#Knockeando: UFC 205
Por Daniel “Mr. Clutch”
Mercado Castro
No tan solo se coronó como rey absoluto de la UFC al
echarse a New York en el bolsillo, si no que quiere escalar niveles y está
listo par boxear ante el retirado Floyd Mayweather Jr. por una suma de $100
millones de dólares cash. Sin duda la palabra historia se ha convertido en una
filosofía de retos para Conor McGregor dentro de los lares deportivos, hasta la
WWE le tiene el ojo puesto por si quiere tratar la lucha libre, donde encajaría
a la perfección con sus dotes al micrófono y extrema condición física. Sin duda
la cara de UFC puede sentarse a pedir, inclusive hasta una silla
administrativa, pues el “Notorious” le está llenando los bolsillos a los jefes.
El debut de UFC en New York City fue todo un éxito y
puntillazo final lo dio Conor McGregor al convertirse en el primer peleador en
poseer dos correas al mismo tiempo en UFC. McGregor (21-3) le propinó un TKO a
los 3:04 del 2do asalto a Eddie Álvarez (28-5) para arrebatarle la faja
Lightweight para unirla con la que posee Featherweight. Conor desde el primer
asalto le tenía la izquierda marcada a Eddie, fue paciente, y en el segundo
asalto lo fulminó con combinación de izquierda, derecha, izquierda y derecha
para hacer historia en la UFC. Lo próximo para McGregor es descanso para cuidar
de su embarazada esposa. Ya se rumora una posible pelea con Woodley o
Nurmagomedov. ¿Y la revancha con Aldo? A pues bien.
Tyron Woodley (16-3-1) retuvo su faja Welterweight en un
controversial combate ante Stephen Thompson (13-1-1) donde la pelea acabo con
un empate mayoritario (47-47, 48-47 y 47-47) luego de que por error habían
declarado a Woodley ganador vía decisión dividida. Yo vi ganando a Woodley
48-47, ya que dominó a Thompson en los primeros tres asaltos y tuvo break de
liquidarlo si no hubiera intentado una guillotina. El “Wonder Boy” Thompson
pierde su racha de 7 victorias seguidas y sin duda buscará una revancha luego
de dar un gran combate.
La 3era pelea de campeonato de la mega cartelera UFC 205
fue la gran pelea entre Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0) vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz
(10-1). Joanna le quitó el invicto a Karolina y retuvo su faja Strawweight con
una victoria por decisión unánime (49-46, 49-46 y 49-46). La campeona dominó
con su striking un difícil combate con una retadora que nunca se quitó.
El cubano Yoel Romero (12-1) dio el palo de la noche al
vencer al ex campeón mediano Chris Weidman (14-2) con un rodillazo volador a
los 24 segundos del 3er asalto. Son 8 victorias seguidas para Romero y ya reto
a Michael Bisping para una batalla por la faja. Weidman está entrando en un territorio
peligroso con su 2da derrota seguida. Romero ahora es el contendor #1. Raquel
Pennington (9-6) venció a su coach de TUF Miesha Tate (18-7) por decisión unánime
(30-27, 30-27 y 29-28) con buen dominio de posición, takedowns y efectivo
striking. Tate luego de la derrota anunció su retiro de UFC y su razón
principal es que ya no es su tiempo, aparte de que ha recibido mucho castigo.
Sin duda extrañaremos a esta bella mujer dentro del octágono.
El Fight of the Night fue la batalla
entre Woodley vs Thompson y los bonos de Performance of the Night se lo
llevaron McGregor y Romero. La asistencia fue de 20,427 y la UFC se llevo una
cartera de $17.7 millones de dólares, suma record para la empresa y MSG.
