Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos from Nate Diaz’s submission win over Conor McGregor at UFC 196.
Check out these photos from [autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag]’s submission victory over [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] at UFC 196. (Photos by Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports)
Relive Nate Diaz’s memorable upset win over Conor McGregor at UFC 196.
[autotag]Nate Diaz[/autotag] famously wasn’t surprised when defeated [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and converted his infamous callout into the biggest win of his MMA career.
After defeating Michael Johnson at UFC on Fox 17 in 2015, Diaz (20-12 MMA, 15-10 UFC) delivered his now-legendary expletive-laden post-fight speech and called out “The Notorious.”
Then-UFC featherweight champion McGregor, was slated to face lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos for the 155-pound title at UFC 196, as he attempted to become the first man to hold two UFC titles simultaneously. But after dos Anjos was forced out due to injury, Diaz stepped in and grabbed the opportunity of a lifetime.
McGregor pressed the action early at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and left a big cut above Diaz’s right eye. Diaz landed a takedown late, but McGregor swept him and wound up in top position at the end of a strong Round 1 for the Irishman.
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In Round 2, McGregor continued to find a home for some of his shots, ripping to the body and landing several well-timed uppercuts. But, as the round progressed, Diaz started to land his jab at will as McGregor’s pace slowed.
Diaz tagged McGregor with a clean one-two combination that stumbled McGregor, then poured on the pressure with added strikes. McGregor shot for a desperation takedown, but Diaz wound up in full mount, before eventually transitioning to the back and sinking in the rear-naked choke.
McGregor’s tap secured a huge upset win for Diaz, who had stepped in on short notice to become the first man to beat McGregor in the UFC. The two faced off again at UFC 202 later that year, as McGregor avenged his loss with a majority decision win.
Recap the action in their unforgettable first encounter via the video above.
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MMA Junkie’s Simon Head picks out a 10-event UFC Fight Pass watch list to ease your lockdown blues.
With the sporting world at a standstill, resources like UFC Fight Pass are proving essential for MMA fans looking to get their fix during the coronavirus lockdown.
The UFC’s streaming platform’s colossal archive offers a huge range of events to sit back and enjoy. Love the old-school PRIDE shows? They’ve got those. Hankering for the days of the WEC? They’ve got the full archive. And, of course, there’s the entire UFC event archive.
It means you can build a watchlist packed with some of the best MMA you could ever wish to see, and more than enough to last you through the entire coronavirus lockdown.
But if you’re going to dive in, why not dive in with some of the most significant events in UFC history, with maybe a couple of hidden gems thrown in for good measure? Here’s a watchlist to get you started.
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You can’t really start a journey like this anywhere other than at the very beginning.
Put simply, the event is iconic. The school sports hall-like surrounds of the McNichols Sports Arena, Bill “Superfoot” Wallace calling the event the “Ultimate Fighting Challenge,” Teila Tuli’s flying tooth and Art Jimmerson’s one boxing glove will all live long in the memory.
But, of course, UFC 1 was all about one man and one discipline, as a scrawny young sibling of the famed Gracie family stepped into the octagon, beat three men in one night and opened the world’s eyes to the wizardry of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Sure, it was crude – the rules were virtually non-existent back then – but it was the start of what the UFC has grown into today. Such has been the evolution of the sport since then, watching the fuzzy UFC 1 footage now is the MMA equivalent of viewing cave drawings of how man first started using tools. But, crucially, it was both eye-catching and entertaining, and it serves as a handy reminder of just how far the sport has evolved since that day.
If you watch UFC 1, you’ll probably want to watch UFC 2, then 3. But we’ll leave that to your own UFC Fight Pass rabbit hole. Instead, we’re jumping forward.
Next up: The first BIG rivalry in UFC history.
Still buzzing a little over Saturday night’s co-main event at UFC 196? Now you can relive some of the best moments between Miesha Tate and Holly Holm through the lens of Mark J. Rebilas from USA TODAY Sports.
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Still buzzing a little over Saturday night’s co-main event at UFC 196?
Now you can relive some of the best moments between [autotag]Miesha Tate[/autotag] and [autotag]Holly Holm[/autotag] through the lens of Mark J. Rebilas from USA TODAY Sports.
In the UFC 196 co-feature, Tate (18-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) upset women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to win the title. Tate, who was a Strikeforce champion before losing her belt to Ronda Rousey in 2012, choked Holm unconscious in the fifth round. Holm was more than a 3-1 favorite in the fight.
Had the fight gone to the judges, the final frame was crucial. Holm won Rounds 1, 3 and 4 from the three judges, but Tate got a 10-8 Round 2 from all three, meaning had she won Round 5, the fight would’ve ended in a 47-47 draw. But Tate rendered all that meaningless by handing Holm the first loss of her MMA career, which came in her first title defense after upsetting Ronda Rousey to win the belt this past November.
UFC 196 took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Above, check out the photo gallery from the fight, which netted Tate a $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus to go along with her new hardware.
For complete coverage of UFC 196, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4621179066001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAABvaL8JE~,ufBHq_I6FnxR-PQW_F3sm5QdUbP7D6E9&bctid=4788360564001
