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UFC 196: Diaz and Tate spoil card designed around McGregor and Holm

Both underdogs use rear-naked chokes to secure victories

Welterweight Nate Diaz Chokes McGregor

L.E. Baskow

Welterweight Conor McGregor taps out from a choke by opponent Nate Diaz ending their fight during UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Updated Saturday, March 5, 2016 | 11:11 p.m.

UFC 196 at MGM Grand

Welterweight Nate Diaz raises his hands in victory while leaving the octagon after beating Conor McGregor during UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 5, 2016. Launch slideshow »

UFC 196: Weigh-In at MGM Grand

UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm flexes on the scale during the UFC 196 weigh ins at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday, March 4, 2016. Launch slideshow »

Note: Full results from the preliminary card available at the bottom of the page.

A pair of the UFC's most dogged veterans dismantled a pay-per-view card constructed around a pair of the promotion's newest superstars Saturday night at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Featherweight champion Conor McGregor and women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm stand undefeated in the UFC no longer. Local fighter Miesha Tate overtook Holm’s belt in the co-main event of UFC 196, coming back from a deficit to choke out the fighter who defeated Ronda Rousey last November at 3:30 of the fifth round.

McGregor didn’t sacrifice his belt after moving up two divisions to welterweight in the main event, but his aura of invincibility was a definite casualty. Nate Diaz locked in his own successful rear-naked choke at 4:12 of the second round after earlier rocking McGregor in a boxing exchange.

“There’s a new king in this (expletive),” Diaz yelled into the microphone before leaving the cage. “And he’s right here.”

Of the two upsets, Diaz’s registered as the more shocking. He closed as more than a 4-to-1 betting underdog after taking the bout on less than two weeks' notice when McGregor’s original opponent, lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, pulled out with a broken foot.

McGregor looked to be well on his way to notching a sixth straight knockout early. He won the first round by landing with more power, opening a gaping cut to the side of Diaz’s right eyebrow.

McGregor further banged up Diaz’s face in the first half of the second round before the underdog’s jabs started to affect him. A right hand shook McGregor, and Diaz never let off of the pressure until the brash Irishman was desperately tapping out.

“I took a chance going to 170 and it didn’t work,” McGregor said. “I felt I took him in the first round but I was inefficient with my energy.”

Holm took her own risk in taking a fight with Tate in the interim before Rousey was ready for a rematch. It was close to paying off, as Holm used her world-class boxing to win the first, third and fourth rounds.

She had to fight through a rear-naked choke attempt the first time the wrestler Tate took her to the ground in the second round. Holm couldn’t do the same in the fifth, as she inadvertently made the hold tighter by trying to shake Tate off.

“I had to be a pitbull on a bone,” Tate said. “I couldn’t let go of that one.”

The lasting image of Holm’s last fight was Rousey collapsing to the canvas unconscious. Holm herself met the same fate Saturday, going limp before the referee pulled Tate off.

“She has a lot of heart,” Tate said. “Most would have tapped out.”

The other three fights on the main card had fewer surprises and much less action. Favorites Ilir Latifi and Corey Anderson picked up unanimous-decision victories in light heavyweight bouts against Gian Villante and Tom Lawlor, respectively.

Latifi won all three rounds on all three scorecards, while one judge went against Anderson on a single frame.

In the opening fight of the main card, Amanda Nunes defeated Valentina Shevchenko by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-28). The victory was the Brazilian’s third straight and led her to ask for the next title fight against Tate.

Nunes would enter as a major underdog, but UFC 196 proved that doesn’t always matter.

“I’m not surprised, (expletive),” Diaz said.

Check below for our live round-by-round coverage of the UFC 196 main card and full results of the preliminaries at the bottom of the page. Come back to lasvegassun.com for more coverage later.

For the third time in the last eight months, the Irish have taken over the MGM Grand.

Visually, Ireland’s green, orange and white cover the premise. Vocally, “ole, ole, ole” chants seem around every corner.

And it’s all for one man — Conor McGregor. The UFC featherweight champion will hold the top three mixed martial arts’ gates figures of all time in Nevada after tonight when he meets Nate Diaz in a welterweight main event of UFC 196.

The second pay-per-view card of the year was supposed to carry more historical significance, with McGregor scheduled to fight lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos for the chance to become the third fighter to win titles in two different weight classes. When dos Anjos broke his foot less than two weeks ago, McGregor could have postponed the matchup.

But he felt like he owed it to his constantly multiplying fan base to honor the date. Enter Diaz, one of the few fighters who can stand next to McGregor in terms of trash talking.

The last week and a half have been full of insults, most of the explicit variety, between the two brash fighters. Diaz has shut down over the last two days, going as far as walking out of interviews while saying he’s just ready to fight.

He’s going to get his chance. The winners will position themselves well for a title fight, whether it’s against welterweight champion Robbie Lawler or dos Anjos.

The only belt at risk tonight comes before McGregor vs. Diaz. Holly Holm attempts to defend her women’s bantamweight strap for the first time in the co-main event against Miesha Tate.

Holm had one of the most outstanding performances ever in becoming the first woman to ever knock off Ronda Rousey in November, but now must prove herself against the other fighter entrenched at the top of the division. Tate presents much different challenges from Rousey, with a relentless wrestling style.

Action fights precede the two headliners. A pair of light heavyweight matchups — Gian Villante vs. Ilir Latifi and Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor — look likely to produce highlight finishes.

In the pay-per-view opener just minutes away, Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko face off in a women’s bantamweight bout. The winner has an argument to beat the survivor of Holm vs. Tate.

Stay tuned to lasvegassun.com for full coverage of the UFC 196 main card, including round-by-round updates and scoring.

Siyar Bahadurzada won his first fight in almost four years in the final preliminary contest. Bahadurzada battered Brandon Thatch throughout before stopping him via submission with an arm-triangle choke at 4:11 of the third round.

Erick Silva drew the ire of the MGM Grand crowd when he pulled the unsportsmanlike move of faking a glove touch and instead firing a punch at Nordine Taleb. He got his comeuppance to much applause shortly later when Taleb landed a straight right to knock Silva unconscious at 1:34 of the second round.

Vitor Miranda caught Marcelo Guimaraes with a head kick and followed it up with punches to score a TKO victory at 1:09 of the second round. The knockout was Miranda's third straight in the UFC.

Darren Elkins smothered Chas Skelly in a featherweight bout, winning via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27). The performance was vintage Elkins, as he pressured Skelly throughout and gave him no room to operate.

Diego Sanchez and Jim Miller supplied as much action as expected in a lightweight bout between two veterans that have more than 20 fights in the UFC. Sanchez inched past Miller with a unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) through a striking advantage in the decisive third round.

Jason Saggo came back from an Achille's tear to dominate in a lightweight bout. Saggo knocked out Justin Salas at 4:31 of the first round, using ground-and-pound punches from back mount to force the referee to end the fight.

Teruto Ishihara let out a primal yell over the microphone at the conclusion of his featherweight bout. Ishihara earned such a release, viciously knocking out Julian Erosa 34 seconds into the second round.

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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