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UFC 202 blog: Conor McGregor outpoints Nate Diaz with majority decision

Anthony Johnson knocks out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds

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L.E. Baskow

Welterweights Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor congratulate each other on a fine battle following their UFC 202 fight night action.

Published Sat, Aug 20, 2016 (7 p.m.)

Updated Sat, Aug 20, 2016 (10:15 p.m.)

UFC 202: Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz

Welterweight Mike Perry pounds on Hyun Gyu Lim during their UFC 202 fight night action at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, August 20, 2016. Launch slideshow »

The UFC 202 Weigh-ins

Welterweight Conor McGregor flexes and yells on the scale as he readies to face opponent Nate Diaz during the UFC 202 weigh-ins at the MGM Grand on Friday, August 19, 2016. Launch slideshow »

Conor McGregor earned his turn to exclaim what have turned into four of the most infamous words in UFC lore Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“I’m not surprised (expletive),” McGregor said as he wrestled the microphone away from commentator Joe Rogan in the octagon at the conclusion of UFC 202.

McGregor evened the score with Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout, avenging his upset loss from March with a majority-decision victory (48-47, 48-47, 47-47). Repeating his rival’s proclamation felt like an appropriate way to celebrate the most grueling fight of his career.

The mocking quote was the only sign of resentment between the two after the fight, as they otherwise shook hands and verbalized interest in a trilogy bout. Even for a relationship as heated as McGregor’s and Diaz’s, it was hard for them not to show respect after taking each other’s best for 25 minutes.

“He took it better than I expected,” McGregor said. “He has toughness and durability but the best man won.”

McGregor picked apart Diaz for the opening eight minutes of the fight, mixing leg kicks with punching combinations but faded from there. Diaz came back strong, but fell just short.

Diaz dropped McGregor with a combination at the end of the second round, but the featherweight champion already had three knockdowns of his own. Diaz continued to pierce McGregor with shots in the third round.

Then, McGregor found a second wind in the fourth and out landed Diaz to take a crucial frame. Diaz’s successful aggressiveness in the fifth ended up not mattering.

“I thought I won that fight,” Diaz said. “I’m too real for this sport. It’s all good though.”

Diaz looked healthier at the end, walking upright and strong out of the arena while McGregor limped and required assistance to his locker room. McGregor proposed the eventual third fight taking place at the lightweight division of 155 pounds.

Diaz didn’t comment on any specifics, though he made it clear he would pursue the fight.

“Good job today Conor,” Diaz said, “but we’re going for three.”

McGregor is expected to defend his featherweight title in a rematch against Jose Aldo before entertaining a third bout with Diaz. Another title fight seemed to take shape at UFC 202 when Anthony Johnson knocked out Glover Teixeira with an uppercut 13 seconds into the bout.

Johnson called out champion Daniel Cormier, who motion his acceptance from cageside.

“When I fight Daniel again, the difference will be that I’m going to win,” Johnson said. “I’m going to whoop that (expletive).”

Everyone else on the main card also notched knockout victories. Donald Cerrone won his fourth straight since moving up to welterweight, finishing Rick Story with a lethal combination at 2:02 of the first round.

Mike Perry had a successful UFC debut, staying undefeated by knocking out Hyun Gyu Lim with punches at 3:38 of the first round. Fellow newcomer Sabah Hamasi’s night was more sour, as Tim Means stopped him with strikes at 2:56 of the second round.

McGregor and Diaz were favored to stay with the trend and stop short of the distance, but no one was complaining over the lack of a definitive finish. Both fighters had their moments, and endured the other’s punishment.

The epic fight left demand for a third meeting immediately high.

“The King is back,” McGregor said. “If you want this trilogy, it’s on my terms.”

Check below for round by round coverage of the main card and full results from the preliminaries at the bottom of the page. Come back later for more UFC 202 stories.

Conor McGregor’s rabid fan base has already taken over the MGM Grand on several occasions over the last couple years.

Now it’s time for the Irish to shift the party across the street to the T-Mobile Arena. The Strip’s newest arena hosts mixed martial arts for the second time with tonight’s pay-per-view featuring a welterweight rematch between McGregor and Nate Diaz.

The UFC plans to use both MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena going forward, with the latter serving as the venue for the biggest fights. UFC 202 certainly qualifies in that category.

UFC 196, where Diaz stunned McGregor with a second-round submission victory, wound up as the first- or second-best selling pay-per-view of all time. Ask McGregor, and he’ll claim tonight will top it.

That seemed farfetched at the beginning of the week with buzz for the fight card surprisingly low. A few water bottles changed everything.

Diaz vs. McGregor II regained much of its aura when the fighters and their camps got into a shouting match at a news conference Wednesday that concluded with them throwing bottles and cans at each other. Hostility was palpable between the two fighters for the rest of the week, and the UFC brought in extra security to police at yesterday’s public weigh-in event.

It will feel long overdue when the two finally step into the octagon to settle their rivalry. And they will be settling it tonight — at least for the foreseeable future.

One thing that seems certain is there will not be an immediate trilogy fight. UFC President Dana White is requiring McGregor to drop back down to featherweight to defend his title, a move the fighter hasn’t protested at all.

McGregor said he would grant Diaz a third fight if he won, but it wouldn’t be until far down the road. If Diaz defeats McGregor again, there would likely be no reason for another fight.

The main event has controlled all the attention, but other major fights will play out leading up to it. The next light heavyweight title shot should be handed out in the co-main event, where Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira face off in a match between heavy-handed strikers.

Daniel “Cowboy” Cerrone continues working his way up in his new welterweight division before that, meeting Rick Story in his toughest 170-pound fight yet. Two other welterweight bouts, Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Mike Perry and Tim Means vs. Sabah Homai, open the main card.

Follow along with the Sun’s live round by round blog of the main card and find full results from the preliminaries below.

Cody Garbrandt has another highlight to point to as evidence to why he deserves an immediate bantamweight title shot. Garbrandt caught Takeya Mizugaki with a combination and scored a knockout 48 seconds into the first round.

Raquel Pennington beat Elizabeth Phillips by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a women's bantamweight bout. Although Pennington was never close to earning the stoppage, she was winning virtually every second of the fight.

Dublin beat Stockton, Calif., in the first bout between fighters from the two cities at UFC 202. Artem Lobov outstruck Chris Avila to win a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in a featherweight bout.

Cortney Casey upset Randa Markos with a submission victory by armbar at 4:34 of the first round in their women's strawweight bout. Markos initially got a takedown, but Casey scrambled into a dominant position before working for a finish.

Lorenz Larkin will enter into free agency with some bargaining power after arguably his best performance of his career at UFC 202. Larkin upset Neil Magny via TKO at 4:08 of the first round in a welterweight bout.

Colby Covington defeated Max Griffin by TKO at 2:18 of the third round. Covington outwrestled Griffin to improve to 5-1 in the UFC.

Italian prospect Marvin Vettori won a sixth straight fight in his UFC debut. The 22-year old Vettori defeated Alberto Uda by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:30 in the first round.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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