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Conor McGregor makes history with victory in UFC 205

By Dave Doyle, The Sports Xchange
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor reacts after a question at the UFC 205 press event at Madison Square Garden on September 27, 2016 in New York City. UFC 205 will take place at MSG on November 12, 2016. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
1 of 6 | UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor reacts after a question at the UFC 205 press event at Madison Square Garden on September 27, 2016 in New York City. UFC 205 will take place at MSG on November 12, 2016. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

One of the most historic evenings in the history of mixed martial arts was punctuated by an equally historic performance.

Conor McGregor of Dublin, Ireland, defeated Eddie Alvarez of Philadelphia via second-round knockout in the main event of UFC 205 on Saturday night. With the victory, the reigning featherweight champion added the lightweight title, making him the first simultaneous two weight-class champion in the UFC's 23-year history.

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It also capped the UFC's first event at Manhattan's Madison Square Garden, six months after a 20-year-ban on MMA was lifted in New York State.

McGregor (21-3) used accurate power to overwhelm Alvarez (28-5). A wicked four-punch combo ended the fight at 3:04 of the second round.

"I spend a lot of time slinging everyone in the company, I've ridiculed everyone on the roster, I'd like to take time to apologize to absolutely nobody," said the bombastic McGregor, who has won 17 of his past 18 bouts.

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In the co-feature bout, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley of Ferguson, Mo., and challenger Stephen Thompson of Simpsonville, S.C., engaged in a spirited duel. Woodley (16-5-1) retained the title via majority draw, with a pair of 47-47 scores and a 48-47 for the champion.

A rematch seems inevitable given the inconclusive outcome.

"I thought I did enough to win, but it is what it is," said Thompson (13-1-1). "We're going to do it again for sure."

In a women's strawweight title fight featuring two undefeated fighters from Poland, champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Olsztyn successfully defended her belt. She retained her 115-pound title with a unanimous decision over Karolina Kowalkiewicz of Lodz. The judges' scores were 49-46 across the board.

Jedrzejczyk (13-0), a superb kickboxer, dominated most of the bout with a smooth blend of kicks, punches, elbows, and deft footwork. Kowalkiewicz (10-1) had her big moment in the fourth as a huge right hand on the kisser wobbled the champion. But Jedrzejczyk regained her composure and clamped down for the victory.

"I wasn't hurt that badly, but you never expect the knockdown, you know?" said Jedrzejcyzk, who has successfully defended her title four times. "Polish girls are the toughest in the world, and I'm glad she has the chance in the UFC."

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In a middleweight bout, Yoel Romero (13-1) of South Florida stated his case for a middleweight title shot with a frightening finish of Long Island's Chris Weidman (13-2). After the fighters split the first two rounds Weidman shot in for a takedown and walked right into an absolutely vicious flying knee to the head, ending the bout at the 24-second mark of the third.

That's eight consecutive victories for Romero, a 2000 Olympic wrestling silver medalist for Cuba.

Popular star Miesha Tate (18-7) of Tacoma, Wash., stunned the Garden crowd by announcing her retirement from the sport after losing to Colorado Springs' Raquel Pennington (9-5).

Tate, who held the UFC women's bantamweight championship as recently as July, lost in one-sided fashion to Pennington, who outwrestled and outboxed Tate for her fourth straight win.

The judges' scores were a pair of 30-27s and a 29-28.

"It's just my time," said Tate, who also held the Strikeforce title. "It's not my time any more. It's been a great ride but I'm just not at my best anymore and it's time to move on with my life."

In the evening's feature preliminary bout, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (21-5-1) rallied for an exciting victory over Jeremy Stephens (25-13) of San Diego in a featherweight bout.

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Stephens dropped Edgar midway through the second round with a flush kick to the jaw, then nearly finished him. But Edgar managed to regain his bearings over the remainder of the round, then took the bout to Stephens over the final stanza.

That was enough to give Edgar a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) for his sixth victory in his past seven fights.

"That kick rung my bell for a second, but I felt I rallied back," Edgar said. "Of course, one judge gave Jeremy the round but what can you do? He's a tough guy and I knew that could happen."

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