UFC 202 commenced on Saturday night from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas where, in the main event, Conor McGregor rebounde from his UFC 196 loss and defeated Nate Diaz by majority decision in an instant classic. The co-main event featured Anthony Johnson knocking out Glover Teixeria, likely rumbling his way to another light heavyweight title shot.
In other action, welterweight Donald Cerrone defeated Rick Story by second-round TKO, Mike Perry defeated Hyun Gyu Lim by first-round TKO and Tim Means defeated Sabah Hamasi by second-round TKO.
Here are the highs and lows of UFC 202.
MORE: Relive epic McGregor-Diaz battle
The Good
— "Rumble" drops the hammer to net deserved title shot: While it wasn't officially announced before UFC 202, it seemed likely the winner of the co-main event between Johnson and Teixeria would be the next foe for light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. Johnson did exactly what he needed to get that chance, and emphatically: All he needed was one huge uppercut and a hammerfist to dispatch Teixeira in a mere 13 seconds.
If you win in that short a time and are on the cusp of a championship fight, you deserve it. Sorry to Jon Jones, who can't keep one foot in front of the other, but this is Johnson's time.
— The "Cowboy" continues to impress in new weight class: Tired of cutting weight, Cerrone decided in early 2016 he would move up to the welterweight division. He said it wouldn't be permanent — more of a trial run than anything else. Well, this run has been successful after he won all three fights by stoppage. Cerrone continues to get better with each fight, and seems to be more comfortable at 170 pounds.
He has a different plan in mind, though: Cerrone wants to stick to his original plan of taking bouts in his old weight class in the lightweight division. He told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview that he wanted another crack at new 155-pound champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York at Madison Square Garden (Cerrone defeated the champ by unanimous decision at UFC 178). Dana White wants him to stay at welterweight. It's hard to argue against either point.
— Means gets redemption: In February, "The Dirty Bird" was on the verge of becoming a player at welterweight, even getting a main event fight against Cerrone booked for February. Then, the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the UFC announced that Means had failed a drug test. He was pulled from the fight, suspended for two years as a first-time offender and had go to work as a metal fabricator making $9 an hour. Luckily, Means had ingested a tainted supplement, and the suspension was reduced to six months.
Means overwhelmed Hamasi throughout the fight on Saturday. He looked sharp, his striking was on point and he looked like a man on a mission. Means is one of the most exciting fighters at 170 pounds, and hopefully gets the big fight to see if he become a legitimate contender.
MORE: Johnson viciously knocks out Teixeira
The Bad
— A "horror" for Story: Story, ranked as the No. 9-ranked welterweight in UFC, looked like he lost his fight against Cerrone in the opening minutes. As soon as Cerrone stuffed a Story takedown to get a takedown of his own, Story was defeated. He never went for another takedown, despite the fact he's a former NAIA wrestling champion whose striking isn't close to being on par to Cerrone. He had a horrible game plan and a bad night, especially for a fighter who had won three consecutive fights. Experts said Story would be the toughest test for Cerrone at 170 pounds, but he came out looking like an amateur.
The Dirty
— An epic main event: We didn't know what to expect in the UFC 202 main event rematch between McGregor and Diaz. Would it go down like the first fight in March? Was Diaz in McGregor's head after the antics earlier in the week? Was everything finally getting to McGregor? Could Diaz repeat his performance in the first fight?
What we got was five rounds of back-and-forth action, with each fighter on the verge of winning by knockout. McGregor knocked down Diaz on multiple occasions early in the fight, setting it up with thunderous leg kicks. But Diaz finally found his groove near the end of the second round, pressuring McGregor and using his boxing and clinch game to wear out the featherweight champion and put him on the tight rope.
McGregor showed the heart of a champion to find another gear many didn't think he had. He had his own resurgence, throwing heavy shots and kicks at Diaz.
McGregor and Diaz, both bloodied from the fight, embraced after Round 5, showing the respect they have for each other (despite their recent antics). The judges got it right, with no controversy in the scorecards.
Both fighters stated in their post-fight news conferences they want a trilogy fight. White said he liked the idea in his interview with Fox Sports 1, but continued by saying he wants each to take different fights for awhile before meeting again down the road.
In all, we got two fighters who stood toe-to-toe for 25 minutes to make sure everyone got their money's worth for the hyped-up UFC 202 match.
The fight — the best so far in 2016 — far exceeded expectations.
Steven Muehlhausen is an MMA and boxing writer and contributor for Sporting News. You can find his podcast, The Fight Club Chicago and subscribe on iTunes . You can email him at [email protected] and can find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA .
