All hail Conor McGregor.
McGregor (21-3-0) made history as the UFC’s first two-division dual champ as he finished Eddie Alvarez (28-5-0) in convincing fashion at New York’s UFC 205.
McGregor made it look easy as he knocked down Alvarez three times in the first round alone. Alvarez simply had no answers for the precision strikes of McGregor.
https://twitter.com/KOKINGS4/status/797688980376580097
Welcome back to The Crossfire.
Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson earned Fight-of-the-Night honours, while Yoel Romero and McGregor earned Performances-of-the-Night. Each fighter earned a $50,000 USD bonus except for McGregor, who earned a $100,000 USD bonus.
Kenai Andrews checks in with his thoughts.
UFC FIGHT PASS PRELIMS
#9 LIZ CARMOUCHE VS #14 KATLYN CHOOKAGIAN
WINNER: LIZ CARMOUCHE VIA SPLIT-DECISION (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: KATLYN CHOOKAGIAN VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Carmouche’s footwork had her cursing for the first two rounds, but then got caught late with a nice headkick that almost stole the bout for Katlyn. In the end, good win for Liz and good effort from Katlyn.
JIM MILLER VS THIAGO ALVES
WINNER: JIM MILLER VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: JIM MILLER VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Miller used timely takedowns and great ground control to neutralize the power of Alves. Smart gameplan and good execution by Jimmy.
TSN 5 PRELIMS
VICENTE LUQUE VS BELAL MUHAMMAD
WINNER: VINCENTE LUQUE VIA TKO R1 1:19
ANDREWS PREDICTION: BELAL MUHAMMAD VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Luque went out there and did a great job, countering a Muhammad strike with a nice counter left hook. Excellent job on short notice.
#14 RAFAEL NATAL VS TIM BOETSCH
WINNER: TIM BOETSCH VIA TKO R1 3:22
ANDREWS PREDICTION: TIM BOETSCH VIA TKO
Andrews: Boetsch hurt Natal from the first punch, which made Natal backpedal. But it was only a matter of time before the pressure of Boetsch caught him with another right hand for the finish. Great win for The Barbarian. He is now off the bubble.
#2 KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV VS #6 MICHAEL JOHNSON
WINNER: KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV VIA SUBMISSION R3 2:31
ANDREWS PREDICTION: KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Johnson almost pulled off a massive upset, hurting The Eagle in the first but the Eagle quickly settled into another dominating ground performance. Great efforts by both fighters, but Khabib just too much.
#2 FRANKIE EDGAR VS #7 JEREMY STEPHENS
WINNER: FRANKIE EDGAR VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: FRANKIE EDGAR VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Edgar used his footwork to make tire out Stephens, survived an amazing switch-kick and then used takedowns to control the fight. A typical Frankie win. Hard luck to Stephens, but the chin of Edgar win again.
MAIN CARD
#1 MIESHA TATE VS #8 RAQUEL PENNINGTON
WINNER: RAQUEL PENNINGTON VIA UANANIMOUS DECISION (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: MIESHA TATE VIA SPLIT-DECISION
Andrews: Pennington surprisingly outworked, outgrappled, and outclinched Tate in the second and third rounds. This and the result was the writing for Miesha to announce her retirement after the bout. One of the greatest of all-time.
#2 CHRIS WEIDMAN VS #4 YOEL ROMERO
WINNER: YOEL ROMERO VIA TKO R3 0:24
ANDREWS PREDICTION: CHRIS WEIDMAN VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Weidman was in control and then bang, out of nowhere, Romero finishes the fight with a flying knee. This guy is unbelievably clutch.
JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK VS #2 KAROLINA KOWALKIEWICZ
WINNER: JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: JOANNA JEDRZEJCZYK VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: The strikes of Joanna were too much for Karolina to find openings for. But Karolina she showed her toughness, walking through strikes and even getting JJ in trouble in the fourth round. Great performances by both fighters.
TYRON WOODLEY VS #2 STEPHEN THOMPSON
WINNER: MAJORITY DRAW (47-47, 48-48, 48-47)
ANDREWS PREDICTION: TYRON WOODLEY VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: Awesome fight. Woodley badly hurt Thompson in rounds 1 and 4 but Wonderboy controlled the other rounds. Let them do it again.
EDDIE ALVAREZ VS CONOR MCGREGOR
WINNER: CONOR MCGREGOR VIA TKO R2 3:04
ANDREWS PREDICTION: EDDIE ALVAREZ VIA UNANIMOUS DECISION
Andrews: That was ridiculous. McGregor knocked Alvarez down 3 times in the first round and 2-3 times in the second round. He completely outclassed Alvarez, made it look too easy and even Anderson Silva clowned him. Truly a great performance for The Notorious One.
