A popular and polarizing force in the UFC 155-pound landscape for many years, Nate Diaz finally earned a signature win when he capitalized on a huge short notice opportunity by submitting the favored Conor McGregor (watch the full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., March 5, 2016) UFC 196. The Stockton bad
A popular and polarizing force in the UFC 155-pound landscape for many years, Nate Diaz finally earned a signature win when he capitalized on a huge short notice opportunity by submitting the favored Conor McGregor (watch the full highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., March 5, 2016) UFC 196.
The Stockton bad boy came into the awaited event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a substantial underdog, and indeed the first round appeared to go to McGregor after Diaz was bloodied by a stinging series of patented left hands from the featherweight champ. But just when ‘The Notorious’ had seemingly taken over, Diaz came back with his own combos as he walked through the fading offense of the tiring Irishman to win with an electric choke.
The win has Diaz on the precipice of a lightweight title fight, yet there’s one problem in the way of that booking considering Diaz faced and was soundly beaten by current champion Rafael dos Anjos in December 2014. Diaz blamed an injury for the horrific performance after badly missing weight but it’s still hard to say if he would present any more of a challenge to the dominant but oft-injured champion.
No matter what he’s headed for a massive fight next, so if he doesn’t get ‘RDA’ as McGregor suggested last night, he could certainly square off with Anthony Pettis, with whom he has a long and well-documented beef with, Eddie Alvarez, or the winner of the upcoming Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov bout at UFC on FOX 19. It was even somehow discussed that he could meet welterweight champ Robbie Lawler for the 170-pound title.
The future is bright for the younger Diaz brother after shaking up the entire framework of the UFC. Whom do you think he should face next?
Nate Diaz has never needed an excuse to think the world is against him.
As he headed to the cage against Conor McGregor at UFC 196, however, it was probably pretty close to the truth.
McGregor was being trumpeted as the fight company’s newest, biggest …
Nate Diaz has never needed an excuse to think the world is against him.
As he headed to the cage against Conor McGregor at UFC 196, however, it was probably pretty close to the truth.
McGregor was being trumpeted as the fight company’s newest, biggest star. He and the UFC were making beautiful music together, scoring sizable pay-per-view numbers on each of his last two fights as he cruised to the featherweight championship seemingly without breaking a sweat.
To say there was a lot riding on the Irishman’s continued success would be a massive understatement. Just about everybody—the UFC, media and cult of traveling Irish fans who transform every city in which McGregor fights into Little Dublin—wanted to get this bout out of the way to see what he would do next.
A good deal of that McGregor mystique fell by the wayside Saturday night, as Diaz rolled in on a shade more than 10 days notice and defeated McGregor by defiant rear-naked choke in the second round.
“I’m not surprised, motherf—-ers,” Diaz crowed into color commentator Joe Rogan’s mic when the fight was over.
Everybody else was. Along with the outcome of this makeshift welterweight bout, some of the UFC’s biggest plans for 2016 may well have vanished before its very eyes.
This bout was first conceived as McGregor’s chance to make history by adding Rafael dos Anjos’ UFC lightweight title to his list of spoils. There was already talk that afterward he’d next challenge for Robbie Lawler’s welterweight strap at UFC 200—a fight that would surely break every sales record on the promotion’s books.
But Diaz? He wasn’t having it.
Not having it is basically the default setting for MMA‘s notorious Diaz brothers. Nate and his older brother Nick have made entire careers out of pushing back against the UFC’s best-laid plans.
With expletives flying and middle fingers waving, they’ve been railing against every authority figure in the sport since first Nick (in 2003) and then Nate (in 2007) arrived in the Octagon. Along the way, they established themselves as the UFC’s consummate bad boys and captured a legion of fans who rival even McGregor’s for sheer passion.
And now they finally have their most rebellious, most problematic, most wonderful career-defining moment.
“I knew I was going to beat him,” Nate Diaz told a line-up of reporters after the event, via MMA Fighting.com. “I knew if I messed up he could probably beat me somehow, but I knew he’s not a better fighter [than I am]. He’s not going to take me out. I feel like I’m the best fighter in the world.”
