Tonight’s UFC Fight 196 didn’t fail to impress, with two huge upsets heading up the card.
The much-anticipated bantamweight championship fight between Holly Holm and Meisha Tate was meant to go to the newly crowned titleholder, Ms Holm, after she gained it in spectacular fashion last November when she beat the unbeatable Ronda Rousey.
YESSSSSSSSSSS #UFC196 @HollyHolm vs @MieshaTate for the bantamweight belt NOW!!! pic.twitter.com/TAgeFnQj7t
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2016
Tate held her own in the opening stanza, keeping Holm at bay with front kicks and getting Holm’s respect early with a solid left hook. Holly threatened with the straight left throughout round one as both fighters worked to secure dominant footwork, but Tate got the better of the sparse exchanges.
Tate tested Holly’s takedown defense at the beginning of the second round, and it wasn’t there for her. Tate got her down and immediately began setting up a guillotine choke from side control.
Holm worked to half guard where Tate pressured her with punches, elbows, and submission attempts while looking to advance position.
Holm rolled to her knees, but gave up back control, and Misha got both hooks in and immediately began aggressively hunting for the choke.
Holm managed to fight off the choke for the remainder of the round, but it was a grim portent of things to come.
In round three, Holm threatened with high and oblique kicks while Tate kept her honest with frequent level change threats. Holm connected with a solid left, but Tate landed a hard combination of her own, though she failed her lone takedown attempt this round. Holm hammered Tate’s forearms with multiple high kicks, but none got through to the sweet spot.
The championship rounds began with more oblique kicks from Holm, and another thwarted takedown attempt from Tate. Misha maintained high pressure and continued to hunt for the takedown, but Holm nullified the orthodox fighter’s offense with effective footwork and smashed her with a front kick to the face and a straight-hook-straight combo shortly before the round ended.
The beginning of the fifth and final round saw the champion damage her opponent with kicks and straight lefts, while easily circling out of Tate’s takedown attempts, but with two minutes left in the fight, the challenger ducked under a Holm punch and dragged her to the canvas with back control. This time, Holm was unable to defend the rear naked choke. She fought valiantly and refused to tap, but was relieved of consciousness and handed her first loss by the new women’s bantamweight champion, Meisha Tate.
Here we go! @HollyHolm vs @MieshaTate #UFC196 https://t.co/y82dAyQk5d
— UFC (@ufc) March 6, 2016
Rowdy Ronda Rousey will be disappointed that Tate defeated Holm as she reportedly wanted Holly Holm to win so she could hand “The Preacher’s Daughter” her first defeat.
As for the main event, in what has become something of an omen for massive upsets, there was no glove touch to start the much-hyped matchup between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. A lot of trash talking, but no touch.
The fighters came at each other aggressively and clinched early.
The southpaws separated, and Nate began scoring with speedy right jabs and check hooks, while Conor began inflicting damage with his infamous left hand, which opened up a cut above Diaz’s right eye.
Diaz scored a takedown at the end of the round, but the move was immediately reversed, and Nate finished round one fighting off McGregor’s ground and pound while fishing for submissions off his back.
Round two opened up with more of the same, Conor landing some more solid left hands, and Diaz bleeding profusely.
Halfway through the round, Diaz landed a left of his own that put McGregor on wobbly legs. He began pouring on the trademark Diaz pressure and cracked McGregor a few more times. Conor desperately shot for a takedown, but he had to roll to his back when Nate immediately went on the offensive with a guillotine choke. Diaz immediately took the mount and forced Conor to give up his back with some nasty ground and pound. He sank the rear naked choke at 4:12 of the second round.
Watch Nate Diaz choke Conor McGregor out at UFC 196: https://t.co/mnrKcKxEIa pic.twitter.com/gGUTCTXTei
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) March 6, 2016
Diaz took this fight on less than two weeks with no training camp. Conor (featherweight champion) normally fights at 145 and Nate normally fights at 155 (lightweight), but since this fight took place on short notice, it was contested at 170 pounds (welterweight).
[Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images]
