THE UFC SPENT a long time lobbying to bring an event to New York City, so they look set to make the most of it now that the opportunity has finally arrived.
After the ban on professional mixed martial arts in the state of New York was lifted earlier this year, UFC 205 is set to take place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, 12 November.
News of who will feature on the landmark card has begun to trickle through in recent days, with a lightweight clash between Thiago Alves and New York native Al Iaquinta expected to be officially announced.
However, one that has got the MMA world talking is a welterweight bout between Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and former champion Robbie Lawler. UFC president Dana White revealed yesterday that a meeting of the two fan favourites has been agreed.
An unconfirmed potential fight for the bill is a middleweight match-up between Yoel Romero and ex-champion Chris Weidman, with Romero seemingly letting the cat out of the bag yesterday via an Instagram post which has since been deleted.
Also in the works, according to FloCombat, is a return from a two-year lay-off for veteran middleweight Tim Kennedy against former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.
However, Irish fans will be particularly keen to see what the UFC has in store for the main event. Rumours that Conor McGregor will be involved are gathering momentum this week, with a lightweight title challenge against reigning champion Eddie Alvarez a seemingly distinct possibility for the featherweight title-holder.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com last weekend, Alvarez said: “I feel like if this fight is signed and it happens, I feel like I’m about to tell the whole world that there’s no Santa Claus, and everybody is going to be disappointed.
“There’s no Santa Claus. He doesn’t exist. It was a lie and I’m going to steal the magic from everyone. The magic is gone, and I can’t wait. It’s going to be a great time for me.”
When asked if he expects to learn soon if the fight will take place, Alvarez said: “Yeah, we’re not far away. MSG [Madison Square Garden] is 10 weeks away today, so we should find out pretty soon.”