En las batallas preliminares de UFC 205: Frankie Edgar
(20-5-1) derrotó por decisión unánime (30-27, 30-27 y 29-28) a Jeremy Stephens
(25-13); Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0) mantuvo su invicto al rendir a los 2:31 del
3er asalto con una Kimura a Michael Johnson (18-11); Tim Boetsh (20-10) se apuntó
un TKO a los 3:22 del 1er asalto con una fuerte derecha al rostro de Rafael
Natal (21-8-1); Vicente Luque (11-5-1), quien cortó 30 libre en 2 semanas, le
propinó un TKO a los 1:19 del 1er asalto con una solida izquierda seguida de
una contundente derecha al rostro de Belal Muhammand (10-2); Jim Miller (28-8)
se apuntó un triunfo por decisión unánime (30-27, 30-27 y 29-28) sobre el
veterano Thiago Alves (26-11) y Liz Carmouche (10-5) se apuntó un triunfo por
decisión dividida (29-28, 28-29 y 29-28) sobre Katlyn Chookagian (8-1).
El Clutch Deportivo tuvo la oportunidad de cubrir el
evento y las fotos se encuentran en www.elclutchdeportivo.com.
Para vídeos pasen por www.youtube.com/elclutchdeportivoPR
QUOTES AND SCORECARDS
Conor McGregor def. Eddie Alvarez via second-round TKO.
Conor McGregor:
“Eddie is a warrior but he shouldn’t be in there with me. I am a different level. Now, I celebrate as champion of two divisions.”
Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen Thompson ruled a majority draw.
Tyron Woodley:
“I don’t know what to think. At the end of the day, it’s a big difference to get the draw than to get the win but I’ll take either over a loss any day. I just hate leaving the Octagon in that type of situation. I had some good moments. I could’ve pressed him more but I feel like the only significant damage done in that fight was by me. I should’ve created a little more distance when I rocked him so I could land more shots and end it. I went for the guillotine and feel like that was a bad decision. Even then, I thought that was close to a 10-8 round. I don’t agree with the draw. I thought I won but he’s a tough kid and it was a great fight.”
Stephen Thompson:
“I thought that I did enough to finish out that last round and get the draw. Of course, I’d rather have the win but it is what it is. We both went out there and fought our hearts out. I hope we can do it again. Nothing else would interest me. I want the rematch. I don’t want anything but that rematch.”
Joanna Jedrzejczyk def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via unanimous decision.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk:
“Polish girls are the toughest in the world! Karolina was very tough. I am the best in the world and I continued to prove that tonight. I will be champion for a long time.”
Karolina Kowalkiewicz:
“I am very proud of my performance. I did my best to push her and I know that I hurt her. She is a great fighter but I want to do this again. Next year, I want to do this again in Poland and I will be the new champion.”
Yoel Romero def. Chris Weidman via third-round TKO (flying knee).
Yoel Romero:
“I am extremely happy. There are no words to express how I feel in this moment. Every fight of this magnitude will always be difficult. There was a lot of back and forth and I did my best to take advantage of situations as they came. I waited on him to rush in. I thought he was beginning to feel comfortable enough to do this and then I caught him with the knee. It is an honor to be a part of UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden but now I want my shot at the title.”
Raquel Pennington def. Miesha Tate via unanimous decision.
Raquel Pennington:
“It’s an honor to be here. It’s exciting to be a part of the first UFC card at Madison Square Garden. It’s surreal to me. I tried to put all of that pressure to the side, so I think it’s still setting in and will feel even better over the next couple of days. This was a huge fight for me – the biggest fight of my career. She’s a huge name in the sport and a former champion. During ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ we developed a friendship but business is business. I knew I had to go out there and take care of business tonight. I feel like a lot of people underestimate my ground game, but I am a grappler at heart and I feel my most comfortable there so her submission attempts didn’t feel threatening. I just waited for her to make small mistakes and, when she did, I was ready to start teeing off. I want to keep working my way up. I’ve been the dark horse of women’s MMA for a while and I feel like I deserve the top spot. I want the title shot but I will fight anyone above me.”
Frankie Edgar def. Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision.
