Conor McGregor said in the buildup to UFC 200 that he needed a proper camp to defeat Nate Diaz, and not on 11 days notice like when he lost to Diaz at UFC 196 in March. The featherweight champion came out and did what many thought he couldn't do Saturday: move up to welterweight and defeat Diaz in the main event of UFC 202.
"I’m not surprised, motherf------,' McGregor told Joe Rogan after the fight. "The king is back. He’s a hell of a competitor. He brought out the best in me."
MORE UFC 202: Johnson knocks out Teixeira
Here's a breakdown of everything that unfolded during UFC 202:
12:29: McGregor defeats Nate Diaz by majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47) in a classic.
11:44: It is time for the UFC 202 main event as featherweight champion Conor McGregor rematches Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout. Diaz won the first fight at UFC 196 by second round submission.
11:31: Johnson knocks out Teixeira in 13 seconds. Teixeira tried to pressure Johnson but he was having none of it, landing a perfectly placed right uppercut. A hammerifst later that knocked Teixeira out cold should give Johnson what he was looking for, another crack at the light heavyweight title. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz is next.
WOW! Okay Rumble deserves another title shot with that knockout #UFC202 #13Seconds still a huge Glover fan! pic.twitter.com/57qmukxqRS
— Kenney Myers (@KenneyMyers) August 21, 2016
11:23: The co-main event of UFC 202 is next as No. 1 ranked Anthony Johnson battles No. 2 ranked Glover Teixeira in light heavyweight action. The winner seems to be next in line for light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier.
11:14: Cerrone defeated Story by TKO at 2:02 of the second round. A beautiful three-punch combination, then a head kick sent Story packing. Cerrone has won all three fights since moving to 170 pounds. After the fight, Cerrone called out lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. Cerrone defeated Alvarez at UFC 178.
10:59: Up next at UFC 202 in welterweight action, Donald Cerrone faces Rick Story. Cerrone is 2-0 since his move to welterweight earlier this year. Story has won three consecutive fights.
10:49: Perry defeats Kim by TKO at 3:38 of the first round. Perry came in and was the aggressor throughout and made a huge statement in his UFC debut.
10:38: Up next at UFC 202 in welterweight action, Hyun Gyu Lim goes up against Mike Perry. Perry is making his UFC debut and is undefeated in seven fights. Lim is 3-2 in five career UFC fights.
10:30: Means defeated Homasi by TKO at 2:54 of the second round. A pretty dominant performance by Means as he overwhelmed Homasi throughout. Good to see Means get back on track after a rough 2016.
10:10: To kickoff the UFC 202 pay-per-view main card, Sabah Homasi goes up against Tim Means. Homasi will be making his UFC debut. This is Means' first fight since he was suspended by USADA for a drug test violation for what was revealed to be a tainted supplement in January. He has won five of his last six fights.
9:42: Garbrandt defeats Mizugaki by KO in 48 seconds. A right hand set it all up, knocking down Mizugaki, a short uppercut and a couple hammerfists later, it was all over. Garbrandt told Joe Rogan he beat Mizugaki quicker than current bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz did. Cruz did it in 61 seconds at UFC 178. The PPV main card starts at the top of the hour.
9:32: The prelim main event is next as No. 8 ranked Cody Garbrandy fights No. 11 ranked Takeya Mizugaki. Garbrandt is undefeated in nine fights while Mizugaki looks for back-to-back wins.
9:29: Pennington defeats Phillips by uanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Pennington did whatever she wanted to do in this fight and Phillips didn't do too much. That is three consective wins now for Pennington.
9:02: Up next in women's bantamweight action, No. 8 ranked Raquel Pennington battles Elizabeth Phillips. Pennington looks for her third consecutive win while Phillips looks for back-to-back victories.
8:57: McGregor teammate Lobov defeats Diaz teammate Avila by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Lobov proved to be too powerful with his hands and feet and had too much experience for Avila. Will that translate to the UFC 202 main event?
8:30: In featherweight action, Artem Lobov will face Chris Avila. Lobov is a teammate of Conor McGregor and Avila is a teammate of Nate Diaz, who will battle in the UFC 202 main event.
8:18: Cortney Casey defeats Randa Markos by submission (armbar) at 4:34 of the first round. Markos was in control of the fight and had Casey in a side headlock postion raining punches to Casy's head. Casey though was able to slip out to get Markos' back but ended up back on the mat. Casey tried to lock in a triangle but Markos was trying to get out but Casey was able to secure the armbar for the submission win.
It was the first UFC win for Casey.
8:10: To kickoff the UFC 202 prelims on Fox Sports 1, Cortney Casey battles No. 13 ranked Randa Markos in women's strawweight action.
7:44: Larkin defeats Magny by TKO at 4:08 of the first round. "Da Monsoon" came out with a vegeance and was the aggressor throughout the fight. He controlled the fight throwing front kicks and brutal leg kicks which had Magny with a bruised up left leg and Larkin had a bloddy shin. A dominant performance by Larkin against the No. 7 ranked welterweight in the UFC. Will be interesting to see what Larkin does now since this was his last fight on his UFC contract.
The Fox Sports 1 prelims start at the top of the hour.
7:34: To headline the UFC 202 prelims on UFC Fight Pass, in welterweight action, No. 7 ranked Neil Magny goes up against Lorenz Larkin. Magny has won 10 of his last 11 fights and Larkin is 3-1 since he moved to welterweight last January. This is the last fight on Larkin's UFC contract.
7:24: Colby Covington defeats Max Griffin by TKO at 2:18 of the third round. Covington used his wrestling to control the entire fight which setup his striking to notch the victory.
7:03: Up next, in welterweight action, Max Griffin takes on Colby Covington.
6:46: Marvin Vettori def. Alberto Udo via submission (guillotine) at 4:30 of the first round.
6:37: To kickoff the preliminary portion of UFC 202 on UFC Fight Pass, in middleweight action, Alberto Uda faces Marvin Vettori.
6:25: Hello, my name is Steven Muehlhausen at SportingNews.com. Tonight is the night as UFC 202 is finally upon us with the much anticipated main event event rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. I will be providing with live coverage all night long. Grab your drinks and food, and buckle up and enjoy our UFC 202 coverage.
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.
