Diaz took the fight on two weeks' notice after McGregor's original opponent, lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, had to withdraw from the fight card due to injury. The bout was held at 170-pounds, a full two weight classes above where McGregor usually fights (145 pounds/featherweight).
No belts were on the line but the combatants still traded barbs and trash talk in the abbreviated lead-up to the fight.
McGregor had the better start, keeping the fight on the feet and landing several left hands that opened up a cut on Diaz's eye. The tide turned in the second, however, when Diaz landed a left hand and an uppercut that clearly rocked the Irishman.
The end came for McGregor when Diaz denied his takedown attempt and took top control, landing shots before eventually securing a rear naked choke. McGregor tapped at the 4:12 mark of the second round.
"I'm not surprised," a bloody Diaz declared after his win.
"I'm an athlete, a warrior. We should always be ready to fight," he added.
Diaz entered the bout having won just two of his last five MMA bouts, but that did not stop him from snapping McGregor's 15-fight winning streak that began in 2010.
"I was inefficient with my energy," McGregor said after the bout. "I'm humble in victory or defeat."
"I respect Nate. He came in, he took the fight on short notice. He took the fight at 170, and he did the job. He was efficient, and I wasn't efficient," he added.
It was McGregor's first bout since winning the UFC featherweight title off Jose Aldo in December, and his first bout at the welterweight division.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
