UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor 2

[ColinBollocks]

Diaz only turns up for the big pay days now, brother. Dana also said McGregor's next fight will either be defending his belt or he vacates it - I can see this leading to more drama between them.

 

Proper buzzing after that fight.

[Chunk]

If McGregor can make FW again, surely nobody can touch him. It'll be like Usain Bolt going back to run the 100m at his school sports day.

[Guy Bifkin]

Fantastic scrap and great comeback from Conor after he looked finished in the third. 2nd and 5th rounds were the debatable ones but I think Conor edged it. 

 

How about them leg kicks!

[WeeAl]

I scored the fight for Diaz, but by the sounds of things on here I was in the minority. I gave McGregor rounds 1 and 2 and Diaz the rest of them. Delighted McGregor won as the UFC as a whole really needed him to. And what a war it was, both men left their souls in there. A great main card from top to bottom as well. Diaz/McGregor 3 will certainly be their biggest PPV of all time down the line a bit if both men go unbeaten between now and then.

[lambyUK]

Absolutely fantastic fight.

 

I had it 48-47 Mcgregor with him taking rounds 1, 2 & 4.

 

When the two guys are fresh it's clear from a striking perspective Mcgregor is far superior. But as with Diaz his ability to take punishment is unreal.

 

Mcgregor deserves a hell of a lot respect for grinding out that win against a guy carrying a lot more weight.

 

That said, I think the fight at 155llbs will be an even better fight. There's no doubt that Diaz was coming into the fight far heavier than Mcgregor but I think that whilst it helps Diaz's cardio, he looks a lot slower.

 

At 55' I think Mcgregor will be better and quicker but Nate will be better too. I think Mcgregor's power would be more effective against Diaz in that division.

 

One thing that baffled me was Kavanagh's insistence that Mcgregor was winning the clinchs? What the fuck was he watching?

[FUM]

I scored the fight for Diaz, but by the sounds of things on here I was in the minority. I gave McGregor rounds 1 and 2 and Diaz the rest of them. Delighted McGregor won as the UFC as a whole really needed him to. And what a war it was, both men left their souls in there. A great main card from top to bottom as well. Diaz/McGregor 3 will certainly be their biggest PPV of all time down the line a bit if both men go unbeaten between now and then.

I didn't even think round 4 was debatable in regards to McGregor winning to be honest.

[jimufctna24]

Yeah.

 

Round 4 was pretty clean cut. 

[herbie747]

was thinking surely you'd have realised from the last time not to gas 

 

Yeah, if only he'd realised that.

[wandshogun09]

That's knocked Lawler vs Condit off the FOTY spot for me. Incredible fight. This will surely end up going down as the best trilogy in MMA history. From a business perspective and fight quality perspective. It has everything. The way they match up you can't go wrong. The ingredients for a shit fight just aren't there. I don't recall many MMA trilogies where all three fights were really great. McGregor and Diaz are 2 for 2 on delivering amazing fights now and I have no doubt the rubber match, whenever it happens, will be more of the same.

 

I like that McGregor is calling for it at 155 though. I still think that's the best weight class for him. And probably for Diaz actually as well because I don't think Nate would fare too well against the top boys at 170.

 

We'll see what happens. I'd be down for the rubber match at MSG in November myself but I don't know if that's a bit too quick a turnaround. That would mean McGregor and Diaz would've fought 3 times in 8 months! Usually I'd be dead against spunking a trilogy in that short a time but, fuck it. Have them do a best of 7.

 

Oh I had McGregor just edging it by a round as well so I think the judges got it right. Diaz will think he got robbed but this is actually the best result he could've had for his career. Even better than a win would've been. He doesn't lose any face with a close points loss like this and he gets another massive payday in the decider with Conor. If he'd gone 2-0 tonight then there's really no other big money fight out there for Nate. He won't be thinking about it like that because he's a fighter through and through, but this result has lined him up for a nice cool few $mil whenever they do the 'tird' fight.

[herbie747]

We'll see what happens. I'd be down for the rubber match at MSG in November myself but I don't know if that's a bit too quick a turnaround.

 

McGregor broke his foot, so he'll be out a few months at least.

 

Agree with your score. I had 1, 2, 4 McGregor. 5th was Diaz. And 3rd obviously for Diaz - but not a 10-8. Close to it, but not a 10-8.

 

Was on the edge of my fucking seat nearly having a panic attack. Amazing fight. 

 

And Rumble? WOW!

 

Edit: it's McGregors shin that's busted up. Not broken.

