UFC 202 Fallout

It was a cross roads moments for McGregor, Diaz and maybe the whole UFC. McGregor's rise was a rocket blasting into sky. But in March the rocket crashed back to earth. McGregor was obsessed with getting the win back. Against all advice and logic he demanded the rematch and wanted it at welterweight event with everyone saying he should make it a lightweight bout. He cost himself a spot at the biggest card of all time by refusing to break camp. In the end though McGregor was proven right. In a brutal and bitter five round war McGregor scored the win. For Diaz the win took him to another level. He earned the biggest payday of his career for this fight and another win could put the world in his hands. How ever a lose does not damage his standing. The fight was razor thing and amazing effort no doubt a huge money trilogy is coming.

The Fight Card- It was not a robbery because Connor won! Let's make this clear right off the bat. The main event was extremely close. I myself actually had the fight scored for Diaz but can see why McGregor won. Instead looking for a conspire theory lets enjoy the amazing fight. Round one saw played out similar to the first one. McGregor landed good punches unlike first fight though he used low kicks a long time weakness for Diaz. Round two would prove to be key. Early on McGregor was in control again using low kicks and body shots to control it until just like the first fight he got clipped and tired out. How ever unlike the first fight McGregor didn't panic and foolishly go for takedown. He manged to weather the storm and get to round three. Two judges gave that round to McGregor which game him the win.

In round three Diaz was in control using his boxing and clinch game to wear on McGregor down further. It seemed to be just a matter of time before the fight was taken to the ground and another submission win was going to the 209. McGregor though showed amazing wrestling defense. Round four Diaz a had begun to bleed badly due to year of scar tissue building. McGregor finding a second wind and having found the heart of a champion was back in control. He again used kicks and body shots to wind the round. Five McGregor again wore down but Diaz could only take him down late. The fight was epic and if you haven’t seen it BUY THE PPV replay! It was well worth the money. To the shock of many the two rivals embraced.

The rest of the card though should not be ignore. Rumble Johnson was Rumble Johnson dropping the ultra tough Glover Trexiera with a upper cut. Any follow up shot didn’t' seem necessary as Trexiera dropped like a bag of rocks. Johnson moved to 3-0 since his loss to Daniel Cormier at UFC 187 all three via knockout. It seems Johnson has punched his ticket to a rematch with DC. With his raw punching power all it might take is one shot to make Rumble the champion. Than again in the first fight Johnson did land that one shot only for Cormier to recover and take the win via submission. Thus making for an intriguing rematch. Rick Story was supposed to be the big test for Donald Cerrone at welterweight. Story had the style the size and wrestling to take away Cowboy's best weapons. However Cerrone used his own wresting to take Story down. Cerrone also put on a Muay Thai demo. I don’t think ever seen a more perfect combination than the one Cerrone hit at the end.

Lim Hyun-gyu had all the advantages over Mike Perry. He was much bigger, he was the UFC vet he wasn't taking the fight on late notice. Perry clearly held a huge edge in striking power. Time and again the American fighter dropped the bigger Korean before scoring a knockout win. Tim Means put a rough couple of months behind him returning to the UFC. Earlier this years Perry was supposed to face Donald Cerrone in a UFC main event. Than he failed a drug test by USADA. Means means was able to prove it was due to tainted supplement but according to Means he was forced to take a 9-5 job to make up for the lost income. Means faced debuting Sabah Homasi. It was clear the step up for Homasi was a step to far. Means out classed Homasi on his feet. Using his elbows Means sliced Homasi up badly. In the second round referee Herb Dean was simply waiting for a chance to stop the fight and once Means started to throw a combination Dean did.

Biggest Winners:

Connor McGregor- The thing that kept getting repeated leading up this fight was “If he loses this rematch he will never be the star once was.” McGreogr himself seemed to agree admitting (although later denying) that his legacy was on the line. For months almost every fighter declared “It wont' be any different than the first fight.” Another loss to Diaz would forever hang over McGregor. It would used as proof that really wasn't as good as he claimed. Even in this fight McGregor had to over come the odds. He was tired taking hard shots tied up in the clinch. But he never broke. He never panicked. He was able rebound and get the win. Now McGregor is just about back where he was. He has several big fight worth big money for his picking, a rematch with Aldo? A move up to lightweight to face Alvarez? A third fight with Diaz? Who know but McGregor will no doubt tell us in time. OF course it being McGregor time odds he will be a little late after getting the press together.

