MMA: Conor McGregor ‘Termanates’ Dennis Siver By Technical Knockout
Conor McGregor delivered on his pre-fight prediction that he’d knock Dennis Siver out at UFC Fight Night, only the Irish featherweight won in the second round instead of the first couple of minutes as he had predicted.
McGregor finished off his over-matched opponent with a TKO at 1:54 in the second round of the fight inside Boston’s TD Garden Arena where large swathes of the crowd were decked out in green, singing “Olé, Olé, Olé” and “The Fields of Athenry,” which the Irish Times reported was an indication of Boston’s Irish heritage and the numerous fans who had traveled from Ireland to attend the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s featherweight bout between King Conor and the Russian-born Siver who was fighting out of Mannheim, Germany.
Arnold Schwarzenegger chimed in after the show with a tweet on from his Twitter account in which he congratulated McGregor on “terminating another opponent.”
Congrats to the McGregor-nator @TheNotoriousMMA on terminating another opponent. Can't wait for your world championship fight. I'll be there
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) January 19, 2015
Strong ticket sales for the fight were particularly impressive given the location of the game, Boston, and the fact that the New England Patriots played in their conference championship game on the same night, just a few miles outside of the city, Irish Times reported. With 19,000 in attendance at the arena, the fight was virtually sold out.
The 26-year-old Conor “The Notorious” McGregor measures in at 5’9? (1.75 m) and weighs 145 pounds, which is two inches taller than 36-year-old Siver.
Dennis Siver is a Russian-German mixed martial artist who was ranked No. 10 in the official UFC featherweight rankings as of January 5, 2015.
McGregor, a former CWFC Featherweight Champion and Lightweight Champion, is the first professional Irish fighter to hold titles in two separate divisions. He’s a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has a record of 17 wins, 15 by knockout, and 2 losses.
UFC promoters made it clear in the build-up to the fight that the bout was the final outing before Conor’s featherweight title fight, which will take place later this year.
In regards to the inaccuracy of his pre-fight prediction, the Irishman apologized misspeaking during his post-fight interview, as he said, “I said two minutes — I meant two rounds,” ESPN reported.
“I said two minutes — I meant two rounds […] I felt comfortable throughout. I don’t think any of these featherweights pose a threat. Every single one keeps talking but I don’t hear them talking about skill or technique, because they know I own that.”
McGregor dropped siver with a straight left, mounted him, and then landed a series of elbows which went unanswered. At this point, Referee Herb Dean stopped the bout and announced McGregor the victor by technical knockout (TKO). Immediately after the fight, McGregor jumped up and over the cage where he confronted UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, who had attended the fight.
McGregor will take on the division’s longtime featherweight champion, Aldo, who has a record of 25-1, for the 145-pound featherweight title later this year.
The fight leaves Siver with a record of 3-2 as a UFC featherweight. Inquisitr reported on Saturday that McGregor had said, “his career is done” in reference to Siver.
What do you think, is this the end of Siver’s UFC career?
[Image via MMA Junkie]
