UFC 205
| Company type | Sporting event |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mixed martial arts |
| Founded | November 12, 2016 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York , United States |
Area served | United States |
| Products | Mixed martial arts event |
UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor was a mixed martial arts event organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 12, 2016, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.
Referred to by UFC president Dana White as the organization's "largest fight card" ever, the event attracted 20,427 spectators and set a new gate revenue record of $17.7 million. With his victory over Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor became the first UFC athlete to simultaneously hold championship belts in two divisions.
Background
This marked the inaugural UFC event hosted in New York City and the first to take place in New York following the lifting of the professional MMA ban earlier in 2016. Prior to this, only UFC 7 had been held in the state, taking place in Buffalo back in 1995.
The UFC had actively contested the ban, even scheduling an event (UFC 197) at Madison Square Garden while it was still in effect. Nonetheless, a federal judge declined to grant a preliminary injunction permitting the event at that venue, resulting in its relocation to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Main card: three championship fights including a champion-versus-champion matchup
The headline bout featured a contest for the UFC Lightweight Championship between titleholder Eddie Alvarez and the featherweight champion, Conor McGregor. This was only the second occasion in UFC history where champions from different weight classes competed for the same belt. The first instance occurred at UFC 94 in 2009 with Georges St-Pierre facing B.J. Penn.
Originally, Alvarez was scheduled to defend his title against undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, but Nurmagomedov missed the contract deadline, postponing their encounter until UFC 206. McGregor had been anticipated to challenge then lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 196, but Dos Anjos withdrew due to injury.
The co-headliner showcased a defense of the UFC Welterweight Championship by reigning champion Tyron Woodley against five-time world champion in kickboxing, Stephen Thompson.
A third title fight featured the UFC Women's Strawweight Championship, with champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk defending her belt against challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The two fighters had previously met as amateurs in 2012.
Additionally, a middleweight title eliminator bout took place between former champion Chris Weidman and Olympic silver medalist as well as former freestyle wrestling world champion, Yoel Romero.
A welterweight match originally confirmed between former champion Robbie Lawler and previous lightweight contender Donald Cerrone was altered after Lawler withdrew to recover following his loss of the title at UFC 201. Middleweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen, Kelvin Gastelum, stepped in to face Cerrone.
The main card commenced with a women's bantamweight contest featuring former Strikeforce and UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Miesha Tate against Raquel Pennington. Notably, Tate had served as Pennington's coach during The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate.
Preliminary card: participation of former champions and title contenders
The preliminary lineup was highlighted by a featherweight clash featuring former lightweight titleholder Frankie Edgar against Jeremy Stephens. Other notable preliminary bouts broadcast on Fox Sports 1 included:
- Lightweight contender Khabib Nurmagomedov took on Michael Johnson (fighter)|Michael Johnson in what was considered a potential title eliminator, stepping in after the originally planned matchup with Alvarez was changed.
- Middleweight competitors Tim Boetsch and Rafael Natal faced off.
- A welterweight fight initially set between ex-Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good and Belal Muhammad was altered when Good was withdrawn due to a USADA anti-doping violation, with Vicente Luque stepping in as his replacement.
A lightweight bout between Al Iaquinta and former welterweight title contender Thiago Alves (fighter)|Thiago Alves, initially linked to UFC 202, was shifted to this event. Iaquinta pulled out due to contractual disagreements, leading to Jim Miller (fighter)|Jim Miller taking his place. This fight served as the headliner for the UFC Fight Pass segment.
The card also featured a women's bantamweight matchup between ex-title challenger Liz Carmouche and Katlyn Chookagian.
A light heavyweight contest scheduled between Gian Villante and Marcos Rogério de Lima was canceled after Villante withdrew because of injury.
A middleweight encounter between Tim Kennedy (fighter)|Tim Kennedy and former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and newcomer to the division Rashad Evans was planned for FS1. Evans was removed from the card due to a medical issue, which also resulted in Kennedy’s removal. This fight was later rescheduled for UFC 206.
Weigh-ins
During the weigh-ins, Alves came in six pounds over the division's limit at 162.6 lb. According to New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) regulations, lightweight fighters must be within seven pounds of each other’s weight. Alves’ opponent, Jim Miller, who initially made weight, rehydrated up to 157.6 lb, allowing the bout to continue as a catchweight contest. Alves was penalized 20% of his fight purse, which was awarded to Miller. NYSAC and UFC officials also imposed a restriction that Alves could not exceed 173 lb on fight day; failure to comply would result in cancellation.
Kelvin Gastelum did not attend the official weigh-ins and announced via Twitter that he would not compete against Donald Cerrone due to weight-cutting complications. Cerrone weighed in at 170.4 lb but was unable to rehydrate enough to meet the seven-pound differential rule with Gastelum. Consequently, Gastelum was removed from the event. UFC president Dana White stated that Gastelum would no longer compete at welterweight within the organization and estimated that Gastelum missed weight by approximately ten pounds. Despite last-minute proposals from fighters such as Alan Jouban to step in on short notice, the NYSAC declined to approve any replacements.
As a result, the fight was canceled, and Cerrone was promptly rescheduled to face Matt Brown at UFC 206 the following month.
Bonus awards
$50,000 bonuses were granted to the following fighters:
- Fight of the Night: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson
- Performance of the Night: Conor McGregor and Yoel Romero
Records established
The ceremonial weigh-ins drew a record crowd of 15,480 attendees. This event generated $17.7 million in ticket sales, surpassing the UFC 129 benchmark for mixed martial arts events and setting a new revenue record at Madison Square Garden. The total attendance of 20,427 represented the largest audience for a UFC event held domestically at that time. These milestones were eventually exceeded by UFC 306 in September 2024, which achieved $21.8 million in gate revenue, and UFC 281 in November 2022, which attracted 20,845 spectators.
The pre-fight feature Fighting for History garnered an audience of 2.4 million viewers on Fox, becoming the most-watched UFC preview program to date.
Reebok’s outfitting compensation for athletes reached an unprecedented total payout of $392,500 for this occasion.
Following his win, McGregor became the first competitor in UFC history to simultaneously hold two championship belts.
Consequences
On November 21, the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) issued an administrative suspension of six months to Gastelum for failing to attend weigh-ins. Unlike standard commission suspensions, this administrative action did not automatically require recognition by other regulatory bodies. Nevertheless, two days later, the suspension was registered with the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) database, potentially extending its effect beyond New York State. Gastelum’s representatives declared their intention to appeal the decision. He was subsequently reinstated on November 30, allowing him to compete against Kennedy at UFC 206 after Evans was once again removed from that matchup.
The NYSAC also imposed a three-month suspension on Alves for missing weight and a two-month suspension on Romero for prematurely exiting the cage following his victory over Weidman. Romero’s conduct involved leaping over the Octagon fence and pacing around its exterior before returning inside for official result confirmation.
On November 26, McGregor was stripped of the UFC Featherweight Championship due to inactivity within the division, resulting in José Aldo being recognized as the undisputed champion.
On April 1, 2017, USADA announced a six-month suspension retroactive to Good’s positive test date. The sanction was attributed to contaminated supplements rather than intentional doping, as confirmed by Good’s attorney David Fish.