Anthony Johnson-When a fighter loses a title fight they have no idea if they will get another one. Rumble Johnson took a shorter but very dangerous one. Manawhi is one of the few that could match him in punching power, Bader had the wrestling that has often troubled Rumble, and Trexiera was the tough veteran with all round skill. All three were knocked out. With Jon Jones out and his credibility with the UFC very low point Johnson is in prime condition to get his rematch with Cormier.

Cody Garbrandt- Earlier this year Garbrandt into the top ten ranking with a knockout over Thomas Almeida in his first UFC main event. Since than The Alpha Male prospect has several exchanges with champion Dominick Cruz. This why the fight with Takeya Mizugaki screamed trap fight he was facing a tough vet and appeared to be looking past him. Instead Garbrandt came in and in Mike Tyson style destroyed Mizugaki in less than a minute. There might be fighters ranked higher than No Love but in many ways because of his power, the history with the team, and the trash talk he might be the most interesting match up for Cruz.

Biggest Losers

Glover Teixeira- Way back at UFC 172 Texeira came up short in a fairly one sided fight against Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title. After losing to Phil Davis, Trexier changed up training moving closer to home in Connecticut for camp. The result was three wins and three finishes. To his credit he called out Johnson knowing a win would grant him another title shot. The risk with calling Johnson out is exactly what happened to Glover a vicious knockout loss. Now lets over react to a man second ever knockout loss. And frankly Johnson seems like he knockover a redwood with one punch but the fact is Teixeira is 36 soon to be 37. This kind of loss knocks him back from title contention and it doesn’t seem likely he will get another one.

Takeya Mizugaki- Back in September of 2014 Mizugaki was the number five ranked 135 fighter in the UFC. He was ridding a five fight winning streak. But since than he's 1-3. All three losses have been stoppages two have been violent knockouts. While only 32 he's already been in 33 career fights. Meaning he's got a lot of hard miles on his body. Mizugaki may not be done but the days as elite fight might just be.

What comes Next- Dealing with a broken foot McGregor is going to need a break. Frankly it's something that might do him so good. Since return from his ACL injury years ago McGregor has been one of the more active fighters in the UFC. Going from fight camp to fight camp. Think about December of last year was the fight with Aldo meaning he was in camp at least two months out, than he more or less started training for RDA which became the first Diaz fight. Than right into camp for the Diaz rematch. Even without the foot injury he took a lot of hard shots in the two fights with Diaz. As for an actual fight I do think the right thing is a rematch with Aldo based on the interim title system. Plus personally I think championships should mean something.

The key factor could be weight. By all accounts 145 is not an easy cut for McGregor his coach even openly declared after the title win he never wanted him to try it again. One has to wonder if the plan was win the title at 155 and stay there. New champion Eddie Alvarez has asked for the winner of McGregor vs. Diaz. And that could be a great fight. Eddie Alvarez is also the type of durable fight like Diaz where he could take McGregor best shots and still come. On top of that he also has a great wrestling base. While McGregor stuffed all but one takedown in the fight at 202 Diaz is not a great offense wrestler.

Nate Diaz has said he wont' fight until a third one with Connor. And it's easy to understand why he won the first fight and the second fight was close. Also there is no that he will make the same money against. But sitting out is a risk, out of sight out mind for fans, you never know McGregor could get hurt, McGregor could fight someone else the fight is so great that becomes the in demand rematch, or a new hot contender emerges. Why no one can draw the same as McGregor there is a big day that is coming back. Georges St-Pierre the former welterweight champion and one time biggest draw in the UFC. The UFC reportedly did offer Nate this fight but he was said to refuse saying that's his brother fight. But given Nick's still outstanding fine in Nevada that could prevent him getting a licensee. Nate is like his brother in many way including play villain against GSP's clean cut image.

There is no reason not to give Anthony Johnson a rematch with Daniel Cormier. Regardless of what ever good news Jon Jones has gotten from USADA odds are he will faces some type of suspension and with all his outside issues one has to wonder if the UFC shouldn’t' make him earn a title shot. As I said earlier Johnson hurt Cormeir badly in there first fight. Reports form hims camp are hes has worked tirelessly to improve his wrestling and cardio issues. Even hiring his own coach outside of the normal Blackzillina System. Meanwhile Cormier had made it clear he's done with Jones and chasing the rematch and wanted the winner of Johnson vs. Teixeira.