5 historic UFC title fights in Madison Square Garden

Since the UFC's first event at Madison Square Garden back in 2016, New York City has emerged as an annual venue for the world's premier MMA promotion. MSG has hosted some of the greatest moments in combat sports history, featuring some of the most iconic sporting figures ever.

With the conclusion of UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira in the Big Apple, the UFC has now put on six pay-per-views at Madison Square Garden. All six blockbuster events featured numerous momentous championship bouts, which have been ranked below.

Here are five historic UFC title fights that went down at Madison Square Garden.

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#5. Jorge Masvidal vs. Nate Diaz – UFC 244

Jorge Masvidal's career resurrgence in 2019 was a sight to behold. After suffering back-to-back split-decision losses in 2017, Masvidal took a two-year hiatus from the octagon. Upon his return, 'Gamebred' adopted a kill-or-be-killed mentality, realizing the need for vicious intent in the cage.

He kicked off 2019 with a scorching knockout win over popular Englishman Darren Till in London and followed it up with a viral five-second knockout of Ben Askren. His star power reached new heights and continued to grow when he was called out by UFC superstar Nate Diaz, who was coming off a win over Anthony Pettis.

Both Diaz and Masvidal are MMA veterans with tons of experience in the UFC. With both fighters' having cult followings and known for their brash and unapologetic personas, the one-off BMF (Bad Motherf***er) title was created. The duo contested the celebratory BMF belt in the main event of UFC 244.

Masvidal vs. Diaz poster [Image via @espnmma on Instagram]

Right from the get-go, Jorge Masvidal pushed Nate Diaz backwards with his relentless pressure. The Miami-native seemingly had the power advantage as well, as every time he landed cleanly on his counterpart, it was clearly having an impact.

Masvidal turned up the pace in the next two rounds, catching Diaz with some powerful elbows and hooks in the clinch. He even landed a flush head-kick, dropping the Stockton-native onto the canvas. 'Gamebred' delivered vicious ground-and-pound strikes as well, leaving Diaz bloody and battered.

A massive gash above Diaz's right eye was leaking profusely throughout the third round. Heading into the fourth frame, the on-duty doctor called a halt to the action to avoid running the risk of further damage. Masvidal was crowned the BMF champion as a result.

Jorge Masvidal wins the BMF title [Image via @espnmma on Twitter]

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#4. Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira – UFC 281

After a stellar career in the kickboxing ring, Alex Pereira transitioned to MMA. The hard-hitting Brazilian's rapid ascent up the middleweight ranks can be credited to his rivalry with 185-pound kingpin Israel Adesanya. His two victories over Adesanya in kickboxing, including one knockout, saw 'Poatan' earn a title shot with just three wins inside the octagon.

In the main event of UFC 281, Pereira squared off against Adesanya for the middleweight throne.

Adesanya vs. Pereira fan-made poster [Image via @diaztwinsmma on Instagram]

Alex Pereira was the betting underdog heading into the bout. This being just his eighth professional MMA bout, the serial knockout artist hasn't had a significant amount of ring-time in the octagon, unlike Israel Adesanya.

'The Last Stylebender' started the fight well, hurting Pereira badly at the end of the first round. The Brazilian was arguably saved by the bell. While the next three rounds were fairly close, Adesanya was clearly one step ahead of his counterpart.

Heading into the fifth and final round, Adesanya was just five minutes away from securing a sixth title defense. However, two minutes into the round, Pereira landed a series of vicious shots, including a thunderous left hook, which put the champion on skates. After a few follow-up shots, the referee intervened and a new middleweight king was crowned.

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#3. Joanna Jędrzejczyk vs. Rose Namajunas – UFC 217

Back in 2017, Joanna Jędrzejczyk was among the most dominant champions across MMA. After winning the title in 2015, the Polish strawweight racked up five title defenses and looked unstoppable atop the 115-pound division.

Jędrzejczyk took on TUF finalist Rose Namajunas and she was naturally a heavy betting favorite. After a fight week brimming with psychological warfare tactics from the strawweight queen, the duo locked horns at Madison Square Garden.

Joanna Jędrzejczyk, a former multi-time Muay Thai and kickboxing champion, was widely regarded as one of the best strikers across MMA at the time. Given that Rose Namajunas didn't have much offensive wrestling in her arsenal, many expected the strawweight champion to retain her belt.

Namajunas shocked the world on the night, knocking out Jędrzejczyk in the very first round. She dropped the champion twice in the opening few minutes and finished off the reigning titleholder with some vicious ground-and-pound strikes, concluding one of the greatest upsets in promotional history.

UFC commentator Daniel Cormier's immediate reaction to Namajunas' sensational victory made this memorable highlight even sweeter.

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#2. Michael Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre – UFC 217

After his narrow and controversial decision win over Johny Hendricks in 2013, then-welterweight king Georges St-Pierre opted to vacate his title and walk away from the sport. The win over Hendricks marked St-Pierre's ninth title defense.

While his resumé up to that point sealed his place among the greatest fighters of all time, what he did four years later saw many hail the Canadian as the GOAT.

Georges St-Pierre returned to the octagon following a four-year hiatus to contest the 185-pound championship. 'Rush' took on then-middleweight champion Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden in 2017.

The first two rounds were pretty evenly constested as St-Pierre had success with his takedowns while Bisping managed to do significant damage off his back. The former welterweight champion took over in the third round, knocking his English counterpart down before locking in a rear-naked choke to become a two-weight titleholder.

This was St-Pierre's final appearance inside the octagon.

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#1. Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor – UFC 205

In 2016, New York became the 50th American state to legalize and regulate mixed martial arts, after the sport was banned in the state in 1997. The UFC delivered a stacked and monumental card for its New York City debut, featuring the sport's biggest superstar in the headlining role.

Inaugural Ultimate Fighting Championship event at Madison Square Garden [Image via @SandhuMMA on Twitter]

After winning the featherweight title with a scorching 13-second knockout victory over Jose Aldo and a two-fight series with Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor set his sights on becoming the first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in promotional history.

'The Notorious' locked horns with then-lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for the title in the main event of UFC 205 and produced arguably the best performance of his career. McGregor looked on-point right from the get-go and made Alvarez look quite clueless inside the octagon.

McGregor's pin-point striking was apparent in the first round as he dropped the champion multiple times. In the second, the Irishman looked untouchable as he picked apart Alvarez and ultimately put him away, making history and further establishing himself as the face of MMA.