UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Conor McBragger
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
Introduction
UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor. November 12, 2016. Madison Square Garden, New York City — the first UFC event in New York since the state’s professional MMA ban was lifted in 2016. Conor McGregor stopped Eddie Alvarez by TKO at 3:04 of round two to win the UFC Lightweight Championship. He became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two divisional titles simultaneously. Gate: $17.7M. Attendance: 20,427.
Three title fights on one card — only the second time in UFC history. Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson fought to a majority draw in one of the most controversial WW title fight verdicts in years. Joanna Jędrzejczyk made her fourth WSW title defence against the same Karolina Kowalkiewicz she had faced as an amateur.
Yoel Romero stopped Chris Weidman with a flying knee 24 seconds into round three. Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted Michael Johnson and called out McGregor from the cage. Miesha Tate lost to Raquel Pennington and announced her retirement.
Contents
Quick Stats
Date: November 12, 2016
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York City (FIRST UFC EVENT IN NEW YORK CITY; first UFC event in New York state since UFC 7, 1995)
Attendance: 20,427 (highest domestic UFC event at time); Gate: $17.7M (UFC record then); ceremonial weigh-in attendance record: 15,480
Title fights: THREE (2nd time in UFC history): LW Championship (McGregor vs. Alvarez) + WW Championship (Woodley vs. Thompson) + WSW Championship (Jedrzejczyk vs. Kowalkiewicz)
Main Event: Eddie Alvarez (c) vs. Conor McGregor (FW champion) — LW Championship
Result: McGregor def. Alvarez — TKO R2, 3:04 — FIRST simultaneous two-division UFC champion; 3 knockdowns in R1 + finish in R2
McGregor quote: ‘I want to take this moment to apologize — to absolutely nobody.’
Co-Main: Woodley vs. Thompson — Majority Draw (47-47, 47-47, 48-47) — WW Championship; controversial; led to immediate rematch (UFC 209)
Bonuses: FOTN: Woodley/Thompson ($50k each); POTN: McGregor + Romero ($50k each)
The Build-Up
McGregor had been the undisputed FW champion since UFC 194 but had never defended it — spending 2016 in WW fights against Nate Diaz. The LW title shot was what he originally sought before Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of UFC 196 with a broken foot. UFC 205 was the rebooked version.
Alvarez had won the LW title from Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90 in July 2016 by TKO in round one. He was the 5th different UFC LW champion since 2010 and was originally expected to defend against Khabib Nurmagomedov. When Khabib missed the deadline, McGregor was announced. The UFC billed it as the ‘biggest fight card’ in the promotion’s history.
The occasion was amplified by the venue. Madison Square Garden had hosted Ali-Frazier I (1971), the Thrilla in Manila satellite broadcast, and six decades of boxing’s greatest nights. Having the UFC’s biggest star fight for a piece of history in that building, in New York’s first MMA event in over 20 years, was a convergence of factors that elevated UFC 205 beyond even the star power of its fights.
Main Event
Eddie Alvarez (c) vs. Conor McGregor — UFC LW Championship
Round one: McGregor landed his left hand within the first 30 seconds, staggering Alvarez. He dropped him with a combination and followed to the canvas. Alvarez rose; was dropped again. A third knockdown came before the bell. Alvarez showed remarkable durability surviving three knockdowns in round one.
Round two: Alvarez pressed forward. McGregor landed four consecutive punches — two rights, a left, and a right — that sent Alvarez crashing to the canvas. Referee Big John McCarthy stopped the contest at 3:04.
Conor McGregor was the UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion simultaneously — the first in the promotion’s history to hold two titles at once. Post-fight, standing in the octagon at Madison Square Garden: ‘I want to take this moment to apologize — to absolutely nobody.’
Co-Main: Woodley vs. Thompson
Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Stephen Thompson — UFC WW Championship
Woodley controlled round one with wrestling, taking Thompson down, battering him on the canvas, and opening a cut on the bridge of his nose. Thompson’s striking range dominated rounds two and three. Round four: Woodley rocked Thompson with a right hook and went for the finish — dropping to guillotine, unleashing ground-and-pound. Thompson survived and recovered.
Round five: Thompson recovered and evened the round on most cards. The scorecards: 47-47, 47-47, 48-47. Majority draw. Woodley retained via technicality. Both fighters were convinced they had won. The result set up an immediate rematch at UFC 209.
Third Title Fight: Jedrzejczyk vs. Kowalkiewicz
Joanna Jędrzejczyk (c) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz — UFC WSW Championship
Jędrzejczyk made her fourth WSW title defence. She doubled up Kowalkiewicz in strikes in every round, consistent with her pattern of volume-based striking dominance. Round four saw Kowalkiewicz rock Jędrzejczyk with a right hand; Jędrzejczyk recovered and finished the round strongly. UD: 49-46, 49-46, 49-46. Jędrzejczyk’s WSW reign continued.
