UFC 205

UFC mixed martial arts event in 2016

UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor

The poster for UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor

Information

Promotion

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Date

November 12, 2016 (2016-11-12)

Venue

Madison Square Garden

City

New York City, U.S.

Attendance

20,427^[1]

Total gate

$17,700,000^[1]

Buyrate

1,300,000^[2]

Event chronology

The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson

UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor

UFC Fight Night: Mousasi vs. Hall 2

UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor was a mixed martial arts event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on November 12, 2016, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.^[3]

In what was described by UFC president Dana White as the "biggest fight card" in the company's history,^[4] Conor McGregor became the first fighter in the promotion's history to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.^[5]^[6]

Background

This event was the first UFC event hosted in New York City. It was also the first UFC event hosted in the state of New York after the longtime professional MMA ban was revoked in early 2016. To this point, UFC 7 was the only event contested in the state, taking place in September 1995 in Buffalo.^[3]

The UFC worked tirelessly to surpass the law that forbade professional mixed martial arts events in the state, including a drastic measure: they announced an event (UFC 197) for the Madison Square Garden, despite the ban still being in effect.^[7] However, it was announced that a preliminary injunction allowing the promotion to hold the event was denied by a federal judge.^[8] The event was eventually moved and contested in the promotion's home base of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Main card: three title bouts, including a champion vs. champion contest

Alvarez (left) had his first title defense, while McGregor (right) has not defended his since winning it against José Aldo at UFC 194 in December 2015.

The event was headlined by a UFC Lightweight Championship bout between then champion Eddie Alvarez and UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor.^[9] This was the second time in UFC history that champions in different divisions fought for the same title. The first time was at UFC 94 on January 31, 2009, when then-welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre defended his title against then-lightweight champion B.J. Penn.

Alvarez was originally expected to make his first title defense against undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, but it was announced on September 21 that Alvarez missed the contract deadline for the bout and in consequence it was expected to take place at UFC 206 in December.^[10] Meanwhile, McGregor was previously expected to challenge for the lightweight title at UFC 196 in February against then champion Rafael dos Anjos. Dos Anjos eventually pulled out due to a broken foot and the bout never materialized.^[11]

A UFC Welterweight Championship bout between the champion Tyron Woodley and five-time kickboxing world champion Stephen Thompson took place at the co-main event.^[12]

A third title fight, a UFC Women's Strawweight Championship bout between the champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz was also part of the card.^[13] The duo met previously in their amateur days in 2012, when Jędrzejczyk defeated Kowalkiewicz via submission in the Amatorska Liga MMA Tournament final.^[14]

A potential middleweight title eliminator between former UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and 2000 Olympic silver medalist and former world champion in freestyle wrestling Yoel Romero took place at this portion of the event.^[15]

A welterweight bout between former champion Robbie Lawler and former lightweight title challenger Donald Cerrone was the first confirmed bout of the event.^[16] However, just a few days after the announcement, it was revealed the Lawler decided to take a little more time to get ready for the fight after losing his title via knockout at UFC 201.^[17] He was replaced by The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen middleweight winner Kelvin Gastelum, who was scheduled to face Jorge Masvidal one week earlier than the event.^[18]

Opening the main card was a women's bantamweight bout between former Strikeforce and UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate and Raquel Pennington.^[19]^[20] Tate was Pennington's coach during The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate.

Preliminary card: a former champion and title challengers stack the under-card

A featherweight contest between former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Jeremy Stephens was the featured bout of the preliminary card.^[21] A few other bouts also took part of the Fox Sports 1 televised prelims:

Despite being originally expected to face Alvarez, Khabib Nurmagomedov faced Michael Johnson instead in a potential lightweight title eliminator.^[22]
A middleweight bout between Tim Boetsch and Rafael Natal.^[21]
A welterweight bout between former Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good and Belal Muhammad was scheduled for this portion of the event.^[23] However, on October 24, Good was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA due to a potential anti-doping violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collected ten days earlier.^[24] He was replaced by Vicente Luque.^[25]

A lightweight bout between Al Iaquinta and former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves was previously linked to UFC 202.^[26] However, the pairing was initially delayed and was expected to be contested at this event.^[27] Subsequently, Iaquinta announced on September 19 that he pulled out due to a contract dispute with the promotion.^[28] He was replaced by Jim Miller.^[29] The bout headlined the UFC Fight Pass portion of the event.