Diaz came in as more than a 3-to-1 underdog against McGregor, according to Odds Shark. He said he had been vacationing in Mexico prior to the fight and came home “sick off some Mexico water” when he got the call that dos Anjos was out with a broken foot.
He said he only agreed to face McGregor and on short notice because “I gotta take what I can get. [The UFC] ain’t giving me nothing.”
That might change in the immediate future. This victory might have a way of undoing the Diaz brothers’ well-documented misgivings about MMA and might give them the upper hand in future negotiations with the UFC as well:
That’s not to say it was easy.
Diaz walked thought McGregor’s best power punches in the first round. He suffered a cut near his right eye and his face was bathed in blood as the second stanza began. Still, Diaz was the bigger fighter and though McGregor continued to counter his jab with hard left hands, he remained undeterred.
Diaz fired back with punches and trademark slaps—peppering McGregor’s face with an open hand as many as half a dozen times during the bout—and he kept trash talking. His high-volume striking style seemed to begin to take its toll.
Midway through the second, Diaz threw a two-punch combo that hurt McGregor. The Irishman appeared to weather it initially, but as Diaz poured it on with more and more strikes, McGregor shot in for a desperation takedown. Diaz easily took his back and locked in the choke the elicited a prompt tap.
“I thought I took him the first round,” McGregor said on the mic after the fight. “I’m humble in victory or defeat. I took a chance to move up in weight and it didn’t work.”
With the featherweight title still around his waist, McGregor has decent options moving forward. Though he seemed reluctant to continue making the hard weight cut to 145-pounds, he can go back there and defend his championship against Frankie Edgar or rematch with Jose Aldo.
Even if he chooses to try his hand at the lightweight division, suitors will lineup to face him. He could wind up in a high profile grudge match with someone like Donald Cerrone or Eddie Alvarez and still make a nice payday as part of UFC 200.
For Diaz, this victory may stand as the ultimate payback to a company he felt had disrespected him in the past.
He and the UFC were engaged in a contentious contact dispute in May 2014 when the company removed him from its official lightweight rankings. The official reason given was that Diaz was taken out of the Top 15 for “inactivity related to his refusal to accept bouts,” according to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto.
It was largely assumed the company was trying to send him a message. Two months later, UFC President Dana White told MMA Fighting.com’s Shaun al-Shatti that Diaz was “not a needle mover” in terms of fetching television ratings and PPV buys.
Consider that needle duly moved now. Diaz may as well have broken it off and tossed it into the front row.
He does not simply move into McGregor’s position as weight-hopping UFC star, but his popularity will only grow after scoring this unlikely victory on one of the biggest cards of the year.
He just lost to dos Anjos in December 2014, so it’s not a given he would fight for the 155-pound title next. Likewise, a date with Lawler seems like a bit of a stretch. Look for Diaz to get another high profile booking, however, perhaps against someone like Anthony Pettis (if Pettis beats Edson Barboza next month).
As always, he says he’s only interested in taking the biggest, most lucrative possible fight.
This time, the UFC may have no choice but to give it to him.
It’s Nate Diaz’s world now.
Chad Dundas covers MMA for Bleacher Report. His novel Champion of the World is now available for preorder.
Nate Diaz scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 196 when he submitted Conor McGregor in the second round of their fight, and that may have opened some doors for him. According to UFC President Dana White, the former lightweight contender may now …
Nate Diaz scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 196 when he submitted ConorMcGregor in the second round of their fight, and that may have opened some doors for him. According to UFC President Dana White, the former lightweight contender may now be in line for a title shot at 170 pounds.
“You know what would make a lot of sense? This isn’t the fight I’m making (now), I’m just saying, him and Robbie Lawler make a lot of sense,” said White to ESPN (via Bloody Elbow). “His brother beat Robbie, who is now the world champion, and Nate became very very popular tonight.”
Fans that have been conditioned to the UFC’s rigid matchmaking style will surely raise an eyebrow at this idea. While this is a huge win for Diaz in a fight that took place at 170 pounds, it is worth remembering that Diaz is primarily a 155-pound fighter who beat the 145-pound champion.
