Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor clashed in a metal mayhem melee inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Diaz surprised everyone a few months back with an upsetting win. He had all the momentum going into the fight on Sunday. McGregor however sought to avenge a bitter defeat. It was a shot at redemption and thus a second straight loss was unaffordable.

Picture-perfect face-off at UFC 202

McGregor alternatively started the fight immediately after formal introductions landing a few low kicks. Diaz ducked but fell victim to a big left hand and dropped to the mat. The ultimate fighter 5 winner managed to roll up quick but fell to McGregor’s aggression. Diaz hit a few jabs. But, this round clearly belonged to the Featherweight Champion.

In the next round, McGregor employed the same strategy with a repetitive cycle of low kicks and big left hands. Diaz recovered from every blow and quit to stay down. In the final minute though, Diaz stroke Conor aggressively with game changing frequent punches. The momentum had completely shifted. Diaz stayed complacent with the same offense, as his opponent breathed heavily gasping for air. He dragged McGregor close to the steel and attempted multiple take-downs. He flurried McGregor’s head in the final moments with quick jabs.

The fourth round began with a change where both opponents tried to force each other into big fight. This round was a close tie-breaker between the two welterweights. By the end, it appeared to be fairly equal and fifth round had to be the decider.

Both men were exhausted. McGregor landed some solid shots, but Diaz didn’t take long to force him into the fence once again. The Irishman managed to reverse the clinch, but, he was never as active with his ground strikes, and finished with a take-down at the bell. McGregor fought wisely in the bout, utilizing low kicks and left jabs in the early rounds to gain momentum. He also improved his arsenal with striking blows to the chin often and avoiding the spinning heel kicks.

Diaz took McGregor’s best shots and still survived. He rallied hard in the final three rounds and believed he would have the majority decision in his corner.

Judges rule in favour of “Notorious”

It was a bloody war and after five rounds of intense action, “Notorious” was awarded the win over the Stockton slugger with scores of 48-47, 47-47, 48-47, giving him some much-desired revenge on Diaz after he choked him out earlier this year at UFC 196.

Cageside judges on the other hand largely agreed on the round-by-round scoring. All three judges awarded McGregor Rounds 1, 2 and 4. However, unlike Judges Jeff Mullen and Derek Cleary, who scored all of the rounds 10-9, Glenn Trowbridge gave Round 3 to Diaz via a 10-8 score, which resulted in a draw on his card.

Should Diaz have won?

Many people admitted that the decision was controversial and that it was marred by the judgement. Former Welterweight Champion Matt Serra expressed that the decision should have been in Diaz’s corner.

“I thought Diaz won, three rounds to two, to be honest with you. I think it came down to that fifth round and Diaz won it. First round Conor and in the second round, first minute, boom, he knocks down Nate. Some are thinking it’s automatically a 10-8 round [to McGregor] but I don’t know. The next four minutes, at the end of that round… shit, look at him going back to his stool. He was lucky. Third round could have been a 10-8 for Nate. If you are saying the fifth round could have been a 10-9 for either one, it depends on who you gave it to, I gave it to Nate and I thought the take-down sealed the deal at the very end. That was beautifully executed. He was stalking McGregor the whole time; backing him up.”

McGregor win speculates for Trilogy

If this decision was made to pave way for a trilogy and to garner audiences is a disputable possibility. McGregor allegedly left, then returned to avenge his defeat and in an equally executed dramatic sequence of a match won by a majority decision. Clearly he could not afford the loss and it certainly would have killed possibility of great storytelling had it been in Diaz’s favor. Diaz even spoke that he felt he had won the match.

The post-match conversation even made the bout the more interesting as McGregor clearly sighs on the third match and so does Diaz.

“All I know is that it’s 1-1,” McGregor told BT Sport.” Let’s regroup and do it again! This time I want to do it at 155 pounds, I came in at 170 with him as the bigger man and I overcame that adversity. Now this trilogy is on my terms, come back down to 155 and we’ll do it.”

Diaz – the 31-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist – echoed McGregor’s demands for a second rematch. He said: “Hey, good job today, Conor, but we’re going for three. For real. Until then I ain’t coming back.”

Was the decision made to gift the fans with a third match in featherweight division? Or is it just a part of high speculation to fuel the feud? Write to us what you feel should’ve been the real outcome?

Image Courtesy: Mirror