The Day is Finally Here - UFC 205, The Biggest Card in Combat Sports History

By Muk

The UFC will finally make its long anticipated debut in New York, as tonight, November 12th, UFC 205 will rule MSG. This card is hands down the greatest card in combat sports history, and its only fitting that the night will make history. Between the New York debut, the anticipated record-breaking PPV buys, and Conor McGregor's chance to be the UFC's first ever two-weight-class champion.

The card did take two unfortunate losses this week, with Cowboy & Kelvin Gastelum fight being canceled, because Kelvin is a bum, missing weight yet again, so bad to the point that he didn't even ATTEMPT to weigh-in; and Tim Kennedy and Rashad Evans being moved to UFC 206, because Rashad had an issue passing his medical physical. While these two fights didn't even slightly take away from the card's greatness, it was a tough loss for fans as both fights feature fan favorite fighters. 

But this card is top to bottom stacked, with the UFC Fight Pass prelims being fights that could land on a main card on most over UFC cards. Jim Miller and Thiago Alves square off in a lightweight battle; a battle that is lucky to even be still going, after Alves missed weight badly, but Miller was able to pack on a few pounds in a few hours so he could make the 5-pound opponent difference that New York requires. 
The FS1 prelims are even more mind blowing, as we see potentially the greatest lightweight in the world, Khabib Nurmagomedov, takes on Michael Johnson, in what should be a breeze of a fight for Khabib. On top of that, two of the top featherweights in the world, Frankie Edgar and Jeremy Stephens face off, both with the hopes of being next in line for a shot at Conor's belt.

Now this main event, is something like I have never seen before. Three title fights. A potential #1 contender fight for the 185 pound belt. Two former champions. This main event is going to be something like we MMA fans have never seen before. Starting with Miesha and Raquel, who both look to establish themselves as a top contender in the Female Bantamweight division, with a potential huge knockout as both these girls will bring it and throw bombs.
Next, former Middleweight Champ, Chris Weidman, looks to take the next step in reclaiming his belt, as he takes on Yoel Romero, who looks to make his return from his PED scandal. Now this fight has the potential to be very boring, with both of these fighters being highly skilled wrestlers, but this fight has big-time-finish written all over it.
Then we have the first of three consecutive title fights, as Joanna Jedrzejczyk takes on Karolina Kowalkiewicz, for the 115-pound Strawweight Belt. This "Polish Civil War", which features Poland's two biggest MMA stars, as they look to fully establish MMA in Poland as a force to be reckoned with. This fight will either go all 5 rounds in a war, that Joanna will win, or one of these girls is gonna get knocked out. I truly think Joanna will retain her title, as I just think her game is too good all-around. 
In the Co-Main Event, Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson finally gets his shot at the welterweight championship, as he takes on Tyron Woodley, who looks to make his first defense of his belt. This fight is gonna be tough to call because it can really go two ways; Wonderboy is certainly a better striker than Woodley, but Tyron's power is absolutely nothing to be trifled with. Secondly, if Woodley looks to use his superior wrestling, it could be a tough go for Wonderboy, but I do believe Wonderboy's ground game is much better than Woodley would like to admit. 
Finally, our Main Event. Conor McGregor, the featherweight champion, will take on Eddie Alvarez, who will look to begin his reign as lightweight champ with a win over McGregor. This fight will be everything it has been advertised as. These men have talked the talk, they have wasted no time in these past few weeks with verbal warfare, and a growing distain for one another. This fight really can go any way. If Eddie wanted to come out and win the fight flat out, he would impose his dominant wrestling on Conor and dominate the ground, leading to a potential TKO or submission. But my heart tells me Eddie wants to so badly make a point to the world, that Conor is not immortal, and that Conor is just a man, and a man who he will stop. Eddie's standup is no joke, and he put RDA away with such ease that it caught the attention of the entire fight world. The main key to Conor's victory, will be finishing the fight within the first round & a half, because regardless of the weight or fight, Conor's biggest adversary in 5-round fights is himself. His fighting style is too electric and too powerful for him to be able to carry out all 5-rounds with that pace. A lefthand counter is all I can see replaying in my mind, with Conor using Eddie's emotions against him. If Conor can put Eddie away within those first 2 rounds, the fight favors him, but a 5 round fight with the potential of draining takedowns, puts Eddie right where he wants. Either way, this fight is going to be incredible, and I expect nothing but fireworks. 

This card can not, and will not disappoint, and I hope it will set the precedent for MMA in New York forever.