Conor McGregor's unforgettable act caps UFC's wildy successful New York City debut

UFC's historic debut in New York City was an unprecedented sports experience and complete success, anchored by Conor McGregor's victory and starpower.

Jon Wertheim | Nov 13, 2016

Conor McGregor's unforgettable act caps UFC's wildy successful New York City debut /

It’s heard it all, Madison Square Garden has. The Beatles and their twangy guitars. The rasp of Springsteen and the harmonica of Joel. Speeches from political conventions. The horn consecrating the Rangers’ 1994 Stanley Cup win. The chronic lament of Knicks fans. The boasts of Ali before and after having his way with Frazier.

Last weekend, though, the venue that, with silly self-aggrandizement, calls itself “The World’s Most Famous Arena” got some new additions to its soundtrack. There was a man in a full-length white mink coat arriving late to a press conference and then, in a thick Irish brogue, explaining his tardiness thusly: “I run New York! I’m a fooking pimp!”

Watch: Conor McGregor gives post-fight interview for the ages at UFC 205

Early on Saturday morning, workers took to the arena surface and began banging, clanging and hammering away as they installed a steel octagon directly beneath the overhead scoreboard. Starting 12 hours later, a series of fighters began climbing inside of this eight-sided contraption and unleashing a unique symphony of thwaaacks and ugggghhhhs as they fed (and ate) a diet of punches, kicks and elbows. That is when they weren’t on the ground, grunting and panting as they tried to twist their opponent like a balloon animal.

The occasion: UFC 205, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship card ever held in Manhattan. With the new audio track came an unprecedented sports experience as well, a swirl of rock concert effects and slick production; days of over-the-top promotion that makes the WWE look measured and decorous by comparison; an unmistakably brutal but unmistakably gripping night of competition distilled to its essence.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz, retains title

For a precinct that takes pride in residing on the cutting edge of trends, New York was unfashionably late to the UFC party. As other states sanctioned the sport of mixed martial arts—sometimes eagerly; other times holding their nose—New York was the last holdout. This was less because of high morals or an absence of bloodlust than it was backroom politics. (Long story short: the previous UFC owners, brothers Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, own the Station Casino in Las Vegas, that’s long been locked in a knock-down, drag-out battle with the Culinary Union; in a show of solidarity, the union members in New York responded by applying pressure on local politicians to keep the UFC out of the state.)

UFC 205 Photos

The Notorious

Conor McGregor defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 Saturday night to become the first UFC fighter to hold two titles simultaneously.

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Conor McGregor

McGregor vs. Alvarez

UFC President Dana White holds back Eddie Alvarez and Conor McGregor as they square off during weigh-ins at Madison Square Garden.

Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez speaks with Fox Sports during weigh-ins at Madison Square Garden.

Conor McGregor

Eddie Alvarez

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Conor McGregor knocks out Eddie Alvarez to keep his title.

Fans of the UFC in NYC

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Fans of the UFC in NYC

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Famous Fans of UFC

Actor Hugh Jackman watches on from the front row.

Fans of the UFC in NYC

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Famous Fans of UFC

Madonna attends the UFC 205 event at Madison Square Garden.

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Fans of UFC at Madison Square Garden

Famous Fans of UFC

Actor Zac Efron watches during UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden.

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Bruce Buffer

McGregor vs. Alvarez

Victorious!

Conor McGregor defeats Eddie Alvarez.

UFC Fans in NYC

Famous Fans of UFC

New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. watches on at UFC 205.

Madison Square Garden

Woodley vs. Thompson

Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson. The fight would go on to end in a draw.

Woodley vs. Thompson

Woodley vs. Tompson

Stephen Thompson

Woodley vs. Thompson

Tyron Woodley (left) fights against Stephen Thompson in their welterweight championship bout.

Woodley vs. Thompson

Tyron Woodley of the United States (left) knocks down Stephen Thompson while defending his welterweight belt at UFC 205 in New York City.

Madison Square Garden

Home of the UFC 205 on Saturday November 12, 2016.

Edgar vs. Stephens

Frankie Edgar faces Jeremy Stephens at weigh-ins in Madison Square Garden.

Jeremy Stephens

Frankie Edgar

Edgar vs. Stephens

Frankie Edgar

Edgar vs. Stephens

Frankie Edgar fights against Jeremy Stephens in their featherweight bout at UFC 205 in New York City.

Liz Carmouche

Liz Carmouche weighs in before her fight against Katlyn Chookagian

Katyln Chookagian

Carmouche vs. Chookagian

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Liz Carmouche (right) fights against Katlyn Chookagian in their bantamweight bout.