To complete the card, there was a women's bantamweight bout between former title challenger Liz Carmouche and Katlyn Chookagian.^[30]

A light heavyweight bout between Gian Villante and Marcos Rogério de Lima was briefly linked to the event.^[31] However, Villante pulled out of the fight on September 21 citing injury and the bout was scrapped.^[32]

A middleweight bout between Tim Kennedy and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and divisional newcomer Rashad Evans was scheduled for the FS1 portion of the event.^[33] However, on November 8, Evans was pulled from the fight after an undisclosed irregularity was found during his pre-fight medical exam. Subsequently, Kennedy was removed from the card as well.^[34]^[35] The bout is now expected to take place at UFC 206, a month later.^[36]

Weigh-ins

At the weigh-ins, Alves was over his division weight limit by six pounds, weighing in at 162.6 lb. Per New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) rules, opposing lightweight fighters must weigh within 7 pounds of one another.^[37] Having not yet completed his own official weigh-in, Alves' opponent Jim Miller (who was within the designated lightweight limit) was able to rehydrate and officially weigh in over the limit himself, at 157.6 lb, allowing the bout to proceed as catchweight. NYSAC and UFC officials indicated that Alves must not weigh more than 173 lb the day of the fight, or it would be cancelled. As a result of missing the original designated weight, Alves was fined 20% of his purse, which went to his opponent.^[37]

Kelvin Gastelum did not appear for the official weigh-ins, announcing via Twitter that he would not fight Cerrone "on account that he couldn't make the weight limit". Prior to this announcement, Cerrone had already successfully weighed in at 170.4 lb, meaning he was unable to subsequently rehydrate as Miller did, to keep within 7 pounds of his over-weight opponent.^[38]^[39] In an interview after hearing the news, Cerrone stated he would have "blown weight too," had Gastelum informed him prior.^[40] As a result, Gastelum was pulled from the card and UFC president Dana White stated he will never let him fight at welterweight in the organization again, and that he believes Gastelum missed weight by 10 pounds.^[41] Despite the one-day notice, it was reported a small number of fighters were interested in filling in to fight Cerrone. According to one candidate Alan Jouban, UFC matchmaker Joe Silva was interested in having him fill in, however, according to Jouban, the NYSAC would not consider sanctioning any fighters on such short notice.^[42]

Consequently, the bout was scrapped. Cerrone was quickly rescheduled and faced Matt Brown the following month at UFC 206.^[43]

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Lightweight	Conor McGregor	def.	Eddie Alvarez (c)	TKO (punches)	2	3:04	^[a]
Welterweight	Tyron Woodley (c)	vs.	Stephen Thompson	Draw (majority) (47–47, 47–47, 48–47)	5	5:00	^[b]
Women's Strawweight	Joanna Jędrzejczyk (c)	def.	Karolina Kowalkiewicz	Decision (unanimous) (49–46, 49–46, 49–46)	5	5:00	^[c]
Middleweight	Yoel Romero	def.	Chris Weidman	TKO (flying knee and punches)	3	0:24
Women's Bantamweight	Raquel Pennington	def.	Miesha Tate	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 30–27, 30–27)	3	5:00
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Featherweight	Frankie Edgar	def.	Jeremy Stephens	Decision (unanimous) (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)	3	5:00
Lightweight	Khabib Nurmagomedov	def.	Michael Johnson	Submission (kimura)	3	2:31
Middleweight	Tim Boetsch	def.	Rafael Natal	TKO (punches)	1	3:22
Welterweight	Vicente Luque	def.	Belal Muhammad	KO (punches)	1	1:19
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Catchweight (162.6 lb)	Jim Miller	def.	Thiago Alves	Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 30–27)	3	5:00
Women's Bantamweight	Liz Carmouche	def.	Katlyn Chookagian	Decision (split) (28–29, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

^ For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
^ For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
^ For the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship.

