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UFC 194: 1-punch knockout sends Conor McGregor past Jose Aldo

Luke Rockhold takes middleweight title from Chris Weidman via fourth-round TKO

New UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor

L.E. Baskow

New UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor connects with a left to the face of Jose Aldo during the UFC 194 main event Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Updated Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 | 10:31 p.m.

UFC 194 Weigh-ins at MGM Grand

UFC featherweight interim titleholder Conor McGregor flexes and yells during UFC 194 weigh-ins Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Launch slideshow »

One punch that will last for eternity in UFC lore unraveled a decade of dominance and a year of buildup.

Conor McGregor knocked Jose Aldo out cold in one of the biggest fights in UFC history Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. And he did it immediately.

McGregor’s second punch was a counter left hand that connected right on Aldo’s chin to end the Brazilian’s 18-fight winning streak 13 seconds into their featherweight championship bout.

“Nobody can take that shot,” McGregor said while still in the octagon. “He’s powerful and fast, but precision beats power and timing beats speed, and that’s why I’m here.”

McGregor commended his longtime rival after notching the fastest-ever finish in a UFC title fight but also celebrated with some of his standard brashness. He climbed to the top of the cage and faked shuffling money out of his hands.

He also jigged out of the arena to his usual walkout song, “I'm Shipping Up To Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys, while his partisan crowd of fans with Irish flags danced right along.

“Ireland, we did it,” were McGregor’s final words to the crowd.

Aldo said he remembered the entire sequence, but he was clearly unconscious from the strike. He asked for an immediate rematch, but that seems like a long shot given the decisive finish and with former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar in line for an opportunity.

“These are fundamentals,” McGregor said. “That’s all it takes with my left hand.”

McGregor’s interim championship belt, which he won against Chad Mendes when injury pulled Aldo out of their bout when it was scheduled this summer, turned into the undisputed title. He’s the first man aside from Aldo to ever hold it.

He wasn’t the only new champion. McGregor closed as the slight underdog just like Luke Rockhold in the co-main event middleweight championship.

But Rockhold manhandled previously undefeated Chris Weidman, winning via TKO at 3:12 of the fourth round.

After an even first round, everything turned in Rockhold’s favor. Weidman miraculously made it out of the third despite getting pummeled with hundreds of ground-and-pound shots.

Rockhold finished through the same method in the next round.

“I was hoping he stopped it (in the third),” Rockhold said as he gasped for breath. “But I sucked it up and had to do another round. Whatever. All I care about is I got the belt.”

Rockhold’s first title defense will come against Yoel Romero, who defeated Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by split decision (29-27, 29-28, 28-29) in the closest bout of the night. Romero nearly knocked out Souza in the first and held on for the victory.

McGregor’s teammate Gunnar Nelson didn’t have such a memorable night. The welterweight managed hardly any offense in getting out-grappled by Demian Maia, who earned a unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25).

Max Holloway won an eighth straight fight to close in on a second opportunity at McGregor, beating Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in the pay-per-view opening featherweight bout.

Holloway previously gave McGregor the closest fight of his UFC career. McGregor notched by far his most emphatic victory Saturday night.

“I feel for Jose,” McGregor said. “He was a phenomenal champion. He deserved to go longer.”

Come back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage of UFC 194 and look below for live round-by-round coverage and preliminary results.

Pre-fight

Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor have spent hundreds of hours promoting and thousands more preparing all for what will last a maximum of 25 minutes tonight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The biggest fight of 2015 headlines the year’s final pay-per-view card as a unification bout for the featherweight championship is only a couple hours away at UFC 194. Aldo and McGregor have expressed exhaustion over the endless responsibilities that have come since their showdown was established in May, and now they get to take it out on each other — in front of a record crowd.

The MGM is sold out with UFC President Dana White reporting a gate in excess of $10 million, which would break the mixed martial arts record in Nevada established over the summer at McGregor’s last fight.

The few folks in the arena not adorned in Irish colors to support McGregor are representing Brazil and behind Aldo. The anticipation has reached such an extreme that it might be hard for some to remember there’s another just as big as the main event on the card.

Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold clash in the co-main event for the middleweight title in what appears as one of the most competitively matched championship bouts in recent memory. Perhaps due to the fatigue Aldo and McGregor feel towards each other, Weidman and Rockhold have surprisingly done more of the trash talk during fight week.

Rockhold promises to have spotted flaws in Weidman’s game that no one else has during the champion’s undefeated career. Weidman dismisses the suggestion, and accuses Rockhold of having an inflated ego that will ultimately lead to his downfall.

It’s time to find out. Only three fights separate the championship portion of the card.

First, Max Holloway begins the pay-per-view seeking an eighth straight win at featherweight in a bout against Jeremy Stephens. Holloway is the only big favorite on the main card, as a welterweight near pick’em between Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson follows.

The winner of Weidman and Rockhold will find their next opponent in the fight below them. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero clash in a middleweight title eliminator between two fighters who are a combined 11-0 in the UFC.

There should be plenty of excitement to keep the crowd largely in attendance for Aldo vs. McGregor occupied.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for a round-by-round live blog of the main-card action and check below for full results from the preliminary card.

Urijah Faber may have backed his way into a fourth UFC title fight, this time against the winner of the meeting between rivals Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw in January. Faber defeated Frankie Saenz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28), despite encountering plenty of resistance after nearly getting a knockout early in the second round.

Tecia Torres defeated Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a strawweight bout. The first two rounds were slow with Torres merely controlling the action with her wrestling, but she opened up in the third round to outstrike Jones-Lybarger with combinations.

Each of the two Brazilians on the undercard scored a victory. Warrley Alves was the most recent, submitting Colby Covington via guillotine choke at 1:26 of the first round for a minor upset in a welterweight bout.

It might be time to start considering lightweight Leonardo Santos more than a submission specialist. Santos, the biggest underdog on the card at 4-to-1, knocked out Kevin Lee at 3:26 of the first round with a straight right to halt the rise of one of the UFC's top prospects.

A new lightweight prospect has emerged. Magomed Mustafaev knocked out Joe Proctor at 1:54 of the first round with a knee to the body and ensuing ground and pound for the second stoppage to start his UFC career.

There was much suspense for the reading of the judges’ scorecards after a lightweight bout between John Makdessi and Yancy Medeiros. The judges rendered a split decision to Medeiros by scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 28-29.

Court McGee’s comeback went smoothly. McGee, winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” 11, defeated Marcio Alexandre Jr. by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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