Dana White and the UFC have played host to some absolutely remarkable cards in recent months - Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor catapulted themselves to superstardom in the latter part of 2015 through to 2016, dominating opponent after opponent and drawing in casual fans around the world, resulting in a string of 7 figure box office successes. Even the most optimistic of fight fans could be forgiven for expecting that they were due a disappointing card, but UFC 196 was certainly not that. The MGM Vegas crowd once again witnessed a blockbuster event with results that shocked the foundation of the UFC.
‘The Notorious’ falters - Nate Diaz upsets Conor McGregor
Nate Diaz gets his ultimate ‘middle finger' moment with win over Conor McGregor https://t.co/GQ9mDWiRsE pic.twitter.com/1enKYITqIS
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) 7 March 2016
In the end it was a giant leap too far for McGregor, as his first foray into the Welterweight class ended in decisive, and bloody, defeat at the hands of Stockton, California’s Nate Diaz. Jumping two weight classes from his usual featherweight class, McGregor looked strong early in the fight, as is his trademark. Busying Diaz with jabs, and connecting with a couple, the Irishman looked like he hadn’t skipped a beat to begin round 1, bloodying Diaz in the 2nd. Diaz, known for his strong chin and stronger grappling game was able to weather the initial storm from McGregor, testing the cardio of McGregor. McGregor’s opening gambit proved costly as Diaz was able to overwhelm his tired opponent towards the end of Round 2, locking in a rear naked choke after McGregor lost his back in a lengthy grappling exchange. McGregor was wise to tap quickly, and the Diaz brother was able to pull off the latest in a string of huge main card UFC upsets.
After the fight, a fairly magnanimous Conor McGregor had strong words for Dos Anjos and Jose Aldo, questioning their heart - to put it lightly - as well as stoking the flames for a potential rematch with Diaz in the future, with McGregor simply stating “Nate, I’ll see you again.”
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New champion - Tate submits Holly Holm
ICYMI: @MieshaTate beats @HollyHolm to become the new women's bantamweight champ at #UFC196. https://t.co/AhDQw7xEnL pic.twitter.com/upEEU8ZEGr
— espnW (@espnW) 6 March 2016
In her maiden fight after scoring the martial arts upset of the century, Holly Holm looked to build on her vanquish of Ronda Rousey by taking care of BJJ specialist, Miesha Tate. The fight went largely to plan in the early rounds, with Holm doing enough to be ahead on most scorecards, despite a 2nd round takedown. Tate, who has spoken publicly about a possible retirement, needed something big as the fight rolled into round 5 and the Tacoma native delivered by way of a rear naked choke after working an opening below Holm’s chin. Holm bravely attempted to flip and maneuver out of the submission, before eventually succumbing to the effects of the choke.
So what’s coming up next for Tate, Holm and Rousey in the women’s Bantamweight division? Dana White has been clear on the pecking order for the women’s Bantamweight title, stating that whoever came out of UFC 196 with the belt would face the returning Ronda Rousey in their next bout. Rousey has beaten Tate on two previous occasions (both via the armbar) and will look to make it third time lucky in an attempt to reclaim her position at the top of the division.
A snapshot of the UFC 196 maincard results
Nate Diaz defeated Conor McGregor via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:12 in Round 2.
Miesha Tate defeated Holly Holm via technical submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:30 in Round 5 - Miesha Tate wins the UFC women’s bantamweight title
Ilir Latifi defeated Gian Villante via unanimous decision -
30-27, 30-27, 30-27
Cory Anderson defeated ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor via unanimous decision -
30-27, 30-27, 29-28
Amanda Nunes defeated Valentina Shevchenko via unanimous decision -
29-28, 29-27, 29-27
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