UFC 205 was truly golden
(New York, NY., November 14, 2016) – History was made. Records were broken. Champions were crowned. UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday was everything and more.
After a long battle to legalize MMA in New York, the UFC turned the mixed martial arts world upside down with an unbelievably stacked card that lived up to the hype and anticipation.
While Long Island’s Chris Weidman, an important figure to bring MMA to the Empire State lost to Yoel Romero in the third round, Long Island and New York should be proud of the way they represented themselves in what was the highest grossing event at Madison Square Garden and largest Pay-Per-View event the UFC’s history.
The main card started off with former champion Miesha Tate taking on Raquel Pennington in a bantamweight showdown. Tate, coming off a loss at UFC 200, was looking to avenge herself after wearing the belt when she beat Holly Holm at UFC 196. This fight didn’t go as planned. Tate was completely dominated on the feet and didn’t use any of her skill-set which included often grinding opponents out with her wrestling. It was Pennington who found success in the clinch and finished out-striking Tate significantly. After Pennington was awarded the clear unanimous decision, Tate shockingly told the MMA world she is announcing her retirement at the young age of 30.
It was now Long Island’s Chris Weidman’s time to take the walk down the MSG tunnel. Dreaming of this moment was finally here for the former UFC middleweight champion. In what was a very tough fight on paper, Weidman was ready to go. Walking out to songs of Billy Joel and Tom Petty, Weidman knew with a victory over Romero, he would be one fight away from being the champion again.
Weidman took the first round out kicking Romero and successfully taking down Romero a few times. In the second, it was Weidman who looked more comfortable on his feet, but Romero landed a takedown and was on top of the former champion for the last two minutes of the round. With it even going into round three, it was anyone’s fight. Round three didn’t last long as Romero landed a devastating knee to Weidman’s head and finished him with nasty punches before the fight was called.
With the win, Romero will likely face Michael Bisping for the middleweight championship. As for Weidman, after starting off his MMA career at 13-0, he now has lost two fights in-a-row and will need at least one or two more wins to get back into title contention talk.
After the fight, Weidman told Submisson Radio, “It was a dream come true, it was everything I imagined….until I lost. I’ve had so many ups and downs in this sport and so many times where I thought it was going to get legalized, and I imagined fighting here in New York, and for it to finally happen, and to have a crowd like that and that type of support, after traveling the world and fighting everywhere else besides my home state, it was a dream come true walking out.”
Next up it was the battle of Poland and the battle for the strawweight championship between Joanna Jendrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. Jendrzejczyk, was looking to defend her belt for the fourth time, while kicking off three title fights on the main card. A heavy favorite, Jendrzejczyk showed why, as she picked apart Kowalkiewicz in the first three rounds using her striking volume, which is second to none. While she didn’t come close to a knockout, she suffocated Kowalkiewicz after three rounds. It was the fourth round where Kowalkiewicz found success. Kowalkiewicz, knowing she was down three rounds came out looking for the knockout and she almost came through. She landed a powerful punch, which rocked Jendrzejczyk, and almost finished her with an onslaught of punches, but Jendrzejczyk barely survived. Jendrzejczyk recovered after the bell and looked sharp in the final round to keep her belt, earning the well-deserved victory.
In the co-main event, drama filled the air at the iconic Madison Square Garden Arena. Tyrone Woodley, who beat Robbie Lawler at UFC 201, was looking to keep his welterweight belt against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. It was officially called the “fight of the night”, as Woodley remained the champion, but didn’t actually beat Thompson after two judges scored it a majority draw. The drama took place after the fight as Bruce Buffer announced that Woodley won via split decision, but went back to double check the scorecard. While Woodley was being interviewed by Joe Rogan for his win, it was announced that there was an error with the announcement and the contest resulted in a draw.
As for the fight, it was as close as any five round fight could be. Back-and-forth they went in the first three rounds but it was the fourth round where the fight picked up. Woodley absolutely dominated Thompson after knocking him down and nearly finished him with strikes on the ground. He then followed up with a tight guillotine that looked locked in but somehow Thompson escaped. Thompson shook off that round and clearly won the fifth and final round, but after the judges made their decision, there was no winner as we will likely see a rematch of these two fighters in the near future.
The main event was highlighted by the polarizing Irishman, Conor McGregor, making his debut at 155 pounds, taking on the champion, Eddie Alvarez. McGregor, already the featherweight champion, was looking to make history with a win. With a victory, he would become the first fighter ever to hold belts in two different weight classes at the same time.
McGregor looked as sharp as ever, coming out from the opening bell, picking apart Alvarez, knocking him down three times. In the second round, around the 2:00 mark, McGregor landed a picture perfect four-punch combination that knocked Alvarez to the ground. McGregor followed up with punches, and it was all over, history was made. Now the champion of two weight classes, McGregor will likely have to vacate one of them. No fighter has held gold simultaneously and President of the UFC, Dana White, has been adamant about if McGregor had won, he would have to decide which belt to give up.
After the fight, McGregor, decorated with two belts, one on each shoulder told the media that his girlfriend is pregnant and he is expected to be a father in May of 2017, which will lead him to take some time off. He also announced he wants equity and ownership in the company. With his stock so high and his confidence even higher, McGregor is the face of the sport that seems to be growing by the day.
It was an epic night of fights and while Chris Weidman didn’t bring home the win, he represented his home town state with class and helped put on a show that nobody will ever forget. UFC 205 will live in infamy in the MMA world.
MMA Long Island Magazine is published by MMA New York Media Corporation. For more information please visit www.mmalongislandmagazine.com or call (516) 318-2418.
Photo credit: Forbes
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