On this day: Nate Diaz submits Conor McGregor at UFC 196

It was exactly one year ago today that perennial lightweight contender Nate Diaz picked up the biggest win of his career by scoring a second-round submission victory over Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 196.

McGregor, who was the undisputed UFC featherweight champion at the time, was originally expected to challenge then lightweight title holder Raphael dos Anjos at the event (UFC 196).

However, “RDA” was forced to withdraw from the proposed ‘super fight’ after suffering a foot injury and so Nate Diaz stepped in on extremely short-notice to take on McGregor in a welterweight contest at 170-pounds.

Below is the fight recap from the first Diaz vs. McGreogr fight at UFC 196:

Round one begins and Conor opens with a right hand that misses. Diaz with a counter left. A big right from McGregor finds a home. Diaz gets a hold of Conor and presses him against the fence. Conor with a good left over the top. They break and Diaz lands a jab. Conor responds with a leg kick. Diaz pumping his jab now. Another leg kick and then a left from McGregor. Conor throws a big left that just misses. Diaz with a shot to the body and then a slap. A nice counter right scores for Diaz. Conor with a good left hand, Diaz responds with a right. Conor throws a wheel kick that just misses. Nate scores with a left hand. Conor connects with a left of his own. Good jab from Nate. Conor is walking forward. Nate lands two good right hands. Diaz is bleeding near his right eye. Good jabs from Nate. Conor with a big left. Nate with a good counter shot. Diaz with a takedown. Conor is able to turn him over and take top position. Nate is searching for a limb. Round one comes to an end.

Round two begins and Conor opens with a spinning back kick. Nate with a jab and then a slap. McGregor is pressing forward. He misses with a high kick. Good left from Conor and then another. He’s beating Nate to the punch here. Diaz gets a hold of Conor and presses him against the fence. A good jab lands for Diaz. Nate gets rocked by a counter left. He’s bleeding badly now. Still, Nate replies with two good jabs. Conor is landing big shots. Nate responds with a big shot of his own. He is landing punches now. Conor is hurt. Diaz has him pressed against the fence. Big shots from Diaz. Conor fires back, but Nate scores with more shots. Conor dives in for a takedown. Diaz locks up a guillotine choke. He uses to submission hold to move into mount. Conor gives up his back. Diaz sinks in the rear-naked choke. It’s over! Wow! What a win for Nate Diaz!

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