Think you know how the next fight card will play out? Play UFC Pick ‘Em
It was a historic night when the UFC finally descended upon New York City for a massive UFC 205 fight card capped off by the lightweight title fight that saw Conor McGregor capture his second championship with a stunning second round knockout over Eddie Alvarez.
McGregor was actually favored according to the oddsmakers as well, but there’s no doubt the outspoken Irishman was stepping into a very dangerous matchup with one of the toughest and most durable fighters on the UFC roster.
What unfolded was unbelievable, as McGregor absolutely dominated and decimated Alvarez throughout the fight, using precise punches and stinging combinations to pick the Philadelphia native apart before finally finishing him in the second round. With the win, McGregor became the first simultaneous two division champion in UFC history, as he now holds the lightweight and featherweight titles.
More from UFC 205: Results | Milestone tracker | Who won bonuses at UFC 205? | McGregor adds 2nd title with Alvarez KO | Woodley-Thompson title tilt ruled majority draw | Jedrzejczyk survives brief scare to defend title | Romero drops Weidman, eyes champ Bisping | Former champ Tate ends career at UFC 205 | Edgar outduels Stephens, Khabib gets big win in prelims | Miller continues resurgence with FIGHT PASS victory | Carmouche makes history again in victory
Must watch: Dana White event recap
Backstage interviews: Conor McGregor | Eddie Alvarez Tyron Woodley | Karolina Kowalkiewicz | Frankie Edgar | Khabib Nurmagomedov | Tim Boetsch | Vicente Luque
Octagon interviews: Conor McGregor | Tyron Woodley & Stephen Thompson | Joanna Jedrzejczyk & Karolina Kowalkiewicz | Miesha Tate | Khabib Nurmagomedov | Jim Miller | Liz Carmouche
FIGHT PASS customers: Watch the first two fights of the night here
Order now: Get the historic UFC 205 replay here
McGregor was also a heavy favorite amongst fantasy players as well, with 63 percent picking him to get the win over Alvarez in the main event. A whopping 88 percent then said that McGregor would get the job done by knockout. Despite never having fought at lightweight in the UFC and facing off with an incumbent champion, McGregor proved fantasy players correct with his performance on Saturday night.
One of the heaviest favorites all night was strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who took on fellow Polish striker Karolina Kowalkiewicz. While both fighters were undefeated going into the night, 89 percent of fantasy players pegged Jedrzejczyk as the favorite to get the win at UFC 205.
Jedrzejczyk came through with a surgical performance as she outgunned Kowalkiewicz for five rounds to earn the unanimous decision win.
While Jedrzejczyk was one of the biggest favorites on Saturday night, Yoel Romero was one of the most sizable underdogs, with only 30 percent of players picking him to beat former middleweight champion Chris Weidman. Romero proved a lot of people wrong after knocking out Weidman with a spectacular flying knee in the third round. That was a sweet gift to 58 percent of the players who did pick Romero to win by knockout.
Romero was certainly an underdog, but he was nowhere near the status Raquel Pennington had going into her fight with Miesha Tate. Pennington was selected by just 10 percent of fantasy players to beat the former champion, but that’s exactly what she did with a dominant performance over three rounds. Those were certainly huge points for the select few who were savvy enough to pick Pennington to get the win.
On the UFC 205 prelims, Frankie Edgar and Khabib Nurmagomedov both enjoyed favorite status for their respective fights. Edgar was picked by 81 percent of players to beat Jeremy Stephens, which is exactly what he did via unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov survived an early scare to come back and submit Michael Johnson, with 81 percent of players picking him in that lightweight showdown.
Tim Boetsch was another popular pick on the prelims with 59 percent picking him to beat Rafael Natal and 66 percent saying he would win by knockout. Consider it mission accomplished for Boetsch, who got the job done with a vicious first round finish by strikes.
Despite taking the fight on two weeks’ notice, Vicente Luque enjoyed favorite status for his fight with Belal Muhammad, with 52 percent picking him to win. Luque not only got the victory, but he did so in spectacular fashion with a first round knockout, moving to 4-0 over his past four fights, with all of them coming by knockout or submission.
The favorites just kept on rolling on the early prelims as well, with New Jersey native Jim Miller picked by 60 percent of players to get a win over Thiago Alves, who was making his first cut down to the lightweight division. Miller pulled through after a hard fought battle to get the win over Alves.
The same could be said for Liz Carmouche, who returned from a long layoff to beat Katlyn Chookagian after three rounds. 65 percent of players had Carmouche winning, although she did have to survive a late surge from Chookagian, who nearly finished her in the final round.
All in all, eight favorites came away with wins according to the selections by fantasy players, with only Pennington and Romero earning victories after walking into UFC 205 as underdogs. Those valuable picks were also made even more important after the welterweight title fight between Tyron Woodley and Stephen „Wonderboy“ Thompson ended in a draw after five rounds.
