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The T-Mobile Arena, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, has been a venue for some of the world's biggest and most historic sporting events - including the 'Money Fight' between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
The much-hyped trilogy between Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier is another historic event that will be hosted at the T-Mobile Arena on July 10, 2021 at UFC 264.
The T-Mobile Arena opened in 2016, and the UFC became its anchor tenant a year later, signing a multi-year deal involving at least four events annually.
Quite a major part of the UFC's history has been scripted at this venue in the five years since its inception. On that note, let's take a look at five of the greatest UFC bouts that have been hosted at the T-Mobile Arena.
#5 Amanda Nunes vs Ronda Rousey - UFC 207
Amanda Nunes defeated Miesha Tate at the T-Mobile Arena at UFC 200 to become the new women's bantamweight champion. However, Nunes became part of an even bigger fight when she faced arguably the greatest female MMA fighter of all time. Nunes faced Ronday Rousey in her first title defense at UFC 207, another event hosted in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena.
Ronda Rousey was coming off the first and biggest loss of her MMA career. A year earlier, 'Rowdy' was knocked out by Holly Holm in one of the biggest upsets in UFC history. A year after losing her UFC championship, Rousey returned to the octagon to face the new women's bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes.
During the fight, Nunes stopped Rousey within 48 seconds of round one via TKO, successfully defending her UFC title in the process. It was Ronda Rousey's last MMA fight ever, as the pioneering female MMA fighter retired soon thereafter.
The fight between Amanda Nunes and Ronda Rousey was the headline event at the T-Mobile Arena in 2016. It was reported that a total attendance of 18,000+ had broken the previous record held for UFC events in the state of Nevada.
Rousey reportedly received $3 million for the fight, picking up the biggest paycheque by a UFC fighter at the time.
#4 Kamaru Usman vs Colby Covington - UFC 245
Kamaru Usman defended his UFC welterweight title for the first time against a heated rival, Colby Covington. The event, UFC 245, took place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. Compared to UFC 235, where Usman defeated Tyron Woodley to become the UFC champion, UFC 245 saw a much larger attendance.
It was one of the most electrifying UFC fights to take place at the T-Mobile Arena, with Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington putting up a five-round battle. 'The Nigerian Nightmare' punished Covington for most of the fight, but it wouldn't be right to say that 'Chaos' didn't fight back.
The fight eventually saw Kamaru Usman knock out Colby Covington in the last minute of the fifth round. However, what made this fight one of the most exciting events at the T-Mobile Arena was Usman breaking Covington's jaw in the third round.
There were nearly 17,000 people in attendance at the venue, with Usman and Covington both receiving $500K apiece for their outing.
#3 Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier - UFC 226
UFC 226 saw light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier take on heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
It was the third time in UFC history that champions of different weight classes were in a title bout, after UFC 94 and UFC 205. After a KO win in the dying seconds of the first round, Cormier went on to become only the second fighter in the history of the UFC to hold titles in two divisions simultaneously.
Dubbed 'The Superfight', Stipe Miocic vs Daniel Cormier headlined the UFC 226 event at the T-Mobile Arena in 2018.
It was the first installment of one of the greatest trilogies in the history of the UFC. It was also one of the most exciting fights to be hosted in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena, recording an attendance of 17,464, including Brock Lesnar.
The event took place during the UFC's annual International Fight Week, which made it more significant in T-Mobile Arena history. For this fight, Cormier and Miocic also served as the head coaches of The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated.
#2 Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz 2 - UFC 202
Nate Diaz defeated Conor McGregor in one of the biggest upsets at UFC 196 via submission.
Their rematch was held in Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena in 2016, at UFC 202. The event, headlined by McGregor and Diaz, became the most-bought UFC pay-per-view of all time, with a buy-rate of 1.65 million.
While the first encounter between McGregor and Diaz ended inside two rounds, their rematch at UFC 202 at the T-Mobile Arena went the distance. While the 'Notorious' dominated Nate Diaz in the initial rounds, the plot switched, with the Stockton native stepping his foot on the gas in the later rounds.
Conor McGregor eventually won the fight, but only by a fine margin. The result, a majority decision, had a lot of MMA fans and analysts surprised, as the scorecards read 48-47, 47-47 and 48-47 for the Irishman.
The T-Mobile Arena housed a total of 15,539 people for the event. It was also Nate Diaz's first well-paid fight as the 'Stockton Slugger' took home $2 million.
Also Read: 3 things every Nate Diaz fan needs to know.
#1 Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov - UFC 229
Conor McGregor took on one of his most hated rivals, Khabib Nurmagomedov, in one of the most hyped-up fights in UFC history in 2018 at the T-Mobile Arena. Khabib Nurmagomedov, the reigning UFC lightweight champion at the time, defeated the 'Notorious' in perhaps the most dominant fashion ever.
The record for the highest pay-per-view buy-rate, previously recorded at UFC 202, was surpassed at UFC 229, with 2.4 million pay-per-view purchases. The fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov can be easily said to be the most exciting event ever hosted at the T-Mobile Arena to date.
The reported attendance for the event at the T-Mobile Arena was more than 20,000. After submitting the Irishman via neck-crank in round four, 'The Eagle' jumped over the octagon to attack McGregor's cornerman Dillon Danis.
It was perhaps the biggest controversy followed by the most exciting fight ever witnessed at the T-Mobile Arena.
Also Read: 5 opponents for Khabib Nurmagomedov's comeback fight should his mother give him her blessing.
