ONE of the most monumental fight cards in UFC history will have a monumental main event.
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will attempt to add lightweight gold to his collection when he challenges Eddie Alvarez in the UFC 205 headliner, which marks the organisation’s return to New York after more than 21 years.
UFC 205 takes place on November 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Alvarez (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) vs. McGregor (20-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) marks the third championship fight slated for the UFC 205 lineup. Welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley meets Stephen Thompson while strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk faces Polish country mate Karolina Kowalkiewicz.
Immediately after capturing the 155-pound strap with a first-round TKO of Rafael dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night 90 in December, Alvarez, No. 1 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, set his sights on “The Notorious,” calling him a “gimme fight” after starting his UFC tenure with consecutive matchups against dos Anjos, Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez and Donald Cerrone.
“This guy (dos Anjos) to the right of me, is the best in the division,” Alvarez said at UFC Fight Night 90’s post-fight news conference. “To be able to come out with a win over him and before him was (Anthony) Pettis, before him was Gilbert (Melendez). These are the best guys in the division. I’m not taking on top 15 guys. I would ask Dana White please to give me an easier fight like Conor McGregor. I deserve that. I’ve been fighting the best guys. I would like a gimme fight. So, Conor? I more than welcome that.”
It was unknown if Alvarez would get his wish, particularly because the promotion recently stated he would likely put his belt on the line against No. 2-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov at December’s UFC 206 event in Toronto. That obviously didn’t come to fruition, however, and Nurmagomedov expressed his frustration on social media (via Twitter).
No. 1-ranked featherweight McGregor, meanwhile, has been targeting the lightweight belt since the moment he picked up the 145-pound strap with a 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December. The brash Irishman was supposed to go for his second UFC belt at UFC 196 in March, but when dos Anjos suffered an injury it opened the door for Nate Diaz to step in and upset McGregor to begin their now infamous rivalry.
After the loss at UFC 196, McGregor demanded a rematch with Diaz. Following much drama and uncertainty, the pair finally had a second showdown at UFC 202 in August. It was a grueling five-round battle, but McGregor came out on the winning end of a majority decision to avenge his only octagon defeat.
Despite going through the traumatizing rematch with Diaz, McGregor will return to competition less than three months later with the opportunity make history. UFC President Dana White said he would not be stripped of the 145-pound title, meaning he can join B.J. Penn and Randy Couture as the only fighters in UFC history to win belts in multiple weight classes in a single career. More importantly, though, McGregor will gets the chance to be the first to hold two titles simultaneously.
Alvarez and McGregor will both appear, along with other notables from the card, at a special UFC 205 press conference at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.
The UFC 205 card now includes:
Champ Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title
Champ Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson – for welterweight title
Champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz – for strawweight title
Yoel Romero vs. Chris Weidman
Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy
Raquel Pennington vs. Miesha Tate
Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian
Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller
Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens
Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal
Lyman Good vs. Belal Muhammad
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