Watch UFC 205 this Saturday

Alvarez (left) and Conor (right) face each other in the UFC 205 main fight. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ultimate arrives for the first time in New York, United States, for UFC 205, an event that takes place this Saturday (08), and will feature for the first time three title fights on the same card, in addition to the presence of three former champions and three Brazilians.

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Predictions: UFC 205 – Eddie Alvarez x Conor McGregor

McGregor is favorite to face Alvarez at UFC 205

Headlining the show, Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor compete for the UFC lightweight belt, while the welterweight Tyron woodley will put his title on the line for the first time against Stephen Thompson, in the second most important fight of the show. In the first title fight of the night, Polish Joanna Jędrzejczyk faces her compatriot Karolina Kowalkiewicz.

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To get you in the mood for UFC 205, the SUPER FIGHTS prepared five reasons for you to attend the event.

1 – McGregor will make history or will Alvarez steal the show?

Conor McGregor it achieved! After so much insisting, the loudmouth convinced Dana White, president of the UFC, to give him a chance to fight for the lightweight belt, even though he was the lineal featherweight champion. His opponent will be the American Eddie Alvarez, who took the Rafael dos Anjos, in July of this year.

PUBLICITY:

You may not like McGregor's provocative and often irritating style, but there's no denying that the Irishman is a special fighter. Not only because of his absurd ability to promote and sell his fights, but also because of the way he manages to fulfill, inside the octagon, what he promises outside of it. The overwhelming knockouts over Dustin poirier, Dennis Siver, Chad Mendes e José Aldo, added to the triumph by points over Nate diaz, shows how much Conor is, indeed, a member of the elite.

Alvarez, unlike Conor, was “just another person” in the highly contested lightweight category, although he arrived in the UFC with the status of Bellator champion. After debuting with defeat against Donald Cerrone, Alvarez recovered and achieved two important victories over Gilbert Melendez and former champion Anthony Pettys, enough to give him a shot at the belt, which he won later, as mentioned earlier.

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This will be McGregor's first fight at lightweight, so the question remains as to how the featherweight champion will perform at the new weight. For Eddie, the responsibility of defending his belt for the first time. When the octagon grid closes, a question will be answered. Which will be the balance: McGregor's stand-up game or Alvarez's superiority on the ground?

In any case, regardless of the result, we already know one thing for sure: the main fight of UFC 205, in New York, will certainly go down in history as one of the most important of all time.

2 – Two more belts at stake

Welterweight and strawweight belts will also be on the line. (Photo: Disclosure)

PUBLICITY:

It's not just Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor who competed for a belt this Saturday night (12). For the first time in history, Ultimate scheduled three title fights on the same card, which makes the event even more special. And those chosen live different moments.

In the second most important attraction of the show, the champion Tyron woodley will put his belt on the line for the first time against the karateka Stephen Thompson. Since he knocked out Robbie Lawler, in July, and reached the top of the welterweight division, Woodley has lived with the nickname of being considered one of the most underrated champions in Ultimate. At 34 years old and with a record of 16 wins and just three losses in his career, “T-Wood” wants to prove, next Saturday, that it will not be an easy task to take him out of the number one spot at 77kg.

Unlike his rival, Thompson is a fan favorite. Currently living and training in New York, “Wonderboy” became known for the plastic knockouts he applied to his opponents, almost always through his dangerous round kicks. With seven wins in a row (13-1 as a professional), Stephen promises to make good on the trust placed in his name. Are there more kicks coming?

Second most dominant champion today, the Polish Joanna Jedrzejczyk is going for his fourth title defense in less than two years. Known for her aggressive Muay Thai, Joanna didn't give any of the women who dared to cross her path a chance. Undefeated in 12 professional MMA fights, she wants to increase her defense streak and continue to make her name in the company's history.

Straight shooter, Karolina Kowalkiewicz enters with the thankless mission of overthrowing the feared champion. Biggest underdog at the bookmaker, Kowalkiewicz, like his compatriot, still doesn't know what it's like to lose in MMA. With three fights in Ultimate, she qualified as a challenger by obtaining a surprising victory over Rose namajunas, in July. Will we have another zebra this Saturday?

3 – Former champions seek a comeback

Weidman (left), Tate (cen) and Edgar (right) lost in their last fights. (Photo: SUPER FIGHTS Production (Disclosure/UFC)

In addition to the four champions mentioned above, three others will also be in action at Madison Square Garden: Chris Weidman, Miesha Tate e Frankie Edgar. Interestingly, all three fighters are coming off defeats.

