UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor notched back his top spot in the world of MMA.

In a shocker-upset outcome, Nate Diaz tapped out the ‘Notorious One’ at UFC 196 this March. McGregor received his opportunity to even the odds this Saturday inside the octagon in a hugely sought rematch of ages. It finally took place in UFC 202’s main-event bout in Las Vegas. McGregor made the most of his chance for redemption to receive a victory via a majority decision of 3-2.

The path, however was less easy than thought. McGregor had to torture himself in five ‘stages-of-hell’ rounds, each of them as intense as competitively entertaining. When Nate Diaz defeated Conor McGregor in a surreal career move, he handed the Irish fighter his UFC career’s only loss. McGregor rose up to his feet and erased that only blemish out cold.

The bout itself was purely magic, with 330 combined strikes, a record second to none, in recent history. McGregor frenzied into Diaz with rock solid fists as the bell rang, the latter though survived the ambush which is sufficient to slay many tough fighters. Diaz attempted multiple take downs to no avail. He managed to hit every shot of his and take none in the later rounds while showcasing a great amount of inhuman toughness and resilience. In fact, this manoeuvre even suggested a second victory for the Ultimate Fighter 5 veteran winner many believe.

The rematch was a big grosser for both the fighters and the company. McGregor received the largest disclosed payout in UFC history of $3 million while Diaz got $2 million.

What next for Conor McGregor?

The plans for the Irish fighter are yet not clear after his win. One gullible option is to lose weight and defend the title against the interim champion Jose Aldo, his original opponent for UFC 196. Or relinquish the title and continue fighting in the bigger leagues which wouldn’t sound too wise. Interestingly in a post-match promo session the winner cut a promo indicating a trilogy while welcoming a realistic option for McGregor-Diaz 3.

Diaz too sounded more than ready for the bout, “I’m not doing shit until we go for round three. You won’t be seeing me until then. If they want to set it up as soon as possible, let’s do it. But I don’t think it’s a very good business move for him [Conor] to be taking any other fights. He’s [Conor] a businessman, so let’s see what happens”, he said. UFC President Dana White made it clear after the event that McGregor vs. Diaz 3 won’t be immediately booked while not hesitating from its legitimacy. He cited that the “Notorious” would first have to defend his Featherweight title next.  

Regardless of all the events in the aftermath of the pay-per-view, the rematch lived up to its hype. Both competitors prowessed an extraordinary performance of endurance and caliber to make it an all-time classic of this modern classic rivalry of MMA.