^[44]

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:^[45]

Fight of the Night: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson
Performance of the Night: Conor McGregor and Yoel Romero

Records set

The ceremonial weigh-ins set an attendance record of 15,480 spectators.^[46] The event reportedly generated $17,700,000 in gate receipts, which broke the UFC 129 record for a mixed martial arts event, as well as the record for the venue, Madison Square Garden.^[1] The attendance of 20,427 was the highest for a domestic event.^[1]^{[failed verification]}

The pre-fight documentary Fighting for History drew 2.4 million viewers on Fox, the most of any preview show in UFC history.^[47]

The Reebok athlete outfitting pay was the highest in history, with a total of $392,500.^[48]

With his win, McGregor became the first fighter in the promotion's history to hold two titles simultaneously.^[49]

Aftermath

On November 21, the NYSAC administratively suspended Gastelum for six months because he did not attend the weigh-ins. An administrative suspension is different from a typical commission suspension in that it does not have to be reciprocated by other jurisdictions.^[50] Despite being originally expected to value only in New York, it was announced two days later that the suspension was added to the database of the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) and it could be extend to other jurisdictions as well. Gastelum's team announced they would enter an appeal.^[51] Gastelum was cleared of his suspension on November 30, which allowed him to face Kennedy at UFC 206, as Evans once again was pulled from the bout.^[52]

The NYSAC also issued a three-month suspension for Alves due to him missing weight,^[53] as well as a two-month suspension for Romero for leaving cage right after defeating Weidman. Romero jumped over the Octagon in adulation, did a soldier's march around the outside perimeter of the cage, and then entered back in for the official results.^[54]

On November 26, due to his inactivity in the featherweight division, McGregor was stripped of the UFC Featherweight Championship, therefore promoting José Aldo to undisputed champion.^[55]^[56]