Last fight of the night not to have a title fight, Chris Weidman x Yoel romero will be crucial for the future of the middleweight category. Both athletes last performed at the same event, at UFC 194, in December 2015. On that occasion, Weidman was knocked out by Luke Rockhold and lost the division belt, while Romero overcame Ronaldo Jacare in the judges' split decision. Members of the elite, the two face each other with a single objective: to become the number 1 middleweight challenger and face the champion Michael Bisping.

Still on the main card, bantamweight Miesha Tate, dethroned by the Brazilian Amanda nunes at UFC 200, in July, he will begin his comeback against the Rachel Pennington. With five victories and three defeats in Ultimate, Miesha reached the peak of her career in March of this year, when she submitted Holly holm and won the bantamweight belt. After the setback to Nunes, Tate, number one in the category, needs to get back on the winning track if he still wants to think about the title. Pennington, on the other hand, comes from three consecutive victories and is looking for a place in the top 5.

The first former champion to step into the Octagon will be Frankie Edgar, which will measure forces with the always dangerous Jeremy Stephens, in a fight that closes the preliminary card. Defeated by José Aldo In July, in the fight for the interim featherweight belt, Edgar had a streak of five victories interrupted. A positive result against Jeremy is essential to not distance him from the division's elite. Alternating ups and downs in his career, Stephens has not played since May, when he defeated the Brazilian Renan Barao. Seventh on the category list, the North American still needs a resounding victory to prove himself as a real threat at 66kg.

4 – Brazilians in action

Brazilians will be in action on the preliminary card of UFC 205. Photo: Produção SUPER LUTAS (Disclosure/UFC)

In the preliminary card of the show, three Brazilians will be in action. The first of them Thiago Pitbull, who makes his debut at lightweight (up to 77kg.) against the experienced Jim Miller. Without fighting since May 2015, Pitbull is looking to turn his career around and end a streak of victories that has lasted 22 months. In the UFC since 2005, the 33-year-old from Ceará has already had 20 fights in Ultimate, with 13 wins and seven losses, including a title fight against the former champion Georges St Pierre, in 2009. Miller, in turn, is happy with the victories: he has already won two in a row, which gave him survival in the organization after losing four of his five recent fights. Outside the rankings, the jiu-jitsu specialist wants to ruin the Brazilian's party to return to being among the main names in the division.

Afterwards, it will be time to Vincent Luque climb into the octagon. The Brazilian based in the United States is looking for his fourth consecutive victory in the organization, but to do so he will have to overcome the tough guy Belal Muhammad |. A participant in TUF 21, Luque last acted in UFC Brasilia, when he dispatched Hector Urbina in just 60 seconds. Belal debuted in Ultimate in July, with a defeat to Alan Jouban, but recovered by knocking out Augusto Montano last September. His record of 10 wins and just one defeat shows that the North American is capable of putting on a tough fight for the pack Vincent Luque.

The last Brazilian athlete to perform will be middleweight Rafael “Sapo”, who will face veteran Tim Boestch. Coming from defeat to Robert whittaker, in April this year, Sapo needs victory to remain among the top 15 in the category. In the UFC since 2010, the Minas Gerais native has had 15 fights, with nine wins, five losses and one draw. Boestch, on the other hand, is fighting to avoid the risk of dismissal. With just one victory in his last four fights, Bárbaro, as he is known, knows that a new stumble could mean the end of his career in the company.

5 – Lightweights eyeing the belt

Khabib (left) and Johnson (right) duel with an eye on the category belt. (Photo: Getty Images)

Another clash that promises to lift the local public is between the lightweights Khabib Nurmagomedov e Michael Johnson, which could define the next challenger in the under-70kg category.

Undefeated in MMA with 23 wins in 23 fights – seven of which in the UFC, the Russian, currently second in the category's ranking, was almost chosen by Ultimate to face current champion Eddie Alvarez. Without the title shot, Khabib, who has already defeated names like Rafael dos Anjos, Gleison Tibau, Thiago tavares and Abel Trujillo, must bet on his efficient takedown game to neutralize Johnson and consolidate, once and for all, his position as challenger.

Michael, on the other hand, is coming off a devastating knockout over Dustin poirier, last September. Sixth placed among the lightweights, the Blackzilians athlete wants to return to a series of positive results to resume his journey towards the division's elite squad. With nine wins and six losses in Ultimate, including triumphs over Edson Barboza, Tony Ferguson e Joe lauzon, Johnson will rely on sharp boxing and dangerous combinations to surprise the world once again.