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The rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 202 is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fights of all time.
However, the legendary fight has, to date, been a hot-button topic of debate and discussion in the MMA community. While some believe Conor McGregor was rightfully awarded the majority decision win, others feel that Nate Diaz was robbed of his second win over McGregor. So let's take a look at the scorecards of the iconic rematch between McGregor and Diaz.
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 1
The first fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz was booked after a lightweight title fight between McGregor and then-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos fell apart.
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Conor McGregor was the UFC featherweight champion and was scheduled to compete in a "champion vs. champion" super-fight against RDA for the lightweight belt. Unfortunately, RDA was forced out of the fight due to a foot injury.
Nate Diaz agreed to step in on short notice to fight Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 196. Since Diaz didn’t have enough time to cut down to lightweight, he and McGregor agreed for the fight to be contested at welterweight.
Despite dominating the initial stages of the fight, Conor McGregor found himself exhausted against the cardio machine that is Nate Diaz. The tables turned in round two as Diaz stunned McGregor with a 1-2 on the feet, forced 'Notorious' to shoot for a takedown, and then submitted the Irishman with a rear-naked choke.
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 2
Their rematch took place at UFC 202 on August 20, 2016. This fight, too, was contested at welterweight. It saw Conor McGregor adopt a significantly different approach. Rather than solely headhunting, McGregor utilized leg kicks and a myriad of punches, elbows, and knees against Diaz. Both fighters fought tooth and nail until the final bell sounded at the end of the five-round war.
The official verdict of the three judges scoring the bout octagon-side was a majority decision in favor of Conor McGregor. However, one out of the three judges scored the fight as a draw (47-47), whereas the two other judges scored the fight as a decision win (48-47) for McGregor.
Judge Glenn Trowbridge was the one who scored the fight a draw (47-47). Trowbridge scored rounds one, two, and four as 10-9 rounds in favor of Conor McGregor. Meanwhile, he scored round three as 10-8 and round five as 10-9 in favor of Nate Diaz.
Trowbridge’s scorecard was the only one with a 10-8 round, and neither of the other judges scored a 10-8 round in this fight. As a result, Trowbridge’s final scorecard was a 47-47 draw.
Judge Jeff Mullen scored rounds one, two, and four as 10-9 in favor of Conor McGregor. Mullen scored rounds three and five as 10-9 for Nate Diaz. Mullen’s final scorecard was a 48-47 win for McGregor.
Judge Derek Cleary scored rounds one, two, and four as 10-9 in favor of Conor McGregor. Akin to Mullen, Cleary also scored rounds three and five as 10-9 for Nate Diaz. Cleary’s final scorecard was a 48-47 win for McGregor.
Conor McGregor scored two knockdowns against Nate Diaz through rounds one and two, while Diaz had McGregor in big trouble in round three. Round four belonged to McGregor, whereas round five was all Diaz.
With that being said, even if the other two judges had scored the third round as a 10-8 for Nate Diaz, a Diaz win would still be unlikely as the fight would’ve been a 47-47 draw across the board.
What does the future hold for Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz?
Conor McGregor’s most recent fight was a second-round TKO loss against Dustin Poirier in a lightweight bout at UFC 257 on January 24, 2021.
McGregor had previously beaten Poirier via first-round TKO in a featherweight bout at UFC 178 on September 27, 2014. He’s 1-1 in his series of fights against Poirier. The two MMA stalwarts are now set to face one another in a trilogy matchup at lightweight. Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3 will headline the UFC 264 fight card on July 10, 2021.
Meanwhile, Nate Diaz’s most recent fight was a unanimous decision loss against Leon Edwards in a welterweight bout at UFC 263 on June 12, 2021. However, Diaz’s stock rose significantly in this fight regardless of his loss because he was the one who came closest to finishing the fight.
Nate Diaz had Leon Edwards in big trouble towards the end of the final round. Diaz seemingly had Edwards out on his feet with a Stockton slap-left cross combo that had Edwards’ wobbled.
A dazed ‘Rocky’ disengaged, retreated, and somehow survived until the final bell. Ultimately, he won the fight on the judges’ scorecards, as he’d out-worked Diaz through rounds one to four.
Nevertheless, Nate Diaz is currently riding high on the momentum of his incredible last-round showing at UFC 263. As a result, the Stockton native could find himself in another high-profile five-round fight or perhaps even a UFC welterweight title fight down the line.
Presently, a trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz seems unlikely to take place anytime soon.
