8 Star-Making Performances In The UFC
6. Nate Diaz Vs. Conor McGregor
"I'm not surprised mother*ckers."
Though Nate Diaz's performance may have not come as a shock to him, or many hardcore MMA fans, his victory as a last-minute replacement over Conor McGregor at UFC 196 reverberated across the combat sports world.
This wasn't the first time Diaz had upset the odds, however. Ever since winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 back in 2007 the Stockton native had become a beloved figure among many in the MMA community alongside his brother Nick for their iconoclastic statements and all-action fighting styles.
Diaz would get the opportunity to announce himself to the wider UFC fanbase after Rafael Dos Anjos dropped out of his fight with Conor McGregor due to a foot injury.
The timing of Diaz getting the McGregor fight was perfect from a business perspective. After all, Diaz had famously called out McGregor in an expletive-ridden tirade following his previous fight. However, when the UFC called Diaz to step in with just 11 days until the fight, he was enjoying a holiday in Cabo, Mexico and hadn't been training regularly. Never one to turn down an opportunity to fight, Diaz agreed anyway and the UFC went into all-out promotion mode to hype the battle between two of the organisation's most popular stars.
After a press conference that included some of the most quotable lines in MMA history, the stage was set for the pair to collide at UFC 196, and the fight more than lived up to the trash talk that preceded it.
In the first five minutes, McGregor exhausted his varied striking attack, barraging the often-hittable Diaz with a variety of kicks and punches. Diaz's vaunted toughness held out throughout though, and as the bell sounded for the end of the round the tide appeared to be turning.
As the action restarted, Diaz began to have more and more success in the striking exchanges against the clearly tiring McGregor. Then, with just over a minute remaining in the round, Conor shot in for a takedown, taking him right into the elite-level jiu-jitsu game of Diaz. After a failed guillotine attempt, Diaz successfully transitioned to a rear-naked choke and handed McGregor his first defeat in the UFC, propelling himself into superstardom overnight.