NEW YORK
Two rounds. Two titles. One special fighter. In the main event of the first UFC card at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Conor McGregor fittingly made history, stopping Eddie Alvarez in the second round to become the first fighter to hold two UFC championships simultaneously, as he added Alvarez’ lightweight crown to the featherweight belt he already possesses.
Needless to say, McGregor left the crowd speechless, but he had plenty to say.
“They’re not on my level,” the 28-year-old Dubliner said. “You’ve got to have size, reach, other attributes.”
Capping off a year in which he split a pair of bouts with Nate Diaz and now won his second world title, McGregor was expected to get a tough test in the form of the veteran Alvarez, who immediately took the center of the Octagon and began kicking at McGregor’s lead leg. McGregor kept marching forward, dropping Alvarez with a flush left to the head. Alvarez jumped up immediately, but “The Notorious” one had drawn first blood, and moments later, two more lefts produced two more knockdowns. As the bout then strayed to the mat, McGregor took control from the top position, but Alvarez scrambled to his feet and made it out of the round without getting into any additional trouble.
More from UFC 205: Results | Milestone tracker | Who won bonuses at UFC 205? | McGregor adds 2nd title with Alvarez KO | Woodley-Thompson title tilt ruled majority draw | Jedrzejczyk survives brief scare to defend title | Romero drops Weidman, eyes champ Bisping | Former champ Tate ends career at UFC 205 | Edgar outduels Stephens, Khabib gets big win in prelims | Miller continues resurgence with FIGHT PASS victory | Carmouche makes history again in victory
Must watch: Dana White event recap
Backstage interviews: Conor McGregor | Eddie Alvarez Tyron Woodley | Karolina Kowalkiewicz | Frankie Edgar | Khabib Nurmagomedov | Tim Boetsch | Vicente Luque
Octagon interviews: Conor McGregor | Tyron Woodley & Stephen Thompson | Joanna Jedrzejczyk & Karolina Kowalkiewicz | Miesha Tate | Khabib Nurmagomedov | Jim Miller | Liz Carmouche
FIGHT PASS customers: Watch the first two fights of the night here
Order now: Get the historic UFC 205 replay here
The epitome of calm, McGregor marched forward in round two and waited for an opportunity to unleash his left hand, and in the second minute he found it, sending Alvarez sprawling yet again. Alvarez finally found some daylight briefly in a clinch against the fence, but after the two broke, McGregor fired off a lightning-fast barrage that dropped the Philadelphian yet again. This time, referee John McCarthy had seen enough, calling off the fight at the 3:04 mark of the second round.
With the win, McGregor improves to 21-3; the 32-year-old Alvarez, who was making the first defense of the title he won from Rafael dos Anjos in July, falls to 28-5.