UFC 196: Diaz stuns McGregor, Tate steals title from Holm
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor suffered a shocking second-round submission to Nate Diaz and Miesha Tate walked away with the UFC women's bantamweight title in an action-packed UFC 196 card.
Complete fight-by-fight results for UFC 196 below:
Nate Diaz def. Conor McGregor via 2nd-round submission (rear-naked choke)
The Conor McGregor hype train was derailed on Saturday night as Diaz shocked McGregor with a second-round submission in the main event.
Making his debut at welterweight, the UFC featherweight champion came out swinging for the fences, but was unable to replicate the lightning-fast knockout he scored against Jose Aldo.
In the second, a bloodied Diaz started landing punches that backed McGregor up. A desperate McGregor went for a takedown, but Diaz got his back and secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
Miesha Tate def. Holly Holm via 5th-round submission (rear-naked choke)
For the second time in as many fights, the UFC has a new women's bantamweight champion. Miesha Tate put Holly Holm to sleep with a rear-naked choke late in the fifth and final round to capture the title.
Tate nearly won the fight in similar fashion during the second round but Holm survived until the bell. Holm wasn't as fortunate in the final minute, as Tate used every ounce she had left to squeeze the submission and bring an exciting finish to the co-main event.
Ilir Latifi def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision
Gian Villante pressed forward and was able to stuff several takedown attempts, but Ilir Latifi would not be denied at UFC 196. Latifi appeared to get stronger as the fight wore on, ultimately emerging victorious thanks to a unanimous decision.
Villante's kicks, while dangerous, often exposed him to counters from Latifi, who used a pair of second-round takedowns to pull away in the fight. Villante failed to do much damage over the final two rounds and a successful takedown from Latifi in the final minute sealed the win for the Swede.
Corey Anderson def. Tom Lawlor via unanimous decision
Corey Anderson was caught by a series of punches early, but recovered and controlled the fight the rest of the way en route to a unanimous-decision victory over Tom Lawlor.
Despite getting stunned at the start, Anderson stayed up and steadied himself, getting his legs back by the midway mark of the first round. The pair traded strikes throughout most of the fight, but Anderson dominated the final frame thanks to a takedown that allowed him to punish Lawlor on the ground.
Amanda Nunes def. Valentina Shevchenko via unanimous decision
Amanda Nunes survived a third-round flurry from Valentina Shevchenko, to earn a unanimous-decision victory and improve to 12-4, including 5-1 in the UFC.
After appearing to capture the first round, Nunes asserted herself in the middle frame, using a relentless ground-and-pound to break down and bloody her opponent. Shevchenko was able to escape a submission attempt in the final minute of the second round, ultimately attaining top position in the closing moments. Shevchenko rode that momentum into the third round, but was unable to secure the stoppage she needed.
Siyar Bahadurzada def. Brandon Thatch via 3rd-round submission (arm-triangle choke)
Siyar Bahadurzada wore Brandon Thatch down for three rounds and then tapped him out with less than a minute to go.
Making his comeback to the UFC after being held out by injuries for the past two years, Bahadurzada picked his spots and took advantage of a limited Thatch by dominating him from full guard. He took Thatch down repeatedly and never let up with punches from the top. By the final frame, an exhausted Thatch showed little resistance as Bahadurzada passed his guard and submitted him with an arm-triangle choke.
Nordine Taleb def. Erick Silva via 2nd-round KO
One mistake was all it took for Nordine Taleb to find the opening he needed to knock Erick Silva out in the second round.
After taking the opening frame, Taleb continued to use his technical approach in the second to keep Silva off-balance. He perfectly caught a kick from Silva, then drilled him with a straight right down the middle. Taleb followed up with another fierce punch on the face down Silva to seal the KO win.
Vitor Miranda def. Marcelo Guimaraes via 2nd-round TKO
Vitor Miranda made Marcelo Guimaraes pay for not mixing up his attacks.
The Muay Thai specialist repeatedly blocked his countryman's attempts to take him down, hitting him with short shots to the body and elbows to the head. When the second round started, a hurt Guimaraes stuck to his grappling game plan, which proved to be a mistake. With nothing to offer in the stand-up, he left himself exposed to a head kick and another stiff elbow that had him out on his feet a minute into the second round.
Darren Elkins def. Chas Skelly via unanimous decision
The grit and grind of Darren Elkins was too much for Chas Skelly.
After an opening round that saw Skelly attack Elkins with dangerous leg submissions, the smothering Elkins gradually asserted himself with a non-stop assault of ground-and-pound. Skelly remained active off of his back, but by the third round he was visibly fading. He had enough left in the tank to stop a rear-naked choke from Elkins, though not enough to mount any significant offense as the clock wound down. Elkins won over all three judges, including one definitive 30-26 score.
Diego Sanchez def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision
It was as close as it could be for 15 minutes, but Diego Sanchez persevered to take a unanimous decision from Jim Miller.
Sanchez complemented his usual mixture of deft scrambles and wild flurries with a surprising amount of patience, which may have been the difference for him in his return to 155 pounds. He used timely takedowns to outscore Miller while avoiding the temptation to brawl with his fellow UFC lifer. Unlike some of his previous contentious-decision wins, there was no uproar when all three scorecards read 29-28 in Sanchez's favor.
Jason Saggo def. Justin Salas via 1st-round TKO
Once the fight went to the mat, Justin Salas had no answer for the grappling of Jason Saggo. At one point, the two were wrapped up in an unorthodox position that commentator Joe Rogan described as a "spider web," but Saggo loosened up Salas' defense with strikes before taking the back.
Salas defended against a choke, only to be flattened out and put into survival mode with Saggo pounding away at him. The referee waved off the fight at 4:31 of the first round.
Teruto Ishihara def. Julian Erosa via 2nd-round KO
Teruto Ishihara frustrated Julian Erosa for five minutes before putting him away in the second round. The taller Erosa was caught off guard by Ishihara's instant aggression and his range advantage was completely neutralized. Ishihara tenderized Erosa's inner thigh with leg kicks, forcing Erosa to grapple with him to little effect.
Early in the second, Erosa was dropped by a left hand from Ishihara and the Japanese fighter dove in to finish with hammer fists.