If you were sitting in Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2016, you weren't just watching a series of fights. You were witnessing the end of a twenty-year exile. For two decades, professional mixed martial arts was essentially illegal in the state of New York, a weird political relic that kept the world’s most famous arena off-limits to the world’s fastest-growing sport. When the UFC 205 fight card finally landed, it didn't just break the seal; it shattered the door off the hinges.
The energy in that building was different. It wasn't just another pay-per-view. It felt like a coronation.
Conor McGregor was at the absolute peak of his powers, looking to do something nobody had ever done: hold two belts at the same time. But the card was so much deeper than just the Irishman. We had three title fights. We had legends. We had a future GOAT languishing on the prelims because the main card was simply too crowded. Honestly, looking back at it now, it might be the most top-to-bottom stacked event the promotion has ever put together.
The Historic Main Card: Three Belts, One Night
Most modern "super-cards" struggle to find two meaningful title fights. The UFC 205 fight card laughed at that and gave us three.
The main event was the one everyone remember. Eddie Alvarez, a guy who had clawed his way through every promotion on the planet to become the UFC Lightweight Champion, was defending against the Featherweight king, Conor McGregor. It wasn't even close. McGregor looked like he was moving in slow motion while everyone else was at full speed. He dropped Alvarez multiple times in the first round before finishing him with a four-punch combination in the second that belongs in a museum.
That moment—McGregor standing on the cage with two belts—became the definitive image of the "Money Fight" era.
Then there was the co-main event. Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson. This one was a weird, beautiful mess. Woodley almost finished it with a guillotine choke that looked like it would pop Wonderboy's head off, but the karate specialist survived. It ended in a majority draw, which initially caused a ton of confusion when Bruce Buffer accidentally announced it as a split decision victory for Woodley. They eventually got it right, Woodley kept his belt, and we got a rematch out of the deal.
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The Polish Civil War and a Flying Knee from Hell
Before the big boys took over, the women's strawweight title was on the line. Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz turned MSG into a miniature version of Warsaw. It was a striking clinic. Joanna "Champion" did what she did best—high-volume violence—and although Karolina rocked her late, Joanna walked away with a unanimous decision.
And who could forget Yoel Romero?
He fought Chris Weidman, the "All-American" who had fought so hard to get MMA legalized in his home state. It was a competitive fight until it suddenly wasn't. Romero launched a flying knee in the third round that caught Weidman perfectly. The visual of Romero marching around the Octagon like a soldier afterward while Weidman sat there, bloodied and dazed, is still one of the most haunting things I've seen in the sport.
Why the Prelims Were Secretly the Best Part
Usually, you can skip the prelims and not miss much. Not with the UFC 205 fight card.
If you tuned in late, you missed Khabib Nurmagomedov. Think about that. One of the greatest of all time was tucked away on the televised prelims because there was no room at the top. He absolutely mauled Michael Johnson. Between rounds, Khabib was literally talking to Dana White through the cage, telling him he was going to "smash your boy" (referring to McGregor). He finished Johnson with a kimura in the third, and the world finally realized the lightweight division was in serious trouble.
Frankie Edgar also fought on the prelims that night. A former champion and a New York/New Jersey legend, Edgar took a unanimous decision over Jeremy Stephens. It was a classic Frankie performance—toughness, wrestling, and heart.
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The "Early Prelims" featured:
- Vicente Luque knocking out Belal Muhammad in just over a minute.
- Jim Miller winning a gritty decision over Thiago Alves.
- Liz Carmouche (the woman who was in the first-ever female UFC fight) taking a split decision over Katlyn Chookagian.
Basically, every fight had a story. Every winner felt like a future (or past) champion.
The Numbers That Made History
The UFC 205 fight card didn't just feel big; the data proved it was massive. It set a gate record for Madison Square Garden at the time, pulling in $17.7 million. For context, that beat the previous record held by a 1999 boxing match between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield.
They had 20,427 fans in the building.
It wasn't just about the money, though. It was about the "Economic Impact." A study later showed that the event generated nearly $37.4 million for the New York economy. That's a lot of hotel rooms and expensive Manhattan dinners paid for by fight fans. It proved to the state government that legalizing MMA wasn't just about sport; it was a massive business win.
What Most People Forget About the Night
Everyone talks about the "Champ-Champ" moment, but there was a lot of behind-the-scenes chaos.
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Miesha Tate, a pioneer of the women’s game and a former champion, retired in the Octagon that night. She lost a decision to Raquel Pennington—who she had actually coached on The Ultimate Fighter—and just decided she was done. It was a quiet, emotional end to a legendary career that got somewhat overshadowed by the McGregor circus that followed.
Also, the card almost didn't look like this.
Kelvin Gastelum was supposed to fight Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, but Gastelum missed weight so badly he didn't even bother showing up to the scale. The fight was scrapped. Usually, losing a "Cowboy" fight would ruin a card. At UFC 205, it was barely a footnote because the rest of the lineup was so heavy.
How to Revisit the Magic
If you’re looking to dive back into this specific era of MMA, you sort of have to look at it as the peak of the "old" UFC before the Endeavor era fully took hold.
- Watch the "Fighting for History" documentary: It’s probably the best pre-fight hype piece the UFC ever produced. It follows the fighters as they navigate the pressure of New York.
- Check the stats: If you look at the significant strike counts for Joanna vs. Karolina, you'll see why people consider it a masterclass.
- The Post-Fight Presser: McGregor’s "I'd like to take this chance to apologize... to absolutely nobody!" speech happened right after this event.
The UFC 205 fight card remains the gold standard for what a major sports event should be. It had the political stakes, the historic venue, and the once-in-a-generation superstar at his absolute zenith. We've had great cards since then, but nothing has quite captured that specific lightning in a bottle.
If you want to understand why the UFC is as big as it is today, you have to understand what happened that night in November. It was the moment the sport stopped being a "fringe" activity and became a permanent fixture of the New York sports landscape.
Next time you're scrolling through Fight Pass, go back and watch the whole thing from the early prelims to the main event. It’s a time capsule of a night when everything actually lived up to the hype.