Dana White is calling UFC 205 “the biggest, baddest fight card in UFC history,” and indeed, they’ve assembled something special for New York’s first-ever UFC event.
The one-and-only, Gucci Mink-wearing Conor McGregor looks to make history by becoming the first UFC fighter to concurrently hold titles in two separate divisions, and the card also features two other title fights. Let’s break it all down in your UFC 205 Preview.
Conor McGregor: I’m a F—ing Pimp
Conor McGregor really likes spending his money. Here’s what he was wearing when he finally made his entrance into the UFC 205 press conference Thursday afternoon:
I'm a fucking pimp, rocking all white Gucci mink, and without me, this whole fucking ship sink pic.twitter.com/XV94e40RSL
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 11, 2016
That was one of his big lines. He also talked about how he loves New York and he’s spending his time in the city by shopping a lot, as well as driving around in not one but two Rolls Royces. Why the need for two cars?
“One for each belt,” McGregor said.
Conor McGregor, Point Guard
Conor referred to his balls quite a bit in the presser, then afterward on Twitter. He also made some time for hoops.
This confidence comes from my big ballsack pic.twitter.com/V51HTQa16U
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) November 10, 2016
Something something New York Knicks joke.
Eddie Alvarez Makes War with Ireland
Eddie Alvarez had some harsh words for not only his opponent, but also the entire country of Ireland. Alvarez was angry that McGregor was late for the press conference and he turned it up to get mad at the entire country, including some mocking of their brogues.
“Where’s my opponent?” Alvarez asked, pointing at McGregor’s empty chair. “I’m disappointed in the country of Ireland right now that this is their representative. Where is he?”
He then proceed to rip an Irish reporter after he finished his question.
“I don’t understand s**t they say. You’re from Ireland. I don’t understand a (expletive) thing they say. They don’t even know their numbers. They say ‘Tir-teen.’ I don’t even know what that s**t means.”
The reporter shook that off and asked another question, but Alvarez wasn’t hearing it.
“I don’t even have an opponent. I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Yo, when he comes gimme a call.”
And then he dropped the mike and exited stage right. Although it could have been stage left. I always get those two mixed up. You can check out all the UFC 205 Press Conference Highlights here:
Three Titles On the Line
Alvarez makes his first title defense against McGregor, who seeks to become the first UFC fighter to hold two titles at the same time. The trash talk has been on point, the grudge set, and the rivalry has turned bitter before the weigh-ins. Either man winning shouldn’t be a surprise, but I agree with Conor when he says Alvarez is too easily hit. He’s also very willing to get in firefights, another advantage for McGregor. The prediction is McGregor by KO in round two.
UFC Welterweight Champion: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson
Woodley makes his first title defense against the very dangerous Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Woodley is an awesome display of speed and power, and he knocked put a legend in Robbie Lawler to take the title. Thompson features an accurate, diverse striking game. Woodley has the better pedigree when it comes to ground fighting, but Thompson excels at takedown defense. He also averages almost double the significant strikes landed per minute than Woodley. I think he gets Woodley with one of his patented spinning kicks, making it two new UFC title holders.
UFC Strawweight Champion: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Joanna Jedrzejczyk is the baddest woman on the planet right now, with only Cris Cyborg as the possible exception. She lands an insane amount of strikes per minute, and over five rounds her output is amazing. She landed almost 400 strikes over her last two fights, both hard-fought title defenses against Claudia Gadelha and Valerie Letourneau. I see this being a typical Joanna fight: an epic five-round war in which she remains the victor and champion. Kowalkiewicz is an awesome fighter, but asking her to be better than Joanna over five rounds — a length she’s never gone to before — is asking too much.
Your UFC 205 Nickname Battle of the Night
Your UFC 205 Nickname Battle of the Night is the first fight of the night between Liz “Girlrilla” Carmouche and Katlyn “Blonde Fighter” Chookagian. “Girlrilla” is not only a great play on words, but if you remember Carmouche showed amazing strength and agility in her fight with Ronda Rousey. How did Chookagian get her nickname? “It’s just my IG name and it stuck with me. More people call me that than Katlyn,” she told UFC.com. Chookagian is undefeated at 8-0, but only one of those wins has been in the UFC. The sledding will get much harder against Carmouche, who fought for the title against Rousey and has also faced Miesha Tate, Marloes Coenen, and Sarah Kaufman. They should get UFC 205 started with some fireworks.
Five For Fighting
Usually Five for Fighting features five fighters worth watching, but picking five on this card is just too difficult, so for UFC 205 we are going with five fights.
- Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens. Edgar, the former UFC lightweight champion, is just a joy to watch. He’s undoubtedly a future UFC Hall of Famer and he’s never been in a boring fight in his life. His gas tank is unending, his wrestling spectacular, and his chin made of granite. Stephens is a well-tested veteran with insane knockout power, but he’ll need to pitch a perfect game to beat Edgar.
- Chris Weidman vs. Yoel Romero. This fight determines the next opponent for Michael Bisping and the UFC middleweight championship. Weidman is the former middleweight champion, and he hasn’t fought since losing his title to Luke Rockhold in which he received a vicious beating. It’s always interesting to see how fighters respond to losing their title and coming back from their first loss. Weidman will do both against Romero, the former Olympic wrestler who has yet to lose in seven UFC fights, and holds wins over big names like Jacare, Lyoto Machida, and Derek Brunson. This fight is a main event on any other card.
- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Johnson. Nurmagomedov came back after a two-year layoff to beat Darrell Horcher to remain undefeated and move to 23-0. He will take down Michael Johnson at some point, and Johnson has exceptional takedown defense. He averages almost seven takedowns per 15 minutes, a number inflated by the 21 he scored against Abel Trujillo at UFC 160. Johnson won four straight from 2013-15, but then suffered back-to-back losses to Nate Diaz and Beneil Dariush. He proved his resiliency by knocking out Dustin Poirier in short order in September. Either fighter will make a fine contender for the title after this fight, but I think Nurmagomedov is simply to much for Johnson to handle.
- Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington. Tate is the former UFC bantamweight champion, and there isn’t a fighter on the entire UFC roster that has more will power and grit. She can — and has — survived almost everything thrown at her in the cage, and she’s never out of a fight no matter how grim the situation looks. Pennington has slowly and steadily climbed the bantamweight rankings by winning her last three fights. Her last loss was a very narrow split decision against former UFC bantamweight champ Holly Holm. This will be an all-out war with two of the toughest fighters in MMA.
- Jim Miller vs. Thiago Alves. Two fighters both in desperate need of a win to stay relevant in the UFC’s lightweight division. Alves features speed, striking, and power while Miller is one of the top ground fighters in MMA. This will be Miller’s 25th UFC fight, and the 21st for Alves, who has been in the Octagon against Matt Hughes, GSP, Carlos Condit and more. These two have fought the very best in the UFC for years and years, and this is a killer fight for free on FS1.
How to Watch UFC 205
The early prelims begin at 7p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass. The prelims move to FS1 at 8 ET, and the main card can be seen on pay-per-view beginning at 10 ET.
