Saturday, August 20th 2016
UFC 202: Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor
In March, veteran MMA competitor Nate Diaz did the unthinkable when he dethroned the Irish bad boy of MMA, Conor McGregor.
Except for one caveat: McGregors featherweight crown wasnt touched, just his pride. The fight at Diaz welterweight class took the crowned pay-per-view king off his pedestal, if even only in the court of popular opinion and The Notorious was having none such bollocks.
For Diaz it was an achievement that marked a career stained with ups and downs as he has casually changed from lightweight to welterweight at various times along the way. A product of the sunny yet rust belt-like Stockton, California, Diaz grew up in the shadow of his older brother Nick Diaz and ensconced in his bad boy images just as fittingly.
However, amid all the drama and mean mugs, the younger Diaz, like his brother, has always been in highlight reel fights. When he met McGregor, it was no different. Diaz finished him, something that hadnt happened since 2010 when fellow Irishman Joseph Duffy submitted him in a local Irish promotion, Cage Warriors 39.
That win was by arm triangle choke 38 seconds into the first round. Ironically, Diaz submitted him by a rear naked choke with only 38 seconds left in the second round of their UFC 196 main event. It exposed McGregor as a potential victim to jiu jitsu prowess.
With only one win in his whole 22-fight career by submission victory, it is no wonder why a Gracie trained submission ace like Diaz found his vulnerabilities.
Fast-forward to this Saturday. After the most recent heated press conference ended with McGregor arriving late and throwing water bottles at Diaz exiting group atop the stands, we have an epic fight on our hands.
With the absence of Ronda Rousey from competition after her sole loss to Holly Holm and Jon Jones being shelved until a ruling on his alleged UFC 200 PED use, MMA needed this fight.
The pairing is like the saying from Batman, when an unstoppable force meets and immovable object you get an epic encounter. After fake-out posters that promoted Floyd Mayweather fighting McGregor and a social tantrum against Dana UFC President Dana White, indeed this will be the fight of the year for the MMA.
Also a guaranteed slugfest between Anthony Johnson and Glover Teixeira is sure to dazzle as the co-main event.
Watch UFC 202 on pay-per-view at 10pm EST/7pm PST
Sunday, August 21st 2016
Boxing: Errol Spence, Jr. vs. Leonard Bundu
In the land of boxing, the welterweight division is still king and Errol The Truth Spence is marching towards bigger global recognition with each bout.
Facing Italys Leonard Bundu, this is definitely the biggest fight of the 26-year olds career as the winner of the 12-round title eliminator will become the mandatory challenger for the crown held by Englands Kell Brook.
Brook, who decided to take a departure from his division and challenge reigning middleweight king Gennady GGG Golovkin next month in his native England, won his IBF world title from Showtime Shawn Porter in 2014.
Spence has shown and proven since his 2012 Olympics appearance in London, where he made it to the quarterfinals. He felled former WBO junior welterweight titlist Chris Algieri in a non-title fight in April.
With other top titleholders like Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia in the division, Spence advancing to Brook could shift the dynamic of the division astronomically.
Catch all the action live from the Coney Island Ampitheatre in Brooklyn, New York live on NBC at 5:00pm EST /3pm PST.
