At some point, they all fall down.
On Saturday night in Las Vegas, chokeholds were the kryptonite for the Supermen and Superwomen on the card. Nate Diaz shocked the world by upsetting UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor via submission in the second round.
Yes, you read that correctly.
In the first round, McGregor got the better of Diaz with his striking, but the shots didn’t have the same effect on the 170-pound veteran. McGregor seemed to get desperate midway through the first round, and it started to cost him late in the frame.
Diaz landed some shots before the buzzer that were precursors to the next round.
In the second, Diaz landed a one-two combination that dazed McGregor. The Irish champion stayed on his feet, but Diaz knew he was hurt. He fired and landed another combo that forced McGregor to shoot for the takedown.
That’s not his game. Diaz easily stuffed it and turned it into a rear-naked choke as McGregor squirmed to try to avoid the finish. It was only a matter of time before Diaz sunk it in under his chin, and McGregor tapped out.
Diaz was his normal unabashed self during his post-fight interview. Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com shared the vintage Diaz quote:
McGregor gave Diaz credit for his win but still offered a dry excuse about coming up in weight, per MMAFighting.com:
It’s true: McGregor won his title at 145 pounds and was originally supposed to be moving up only one division to challenge Rafael Dos Anjos for the 155-pound crown. His jump was unprecedented, and he wasn’t up to the task.
Mick Akers of the Pahrump Valley Times laced McGregor with one of thousands of tweets aimed to force him to eat his words:
During the pre-fight hype, McGregor talked about fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. and even beating Jesus Christ. (Warning: Videos contain NSFW language.)
On Saturday, he couldn’t handle a 170-pound guy from Stockton, California. McGregor will be back, but chances are that he won’t be in a hurry to compete at 170 pounds anytime soon.
His dominance is likely confined to featherweight or perhaps lightweight. With that said, guys such as Dos Anjos and Khabib Nurmagomedov are probably licking their chops after watching Diaz manhandle McGregor on the ground.
That wasn’t the only upset of the evening.
Tate Puts Holm to Sleep to Win Title
Holly Holm didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder, but that’s what everyone is going to call her. Miesha Tate submitted her with a rear-naked choke in the fifth and final round to become the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
MMA Infographics shared a telling image:
Tate did a great job of avoiding Holm’s heavy strikes, and when she got the fight to the ground, she dominated. In the second round, Tate almost secured the submission victory, but Holm did a great job of escaping. She wasn’t as fortunate in the fifth.
Holm stuffed all of Tate’s takedown attempts until the final round. Tate expertly transitioned to Holm’s back and locked in the choke. Holm attempted to fight off the hold, but she couldn’t. Ultimately, consciousness slipped away, and so did her title.
Per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting, Tate knew she was in desperation mode after likely having lost three of the first four rounds:
Who knows what Tate’s victory means for the UFC women’s bantamweight division? Will Holm get an immediate rematch, or will she have to face Ronda Rousey again before earning a shot?
We’ll likely find out soon. Here’s a look at all of the results from Saturday’s card.
UFC 196 Fight Pass Preliminary Card
- Featherweight: Teruto Ishihara def. Julian Erosa via second-round knockout.
- Lightweight: Jason Saggo def. Justin Salas via first-round technical knockout.
- Lightweight: Diego Sanchez def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).
UFC 196 Fox Sports 1 Preliminary Card
- Featherweight: Darren Elkins def. Chas Skelly via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26).
- Middleweight: Vitor Miranda def. Marcelo Guimaraes via second-round technical knockout.
- Welterweight: Nordine Taleb def. Erick Silva via second-round knockout.
- Welterweight: Siyar Bahadurzada def. Brandon Thatch via third-round submission (rear-naked choke).
UFC 196 Main Card
- Women’s Bantamweight: Amanda Nunes def. Valentina Shevchenko via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27).
- Light Heavyweight: Corey Anderson def. Tom Lawlor via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
- Light Heavyweight: Ilir Latifi def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
- Women’s Bantamweight: Miesha Tate def. Holly Holm via fifth-round submission (rear-naked choke).
- Welterweight: Nate Diaz def. Conor McGregor via second-round submission (rear-naked choke).
The Finishes
Ishihara Drains Juicy J
After an active first round that saw Teruto Ishihara hack away at Julian “Juicy J” Erosa’s left thigh with inside leg kicks, the Japanese fighter ended matters in the second frame.
Ishihara landed a counter left hook that dropped Erosa. The former then dropped a series of hammer fists on his opponent’s grill to cause the stoppage.
His post-fight interview was interesting, to say the least. There was a significant language barrier, as the 24-year-old doesn’t speak much English. While talking to UFC analyst Joe Rogan, it sounded as as though Ishihara said, “I love you, my b—h!”
We’re not sure who he was talking to, or if that’s what he meant to say, but it prompted this tweet from MMAFighting.com:
Many people will likely feel the same way about Ishihara. He’s an exciting fighter who has scored knockouts in seven of his eight wins. Look for him to get a higher spot on the card in his next appearance.
Saggo’s Jiu-Jitsu Dismantles Salas
It took less than a round for Jason Saggo to prove his superiority over Justin Salas. Saggo took a chance with a kick against Salas with no regard for being taken down. Salas secured the takedown, but Saggo is great at working off his back.
He quickly transitioned to advantageous positions. Ultimately, he sunk both hooks in and flattened Salas out on his belly. Referee Yves Lavigne had to stop the bout as Saggo landed tons of unanswered punches on a defenseless Salas.
After losing his last fight by split decision against Paul Felder, Saggo bounced back to move to 2-1 in the UFC.
Lex Luthor Crushes Guimaraes
After outlanding Marcelo Guimares 27-17 in the first round, Vitor “Lex Luthor” Miranda turned his opponent’s lights out in the second round. A head kick and follow-up punches put a stamp on another impressive performance by Miranda.
The victory was his third in a row, and all of them have come by stoppage.
Miranda is beginning to make his mark in the welterweight division. If he can string together a few more wins, he’ll find himself ranked in the Top 15.
Taleb Throttles Silva
Nordine Taleb’s arrow is pointing straight up; Erick Silva’s is going the other way.
That concept played out when the two met inside the Octagon. After a dominant first round that saw Taleb land 17 significant strikes, compared to just six for Silva, Taleb smoked the UFC veteran in the second.
He caught a front kick by Silva and landed a counter right hand to Silva’s forehead. The Brazilian went down in a heap. A few strikes to the downed opponent ended the fight, and Taleb impressed many in the MMA community. Fox Sports UFC chimed in:
Taleb did lose his previous bout against Warlley Alves via submission, but he had won four straight before that. The win over Silva put him back on track.
Bahadurzada Schools Thatch
Brandon Thatch looks like a guy who could be a monster, but he has stamina issues and no offensive or defensive ground game. Siyar Bahadurzada was the latest to take advantage of Thatch’s weaknesses.
After a one-sided affair through two-plus rounds, Bahadurzada took control of Thatch on the ground and easily maneuvered into position to earn the stoppage win via triangle choke.
Bahadurzada snapped a two-fight losing streak with the win. Thatch has now lost three in a row. All three of them have come by submission.
What’s Next?
A heavyweight clash between Frank Mir and Mark Hunt will headline UFC Fight Night 85 in Brisbane, Australia. It feels as though these two veterans should have faced off before in their careers, but they haven’t.
Both men are scratching and clawing to maintain relevance in the UFC.
An epic welterweight scrap is the co-headliner. Neil Magny will take on the dangerous Hector Lombard. The winner will move closer to becoming the next man to get a shot at the welterweight crown.
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