The 10 greatest UFC fights of the last decade (2010-2019)

2016: Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz – UFC 202

Conor McGregor's rematch with Nate Diaz lived up to the hype.

2016’s Fight of the Year was a tricky one to decide, with the general consensus coming down to either Conor McGregor’s rematch with Nate Diaz, or Cub Swanson’s wild brawl with Doo Ho Choi. The former was a better fight to me, as more was at stake, with the pay-per-view the fight featured on breaking the UFC’s buyrate record at the time.

The first time the two men faced off, McGregor had teed off on Diaz with punches, bloodying the Californian up but not being able to put him away. Eventually ‘The Notorious One’ ran out of steam and succumbed to a rear naked choke from Stockton’s favourite son. The second time around, he was determined not to let that happen.

The Irishman came out with a different gameplan, kicking at Nate Diaz’s lead leg to slow him down, and it seemed to work, as McGregor scored three knockdowns in the first two rounds. But by the third round, he’d once again ran out of steam – and Diaz began to open up on him with his trademark combinations, having him on the verge of a TKO on a couple of occasions, but despite his best efforts, he couldn’t put ‘The Notorious One’ away.

In the fourth round, McGregor came out with a second wind – and began to tee off on Diaz again with his left hand and the leg kicks, and once again the Stockton native was on the defensive, his face looking like he’d been hit with a machete. The fifth round was simply a wild brawl – both men throwing all they had at one another until the fight finally ended with the last buzzer.

The judges awarded McGregor a majority decision, ending the rivalry for a while at least and redeeming his reputation following the first loss. Not only did this fight live up to all the hype it had going in, it surpassed it – and while it’s not the best fight in UFC history as the promotion has suggested, it belongs up there with the best of the decade.