All the Conor McGregor misanthropists, who bashed the Notorious one leading up to the much-awaited fight against Nate Diaz, may have turned over a new leaf after McGregor settled the scores with the Stockton native, by scoring a majority decision victory in an unforgettable five-round war.
Conor looked calm and composed from the time he emerged from the locker room, which served as an indicator that he had a gameplan and was focused on executing it to avoid the events that put him down in the first outing at UFC 196. Conor deployed the same tactic that Rafael Dos Anjos so masterfully used against Nate, as the Notorious one targeted Nate’s right leg with swift kicks at regular intervals and at the same time, showed off some neat head movement to avoid Nate’s strikes.
Conor showed the fruits of his homework in the first round, and continued his dominance in the second round too, until a resurgent Nate, who was finding it tough to get his act going, took the fight to Conor in the dying stages of the second round. Conor knocked Nate down more than a couple of times, and resisted going for the kill to avoid falling into Nate's guard, thus ensuring that the bout to be a stand-up showdown highlighting the insane resilience, heart, and chins that both the competitors have.
In spite of looking gassed out, Conor hung in there and clinched his way to safety, recuperating to ensure he outpointed Nate at the end of five rounds. And to top things off, the trilogy was all but confirmed after both Nate and Conor agreed to the unanimous consent of the crowd of going at it for the third time. The next time, though, Conor wants it at the weight class that he reigns in, the featherweight division.
The potential match of the year wasn’t the only thing that made UFC 202 an all round success, as Anthony Rumble Johnson became the first man to knock Glover Teixeira out, 13 seconds into the first round with a monstrous uppercut, solidifying himself as the most feared man in the UFC. He called out DC, who was in attendance and defended Cormier from the boos of the fans by showering praise on how good an athlete and champion DC is.
The card also saw Cerrone making a statement with a classic ‘Cowboy’ display with an impressive finish over a lackluster Rick Story. Cerrone took advantage of the fact that Story wasn't playing to his wrestling strengths, and from the get-go, wore him down with his trademark kicks and punches. Cowboy wrapped things up with a beautiful combination that included a body shot coupled with a shot straight to the head followed by a massive head kick to end Rick’s “story’.
Cerrone’s impressive performances at 170 continue, but Cowboy stated that he’d go back to Lightweight to face Eddie Alvarez again for the title he feels he’s destined to have around his waist.
The card also saw the solid UFC debut of Mike “The Platinum’ Perry, who continued his undefeated run by face planting Hyun Gyu Lim with an explosive shot, following it up with the customary strikes. A great start for the welterweight prospect. The main card started off with a bang as Tim Means made a mess out of Sabah Homasi face by dominating him in the fight that lasted for a round and a half before Herb Dean intervened. The Dirty Bird shut Homasi up with a mixture of kicks and punches to notch up a solid finish.
UFC 202 delivered on all fronts and has set things up perfectly for the subsequent PPVs. Here are the quick results from the card that took place in Las Vegas, Nevada:
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass
- Lorenz Larkin def. Neil Magny, TKO (Round 1, 4:08)
- Colby Covington def. Max Griffin, TKO (Round 3, 2:18)
- Marvin Vettori def. Alberto Uda, submission (Round 1, 4:30)
Prelims on Fox Sports 1
- Cody Garbrandt def. Takeya Mizugaki, TKO (Round 1, 0:48)
- Raquel Pennington def. Elizabeth Phillips, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Artem Lobov def. Chris Avila, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Cortney Casey def. Randa Markos, (Round 1, 4:34)
UFC 202 Main Card
- Conor McGregor def. Nate Diaz, majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47)
- Anthony Johnson def. Glover Teixeira, knockout (Round 1, 0:13)
- Donald Cerrone def. Rick Story, TKO (Round 2, 2:02)
- Mike Perry def. Hyun Gyu Lim, TKO (Round 1, 3:38)
- Tim Means def. Sabah Homasi, TKO (Round 2, 2:56)
