointed out, it broke company records in the areas of live gate and pay-per-view sales. As it turns out, it was also a big night for the UFC’s athlete outfitting deal with Reebok. Under the Reebok outfitting deal, fighters are paid based on the number of fights they’ve had in the UFC, and in Zuffa-era Strikeforce and WEC. The more fights they’ve had under these banners, the more they’re paid to wear their Reebok gear. Champions, meanwhile, receive $40,000, the maximum amount possible under the Reebok deal, while title challengers receive $30,000 to rock Reebok in the cage.

Chris Taylor - November 13, 2016

The Boss @DanaWhite recaps an amazing event w/ @MeganOlivi at #UFC205 https://t.co/67hCQKwBsw — UFC (@ufc) November 14, 2016

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

The former champ @EAlvarezFight chats about the main event at #UFC205 https://t.co/PrJqpg3Qp3 — UFC (@ufc) November 14, 2016

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

Since she entered mainstream consciousness on season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter, Colorado’s Raquel Pennington has stood out as something of a gatekeeper. While nobody refuted her talent, it was hard to imagine her contending for UFC bantamweight gold. On Saturday night, that changed. Pennington kicked off the main card of the landmark UFC 205 alongside women’s MMA pioneer Miesha Tate, who was, coincidentally, her coach on the Ultimate Fighter. The bout marked the starkest test of Pennington’s career – and she passed it with flying colors.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

UFC 205, which marked the Octagon’s debut in New York City has now come and gone. The highlight of the card was undoubtedly Conor McGregor’s history making knockout of lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. Other highlights included Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson’s unforgettable five round war, which ended in a majority draw, and Yoel Romero’s thunderous knockout of former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. And then, of course, there was the retirement of women’s MMA trailblazer Miesha Tate. Tate kicked off the stacked UFC 205 main card opposite the streaking Raquel Pennington, who she coached several years ago on The Ultimate Fighter. Though Tate has long stood out as one of the best female fighters on the planet, she was soundly outclassed by her foe in New York – on the feet and on the mat. As a result, she ultimately surrendered a unanimous decision.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

Last night, in the co-main event of the historic UFC 205, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley made the first defense of his title against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson – but only narrowly. The pair’s five-round battle was so competitive that the end result was a majority draw. Given the nature of Woodley’s war with Thompson, all signs immediately pointed to a rematch between the two. UFC President Dana White then confirmed that this would probably be the next move at the UFC 205 post-fight press conference.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

Last night, on the undercard of UFC 205, lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov extended his record to a sparkling 24-0. He did so with an incredible win over a game Michael Johnson. Nurmagomedov achieved this win by soundly out-grappling his foe until he found an opening for a kimura in the third round.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

https://youtu.be/P9X0Ge_4xT4 Last night, the UFC made its long awaited debut in New York City with a stacked UFC 205. The massive card’s headliner saw UFC featherweight champ Conor McGregor challenge Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title in a bid to become the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles in two weight classes simultaneously. Though the fight’s betting odds suggested Alvarez had a real chance of winning this fight, McGregor ultimately made his history. The Irish star effortlessly picked his foe apart, dropping him with left hands three times before putting him down for good in the second round.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

UFC 205 was absolutely stacked. Though it was hurt by the last minute losses of a Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum welterweight bout and a Tim Kennedy vs. Rashad Evans middleweight bout, it still stood out as the most talent-rich card in UFC history. The lineup was topped by a lightweight title fight between divisional champ Eddie Alvarez and featherweight king Conor McGregor. Below this title fight were two others: a welterweight title fight between Tyron Woodley and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, and a strawweight title fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The rest of the card, finally, was packed with big names like Yoel Romero, Chris Weidman, Miesha Tate, Raquel Pennington, Frankie Edgar, Jeremy Stephens, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Michael Johnson.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2016

Last night, in the main event of the historic UFC 205, Conor McGregor made history by becoming the first UFC fighter ever to wear gold in two divisions simultaneously. The Irishman made this history by levelling lightweight champ Eddie Alvarez with a blistering, second-round combo.