A little history lesson: In 1997, during the early days of the UFC, the promotion would hold its twelfth flagship event, UFC 12: Judgment Day, in Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border in New York State. New York ultimately banned promotional rights to the show the day prior to the card, and subsequently the sport of MMA was banned from the state as a whole.
This was the second US state not to allow the event, as Oregon did not allow UFC 12 to be held in its jurisdiction prior to the New York show’s scheduling. Dothan, AL would be the eventual host city for UFC 12 with one day’s notice.
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An uphill battle to legalize MMA leads to UFC 205 in New York
After UFC 12 took place in Dothan, the promotion’s footprint in the United States was located in the southern half of the country. It wasn’t until the turn of the century that the promotion held a show in the northern United States. UFC 30 was the first event held in New Jersey in early 2001.
It would be a long time before New York would host a show. Fast forward 15 years to the late winter of 2016, 19 years after New York banned MMA right before UFC 12. In March of that year, the New York State Assembly, by a final margin of 113 to 25, passed an ordinance to lift the nearly two-decade ban on MMA. The bill needed at least 76 votes to end prohibition.
This became law less than a month later when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the bill, make the end of the ban official. Although the promotion had targeted UFC 197 at Madison Square Garden, UFC 205 was scheduled to take place on November 12, 2016 in New York City. UFC 205 became the first in an annual tradition for the promotion.
With the exception of 2020, when the majority of UFC events in the United States were held without spectators at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, NV as a safeguard against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the promotion has shut down every November in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
UFC 205: Three exciting title fights to conclude the historic NYC show
November 12, 2016 was a night that MMA fans just a few years earlier thought would never come to fruition. For the first card held in New York City, the UFC put on a great show. Three title fights headlined the evening at UFC 205, culminating in an expected bout at 155 lbs.
The UFC Lightweight Championship was on the line in the UFC 205 main event between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez. Although UFC 205’s headlining affair was scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each, McGregor needed just eight minutes to end the story with a second-round knockout via punches.
The co-main event of the evening saw action at welterweight. Tyron Woodley took on Stephen Thompson. This fight ended in a draw after 25 minutes (47-47, 47-47, 48-47), but thanks to the championship advantage, Woodley retained the title.
Your first title fight of UFC 205 was for the UFC Strawweight Championship. Joanna Jedrzejczyk fought against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, with the former winning the match by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46).
Rest of the main card at UFC 205
Two other fights were held on the main card nine years ago, with Yoel Romero stopping Chris Weidman in the third round of their middleweight bout with a flying knee followed by punches, and Raquel Pennington defeating Miesha Tate by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27).
All in all, UFC 205 was an exciting night of fighting, one that will be remembered for years to come. What were your favorite memories from UFC 205?
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