Frankie Edgar:
“This feels incredible. It wasn’t an easy camp, I actually tore my MCL and had to get an epidural in my back but nothing was going to stop me from fighting in New York City. Jeremy is a beast. I knew I was going to have my hands full. He brings it every time he steps in the Octagon and he did exactly what I expected. That kick rung my bell for a second, but I felt I rallied back. Of course, one judge gave Jeremy the round but what can you do? He’s a tough guy and I knew that could happen. I want to fight in Brooklyn. That’s all I care about. I should have someone in mind. I should say a name. I’m just going to get back in the gym, talk to my team and get ready to fight. Give me the Brooklyn card!”
Jeremy Stephens:
“I prepared very well. I feel I’m in excellent shape. Frankie just landed those takedowns. I gave up a couple and he capitalized on those. I felt like I was standing up well, knocked him down, he was running around a lot but I gave up too many takedowns. I felt I was close to finishing him when I landed the kick and the knee back to back. Frankie is a really tough guy though. He was hanging on to me. I tried to land some elbows. It just didn’t get the job done. I’m looking forward to being home with my family.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Michael Johnson via third-round submission (kimura).
Khabib Nurmagomedov:
“I came in and executed my game plan. Michael is good but I am the best in the world. I want to stay humble but I have to talk. Ireland only has 6 million people, Russia has 150 million. I want to fight your chicken! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Michael Johnson:
“I was confident in my striking. I didn’t question his but I know what I am capable of. I worked hard in the gym to prepare for his takedowns but, bottom line, he is a great chain wrestler and I need to get back in the gym and make progress. He just got me in the end of the fight. I want to get back to my gym, work on some things and hopefully find an opponent in the Top 5 or Top 10.”
Tim Boetsch def. Rafael Natal via first-round knockout.
Rafael Natal:
“I’m disappointed but I can take nothing away from Tim. I have lived in New York for eight years and it has been my dream to fight in Madison Square Garden. I will be back.”
Tim Boetsch:
“That was a lot of fun. I took my time, I looked for the perfect shot and I found it. Once I got him to the cage, I was able to slow him down a bit and he wasn’t able to find his range anymore so I knew I had to capitalize. Very happy with my performance tonight!”
Vicente Luque def. Belal Muhammad via first-round knockout (strikes).
Vicente Luque:
“I didn’t see the night ending that early, but it is New York and I got a late opportunity to be here so I knew I was going to put everything I had out there. Belal Muhammad is one of the toughest guys in our division so I was prepared to go all three rounds but I got it done in one and it just doesn’t get better than that! Performing like this in Madison Square Garden is the most special thing ever to me. I was born in New Jersey and I’ve been to New York City many, many times so this is a really special moment to me. I want and deserve a Top 15 opponent. Anyone in the rankings. I would love to face a great striker to put on a show, but I’m ready for whoever comes next!”
Jim Miller def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision.
Jim Miller:
“For me, it was so special to be fighting here in Madison Square Garden. There is so much history here and winning inside this arena is a dream come true. I really thought Thiago brought it tonight. He’s been in there with some of the best there is and I think we put on a great show for the fans. I want the Fight of the Night bonus! Just getting to compete was an honor but, with what we did in there, I think we earned it and it would be just a little sweeter to pick up the bonus. My plan is to stay active. I still have a lot I want to do in the Octagon so I’m going to rest up and get right back to it!”
Thiago Alves:
“It felt great to step into Madison Square Garden. It’s a big venue. It’s a legendary venue. I really wanted to put on a show for my fans and I’m very disappointed that I didn’t get the win. I know that Jim Miller is a game opponent and that he would be a tough test for me. He did everything he was supposed to and it was really me who did not get things done. My plan was to call out a big name opponent with a win, but now I just want to get back out there and show what I can do.”
Liz Carmouche def. Katlyn Chookagian via Split Decision.
Liz Carmouche:
“It feels amazing to pick up the first ever UFC victory in New York City! I didn’t anticipate the takedowns coming as easily. I really wanted to stand and bang with her but the takedowns came natural and I decided to exploit that. When Katlyn landed the kick in the 3rd round, I was worried. I didn’t feel like the fight would be stopped but I knew it might sway the judges. I am very happy to be back and want to get back to work soon. I’ll take anybody in the division!”
