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A historic fight card deserves a historic main event. And that is exactly what UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night will get. The first major mixed martial arts event in New York since the Empire State legalized the sport in April will feature three title fights and seven current or former world champions on a stacked 12-fight event.
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None is bigger than the main event, in which the UFC's biggest star will attempt to make history.
Twenty-three years to the day after UFC 1 forever altered the combat sports world, featherweight champion Conor McGregor (20-3) of Dublin, Ireland, will attempt to become the first fighter in the company's history to simultaneously hold two weight-classes titles. He will go up in weight and meet Eddie Alvarez (28-4) for the Philadelphian's lightweight title.
McGregor, who defeated Jose Aldo for the featherweight title last December, has adventured outside his weight class since. He was scheduled to fight then-lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos for the belt at UFC 196 in March, but dos Anjos pulled out two weeks before the fight due to a broken foot.
Nate Diaz stepped in for McGregor and they fought at welterweight, 25 pounds above McGregor's usual weight class. Diaz won via second-round submission. McGregor won a rematch via decision in August at UFC 202, again at welterweight, in the biggest-money fight in UFC history, which brought him back to his original goal of winning the lightweight title.
"I'm set for life -- I could walk away from this game two fights ago, I could have," the ever-confident McGregor said. "I'm motivated by the gold, the extra gold. The history of it. It's historic. Of course the money always motivates. The love for competition. There's many factors that go into it. I said I would enter and I would dominate two divisions, win the two-weight world title. If I say it, I will do it."
Alvarez (28-4), meanwhile, earned his slot on the biggest stage the hard way. The former longtime champ of the smaller Bellator promotion is 3-1 since coming over to the UFC in 2014. He has won three consecutive fights over opponents who have held a collective four world titles, most recently dethroning dos Anjos via first-round knockout to take the title on July 7.
Both McGregor and Alvarez are known for forward-moving, aggressive styles, which promises for an exciting fight. But Alvarez has shown greatly improved wrestling in his recent fights, which is something he may have to employ to gain the edge on the heavy-hitting McGregor.
Alvarez, for his part, seems unfazed by his spot against the sport's biggest star.
"I don't get caught up in names," the blunt Alvarez said. "I just fight."
Either of the evening's other two title fights would be main events on any other night.
Tyron Woodley vs Stephen Thompson
In a welterweight title matchup, Tyron Woodley (16-3) of Ferguson, Mo., makes his first defense of the belt against dynamic kickboxer Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (13-1) of Simpsonville, S.C. The well-rounded Woodley, a former collegiate wrestler at Missouri, has won five of his past six fights, including a knockout victory over Robbie Lawler to take the title in August. Woodley has won seven straight, with four knockouts in that span.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Meanwhile, in what might be the evening's best bout on paper, a strawweight title fight will feature a pair of unbeaten Polish sluggers. Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (12-0) of Olsztyn defends her 115-pound belt against Lodz's Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0). Jedrzejczyk has used a relentless striking assault and superior footwork to go 6-0 in the UFC, including three successful defenses since winning the belt in March 2015. However, she faces a mirror image in Kowalkiewicz, who has steamrolled her way to three straight victories in her year in the UFC.
