Before UFC 229: A look at 7 of the biggest UFC shows of all time

#5: UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor – 07/11/2015 – Las Vegas, Nevada

Conor McGregor's first UFC PPV main event saw him destroy Chad Mendes

Why was it a big show?

By 2014, stars like Lesnar, St-Pierre and Silva were either gone from the UFC or on their way down, and for a while it looked like the promotion would struggle to replace them. But by early 2015 two stars arguably even bigger than their predecessors had emerged – Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.

UFC 189 was initially supposed to see McGregor challenge Jose Aldo for the Featherweight title, but Aldo ended up withdrawing due to injury and former title challenger Chad Mendes stepped in to take the fight. That didn’t really dull the hype at all and considering it was McGregor’s first pay-per-view main event, UFC 189 felt like an incredibly big deal.

The undercard wasn’t as stacked as some previous UFC shows, but it certainly had the feel of a new generation breaking through – young talent like Thomas Almeida, Gunnar Nelson, Brandon Thatch and Alex Garcia were all competing while a Welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald acted as the co-main event.

What happened?

The preliminary fights weren’t outstanding but by the time the main card rolled around, everything went right for the UFC. Almeida and Nelson won their fights in highlight reel fashion, and a brawl between Dennis Bermudez and Jeremy Stephens looked like a lock for Fight of the Night – before MacDonald and Lawler put on an instant classic that some fans consider the greatest fight in UFC history, bar none.

The main event also lived up to the hype. Mendes and McGregor received live music for their walks to the cage and the fight felt bigger than any other before it. McGregor overcame some early adversity to stop Mendes in the second round and the crowd reaction clearly confirmed him as the UFC’s new biggest star. The show drew 825k pay-per-view buys – less than McGregor would pull in for later events, but a massive success considering it was his first headliner. For the UFC, this was a perfect night.

Success rating: *****