Summary

  • Ireland's Conor McGregor beats Eddie Alvarez to become first man to hold two UFC titles at same time

  • UFC makes New York debut with show at Madison Square Garden

  • Tyron Woodley retains welterweight title after a majority draw with Stephen Thompson

  • Joanna Jedrzejczyk beats Karolina Kowalkiewicz to retain strawweight title

Live Reporting

Iain Hepburn, Jagroop Shinbt and Alex Brocklehurst

  1. Ireland vs. Russia

    Jagroop Shinbt
    BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden

    Khabib Nurmagomedov was in spectacular form earlier on as he defeated Michael Johnson but he made the reckless mistake of saying that Ireland’s support and population is only 6 million whereas his native Russia is 150 million.

    Not a very wise move Khabib and the majority of Irish fans inside the arena made their thoughts heard by booing the winner out of the octagon.

    Khabib NurmagomedovGetty Images

  2. The excitement is building...

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  3. A good reason for a party

    Happy Birthday UFC

    Appropriately enough for UFC's Madison Square Garden debut, today marks the 23rd anniversary of the organisation's first ever event. 

    Brazilian jiu-jitsu pioneer Royce Gracie defeated Dutch karate champion Gerard Gordeau in the final of an eight-man tournament. 

    Almost 8000 people watched the show live in Denver, Colorado, with a further 86,000 bought it on pay per view. 

    Gracie walked way with a $50,000 purse - not bad for just short of four minutes work across three fights. 

    He came out of retirement at the age of 49 earlier this year to beat Ken Shamrock, one of his opponents from that first event, on a Bellator fight card. 

  4. Demi Lovato among the stars watching UFC 205

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  5. And the winner is....

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  6. How the prelims unfolded

    UFC 205Getty Images

    We're about to get underway with the main card for UFC 205, but there's already been a lot of top action at Madison Square Garden.  

    Here's the results so far:

    Frankie Edgar bt Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision

    Khabib Nurmagomedov bt Michael Johnson by submission - 2:31 R3

    Tim Boetsch bt Rafael Natal by TKO - 3:22 R1

    Vicente Luque bt Belal Muhammad by TKO - 1:18 R1

    Jim Miller bt Thiago Alves by unanimous decision

    Liz Carmouche bt Katlyn Chookagian by split decision

  7. Britain's own Michael Bisping, the UFC middleweight champion was impressed with Frankie Edgar's win over Jeremy Stephens

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  8. Jagroop Shinbt
    BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden

    A left kick from Stephens rocked Frankie Edgar midway through the second round but the roaring support of the crowd shouting "Frankie, Frankie" gave the New Jersey fighter the momentum to finish the round on top.

  9. Jagroop Shinbt
    BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden

    The Irish fans repeatedly chant "who is that guy" at Jeremy Stephens after Conor McGregor famously asked the same question at a press conference when Stephens claimed he was the hardest hitting 145-pound fighter.

  10. Guess who's back...

    If you missed it at last night's weigh-ins, Ronda Rousey returned to the UFC to stare down Amanda Nunes, the current women's bantamweight champion, ahead of their fight in December.

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  12. Jagroop Shinbt
    BBC Sport at Madison Square Garden

    Most UFC arenas begin to fill out towards the end of the night but with so much quality on display and three championship bouts to follow, there is not an empty seat inside Madison Square Garden as we head into Frankie Edgar’s clash with Jeremy Stephens.

  13. Conor McGregor UFC 205 Weigh ins

    Irish fans have been travelling en masse to New York for UFC 205, and made their presence felt when the weigh-ins took place yesterday.  Expect a huge reaction for Conor McGregor when he comes out to face Eddie Alvarez tonight.

  14. Five reasons why UFC 205 is important

    1: NEW YORK

    It’s the first time since September 1995 the UFC has staged a card in the state of New York, and their first ever show in New York City, which only lifted a ban on MMA this year. UFC is out to make a big splash in the Big Apple.

    2: CONOR

    No UFC fighter has been champion of two weight categories at the same time. If McGregor can beat Eddie Alvarez, it would be a significant moment in UFC history – and make McGregor a genuine all-time great in mixed martial arts.

    3: MONEY

    The $4bn purchase of UFC earlier this year left them with a lot of debt - very similar to the Glazer’s takeover of Manchester United. The new owners have already started saving costs by letting a lot of backroom staff go but their biggest asset is the shows, so making UFC 205 a success is vital. The hype around the New York show has seen front row tickets going for as high as $12,000.

    4: TV

    UFC’s TV deal with Fox in the US expires in 2018, and talks on either renewing or moving to a new channel start next year. With rights fees on the rise – as seen by the Premier League here in the UK – and none of the major US sports up for grabs for a few more years, UFC expects to coin it in – and staging a high profile card in New York City will help make them more attractive

    5: STAR POWER

    It’s only four months since UFC 200, which was meant to be the company’s biggest show in history, but they’ve gone all out to top it this time. Six fights on the main card – three of which are title bouts – and a stacked prelim card featuring big names like Frankie Edgar, Liz Carmouche and Thiago Alves. The only way it could have been bigger is with Ronda on the show -  but they’re saving her for Christmas…

  15. Here we go

    UFC 205 is taking place at the famous Madison Square GardenGetty Images

    UFC 205 is taking place at the famous Madison Square Garden

    Welcome to BBC Three Sport's live coverage of UFC 205: McGregor vs Alvarez, as Ireland’s Conor McGregor bids to become the first man in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship to hold two titles simultaneously.

    Now that New York’s lifted its ban on cage fighting, UFC returns to the state for the first time in 21 years – and makes its debut in the fabled Madison Square Garden with the biggest show in the company’s history.

    Three title fights under the roof of the most famous fighting area in the world.  Tonight should be a bit special.