UFC 196: All Cameras And No Focus

In case you missed it, we have a full breakdown of the biggest fights from UFC 196, including Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz & Miesha Tate vs. Holly Holm…

So UFC 196 is in the rear view, and the mixed martial arts world collectively gets back to reality following one of the biggest events in modern history. It’s quite easy to forget that the original lightweight title fight between Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor had been taken away, as the pay-per-view card rocked the foundations even without the full line up. Buoyed by a number of shocking upsets and highlight reel moments, UFC 196 delivered in a big way.

So let’s start with the co-main event of the evening, Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate for the UFC women’s bantamweight title. Holm was hoping to embark on a long run as champion following her crushing upset over Ronda Rousey last year, and her first defense against Miesha Tate would prove to be pivotal in making this dream a reality. Unfortunately for ‘The Preacher’s Daughter,’ Tate was a different beast than we’ve ever seen, and came to win.

Up until round five, this was a very tentative fight, with neither woman appearing willing to play their entire hand. But Tate was clearly planning Holm’s demise, and it was an ugly one at that. She’d been kept at arm’s length for four rounds, but ‘Cupcake’ never gave up trying. Perhaps she planned for the fifth round finish, or maybe it was her persistence that led to the eventual opening, either way it was one of the craziest final moments in a fight to watch live.

As Miesha Tate took the back of Holly Holm, there was a sense that this was the moment the belt would change hands yet again. From the standing position ‘The Preacher’s Daughter’ attempted to flip Tate over, but it didn’t work, in fact it exposed Holm’s position even further, and Tate clamped on with the rear naked choke. Holm appeared to remain calm, but ‘Cupcake’ already had the choke secured under the chin, with her left hand firmly grasping the back of the now former champion’s head, and her right hand locked in place on her own bicep.

It looked as though Holm was ready to tap, and almost did, but it turned out to be the movements of an unconscious and now fallen champion. Tate and her team were elated, but we witnessed one of the most humble and down to earth champions fall from grace in the UFC 196 co-main event. It was a sobering moment to say the least, but such is life in the fight game. The key to Tate getting past Holm was an excellent mix of head movement and unpredictable footwork, and dogged determination.

Now, on to one of the most brash and outspoken characters in MMA history.

skip over the page for the detailed breakdown of conor mcgregor vs nate diaz

The UFC 196 main event may have been thrown together on less than two weeks notice, but it was undoubtedly the best fight on the card. Conor McGregor, two weight classes above his championship division, squared off against Nate Diazat welterweight. To the shock of McGregor’s fans, and many others, Diaz was the one bouncing head off of canvas, and a lot of it was due to his durability.

Physically McGregor would never be as light or nimble as he has been at featherweight, as was obvious by his plodding footwork. The Irish dancer we’d seen bounce away and counter Aldo so perfectly was nowhere to be seen. Instead we saw a bloated lightweight trying to knock Diaz out with every punch, while Nate stood strong and let ‘The Notorious’ gas out in one round. Although Diaz may argue weight had nothing to do with this win, you can’t argue against what we saw.

This isn’t to say that McGregor’s weight was the deciding factor, but it gave Diaz a handy tool to use as far as how quick McGregor got tired. So how did he get this fight won? As mentioned, the granite chin of the Stockton slugger allowed him to weather the early storm, but the length of his punches were crucial too. Diaz’s long arm stance allows him to flick his punches out, and when they catch an opponent coming in or with consistently poor defense like Conor had that night, they begin to have an accumulative effect.

The laser accurate straight punches, but also the degrading Stockton slaps, and heavy hooks of Diaz were taking their toll. By round two, it was clear that Diaz had broken McGregor, but check out what the Stockton corner were screaming at ‘The Notorious’ throughout that final stanza:

McGregor thought it wise to stick his chin out for Diaz to hit, which is quite possibly the worst thing you can do against someone with Diaz’s style. He wants this to be a crazy brawl, hands down swinging, because he knows he’ll be the one to win that fight. Deep waters were where this fight took place, and McGregor simply wasn’t acclimatized. The snappy shots of Diaz began wobbling McGregor to his core.

Once McGregor was broken, it was a matter of time before Diaz got the fight to the ground, mounted McGregor and took his back, and sunk in the fight finishing RNC. So truthfully there were so many variables going on in McGregor’s defeat to Diaz; cardio, the mental game, McGregor’s approach and cocky defense, Diaz’s excellent offensive striking and defensive parrys, and of course the submission skills of Diaz.

This is the fight game, where anything can happen, thanks for reading.