On April 1, 2017, it was announced that Good will receive a six-month suspension from USADA retroactive to his positive test. "USADA found that Lyman's October 2016 flagged urine specimen was the result of tainted vitamins and not the result of any intentional violation", Good’s lawyer David Fish said.^[57]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Staff (2016-11-13). "UFC 205 draws 20,427 fans in New York City debut, smashes gate record with $17.7 million". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
^ Coleman, Joe (22 January 2020). "Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone reaches two million PPV buys as 'The Notorious' makes record-breaking UFC return". Talksport. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b Staff (2016-04-14). "MMA now officially legal in New York; UFC slates Nov. 12 event at Madison Square Garden". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^ George Willis (2016-11-12). "'Best card in the history of the sport': UFC 205 invades MSG". nypost.com. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
^ Gareth A. Davies and Chris Graham (2016-11-13). "UFC 205: Conor McGregor knocks out Eddie Alvarez in round two to claim historic second title". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
^ Liam Williams (2016-11-13). "UFC 205 LIVE Conor McGregor beats Eddie Alvarez with stunning second round TKO to win title". mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-11-16.
^ Jesse Holland (2015-09-28). "UFC sues state of New York, books PPV event for April 23 in Madison Square Garden". mmamania.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^ Steven Marrocco (2016-01-25). "NY federal judge denies UFC move to allow Madison Square Garden event". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^ Mike Bohn (2016-09-27). "Conor McGregor gets lightweight title shot, challenges Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205 headliner". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
^ Staff (2016-09-21). "Report: After missed contract deadline for UFC 205, Alvarez vs. Nurmagomedov targeted for UFC 206". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-02-23). "Rafael dos Anjos injured, out of UFC 196 main event fight against Conor McGregor". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
^ Matt Boone (2016-09-16). "Tyron Woodley confirms title defense against "wonderboy" Thompson at UFC 205 in NY". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
^ José Youngs (2016-09-23). "Report: Joanna Jędrzejczyk to defend title against Karolina Kowalkiewicz at UFC 205". fansided.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
^ Jim Edwards (2016-09-23). "Joanna Jędrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz set for UFC 205". flocombat.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
^ John Morgan and Dann Stupp (2016-09-15). "Ex-champ Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero slated for UFC 205 in New York City". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
^ Steven Marrocco (2016-09-07). "Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone a go for UFC 205, Dana White says". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-09-10). "Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone scratched from UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-10.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-09-14). "Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum in the works for UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
^ Staff (2016-09-23). "Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington slated for UFC 205 in New York City". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
^ Staff (2016-10-28). "Full broadcast plans and lineup set for UFC 205, and they're a thing of beauty". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
^ ^a ^b Thomas Gerbasi (2016-09-21). "UFC announces five bouts for NYC event". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
^ Staff (2016-09-27). "Michael Johnson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov official for UFC 205 in New York". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
^ Marc La Monica (2016-09-23). "Lyman Good to face Belal Muhammad at UFC 205". newsday.com. Retrieved 2016-09-23.
^ Staff (2016-10-24). "Lyman Good receives USADA notice, pulled from UFC 205". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
^ Staff (2016-10-25). "Vicente Luque replaces Lyman Good at UFC 205 in New York City". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
^ Lucas Rezende (2016-05-23). "Alves vs. Iaquinta set for UFC 202 in August". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^ Tristen Critchfield (2016-09-06). "Thiago Alves moves to 155 pounds, meets Al Iaquinta at UFC 205 in New York". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
^ Shaun Al-Shatti (2016-09-19). "Al Iaquinta willing to walk away from MMA if dispute with UFC remains unsettled". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
^ Staff (2016-09-19). "Report: Jim Miller fills Al Iaquinta's spot at UFC 205, takes on Thiago Alves". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-09-19.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-09-15). "Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian slated for UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
^ Guilherme Cruz (2016-09-08). "Gian Villante vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima added to UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-08.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-09-21). "Gian Villante vs. Marcos Rogerio de Lima off UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-21.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-09-09). "Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy slated for UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
^ Jose Youngs (2016-11-08). "Rashad Evans pulled from UFC 205 fight against Tim Kennedy". fansided.com. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-11-08). "Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy fight scratched from UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-08.
^ Mike Bohn (2016-11-09). "Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy rescheduled for UFC 206 in Toronto". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
^ ^a ^b Staff (2016-11-11). "UFC 205 early weigh-in results: Thiago Alves and Kelvin Gastelum force last-minute scramble". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^ Staff (2016-11-11). "Kelvin Gastelum announces UFC 205 fight with Donald Cerrone is off". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^ Staff (2016-11-11). "UFC 205 main card down to 5 bouts due to Kelvin Gastelum's latest weight blunder". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^ Ariel Helwani (2016-11-11). "Donald Cerrone reacts to being pulled from UFC 205". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
^ Mike Bohn (2016-11-11). "Dana White says Kelvin Gastelum done at 170 after missing weight for UFC 205". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^ Nick Baldwin (2016-11-12). "Jouban: Joe Silva 'loved' Cerrone fight, but NYSAC wouldn't sanction it". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
^ Dave Doyle (2016-11-11). "Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown slated for UFC 206". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
^ "UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor". Ultimate Fighting Championship. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
^ Staff (2016-11-13). "UFC 205 bonuses: Conor McGregor scores another $50,000 – but that's probably small potatoes". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
^ ET, 2016 at 1:26p (15 November 2016). "Here are all the records UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor shattered on Saturday". FOX Sports. Retrieved 10 January 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Damon Martin (2016-11-15). "Here are all the records UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor shattered on Saturday". foxsports.com. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
^ Staff (2016-11-13). "UFC 205 Athlete Outfitting pay: Champs McGregor, Woodley, Jedrzejczyk lead record-setting payout". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
^ Steven Marrocco (2016-11-13). "Conor McGregor dominates Eddie Alvarez, claims history as 2-division champ at UFC 205". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
^ Marc Raimondi (2016-11-21). "NYSAC gives Kelvin Gastelum six-month administrative suspension for missing weigh-ins". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
^ Marc Raimondi (2016-11-22). "Kelvin Gastelum appealing NYSAC suspension". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
^ Marc Raimondi (2016-11-30). "Kelvin Gastelum free of suspension, will face Tim Kennedy at UFC 206". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-30.
^ Guilherme Cruz (2016-11-22). "Thiago Alves suspended three months for missing weight at UFC 205, will continue at lightweight". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
^ Marc Raimondi (2016-11-23). "Yoel Romero suspended 60 days by NYSAC for leaving cage after beating Chris Weidman". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-24.
^ Staff (2016-11-26). "McGregor vacates featherweight title; Aldo new undisputed champion". ufc.com. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
^ Ben Fowlkes (2016-11-27). "Stripping Conor McGregor of his UFC featherweight title makes sense – but not like this". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
^ Marc Raimondi (2017-04-01). "UFC's Lyman Good to get six-month USADA suspension for tainted product". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2017-04-01.