UFC 202: A Retrospective Look at Diaz vs. McGregor 2

UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor II took place on August 20, 2016, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Conor McGregor avenged his UFC 196 loss to Nate Diaz by majority decision after five rounds at welterweight. Anthony Johnson knocked out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds, Donald Cerrone stopped Rick Story, and Mike Perry won his UFC debut by first-round TKO.

Event video: McGregor versus Diaz II.

McGregor builds an early lead and survives Diaz’s rally

McGregor attacked Diaz’s lead leg and scored several knockdowns with left hands over the first two rounds. Diaz increased his pressure as McGregor tired, turning the middle rounds into extended boxing and clinch exchanges.

McGregor recovered enough in the fourth round to regain momentum, while Diaz finished aggressively in the fifth and secured a late takedown. The judges scored the fight 48–47 McGregor, 47–47, and 48–47 McGregor, giving McGregor a majority decision.

Johnson knocks out Teixeira in 13 seconds

Anthony Johnson landed a right uppercut during the first meaningful exchange of the co-main event, knocking Glover Teixeira unconscious at 0:13. The finish put Johnson back in position for another light heavyweight title opportunity.

Cerrone creates a memorable combination

Donald Cerrone mixed kicks and punches against Rick Story before finishing with a combination of body punches, a head kick, a knee, and follow-up strikes at 2:02 of round two. Mike Perry stopped Hyun Gyu Lim in round one, while Tim Means finished Sabah Homasi in the second.

Complete UFC 202 results

• Conor McGregor def. Nate Diaz — majority decision; round 5, 5:00.
• Anthony Johnson def. Glover Teixeira — KO (punch); round 1, 0:13.
• Donald Cerrone def. Rick Story — TKO (knee and punches); round 2, 2:02.
• Mike Perry def. Hyun Gyu Lim — TKO (punches); round 1, 3:38.
• Tim Means def. Sabah Homasi — TKO (punches); round 2, 2:56.
• Cody Garbrandt def. Takeya Mizugaki — TKO (punches); round 1, 0:48.
• Raquel Pennington def. Elizabeth Phillips — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Artem Lobov def. Chris Avila — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Cortney Casey def. Randa Markos — submission (armbar); round 1, 4:34.
• Lorenz Larkin def. Neil Magny — TKO (elbows); round 1, 4:08.
• Colby Covington def. Max Griffin — TKO (punches); round 3, 2:18.
• Marvin Vettori def. Alberto Uda — submission (guillotine choke); round 1, 4:30.

UFC 202 gave McGregor the equalizer in his rivalry with Diaz and produced several decisive finishes beneath a main event that required all 25 minutes.

Sources

UFC: complete UFC 202 results; Sherdog: UFC 202 event record.

Article Tags

UFC, UFC 202, Mixed Martial Arts