– Paul Dollery reports from Las Vegas
CONOR McGREGOR BOUNCED back from his loss to Nate Diaz last March by exacting revenge tonight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After a thrilling five-round contest, which was the main event at UFC 202, McGregor scored a majority-decision victory on scores of 48-47, 47-47, 48-47 in front of a crowd of 15,539 — which generated gate receipts of $7,692,010, the fifth-highest in UFC history.
Diaz submitted McGregor in the second round of their meeting at UFC 196, but the Dubliner evened the scores tonight. Afterwards, the fighters embraced in spite of the tension between both camps in the build-up to the fight, but they both articulated a desire to face each other again in a rubber match.
McGregor had spoken of how meticulous his preparation had been for this rematch and his fresh approach was evident from the outset, as the UFC’s featherweight champion looked far more composed and restrained than ever before.
Deploying the kind of leg-kick strategy that Diaz has been susceptible to, McGregor backed his opponent up and landed clean shots, one of which dropped Diaz, who sought to invite McGregor to the canvas by pulling guard, but McGregor wisely allowed him to get back to his feet.
McGregor scored two more knockdowns early in the second round which left Diaz bleeding from above his right eye, but again McGregor wasn’t tempted to pounce on the ground. However, Diaz began to enjoy some success with his hands late in the frame, knocking McGregor back towards the fence and following up with strikes in the clinch, but the Irishman withstood the onslaught to win another round.
As chants of ‘Diaz! Diaz! Diaz!’ rang out across the arena, Diaz seized some momentum and shook McGregor early in the third round, which he dominated to take a 10-8 on one of the scorecards. With both fighters visibly tiring, McGregor sought to evade Diaz’s advances by jogging away towards the opposite side of the octagon — a policy which eventually drew boos from the crowd and a middle finger from Diaz.
Both exhausted, it became a firefight in the fourth and fifth rounds. However, the strikes lacked the power and precision that were on show earlier. McGregor had displayed excellent takedown defence with his back against the fence. Diaz eventually scored a takedown in the dying moments but it was too little, too late, as McGregor sealed his redemption and the 20th professional victory of his career.
Afterwards, Diaz said he won’t fight again until he gets a rematch. McGregor also expressed his eagerness to do it again, but with the 28-year-old believed to have suffered a broken foot — as evidenced by the manner in which he limped back to the changing rooms — he could be set for an extended spell on the sidelines.
In the meantime, he’ll enjoy the taste of what may well have been the most satisfying triumph of his career.
