5. Nate Outstruck Conor
This was one that came out almost immediately after the judge’s decision did; claims that Nate Diaz won the fight because of the difference in significant strikes.
There has never been a more subjective term in sports than “significant”, as really the only person who can make an accurate judgement as to how “significant” the strike was is the guy getting hit.
For that reason, there is only so much credibility one should give to significant strike statistics when they are as close as they were at UFC 202, but nonetheless, Nate Diaz outscored Conor McGregor 166 to 164 in significant strikes.
Conor fans will say that the damage on Nate’s face shows he took more damage, but Diaz fans will mention that Nate’s face bloodies up easier because he’s had 31 career fights.
While it is far from being an accurate metric, in this case the statistics indicate that Nate may have actually been the better fighter.