Diaz‘s body of work at 170 pounds is relatively limited, and it would be out of character for the UFC to slide him into a title shot over somebody like Stephen Thompson or TyronWoodley.
With that said, a bout between Diaz and Lawler makes a great deal of sense from a business perspective. As White spelled out, Diaz has likely become an overnight star with his win over McGregor.
While the hardened veteran has long enjoyed fan-favorite status alongside his brother, former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, inconsistent performances and contract disputes have halted his momentum over recent years.
A title fight with Lawler would be a great way to capitalize on his newfound popularity. Add to that the lingering questions about what fights the UFC can make to fill out UFC 200, and Lawler vs. Diaz suddenly seems like a no-brainer.
Obviously, anything White says about title fights calls for a spoonful of salt these days. White acknowledged the uncertainty, saying, “We’ll see what happens, but for me to predict what one of the Diaz brothers are going to do, who knows?”
Still, this is interesting, and it’s hard not to wonder if after seven years of certified “needle-mover” status, Diaz is finally getting the star treatment he deserves.
Nate Diaz scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 196 when he submitted Conor McGregor in the second round of their fight, and that may have opened some doors for him. According to UFC President Dana White, the former lightweight contender may now …
Nate Diaz scored the biggest win of his career at UFC 196 when he submitted ConorMcGregor in the second round of their fight, and that may have opened some doors for him. According to UFC President Dana White, the former lightweight contender may now be in line for a title shot at 170 pounds.
“You know what would make a lot of sense? This isn’t the fight I’m making (now), I’m just saying, him and Robbie Lawler make a lot of sense,” said White to ESPN (via Bloody Elbow). “His brother beat Robbie, who is now the world champion, and Nate became very very popular tonight.”
Fans that have been conditioned to the UFC’s rigid matchmaking style will surely raise an eyebrow at this idea. While this is a huge win for Diaz in a fight that took place at 170 pounds, it is worth remembering that Diaz is primarily a 155-pound fighter who beat the 145-pound champion.
Diaz‘s body of work at 170 pounds is relatively limited, and it would be out of character for the UFC to slide him into a title shot over somebody like Stephen Thompson or TyronWoodley.
With that said, a bout between Diaz and Lawler makes a great deal of sense from a business perspective. As White spelled out, Diaz has likely become an overnight star with his win over McGregor.
While the hardened veteran has long enjoyed fan-favorite status alongside his brother, former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz, inconsistent performances and contract disputes have halted his momentum over recent years.
A title fight with Lawler would be a great way to capitalize on his newfound popularity. Add to that the lingering questions about what fights the UFC can make to fill out UFC 200, and Lawler vs. Diaz suddenly seems like a no-brainer.
Obviously, anything White says about title fights calls for a spoonful of salt these days. White acknowledged the uncertainty, saying, “We’ll see what happens, but for me to predict what one of the Diaz brothers are going to do, who knows?”
Still, this is interesting, and it’s hard not to wonder if after seven years of certified “needle-mover” status, Diaz is finally getting the star treatment he deserves.
Not surprisingly, many professional fighters celebrated Conor McGregor’s submission loss to Nate Diaz (watch the full video highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., March 5, 2016) UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After all, ‘The Notorious’ had essentially verbally laid waste to almost every top contender ranging
Not surprisingly, many professional fighters celebrated Conor McGregor’s submission loss to Nate Diaz (watch the full video highlights here) in the main event of last night’s (Sat., March 5, 2016) UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After all, ‘The Notorious’ had essentially verbally laid waste to almost every top contender ranging from 145 all the way up to 170 pounds during a meteoric rise to the lofty position of the UFC’s biggest star.
And this week, he took it to an even further level when he declared that the world’s Nos. 1 & 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighters, former light heavyweight champion Jones and dominant longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, didn’t deserve a spot other than 10 on that list because he was ‘Nos. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and 9’ himself.
