McGREGOR, DIAZ LIGHT UP UFC 202
It’s almost embarrassing to look back at some of the coverage from early last week that focused on the lack of excitement surrounding UFC 202. On Saturday, two of the biggest stars in MMA stepped into the octagon and put on one of the most fascinating fiv
Right now in the UFC, there are two types of cards. There are the cards that have Conor McGregor, and there are the cards that don’t.
The UFC tried to make UFC 200 its biggest show in history, but the star power it lined up for the July pay-per-view didn’t shine nearly as bright as McGregor did on Saturday night.
Nate Diaz rose to the occasion as well, taking on the majority of the UFC 202 promotional duties and ensuring that tensions were high throughout fight week.
The rest of the UFC 202 card delivered, as well, with all four of the other fights on the main card ending in the first round. But even if those fights had been total stinkers, it wouldn’t have mattered. Not really. McGregor’s star shines so bright that whenever he fights, he monopolizes the postevent conversation.
When you put on as good a show as the Irishman did on Saturday night, that can only be a good thing.
NEXT MATTERS
One of the big differences between UFC 200 and 202 was the names on the undercard.
The July blockbuster pulled in many of the greats from years past, with guys like Diego Sanchez, Anderson Silva and Brock Lesnar appearing in the octagon.
UFC 202, on the other hand, was packed with up-and-comers who had something to prove.
Guess which card had the more exciting fights? Yep, Saturday night proved that the future is just as exciting as the past for the UFC, with guys like Cody Garbrandt, Lorenz Larkin and Colby Covington all making their mark.
IT’S INEVITABLE
It’s actually kind of shocking that Saturday night’s main event managed to live up to all of its ridiculous hype, but it sure did.
McGregor and Diaz’s second fight was an all-time classic — let’s hold off on the ‘greatest of all time’ proclamations for now — and the UFC really doesn’t have any choice but to run it back a third time. The personalities are too big, and their style contrasts too fascinating.
The question is whether they book an immediate third fight or give the rivalry a little time to breathe. Diaz said he won’t fight again until he’s matched with McGregor, but there are a lot of interesting options for McGregor.
He seems completely disinterested in defending his featherweight belt against Jose Aldo, so maybe a trip to lightweight is next? One way or another, we’ll be seeing Diaz and McGregor throw down again soon.
JON WHO?
The UFC’s light-heavyweight division isn’t particularly deep, but at least it’s got Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier.
Johnson guaranteed himself a second shot at Cormier — the 205 lbs. champion — by knocking out Glover Teixeira in an astonishing 13 seconds.
There are some people who believe Cormier isn’t the real champion because he never beat Jon Jones, who held the belt for years but has been out of action due to legal trouble and drugtesting issues. Those people are, sadly, fools. Cormier is an incredibly wellrounded light-heavyweight and he is the only person who has somehow survived a powerpunch from Johnson.
Their first fight was fascinating, their second fight will be as well. Jon Jones can wait.
EXCITING TIMES
We won’t really have any idea about who will be fighting at UFC 206 in Toronto until after the company announces its lineup for UFC 205 in New York City, but the way things are playing out, Ontario fight fans should be getting excited.
Yes, there’s a possibility that Georges St-Pierre will be coming back, but more importantly there’s a lot that needs to get sorted out by the end of the year.
It’s conceivable that both women’s belts will be up for grabs, as well as the lightheavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight titles on the men’s side.
Those fights aren’t all going to be at Madison Square Garden, so Toronto could be in for a show.