After months of buildup, Conor McGregor has his redemption.
The Notorious eked out a majority decision over Nate Diaz in the main event at UFC 202 on Saturday.
MMAjunkie tweeted out the scorecards:
#UFC202 results: Conor McGregor def. Nate Diaz via majority decision (48-47, 47-47, 48-47) https://t.co/EYiDo09HUv
— MMAjunkie (@MMAjunkie) August 21, 2016
McGregor started the bout with a more deliberate pace than he did the first time around, working kicks to Diaz's lead leg and patiently countering with a precise overhand left to the head.
ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto summed up the first round, scoring it for McGregor because of his control of the fight:
Beautiful round by Conor McGregor. He's up 10-9 after one. Polished, under control. Dictated that round.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) August 21, 2016
It was rinse, lather and repeat early in the second frame, as McGregor continued to tenderize Diaz's lead leg with kicks and land clean shots to the head. He again floored Diaz early in the round with an overhand left but refused to engage his opponent on the ground.
The UFC showcased McGregor's cross that continuously landed early in the bout:
The #CelticCross is landing! #UFC202 pic.twitter.com/PDgXXU5ArM
— #UFC202 (@ufc) August 21, 2016
However, a Diaz brother won't go down without a fight, and shades of the first bout began to emerge in the latter half of the second round as Diaz upped his volume and started catching McGregor more and more.
The UFC passed along a combination from Diaz as he began pushing the pace:
OHHHH!!!!! #NateDiaz is gaining momentum!!!! #UFC202 https://t.co/ghOpkJCVG8
— #UFC202 (@ufc) August 21, 2016
The third round descended into an all-out brawl as McGregor's energy dwindled, and Diaz used unrelenting pressure to take the round. Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times considered scoring the frame 10-8 for the man from Stockton, California:
Heavy, heavy punishment delivered by Nate Diaz in the third, McGregor remains upright, but could be a 10-8 round to even it up...
— Lance Pugmire (@latimespugmire) August 21, 2016
The fight took another turn in the championship rounds, as McGregor appeared to catch something of a second wind. His defense still suffered, but he was able to return fire with regularity, including elbows in the clinch.
Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com gave the fourth round to McGregor:
McGregor wins round 4. Both tired but still engaging. McGregor landed the bigger shots. 39-37 entering the 5th and final round.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 21, 2016
The fifth and final round was an encapsulation of the entire fight, as both bloodied fighters took turns landing big shots between deep breaths. Diaz punctuated the final round with a big takedown just before the final bell rang, bringing the epic fight to its conclusion.
The win added to the lore of Mystic Mac.
McGregor had already proved he's the next great featherweight. His meteoric rise and dispatching of Jose Aldo established that, and Saturday's win cemented his position as one of the sport's pound-for-pound best.
There aren't many fighters who can lose in the fashion McGregor did in his first encounter with Diaz only to come back with the proper adjustments to overcome a size, reach and grappling disadvantage.
This will serve to boost McGregor's stock, which, by the way, was already at an all-time high despite the loss in the first matchup. According to Chamatkar Sandhu of MMAjunkie, McGregor set a new record for a disclosed purse for a UFC fight:
Conor McGregor is netting $3m (new record) & Nate Diaz $2m with neither recieving a win bonus. Just flat fees. WOW.https://t.co/LNCwRv4wLY
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) August 20, 2016
With his first UFC loss now avenged, the MMA world is McGregor's oyster.
UFC President Dana White already laid out some groundwork to attempt to steer McGregor in a certain direction, preemptively declaring an ultimatum regarding the featherweight title, per Fox Sports: UFC:
Dana White says Conor McGregor will be defending his featherweight title next or he'll be "giving it up"#UFC202
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) August 17, 2016
McGregor has talked about becoming a multiple-division champion in the past, but it doesn't sound as though he's committed to going back down to defend his featherweight belt after Aldo beat Frankie Edgar for the interim belt, per MMAjunkie:
I’ve beaten everybody in the division. If Frankie had won that last fight, after all that he and his team were talking, it would have been set it stone: I’m going back down to shut that man up. But he got slapped around that fight – couldn’t do nothing against a guy I KOd in one shot. So I’ve just got to see it out, see what happens after this fight.
The bottom line is that McGregor is a man who's all about the bottom line. If he believes going back down to featherweight will be the best business decision, he will. If not, he'll chase whatever the next big-money fight is.
After his win over Diaz, it's clear McGregor's talent transcends weight classes. His ability to adjust after losing his first fight at welterweight is the kind of thing that makes a fighter great.
Regardless of how fans feel about McGregor, they'll tune in to see his next pursuit of greatness. And he'll continue to be paid handsomely for it.
