Conor McGregor avenged his only loss in the UFC with a majority decision victory over Nate Diaz on Saturday night at UFC 202.
Advertisement
UFC president Dana White may have seen enough of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz after the match at UFC 202 as he seriously tells McGregor to defend his.
After the fight both men called for a rematch.
The Irishman took down Diaz twice more in the second round, bloodying his nose and appearing to have total control of the fight.
Watching it live, I didn’t think Diaz dominated McGregor that badly in the middle period, but McGregor was definitely in serious trouble. Diaz got dropped a couple of times, it looked like he was done, and he came back.
“All I know is its 1-1”, said McGregor in his post-fight interview inside the UFC octagon.
That said, White wasn’t too convinced a trilogy fight between the two men would happen right away, as he stated that “Notorious” would have to defend his Featherweight title next.
“It’s hard for my fans to come over here for fights and I understand that”. He’s a hell of a competitor.
But it’d be unfair to talk about the reactions without showing some of the people who thought Diaz won.
“Good job today Conor but we going for three, for real”.
McGregor began the fight by frequently kicking Diaz’s lead leg, which served to unbalance the American, before a straight left hand knocked him down heavily. He didn’t go out and get it like I wanted him to get it.
Now that he’s won, McGregor has evened out the wins at 1-1, leaving both fighters with a chance to come back for a third fight to close out a trilogy for the ages. But the strategy worked for McGregor, who was able to avoid the ground game that ultimately lost him their initial fight at UFC 196.
McGregor has not defended his featherweight belt since taking it from Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December.
One that stood out the most was Anthony Johnson’s 12-second knockout victory over Glover Teixeira. Fighting Rick Story, Cowboy landed a attractive combo in the second round, which dropped him, and he followed up with some shots on the ground before the referee called it off.
Known for his durability, Diaz then landed two telling strikes of his own, forcing McGregor back against the cage towards the end of the round and grabbing the momentum.
Advertisement
Donald Cerrone (31-7) stopped Rick Story (19-9) in a battle of ranked welterweights.
