The MMA universe will remember McGregor’s fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 196 as the night the latter shocked everyone. Fans will remember the sight of a bloodied Diaz striding around the Octagon with his arms raised in celebration for a long time.

Nate Diaz stuns the fans at UFC 196

Diaz won the clash with Conor after being in serious trouble in round 1. The fighter was on the mat and doing his best to ensure McGregor, who was on top of him, did not get a clean shot.

In the second round, Diaz began using his check right hook to keep McGregor at bay. In half of the second round, Diaz got on offensive mode. His left had McGregor dazed. The Notorious one managed to muster a flurry of offense, but Diaz continued punishing McGregor. 

At 3:47, McGregor, who was being punished by hard shots, initiated a takedown which would prove to be his undoing. The commentators cited Diaz’s wrestling abilities, something he used to close out the fight with a rear-naked chokehold in the second round. 

The arena was bustling, but the adulations seemed to be more of shock. The shock that Diaz had tapped McGregor. ‘Mystic Mac’ clearly had the support of the audience, evident from when the fighter walked into the MGM Grand. The audience reacted to every move of the Irishman with a cheer. His left, which opened up Diaz in the third minute of the first round, saw the decibels among the audience raise a few notches.

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The audience resembled a horde of angry buzzing bees when the ring announcer introduced Diaz, making it obvious who they favored more.

Diaz took most of an unlikely chance

Diaz, surprisingly, was not even scheduled for the card. He got the chance after a broken foot forced McGregor’s original opponent, Rafael dos Anjos, to pull out. 

The UFC approached other fighters, with no luck. Jose Aldo declined the chance to fight McGregor, citing a lack of preparation time. One can’t fault him, as he would have to put in some serious training, as the Irishman beat him in thirteen seconds the last time they fought. Frankie Edgar declined because of injury.

After watching this fight, they must have been wishing they took it up. Granted, they would not have the same skill set as the American. But who knows, it could have been them instead of Nate Diaz who shocked the world at UFC 196.