McGregor and Diaz – two men that love a good fist fight on a Saturday night.
If Conor McGregor threw the kitchen sink at Nate Diaz for UFC 196, this time he threw an entire marble-floored kitchen. The only difference was that McGregor took his time about it.
The Notorious was on the brink of another second-round defeat after appearing to run out of steam in the final minutes of the second stanza before being pummelled in the third round.
But he didn’t panic and got to the next break, by which time he looked to have recovered as he won the fourth round and gritted it through the fifth.
At the final buzzer, both men embraced and teetered on their feet whilst the T-Mobile Arena crowd acclaimed them.
There's massive respect between the two. This is the moment of #UFC202. What it's all about https://t.co/inYTO1mI7E
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) August 21, 2016
It was no surprise, given the five-round war, that both men shared in the fight of the night bonus – taking home an extra $50,000 each alongside whatever pay they were due for the night anyway.
In doing so, McGregor becomes the first UFC fighter to earn a post-fight bonus in seven consecutive fights. An astonishing achievement from the Irishman.
The streak started with his victory over Diego Brandao in Dublin back in July of 2014, and has included five performances of the night bonus and two for fight of the night, both of which came against Diaz.
Only once has McGregor failed to pick up a post-fight bonus since joining the UFC, his 2013 victory over Max Holloway which was the only time in his career he had gone past the second round before tonight’s five-rounder.
It won’t be much consolation to him now but Diaz also set a new record with his share of the night’s accolade:
Nate Diaz sets a new record for most post-fight bonuses in UFC history with 15. What a fighter.
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) August 21, 2016
The two men will surely face off again within the next couple of years so expect more bonuses, and massive PPV numbers.
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