Keep your fingers crossed. Squeeze them tight and hope for the best. There’s always a chance for injuries and cancellations for various reasons, especially when it comes to mixed martial arts, but if UFC 205 goes off as planned, it should only add to the illustrious fight history of Madison Square Garden.
The first official press conference to announce the Nov. 12 card was held at “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” on Tuesday afternoon, an event seven years in the making. That’s how long it took the UFC-led efforts to get New York to become the final state in the union to legalize MMA. It sounds like it will be worth the wait.
The card is loaded with three title fights, headlined by UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor (20-3) challenging Eddie Alvarez (28-4) for his UFC lightweight crown. Tyron Woodley (16-3) defends his welterweight title against Stephen Thompson (13-1) and Joanna Jedrzejczyk (12-0) puts up her women’s strawweight belt against Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0).
Other fighters scheduled to appear include former middleweight champion Chris Weidman (13-1); former women’s bantam weight champion Miesha Tate (18-6), former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (20-5-1), and former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans (19-5-1).
It’s about as good as it could get.
“When we were coming I wanted to bring the best card possible,” UFC president Dana White told a crowd of about 4,000 at the Garden Theater. “This is the biggest card we’ve ever done.”
The matching of McGregor and Alvarez in the main event is a huge headliner, with McGregor coming off his victory over Nate Diaz in their rematch at UFC 202. McGregor is looking to become the third man in UFC history to win a title at two weight classes and the first to hold them simultaneously. He also is the biggest star in UFC, his presence guaranteeing at least one million pay-per-view buys with a chance of threatening 2 million if the promotion builds as expected.
McGregor, a native of Dublin, Ireland, was in his typical mouthy, confident form, predicting a first-round knockout over Alvarez, the lightweight champion from Philadelphia. “The Irish built this city,” McGregor said. “Now we’re coming back to claim what’s ours.”
Alvarez, who will be making the first defense of his belt, didn’t back down.
“He quits after eight minutes,” he said, questioning McGregor’s stamina. “And he’s never fought anybody like me in the UFC.”
Weidman, of Baldwin, N.Y., was instrumental in the passage of the law that legalized MMA, as he made frequent visits to Albany.
“This is a dream come true,” he said. “I’ve been envisioning this for so long. I can’t wait to come out and fight in front of your guys.”
Tickets go on sale Friday, but expect to dig deep. Insiders have said the amounts will resemble “Super Bowl prices.” It’s no secret the UFC is looking to break the record for gate receipts set when Evander Holyfield challenged Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight championship. It might have something to do with the UFC being recently sold for $4 billion.
There were reports McGregor was injured and would not be able to fight in November. But he dispelled those rumors insisting he’s injury-free after his rugged five-round brawl with Diaz in Las Vegas.
“I came out fresher than I went in that fight,” McGregor said.
The enthusiasm of the crowd attending the press conference had been building for years and a sellout is practically a guarantee regardless of the prices. As the title of the promotion suggests: Can’t Wait.