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Over the past few years, some of the grandest events in UFC history have taken place at Madison Square Garden.
Madison Square Garden was once known as the mecca of boxing before the sport and its biggest promoters shifted bases to Las Vegas. It goes without saying that the MSG arena has hosted many iconic events in the world of combat sports.
Athletes gleam with pride when they find out they'll be competing at the arena. It also happens to be one of the ten most expensive stadium venues ever built.
While MSG has played host to some of the greatest boxing events in the world, it opened its doors to MMA just five years ago in 2016. This came after the New York State Athletic Commission authorized MMA events in the same year.
The first-ever UFC event to take place at Madison Square Garden was UFC 205. The show was headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez. It turned out to be one of the biggest-selling pay-per-view events in UFC history.
In this article, we take a look at some of the most memorable UFC fights that have taken place at Madison Square Garden over the last five years.
#5. Daniel Cormier vs. Derrick Lewis (UFC 230)
At UFC 230, Daniel Cormier defended his heavyweight title for the first time against knockout artist Derrick Lewis. DC shocked the world by moving up to the heavyweight division and knocking out then champion Stipe Miocic. However, many people called it a fluke win from a lucky overhand that caught Stipe napping.
The former two-division champion next matched up against Derrick Lewis. Fans were excited to see what DC would do against one of the division's most dangerous strikers. Stylistically, it was a very intriguing matchup. A good shot from Lewis lands clean on a heavyweight and it's lights out.
DC mesmerized the crowd in attendance at MSG by completely outclassing Lewis in the fight. He made him submit via rear-naked choke in the second round. It was complete domination from Cormier that proved he was indeed the rightful owner of the title at the time.
#4. TJ Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt (UFC 217)
The stakes couldn't have gotten any higher as TJ Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt squared off at UFC 217. The pair were good friends and former teammates whose relationship turned sour after Dillashaw left Team Alpha Male.
TJ Dillashaw had the opportunity to regain his lost title against his friend-turned-foe in a matchup that set tongues wagging across the globe. Garbrandt was the UFC bantamweight champ who was previously unbeaten in his professional career, but anything could change come fight night.
It was a back-and-forth thriller that saw both men knock each other down. They engaged in a slugfest in the center of the cage. Dillashaw eventually triumphed by finishing his former teammate via TKO in the second round. Dillashaw finally regained the title he had lost.
#3. Georges St-Pierre vs. Michael Bisping (UFC 217)
Two of the best fighters on the planet brought the crowd at MSG to their feet. The pair squared off in a titanic clash with the middleweight title on the line at UFC 217.
The legendary Georges St-Pierre returned to the octagon after almost four years away to challenge Michael Bisping. To everyone's amazement, St-Pierre flew out of the gates in the opening round, showing no signs of ring rust at all. After initially being overwhelmed by GSP's skills, Bisping came back strong in the second round.
However, the night belonged to Georges St-Pierre. In the third round, the Canadian dropped Bisping and finished him with a rear-naked choke. In his middleweight debut, GSP became a champion in the division.
#2 Nate Diaz vs Jorge Masvidal (UFC 244)
UFC 244 was one of the biggest non-Conor McGregor headlined pay-per-views in the promotion's history. The hype for the main event of UFC 244 knew no bounds at the time as Dana White even introduced a 'BMF title' for the fight between two of the biggest superstars at the moment - Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal.
This was the first time that the promotion introduced a symbolic title for a fight but such was the popularity of the two fighters at the time, it made sense from a business perspective. Not only that, Hollywood star and former WWE champion Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson was also there to strap the belt around the winner of the fight. All in all, the atmosphere that night was electric.
While Masvidal caused severe damage to Diaz in the first couple of rounds, the Stockton native characteristically kept walking him down. In the third round, Diaz mounted a comeback as the crowd erupted with chants of his name. However, at the end of the third round, the doctors rendered Diaz unfit to continue any further and Masvidal was awarded the win via TKO (Doctor's Stoppage).
#1 Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez (UFC 205)
What better way to kickstart UFC pay-per-views at MSG than with a Conor McGregor show?
When Conor McGregor fought Eddie Alvarez for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 205, the Irish fans in attendance came down en masse to witness their favorite son create history. Featherweight champ at the time, McGregor was the first person ever to try to capture two belts simultaneously as he moved up to 155 to fight Alvarez.
McGregor had previously not competed in the UFC lightweight division and was fighting the champion on his debut. However, as fate would have it, 'Notorious' would go on to deliver his most masterful performance to date to pick up a TKO win over Eddie Alvarez in the second round.
McGregor sent the crowd into a frenzy with the win as he scaled the octagon fence, sitting proudly on top holding both his titles on his shoulders. The first ever champ-champ in UFC history.
