16. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1
This fight happened on just two weeks’ notice. Diaz agreed to step in despite having been partying in a boat on Cabo when he got the call. Meanwhile, McGregor didn’t flinch at having to move up to welterweight even though he’d been preparing for his lightweight debut. The first round was closely contested, with McGregor landing the bigger blows and drawing blood from his rival. But Diaz showed off his stellar chin and was also finding a home for his punches.
Early in the second, McGregor was building momentum as he tagged Diaz with clean hard punches. But he couldn’t find the killer blow and suddenly started to run on fumes. Diaz capitalized, hurting him with a solid straight left. Suddenly, almost everything Diaz was throwing was landing. In desperation, ‘The Notorious’ tried for a takedown, only for Diaz to get to mount. The Stockton star took his back for a rear-naked choke finish that would finally end McGregor’s unbeaten UFC run.