Full Results
Preliminary Card
Liz Carmouche def. Katlyn Chookagian — Decision (Split) — R3 — WBW
Jim Miller def. Thiago Alves — Decision (Unanimous) — R3 (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) — LW
Vicente Luque def. Belal Muhammad — KO (Punches) — R1, 1:19 — WW
Tim Boetsch def. Rafael Natal — TKO (Punches) — R1, 3:22 — MW
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Michael Johnson — Sub (Kimura) — R3, 2:31 — LW; Khabib dominant; called out McGregor post-fight
Frankie Edgar def. Jeremy Stephens — Decision (Unanimous) — R3 (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) — FW; Edgar dominant
Main Card
Raquel Pennington def. Miesha Tate — Decision (Unanimous) — R3 (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) — WBW; Tate’s retirement fight; Tate announced retirement post-event
Yoel Romero def. Chris Weidman — TKO (Flying Knee + Punches) — R3, 0:24 — MW; POTN ($50k); spectacular flying knee; Weidman’s 2nd career loss
Joanna Jędrzejczyk def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz — Decision (Unanimous) — R5, 5:00 (49-46 x3) — WSW Championship; 4th title defence; Jedrzejczyk rocked in R4 but recovered
Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson — Majority Draw (47-47, 47-47, 48-47) — WW Championship; Woodley retains; FOTN ($50k each); controversial; rematch at UFC 209 — Co-Main
Conor McGregor def. Eddie Alvarez — TKO (Punches) — R2, 3:04 — LW Championship; POTN ($50k); FIRST simultaneous two-division UFC champion; 3 knockdowns R1; ‘I apologize to nobody’
Bonuses & Awards
Fight of the Night: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson — $50,000 to each fighter.
Performance of the Night: Conor McGregor + Yoel Romero — $50,000 each.
Records & Milestones
Conor McGregor — first fighter in UFC history to hold two divisional titles simultaneously. Stripped of the FW title on November 26, 2016 for inactivity; Jose Aldo became undisputed FW champion.
UFC 205 gate of $17.7M broke the UFC’s own record (previously UFC 129 in 2011). The attendnance of 20,427 was the highest for a domestic UFC event at the time.
Miesha Tate — announced retirement post-UFC 205 at 30 years old, having been a champion and contender across multiple promotions since 2007.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s submission of Johnson moved him toward the LW title shot that eventually materialised at UFC 223 in April 2018 (vs. Al Iaquinta as replacement), then the actual fight with McGregor at UFC 229 in October 2018.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 205 is the most significant single-night card in the promotion’s history to that point. The first UFC event in New York. The most stacked fight card in the sport’s history at the time. Three title fights in Madison Square Garden. And at the top: McGregor becoming the first simultaneous two-division champion with a 13-second knockout of the first round and a clean finish in the second.
The Woodley-Thompson draw created the most compelling WW title scenario since Lawler-MacDonald: a fight where both fighters and most of the viewing audience couldn’t agree on the outcome. The rematch at UFC 209 in March 2017 ended in another majority decision for Woodley.
FAQ
Why was UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden historically significant?
New York State had banned professional MMA since the mid-1990s, making UFC events impossible there. After years of lobbying, the state lifted the ban in early 2016. UFC 205 was the first professional MMA event in New York City since the ban was revoked, and only the second in New York state ever (after UFC 7 in Buffalo in 1995).
How many title fights were at UFC 205?
Three — only the second time in UFC history: LW Championship (McGregor vs. Alvarez), WW Championship (Woodley vs. Thompson), and WSW Championship (Jedrzejczyk vs. Kowalkiewicz).
What happened in the Woodley vs. Thompson fight?
Woodley controlled round one with wrestling and dropped Thompson. Thompson won rounds two and three at striking range. Woodley nearly finished Thompson in round four with ground-and-pound before dropping for a guillotine. Thompson survived and recovered in round five. The scorecards: 47-47, 47-47, 48-47 — a majority draw. Woodley retained the title by this margin. Both fighters wanted a rematch, which took place at UFC 209 in March 2017.
Did McGregor keep both titles after UFC 205?
No. On November 26, 2016 — 14 days after UFC 205 — the UFC stripped McGregor of the UFC Featherweight Championship due to inactivity. Jose Aldo was elevated to undisputed FW champion. McGregor retained the LW title but never defended it; he was eventually stripped of that too, in April 2018.
What did Khabib Nurmagomedov do at UFC 205?
Nurmagomedov submitted Michael Johnson with a kimura at 2:31 of round three in a dominant performance. After the fight, he called out McGregor in his post-fight interview from the cage, setting up the rivalry that became UFC 229 in October 2018 — the highest-selling UFC PPV of all time at 2.4 million buys.
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