[jimufctna24]

I was making myself some breakfast while they were doing the introductions for Rumble vs Glover. I glanced up expecting to see the fight starting - and was met with a slow motion replay of Rumble's knockout. 

[Porkchopcash]

Great fight, two extremely tough chaps there. As a big boxing fan it's a shame the big fights can't be made like they can in UFC. You have to respect all involved. I love The Diaz persona, i have been catching up on some of his old fights, he's great isnt he.

[wandshogun09]

Few random thoughts because I can't sleep...

 

• Rumble's power is insane. But we knew that. To think that guy was fighting at 170 a few years ago. You look at him now and then look at McGregor and Diaz at 170 and you wonder how he ever made 170. Granted he missed weight a bunch of times but it still baffles me how he ever fought at 170. And the crazy thing is his power has carried up through the divisions with him. I don't recall another case like him where a fighter has gone up 2 weight classes/35lbs and been just as powerful, if not more.

 

• I must admit, when I saw the time of the Rumble KO was 13 seconds (same as McGregor's KO over Aldo) I did wonder for a split second whether that was a good omen for McGregor in the main event. Daft, I know.

 

• Cerrone continues to impress at 170. Rick Story's not a title mix guy at welterweight but he's just below that IMO. I thought he might be a bit too much for Cowboy but I'm glad I was wrong about that.

 

• I've decided we need to see Cerrone vs Nick Diaz. Whack it on as co-main under Conor vs Nate 3 please Dana/Joe Silva/Lorenzo/Uncle Frank etc. Ta.

 

• This Mike Perry is a proper knob. Fair dos though, stopping Lim in your UFC debut is good stuff. Lim's a tough bastard. I can tell Perry is going to be one of those twats I root against every time in a love to hate way. His weigh in antics did make me laugh though, i can't deny it.

 

• Cody Garbrandt was the highlight of the prelims. Everything about that performance was perfect. It couldn't have gone better for him. Knocks out Mizugaki in seconds then calls out Dominick Cruz. And because he finished it so quick, the FOX panel had some time to hype up Cruz vs Cody as well. Worked out good. Exactly what the 135 division needed. Sucks to be Dillashaw right about now. Especially if his team mate Cody wins the title. I think it's about time for that Faber vs Dillashaw fight, regardless of Faber's result against Jimmie Rivera coming up. They need to get that Urijah vs TJ fight booked before Faber retires.

 

• Wasn't keen on Lobov vs Avila. Thought that was the shittest fight on the card. Wasn't in love with Pennington's fight either.

 

• I never really had an opinion on her looks before but Randa Markos with the red hair...there's just something about her that does it for me.

 

• Haven't seen the fight yet but I'm chuffed with Larkin's stoppage win over Magny. I love watching Larkin but I thought Magny would probably make him look bad. Pleasantly surprised when I saw the result.

 

• I loved Rogan's line during the start of the PPV about Nate Diaz. Something like - "Nate's not fazed by trash talk. He grew up with Nick Diaz! How many times do you think he was trash talked at the dinner table?" Just picturing Nick and Nate at the dinner table flipping middle fingers and bickering over who gets the last roast spud creased me.

 

• Oh and how refreshing was it to not have to 'Face The Pain' during the PPV opening? I expect it'll be back for 203 but I'm hoping they just let it quietly die now.

[tiger_rick]

Wow. What a fight. These things never deliver. This was better that I dared imagine. I thought Conor won. Cleaner shots throughout, controlled three rounds and smashed his fucking face and leg in. Diaz is incredible though. What a rock hard son of a bitch. When's #3???

[d-d-d-dAz]

There's a sticking point on the horizon, apparently, in that Conor is minded to never return to 145 now his no. 1 contender is someone he's beaten but his latest contract has him earning a massive bonus each fight he's a title holder (even if the fights not at that weight). You can see Conor/Dana having some drama over getting that renegotiated.

 

I think 145 is dead for Conor. Aldo is yesterday's feud, ended when he got deaded quicker than Boris Becker seals the deal.

 

I'm not usually one for overdoing the rematch, but even I want to see them crack straight on with a third. I'm also glad Conor seems to have given up his 170 dream, he just wasn't built to carry that bulk in an athletic context.

 

Diaz/McGregor III, in December/January, with the winner going on to either face the 155 champion or a top contender. If they did feel inclined to break up the trilogy, I'd love to see Conor win the 155 title and then the 3rd fight be for a belt. Though, I guess it depends on how much a potential loss to Eddie would damage the third fight.