That’s all you can say about an event that featured knockout and TKO finishes in the five fights leading into a main event that fans will be talking about for a long time.
Conor McGregor ultimately got his revenge on Nate Diaz, but he had to go through the fire to get there. The Notorious and the younger Diaz brother went after each other for five rounds in a fight that is sure to stoke debate over the scoring and be remembered as an all-timer.
Regardless of whom you prefer, the main event had everything that makes both fighters special. McGregor opened the fight strong, just like last time, attacking with leg kicks and left crosses that scored early and often.
Then—much like in the first fight—McGregor‘s opening salvo started to fade, and Diaz took the driver’s seat, countering with relentless pressure of his own.
What resulted was two of the UFC’s biggest stars engaging in an all-out bloody brawl, with McGregor eventually getting a second wind that allowed him to get the nod on the scorecard. If you weren’t satisfied with the result, it’s all but inevitable they will see each other again.
McGregor immediately laid out the stipulation for another matchup with 31-year-old rival, per Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com:
It was a perfect nightcap in which we got to see a champion reach deep down and go to a level we’d never seen from him before.
Here’s a look at the complete results from the rest of the card along with a closer look at each of the main-card fights.
UFC 202 Main Card
- Conor McGregor def. Nate Diaz by majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47).
- Anthony Johnson def. Glover Teixeira by KO (Round 1, 0:13).
- Donald Cerrone def. Rick Story by TKO (Round 2, 2:02).
- Mike Perry def. Hyun Gyu Lim by TKO (Round 1, 3:38).
- Tim Means def. Sabah Homasi by TKO (Round 2, 2:56).
Prelims on Fox Sports 1
- Cody Garbrandt def. Takeya Mizugaki by TKO (Round 1, 0:48).
- Raquel Pennington def. Elizabeth Phillips by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Artem Lobov def. Chris Avila by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
- Cortney Casey def. Randa Markos by TKO (Round 1, 4:34).
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass
- Lorenz Larkin def. Neil Magny by TKO (Round 1, 4:08).
- Colby Covington def. Max Griffin by TKO (Round 3, 2:18).
- Marvin Vettori def. Alberto Uda by submission (Round 1, 4:30).
Tim Means vs. Sabah Homasi
Means kicked off the main card with a third-round TKO over Homasi in welterweight action.
The clean, efficient striking proved to be too much for Homasi over the course of the fight. The UFC passed along a GIF of a clean left hand that summed up the fight:
Means is a tough guy to peg in the welterweight hierarchy. He’s not in the Top 15 in the UFC’s rankings; however, he is a tough out for anyone looking to make a name for himself in the division.
Homasi was just that in his UFC debut. The 27-year-old competed in the The Ultimate Fighter 21 and was riding a three fight win streak that featured three knockouts within the first two rounds.
Throwing the American Top Team prospect into a fight against a savvy veteran like Means might have been too much to ask in his first trip to the Octagon. Expect him to be rewarded for stepping in to fight a veteran on just nine days’ notice with a winnable fight down the road.
Means was originally scheduled to take on Sean Strickland; however, he was forced to take on Homasi on short notice, so he did a nice job of capitalizing on the situation.
Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Mike Perry
Perry isn’t a name many fans knew before UFC 202, but he’s one worth remembering.
The 24-year-old welterweight was a short-notice replacement for Sultan Aliev and came through in a big way with a first-round TKO win over Lim.
The UFC newcomer showcased some power as he put down the bigger Lim several times before ending the fight in the first frame.
The UFC passed along a massive right hand that Perry landed early:
Perry’s a relative unknown because all of his bouts have come with smaller promotions, but he entered the bout at 6-0, with none of his opponents making it out of the second round. That’s enough to believe he has the kind of finishing power to stick around in the UFC for a while.
Throw in the fact that his antics at the weigh-in with Lim showed he isn’t afraid to play the bad-guy role, and Perry is an interesting fighter to watch going forward, via the UFC:
Rick Story vs. Donald Cerrone
Welterweight Cerrone is quickly becoming someone other 170-pounders need to start worrying about.
Cowboy is No. 6 in the lightweight division in the UFC’s rankings, but an official switch might be in order after the 33-year-old notched his third consecutive win in the heavier division via second-round TKO.
Cerrone held his own in early grappling exchanges but shined when standing with Story. Cowboy showed his quickness and accuracy will be tough for welterweights to match.
Cerrone has been one of the UFC’s most active and recognizable fighters in recent years. With wins over Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote and Story, it appears as though the move up in weight could help him uphold that reputation.
However, just when you thought Cerrone has found a new home at 170 pounds, he used his post-fight interview to call out 155-pound champion Eddie Alvarez:
For Story, this was a major momentum killer. After a 3-5 stretch from 2011 to 2014, the MMA Lab fighter had reeled off three consecutive impressive wins. Now he’s just another name that Cerrone can boast about beating in his new weight class.
Anthony Johnson vs. Glover Teixeira
Daniel Cormier better get ready to bite down on his mouthpiece. He might be absorbing some big punches again in his next title defense after Johnson defeated Teixeira via first-round TKO in the evening’s co-main event.
Teixeira didn’t have the opportunity to make many decisions, but the one he did make was the wrong one. He chose to aggressively close the distance against Rumble early, and Johnson took advantage.
All it took was a quick uppercut to send Teixeira tumbling to the ground, and Johnson was once again in the winner’s circle.
Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie noted Johnson notched a record-setting fifth knockout in less than a minute, as Rumble needed only 12 seconds to beat Teixeira:
Johnson has long been one of the most tantalizing talents in the sport. His one-punch knockout power is arguably the best in the sport, yet he’s never been able to put it together to capture a title in any of the various weight classes he’s fought in.
With the win over Glover, the question is whether it might finally be time for him to win a UFC belt.
Johnson has already rocked the champion. Cormier rallied to win via submission later in their May 2015 fight, but not before Rumble put Cormier on the canvas with one of his punches.
The fact that we might get to see those two run that bout back makes the fans the biggest winners of UFC 202.
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