The octagon lay in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden on Saturday evening, with the UFC bringing three title fights to New York City.
Three new champions were crowned, devastating knockouts were on show. But which moments truly defined the night?
OH MY GOODNESS!
Georges St-Pierre chokes out Michael Bisping and is the new middleweight champion! 🏆
#UFC217
Georges St. Pierre returns in style!
All the doubts around his return. Could he carry the extra weight? Would he be too rusty after four years out?
The first round, he looked phenomenal. His striking under the guidance of legendary boxing trainer Freddie Roach appeared to have evolved to match, if not surpass the striking skills of Michael Bisping. He outstruck his opponent and landed a takedown to seal the round.
Into the second round and it looked like GSP may struggle with the extra weight. He began to breathe heavy and slowed down the pace considerably. Bisping tried to take advantage and began to land punches and kicks on his Canadian opponent. GSP appeared to look like he was fading further.
GSP went back to his dominant fighting style in the third round, taking Bisping down in the opening fifteen seconds. The Brit caused issues with elbows from the bottom cutting the challenger open. St. Pierre emerged with a face full of blood but moments later, landed a perfect left hook, sending Bisping to the canvas.
The legend attempted to finish the fight with ground and pound, but Bisping survived before St. Pierre locked in a rear-naked choke whilst the champion was trying to escape. The Clitheroe-raised middleweight refused to tap and eventually went out cold to the submission which left GSP as only the fourth man to win UFC titles in two weight divisions.
Did GSP impress you on his return? Will he remain at middleweight and face interim champion Robert Whittaker?
TJ Dillashaw recovers from knockdown to take the title!
TJ Dillashaw became the second new champion on the evening, upsetting the odds in the process whilst dethroning rival Cody Garbrandt.
It wasn’t all that straightforward however, with the champion seriously hurting the challenger and the buzzer coming to Dillashaw’s rescue. TJ’s corner team did an excellent job in the interval to bring their fighter back around.
Ninety seconds into the second round, Dillashaw landed a perfectly-timed head kick, dropping Garbrandt. The champion would later return to his feet, but not for long as Dillashaw connected with a right hook to send his rival back down to the canvas. Hammerfists followed forcing Dan Miragliotta to step in and declare another new champion!
That certainly won’t be the end of the Garbrandt-Dillashaw rivalry. Chapter 2 will be coming soon! Who’s next for the champion?
Rose Namajunas shocks the world!
Possibly one of the greatest shocks in the history of the sport. Rose Namajunas stuns strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk inside the first round, with the former champion tapping to strikes.
The challenger came out relaxed and looked comfortable despite the champion’s pre-fight antics in which she labelled herself the ‘boogeywoman’ and stated that she would take her opponent’s soul.
Namajunas dropped the champion after just two minutes, before Joanna briefly recovered. A left hand followed from the American, sending the Pole to the canvas before Namajunas swarmed her opponent, forcing Jedrzejczyk to tap due to strikes.
We have a new strawweight queen! Joanna’s undefeated record is no more, and Rose Namajunas is just twenty-five-years-old… What a moment!
Ovince Saint Preux lands huge head kick knockout of Corey Anderson
Former light heavyweight title challenger Ovince Saint Preux made it three consecutive wins in under seven months, with a stunning third round head kick knockout over Corey Anderson.
Anderson was in control, and was almost certainly two rounds up heading into the final round. He was outwrestling and outlasting Saint Preux despite the latter landing the more powerful strikes.
Saint Preux landed a stunning head kick to leave his opponent sprawled on the canvas and simply strolled away. The American puts himself back in contention in a thin division at 205lbs.
Ricardo Ramos lands second-ever spinning back elbow KO in UFC history
The stunning knockouts didn’t stop there, with Brazilian bantamweight Ricardo Ramos opening the evening with an outrageous spinning back elbow, starching previously unbeaten Canadian Aiemann Zahabi.
After taking the first round with multiple takedowns, as well as regularly attacking Zahabi’s legs, Ramos struggled in the second round and looked to be out of options. A new option presented itself in the third round with Ramos attempting a spinning back elbow, and then landing one just moments later.
The twenty-two-year-old moves to 2-0 in the octagon and he clearly has the potential to make an impact on the bantamweight division.
