5 of the most memorable UFC fights that happened in Madison Square Garden
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.