Carmouche vs. Chookagian

Tate vs. Pennington

Miesha Tate (left) fights against Raquel Pennington in their bantamweight bout.

Miesha Tate

UFC veteran Miesha Tate weighs in before her fight against Raquel Pennington. Soon after she lost to Pennington, Tate announced her retirement.

Raquel Pennington

Romero vs. Weidman

Weidman vs. Romero

Yoel Romero

Romero vs. Weidman

Yoel Romero of Cuba reacts after his KO victory over Chris Weidmanin their middleweight bout.

Weidman vs. Romero

Kowalkiewicz vs. Jedrzejczyk

Karolina Kowalkiewicz goes up against Joanna Jedrzejczyk, both of Poland, at weigh-ins before their fight at Madison Square Garden

Kowalkiewicz vs. Jedrzejczyk

Karolina Kowalkiewicz of Poland (left) fights against Joanna Jedrzejczyk of Poland in their strawweight championship bout.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Luque vs. Muhammad

Vicente Luque of Brazil celebrates his win by TKO over Belal Muhammad.

Alves vs. Miller

Thiago Alves of Brazil (right) fights against Jim Miller at UFC 205.

Miller vs. Alves

Jim Miller vs Thiago Alves

Famous Fans of UFC

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and musician Demi Lavato at UFC 205.

UFC Fans in NYC

Madison Square Garden

UFC Fans in NYC

Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes

Ronda Rousey squares off against Amanda Nunes at weigh-ins. Rousey and Nunes will fight on December 30th 2016 for UFC 207 in Las Vegas.

Conor McGregor

It wasn’t until April that the governor signed a bill sanctioning MMA in New York. By then, the UFC had held hundreds of cards and was on the verge of being purchased for $4 billion. Still, there was a sense of milestone. For years, the question persisted: How could a sport be legitimized in the eyes of Madison Avenue or Wall Street when it couldn’t even be staged there? Now, the premise had, in the fighting colloquialism, been choked out.

Let’s be clear: seeing two dudes—or, increasingly, dudettes—beat the hell out of each other in a steel cage will always be an acquired taste. Nevertheless, the UFC did all it could to leave Manhattanites with a strong first impression. Promotion was relentless, as New Yorkers could scarcely enter a cab or pass a billboard without seeing a promo. Fighters held a series of open workouts and press conferences. Above all, “the biggest, baddest fight card,” as the UFC’s ringmaster Dana White put it, was the MMA equivalent of Woodstock, a stacked roster of acts, featuring three title bouts and putting the sport’s diversity—one of its real virtues—on full display. There were men and women; Americans and Europeans and Brazilians; veterans and upstarts; thick former college wrestlers and sinewy jiu-jitsu experts. And there was Notorious.

Tyron Woodley successfully defends belt against Stephen Thompson

Conor McGregor, he of the aforementioned mink, is often described as the personification of that pugnacious Notre Dame mascot. Already the featherweight champ, McGregor attempted on Saturday to become the lightweight champ as well. Talented as he is as a fighter, he is comparably skilled in the art of promotion. Last week, when he wasn’t tooling around New York in a $350,000 customized Rolls Royce, he was shopping in Midtown, drawing a crowd wherever he went. “I run this whole sh**,” he asserted before the fight. “I run New York….I’m the reason this whole thing is happening. If I wasn’t here, this whole ship goes down. There’s no one but me.”

Yes and no. With Ronda Rousey coming off a defeat and a protracted layoff, McGregor is, by orders of magnitude, the brightest star in the MMA cosmos. Like any ground fighter, he recognizes his leverage and uses it accordingly. (His compensation includes a cut of the pay-per-view buys, which exceeds 1.5 million for UFC 205.) But, by accident or design, the genius of the UFC is that it’s event-driven, not star-driven. UFC tribalists have their favorites, but unlike boxing—show of hands: who remembers boxing?—most of the crowd is there simply for the spectacle.

On Saturday night, the spectacle played out in front of a sold-out crowd that included Madonna, Odell Beckham and thousands of Irish fans who crossed an ocean. There was the unusual carnival of violence, not least when middleweight Chris Weidman, a local favorite, caught a knee to the left temple and began leaking blood.

By the time it was over, 1:30 a.m. Sunday to be precise, McGregor had knocked out Eddie Alvarez in the second round—winning the lightweight belt and becoming the first fighter ever to hold two belts simultaneously—and the UFC’s New York debut was an unqualified success. It had also set the record for the largest live gate in Madison Square Garden and UFC history with $17.7 million. It has increased the UFC’s colonization.

When, minutes after winning, McGregor gloated, “I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize… to absolutely nobody,” he could have been speaking for an entire sport.

Published Nov 13, 2016

JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.