It’s time! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White What has rightfully dubbed UFC 205, which takes place tonight (Sat., Nov. 12, 2016) from inside the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City, "the biggest, baddest fight card" in combat sports history. It’s an historic pay-per-view (PPV) event that promises to deliver on all fronts, as the headlining act will feature a Lightweight title fight between division kingpin, Eddie Alvarez, facing Featherweight champion, Conor McGregor, in a championship clash scheduled for five rounds. UFC 205's co-main event will feature Tyron Woodley, who will defend his Welterweight title for the first time when he collides with Stephen Thompson. In addition, women's Strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk will takes on Karolina Kowalkiewicz to round out the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion's first-ever championship trifecta. The rest of UFC 205's fight card is pretty much bananas. So, without further ado, let’s dig into all the UFC 205 details:
What UFC fight is on tonight? UFC 205
Who is fighting tonight at UFC 205? Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor is the pay-per-view (PPV) main event
When does UFC 205 start: Tonight (Sat., Nov. 12 2016), beginning at 7 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass
Where will UFC 205 take place? Madison Square Garden in New York, New York
How can I watch UFC 205? Main card start time at 10 p.m ET on PPV; FOX Sports 1 "Prelims" undercard start time at 8 p.m. ET; and UFC Fight Pass early "Prelims" start time at 7 p.m. ET.
Where can I get live UFC 205 updates and results tonight? Live UFC 205 play-by-play coverage is right here.
What’s Hot: You've heard it time and time again: Conor McGregor has a chance to make history by becoming the first man in UFC history to hold two titles in as many divisions at the same time. I mean, you hear it, but can you really fathom the monumental effect that could have on the promotion, himself and the sport, especially if he sticks to his guns and defends both belts? Aside from great publicity for the promotion, McGregor can go on and shatter the history books if he competes this feat. Looking ahead, if he does indeed fight at both weight classes and defends the titles on more than one occasion, knocking off the best each division has to offer, his legend will only continue to grow, his legacy cemented forever and his bank account ... just forget about it.
Granted, McGregor has yet to defend his 145-pound strap since winning it almost one year ago, but, perhaps this was all a part of his master plan: Hold on to it and do what he did during his time in Cage Warriors. If he does, he will make Randy Couture and B.J. Penn's feats of being multi-division champions pale in comparison and will join Dan Henderson as the two biggest stars to hold two titles at once in two of the biggest promotions in the history of the sport, as "Hendo" did it in Pride FC.
Tune in folks, history could be made.
What’s Not: Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and skip this. It does not get any better than UFC 205, from bottom to top -- it's an incredible line up throughout unlike anything we have ever seen.
Original Card vs. Actual Card: One can’t really complain that the deck was shuffled somewhat, as the card is still stacked. That said, an intriguing Welterweight showdown between Donald Cerrone and Robbie Lawler was announced and then subsequently canceled after "Ruthless" stated he needed more time before he stepped back into the cage. Also, Al Iaquinta was pegged to face Thiago Alves, but a contract dispute scratched the bout. Jim Miller, however, stepped in to face "The Pitbull" on the "Prelims" portion of the event. Gian Villante was set to face Marcos Rogerio de Lima, but an injury to Villante forced a cancelation.
Lyman Good was set to face Belal Muhammed, but after Good was popped by United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) for a possible doping violation, he was taken off the card and replaced by Vicente Luque. And just earlier this week, Rashad Evans was pulled from his Middleweight debut against Tim Kennedy after New York State Athletic Commission ( NYSAC) denied him a license to fight -- he was deemed physically incapable of competing even though he looks like Hercules. Evans and Kennedy were subsequently booked to tango one month later at UFC 206.
Then, one day before the event, Kelvin Gastelum was pulled from the card after he failed to hit the 170-pound weight limit, leaving "Cowboy" Cerrone out in the cold, again.
Injuries: Only the aforementioned Villante was a victim of the injury bug. While unfortunate for the New Yorker, fight fans can count their blessings that none of the main card bouts were canceled because of injury.
New Blood: Sorry, but no newbies here, as a fight card of this magnitude is reserved for UFC veterans only.
How UFC 205's "Prelims" Look: When you have former champion Frankie Edgar, as well as Lightweight title hopeful Khabib Nurmagomedov on the undercard, you know you have a special card on your hands. Edgar will have a tough fight on deck, taking on one of the hardest-hitting fighters in MMA today, Jeremy Stephens. As for Nurmagomedov, he will look to cement his place at the front of the 155-pound title race when he faces a resurgent Michael Johnson. And he’ll have to do it in spectacular fashion, as Tony Ferguson made a case for his own shot at the strap by taking out Rafael dos Anjos (though he may have blown his shot). Fight Pass is also looking good, as Thiago Alves and Jim Miller are sure to swing heavy leather in their Lightweight scrap.
Who Needs A Win Badly At UFC 205: Nurmagomedov is undefeated (22-0), including seven wins inside the Octagon. So why is he listed in this category? Well, "The Eagle" has long been dubbed the rightful contender to the title shot at 155 pounds. But, after several injuries forced him out of action, his only win in the last two years came against newcomer Darrell Horcher. He was then rumored to be next in line to face Alvarez before McGregor swooped in and stole his fight. Rightfully upset, Nurmagomedov demanded he get a fight on the New York card against anyone who is willing to scrap. In came Johnson, a dangerous fighter who only has one win in his last three outings. That means it's a high risk, low reward bout for Nurmagomedov. Sure, he may be in line for a shot at the strap should he defeat "The Menace," but taking out Johnson isn't exactly an easy feat. So accepting a fight against someone who isn't close to a championship fight was indeed a big roll of the dice.
UFC 205 Interest Level: 10/10 When am I going to have the chance to rate a fight card a 10? It will probably be a long time from now, so this one undoubtedly deserves the perfect score for obvious reasons. UFC 200 was billed to be the best card of all time, but once New York was approved, the promotion pulled out all the stops to deliver a gem. And deliver it did -- UFC 205's fight card will not be topped in the foreseeable future. And, it's not often we have three title fights on one card.
UFC 205 Full Fight card:
UFC 205 PPV Main Event:
155 lbs.: Lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez vs. featherweight champion Conor McGregor (for 155-pound title only)
UFC 205 PPV Co-Main Event:
170 lbs.: Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson
UFC 205 PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):
115 lbs.: Strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
185 lbs.: Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman
170 lbs.: Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
135 lbs.: Raquel Pennington vs. Miesha TateUFC 205 "Prelims" Undercard On FOX Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET)
145 lbs.: Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
155 lbs.: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Michael Johnson185 lbs.: Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy
170 lbs.: Belal Muhammad vs. Vicente Luque
185 lbs.: Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael NatalUFC 205 "Prelims" Undercard On UFC Fight Pass (7 p.m. ET)
155 lbs.: Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller
135 lbs.: Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian
For much more on the upcoming UFC 205: "McGregor vs. Alvarez" event click here.