Now, apparently Jones and ‘Mighty Mouse’ took offense to this, as ‘Bones’ posted the following picture on Instagram of himself and the 125-pound king cageside at the fights. It was quite the stinging jab from Jones, who has immediately reinserted himself at the top of the MMA trash-talking game heading into his highly anticipated rematch with Daniel Cormier at UFC 197.
In the meantime, check out his hilarious needling of ‘Notorious’ right here:
For four rounds Holly Holm was as good as one could have expected her to be at UFC 196. She was elusive, unpredictable with her strikes and she did an excellent job of keeping her opponent, the steely wrestler Miesha Tate, off-balance throughout the fi…
For four rounds Holly Holm was as good as one could have expected her to be at UFC 196. She was elusive, unpredictable with her strikes and she did an excellent job of keeping her opponent, the steely wrestler Miesha Tate, off-balance throughout the fight.
In 23 minutes of fighting, she made just one mistake. Unfortunately, that is all it takes to lose a fight in MMA.
The first four rounds were vintage Holm. A lifelong boxer, her flawless footwork kept her untouchable at range. Anytime Tate moved in, a darting left hand followed by a smooth juke awaited her. Anytime Holm wanted to score some points on offense, she landed a hard jab or a sneaky body kick and suffered no repercussions.
That isn’t to say Holm completely dominated. The second round saw Tate turn an early takedown into over four minutes of heavy top control, nearly finishing the fight with a rear-naked choke. With the exception of that hiccup—and it was an admittedly big hiccup—this was a brilliant performance from Holm.
Then came the fifth. It started out well for the Preacher’s Daughter. She peppered Tate with leg kicks, tagged her with punches and kept her at a comfortable distance for more than half the round.
Out of nowhere, Tate perfectly timed a takedown attempt and scrambled her way to Holm‘s back. Cupcake immediately worked for a rear-naked choke and held on to it while Holm muscled her way back to her feet. Holm tried to somersault out of trouble but Tate, showing off her often-underrated athleticism, managed to stay locked on Holm‘s neck.
Holm would go limp, Tate would jump to her feet and Dana White would belt her up as the new UFC women’s bantamweight champion.
So what the heck happened, you ask? How could Holm, a heavy favorite over Tate, have lost this?
Well, it’s worth starting that discussion with a reality check on Holm as a fighter. As Bleacher Report’s own Jonathan Snowdenspelled out last week, Holm was exalted almost exclusively due to her UFC 193 win over Ronda Rousey, and the mythos around her ignored the ho-hum performances she had before winning the belt:
Ronda Rousey was supposed to be unbeatable…Instead of Rousey‘s downfall teaching us all a useful lesson about every fighter’s fallibility, all of Rousey‘s hyperbole and well-established bona fides have been bestowed upon Holm as if by osmosis. Holm, in the popular imagination, is now the unstoppable juggernaut Rousey once was.
Holm is very good but it’s worth remembering she was still boxing less than three years ago. It shouldn’t be all that surprising, then, that she made key tactical errors when it came to that final grappling exchange with Tate.
If one goes back and looks at how Holm defended that fight-ending rear-naked choke, they’ll notice a pattern.
When Tate first took Holm‘s back, the now-former champ tried to shove her way into top position. From there, she dragged Tate along the canvas, worked her way to the corner and then powered her way back to her feet. With Tate still stuck on her back, she tried to escape by rolling forward, which only sunk the choke in deeper.
At every single step of the way, Holm tried to explode her way out of the situation when a more passive approach would have served her better. Holm could have tried to roll onto her back to defend from underneath. She could have attacked Tate’s hands to stave off the choke. She could have done any number of things to simply chew up 90 more seconds and bring the fight to the judges.
Alas, Holm‘s relative lack of grappling experience proved to be the difference. Tate found a small window of opportunity and made the most of it.
All that said, don’t mistake this for the end of Holm‘s time at the top of the division. Outside of this one unfortunate sequence, Holm put on an excellent performance. She arguably remains the best 135-pound woman in the world despite the loss and would likely still be favored over Tate in a rematch.
Holm‘s loss here is just another reminder that nobody is unbeatable, especially in the still-growing field of women’s MMA.
