The #Respect UFC athletes have for one another is unmatched! #UFC202 pic.twitter.com/2scrbOK5wk
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2016
It’s done. Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2 is in the books. Their storyline has dominated the MMA world for the last six months, and the second chapter belongs to Conor McGregor. The Irishman walks away with a majority decision in an extremely close back and forth fight that will go down in history.
Now Conor says the trilogy fight is on his terms, and he wants it at 155 pounds.
Here’s how it went down.
Conor walked out without his usual smile, he was confident. Nate walked out with like his usual shadowboxing self, with dueling walk out tunes — Biggie vs. Tupac. Everything about this fight…
Conor opened with leg kicks early and often, which seems to be the way to beat Nate Diaz. Then, he dropped Diaz early with his powerful and lightning fast left hand which would send Diaz to the mat. Diaz would get back up, Conor would keep on bruising his leg, and keep on busting him up on the feet. Conor was perfect. Nate was getting destroyed.
#NateDiaz gets tagged early!!!! #UFC202 https://t.co/M6QgECZEVa
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2016
Then he wasn’t.
With a minute left to go, Conor would get on his bicycle for some reason, take a deep breath and then Nate would turn it on. This was a fight.
OHHHH!!!!! #NateDiaz is gaining momentum!!!! #UFC202 https://t.co/ghOpkJCVG8
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2016
The #CelticCross is landing! #UFC202 pic.twitter.com/PDgXXU5ArM
— UFC (@ufc) August 21, 2016
Round 3 saw a lot of dirty boxing and Conor would land hard shots but Nate would laugh and point as Conor would escape, turn around and walk away from engaging. Towards the end of the third, Nate would open up combos on Conor which would send him reeling to the fence, and he was saved by the bell.
The 4th round saw Nate bleeding profusely. The potential of a doctor’s stoppage is real. Was this 2-2 going into the 5th?
Conor would hit Nate hard, but as he would jog away, boos would rain down. Nate would pressure him against the cage, but Conor simply wouldn’t go away. All the while, Nate would leak blood. In the end, Conor would have his hand raised in a majority decision: 48-47 47-47 and 48-47. It’s as close as it gets.
Conor would reveal a broken foot, Nate would say he had a horrible training camp plagued by injuries. It’s clear these two need to finish the trilogy.
https://twitter.com/briancoswald/status/767222451092598784
McGregor vs. Diaz II scorecard #UFC202 pic.twitter.com/zFJ5YdJ0bT
— Mike Chiappetta MMA (@MikeChiappetta) August 21, 2016