UFC 196 ended with two upsets in the two main events, this Saturday, at the MGM Grand Arena, in las Vegas, Nevada.
Miesha Tate’s gameplan worked perfectly during the five rounds against bantamweight champion Holly Holm.
In her third title shot in the UFC, Miesha was able to keep her distance and avoid Holm’s powerful punches and kicks.
As early as the second round, she got her first double leg takedown and worked the ground and pound until Holm gave up her back.
Time ran out before Miesha was able to work out any kind of submission, but the pathway to victory was clear.
The champion got her act together on rounds 3 and 4 and was successful in hitting Miesha to probably win those two rounds.
When round 5 came, the fight was to close to be called and that’s when Miesha got her second takedown to work.
This time, Holm tried to rush her escape and was careless with her neck.
The arm went under and the RNC was in place.
As a final attempt to escapem, Holm flipped Tate to the ground, but the choke remained in place.
The squeeze came and soon enough Holm’s arms went motionless. the fight was over.
“I know how powerful she is, so I knew I could not be on her range. I’m so glad it worked out,” said a very emotional Miesha, now the UFC bantamweight champion.
The main event was not for the belt, but had the crowd on their feet regardless.
Both Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz promised an all out brawl and that’s what they delivered.
Conor started out hotter, with creative movement and powerful punches that soon opened up Diaz’ right eyebrow.
Known for his strong chin, Diaz pressed on despite all the blood coming out of his face.
Right around the mid-point of RD 2, a straight right hit McGregor and made him wobble back.
Diaz noticed that the opponent was in trouble and went for it.
After a few other shots landed, McGregor went for a takedown to slow down the fight, the probably is the ground is Diaz’ home turf.
Nate first attempted a guillotine and, as McGregor defended, landed in full mount to punch away.
Conor gave up the back to prevent the KO, but exposed his neck.
The RNC was quickly in place and the tap followed.
“I knew I was going to start out slow as a I didn’t have a full camp. If I had a full camp, he would not have touched me. I am always ready. We should be always ready to fight on our worst day,” said Diaz, who also thanked the UFC bosses for the chance to fight McGregor.
Still the featherweight champion, McGregor also talked about the fight: “I took a shot at 170lb. It did not work out. I have to give praise to Diaz, as he was more effective than me. I am humble in victory and in defeat. I’ll learn from this one and come back.”
Click here for the full results.
