UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver (UFN 59) took place on January 18, 2015 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
The main event was a 5-round bout between the charismatic Conor McGregor and the 18-fight UFC veteran Dennis Siver. It was announced beforehand that if McGregor would win he would be the next challenger to José Aldo’s UFC Featherweight Championship.
Check out our biggest winners and losers from UFN 59 below.
Winners:
Conor McGregor:
All Conor McGregor had to do was win and he would be granted a title shot against José Aldo and that was exactly what he did. In a very one-sided fight, the Irishman was able to stop Dennis Siver via TKO at 1:54 of Round 2. Not many people were giving Siver much of a chance to win and McGregor proved why. Once again McGregor was barely touched on his way to being 5-0 in the UFC. After the fight, McGregor jumped out of the cage and confronted the UFC Featherweight Champion. So, the hype train continues and ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor will take on the only man to ever hold the UFC Featherweight Championship José Aldo.
Donald Cerrone:
Donald Cerrone entered UFN 59 having won his last six fights and was set to take on the former UFC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson, whom already beat him twice. In a very close, but entertaining fight, ‘Cowboy’ was able to squeak out a controversial decision victory. Nonetheless, Cerrone is on an impressive seven-fight win streak and is 2-0 in the month of January against top 10 lightweights. Cerrone is already deserving of a title shot, but he seems to care more about being active than getting championships and it would surprise no one if he were to face Khabib Nurmagomedov in a number one contender fight next.
Losers:
Norman Parke:
Norman Parke came into UFN 59 with an impressive 21-2-1 record, but was set to take on his toughest test in Gleison Tibau. Before the fight, Parke expressed interest in fighting Khabib Nurmagomedov, but after the performance he put on that is even less likely now than before the fight. Parke and Tibau both put on a rather lackluster performance, but Tibau was able to squeak out the decision victory. It is the first loss Parke has suffered in his UFC career and he will likely have to win another fight before he gets a ranked opponent.
Judges:
MMA judging is always highly criticized and rightfully so. This was another bad night for the judges. Cathal Pendred got a unanimous decision victory over Sean Spencer in a fight where he may have not won a round. In fact, two judges gave him all three rounds including round one where he was dropped and visibly hurt for a long time. ‘Robbery’ should not be thrown around the way it is by MMA fans, but that decision was truly a ‘robbery’. In the co-main event, Donald Cerrone picked up a decision victory in a much closer fight, but many believed that Benson Henderson won. The co-main was certainly not a ‘robbery’, but it was another controversial decision.
