“His face was opened up and he was still coming at me. You gotta respect Nate Diaz.”
Conor McGregor was clearly impressed by the heart and determination shown by his opponent on Saturday night.
Nate Diaz’s face was busted up badly by the end of the first round of his UFC 202 bout with Conor McGregor. It was pulped by the end of the second.
In the closing rounds, the Stockton native could have done with windscreen wipers as blood was flowing freely from his cuts.
This was the 31-year-old’s 30th professional MMA fight. He has taken a lot of damage over the years and many of the wounds McGregor opened were from past battles, including their two-round slugfest a UFC 196.
If McGregor’s leg kicks were doing the early tactical damage, his over-hand rights were peppering Diaz. The optics looked bad. It must have felt worse for Diaz.
https://twitter.com/JoeeDrew/status/767282967756492800
That Diaz is one tough bastard with some engine to keep going after that beating his face took
— David Burns (@mufcburnsy) August 21, 2016
McGregor lost the last round on all the judges’ cards but he had done enough damage in the opening four to swing the fight his way.
In the post-fight interviews, McGregor’s clean striking from the bout was clear.
It was a close, close contest but one man – Diaz – looked like he had gone bobbing for apples in a blender.
He did comment on the fact that, remarkably, he was still standing while his opponent was off to the hospital to have his shin and foot examined.
Nate Diaz: "He's going to the hospital and I'm going to the afterparty. Come through."
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) August 21, 2016
Someone get that man a refreshing drink.
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