1. Short-Notice Spoiler
All Nate Diaz’s accomplishments pale in comparison to how he handled Conor McGregor on short notice at UFC 196. McGregor was originally booked to meet lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in the main event, but an injury forced the Brazilian to withdraw, cost “Mystic Mac” a chance to become the first simultaneous two-division champion in Ultimate Fighting Championship history and left the organization scrambling to find a suitable replacement.
UFC officials tracked down a vacationing Diaz on a cruise ship and offered him an opportunity he could not refuse. Still, the Californian entered his makeshift headliner with McGregor as a +280 underdog. The Irishman brimmed with confidence and took the opening round by popping Diaz with a few clean punches and opening a cut around his right eye. However, McGregor’s bid to finish Diaz with wild kicks and punches came at a steep price: His gas tank failed him.
Diaz took over in the second round, where his jab became a focal point of his attacks, taunting the “Notorious” one all the while. He cracked McGregor with a hard left to the jaw, buckling his knees. The dazed Irishman retreated and absorbed a few Stockton Slaps before being bullied against the cage. Diaz rocked him again with a one-two. McGregor out of sheer desperation shot for a double-leg takedown, his situation deteriorating by the second. Diaz sprawled, advanced to his back and cinched a rear-naked choke for the tapout.