The 10 Best UFC Moments From Madison Square Garden

It’s not the technical, mechanical elements of Nurmagomedov beating Johnson that makes this performance an automatic entrant onto this list, but rather the demoralizing and admittedly entertaining method in which the Russian standout talked to Johnson throughout the contest that has left it etched in my mind since watching it play out live on November 12, 2016.

In the midst of grinding on Johnson and battering him with heavy shots, Nurmagomedov suggested that “The Menace” give up, explaining to him that it was his destiny to go on and fight for the lightweight title. On one hand, it was polite and almost compassionate — a physically dominant athlete wanting to spare his opponent any unnecessary punishment. On the other hand, it’s some savage mental warfare and probably made the shots and eventual kimura that finished the fight sting a little more.

If it’s not happening already, there is going to come a time not too long from now when someone asks the question “… but how good was he really?” about Conor McGregor, and all you need to do in order to answer and show them his brilliance is cue up this contest.

On this night, on this stage, McGregor was the best fighter on the planet, bar none, and for him to dial up this kind of performance after the year he’d had only further speaks to his greatness.

Where Things Stand In The Lightweight Division

McGregor’s goal when he arrived in the UFC was to be a two-weight world champion just like he was in Cage Warriors, and after closing out 2015 by winning the featherweight title, the following year was supposed to start with a lightweight title bout opposite Rafael Dos Anjos. Instead, RDA got hurt and replaced by Nathan Diaz, who upset McGregor at UFC 196, sending the Irishman into hyper-focused revenge mode. He gained a measure of vengeance with a majority decision win at UFC 201, and then re-focused himself on claiming the lightweight title, which was now held by Alvarez.

The first of three championship bouts that closed out the UFC’s second appearance at The Garden, this might be the most surprising championship effort we’ve seen in New York City to date.

Jędrzejczyk entered with a 14-0 mark and five consecutive successful title defenses. She was “Joanna Champion,” and outside of a couple tense moments in her second bout with Claudia Gadelha, no one had really come close to unseating the Polish strawweight queen. Namajunas arrived off a second-round submission win over Michelle Waterson. She’d looked good and showed development since her time on The Ultimate Fighter, but this felt like a tall task for even someone as clearly talented as “Thug Rose.”

For the majority of the four years between what ended up being St-Pierre’s penultimate bout and this contest, there was speculation about the French-Canadian superstar returning to the Octagon, with fantasy matchmaking ideas following closely behind them.

After Bisping successfully defended the middleweight title against Dan Henderson in Manchester, he set his sights on drawing St-Pierre back for one more fight, and he was successful, eventually leading to this clash with GSP at MSG.

Bisping’s confidence grew through the end of the second round as he was able to scramble back to his feet after getting taken down and saw St-Pierre beginning to tire. He was even getting the better of things from the bottom after getting taken down early in the third, opening GSP up badly before kicking away and getting to his feet.

Long-time UFC photographer Josh Hedges captured everything that made this performance one that had to be included on this list in one image.

In the foreground is Lee, staring to his left, an almost defiant, satisfied look on his face. Behind him, Gillespie lays on the canvas, head held up by the fence as referee Dan Miragliotta motions for medical assistance while tending to the fallen lightweight.

On the other side of the Octagon wall, matchmaker Sean Shelby is leaning back in his chair, blown away by what he just witnessed. To his left, Megan Olivi appears to be letting out the kind of exhale that follows seeing something savage transpire inside the cage, and a couple seats down from her, Joe Rogan and Jon Anik can be seen in full astonishment mode, putting into words what Lee had just done for those watching at home.

This was Gillespie’s first career loss, and another in a series of outstanding efforts that Lee was able to occasionally manage that made you believe he was destined for greatness.

It never came to pass — he lost his next two fights, parted ways with the company for a year, and returned in July, only to suffer a third straight UFC loss and call it a career. He’s an all-time “couldn’t quite get there” guy for me, and this night will forever stand as an example of what might have been.

Chris Curtis defeats Phil Hawes (UFC 268)

This is the Sesame Street “One of These Things Is Not Like the Others” on this list in that it’s not a championship fight, nor does it feature a competitor that fought for or held UFC gold, but it’s an amazing moment, nonetheless.

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Curtis amassed 34 fights and briefly retired a couple times before finally getting his first opportunity to compete on the biggest stage in the sport. He’d raised his hand to replace Deron Winn opposite Hawes a month earlier at weigh-ins, seizing the moment to get his foot in the door, and while Hawes understandably declined to face him on one day notice, they were paired off together at MSG instead.

Does this one really need much explanation?

Gaethje and Chandler asked to open the main card because they and everyone else knew that this was going to be a 15-minute human demolition derby that set the tone for the rest of the evening.

The UFC obliged and then the lightweight stalwarts went out and delivered.

They combined to throw 428 significant strikes over three rounds (that’s 28.5 per minute!) and landed 219 of those blows, with Gaethje ultimately winning the “all gas, no brakes” affair that had everyone in attendance on their feet from the introductions through to the final horn.

Kamaru Usman defeats Colby Covington (UFC 268)

There is just something about two guys that do not like each other getting locked in a cage with one another for 25 minutes or less that makes for fantastic theatre, and that’s what we got in the second meeting between Usman and Covington.

Usman had won the first meeting roughly two years prior, collecting a fifth-round stoppage win in a competitive, back-and-forth affair that further elevated his stock and did nothing to diminish the standing of the vanquished challenger either. While the champ went on to post a pair of wins over Jorge Masvidal with a victory over Gilbert Burns sandwiched in between, Covington rolled through former champ Tyron Woodley in his lone appearance prior to the rematch.

When this one was announced, a lot of people thought we were going to get a close facsimile of the fight between Chandler and Gaethje that took place at The Garden the year before, but that’s not exactly what transpired.

Poirier has never been as keen to eschew defense and engage in a brawl as Gaethje, but these two still threw down from the opening bell, pairing off in the kind of high-stakes, tense affair both have become known for throughout their careers.

One year after making his promotional debut in the same building, Pereira returned to Madison Square Garden to face Adesanya for the middleweight title.

The two had fought twice in their kickboxing days, with the Brazilian winning both times, but Adesanya was the champion, unbeaten in the division, having successfully defended his title five times. He was bent on changing the narrative between the two, and for four rounds, that’s precisely what he did, wobbling Pereira at the buzzer in the first round before continuing to frustrate and out-land “Poatan” over the first 20 minutes.