One of the UFC's most anticipated rematches is finally here. At UFC 202 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Conor McGregor will have his opportunity to avenge his loss to Nick Diaz.
To say this is a heated rivalry is like saying flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is kind of fast. Take a look at the highlights from the press conference that turned rowdy on Wednesday:
In the co-main event, two hard-hitting light heavyweight title contenders will collide. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson takes on Glover Teixeira in a fight that could have an explosive ending.
Here's the viewing information for the card and predictions for each bout.
When: Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas
TV: Fight Pass prelims (live stream), Fox Sports 1 prelims and pay-per-view main card
Predictions
- Alberto Uda over Marvin Vettori (decision)
- Colby Covington over Max Griffin (decision)
- Neil Magny over Lorenz Larkin (submission)
- Cortney Casey over Randa Markos (TKO)
- Chris Avila over Artem Lobov (TKO)
- Raquel Pennington over Elizabeth Phillips (decision)
- Cody Garbrandt over Takeya Mizugaki (TKO)
- Tim Means over Sabah Homasi (TKO)
- Hyun Gyu Lim over Mike Perry (TKO)
- Donald Cerrone over Rick Story (TKO)
- Anthony Johnson over Glover Teixeira (KO)
- Conor McGregor over Nick Diaz (TKO)
Why Rumble Will Win
Along with being an accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, Teixeira is also a powerful and skilled striker. Unfortunately for him, Rumble's power is on another level.
As powerful as Teixeira is, it's doubtful he stands a chance if he elects to strike with Johnson. The latter is quicker and more explosive.
That would lead you to believe he'll beat Teixeira to the punch during exchanges. The best style to utilize against Johnson is a pure wrestling approach that takes him off his feet and neutralizes his power.
That's not Teixeira's specialty.
He would prefer to strike, and his takedown accuracy is just 50 percent, per FightMetric.
Since Johnson moved to light heavyweight in the UFC, he's lost to one man: Daniel Cormier. At this point, DC and Jon Jones may be the only 205-pounders with a chance to stop Rumble.
Why McGregor Will Win
Love him or hate him, McGregor is a special fighter. While his game has flaws, his strengths are so overwhelming that he's usually able to overcome his shortcomings.
He's not a great grappler and probably never will be. That said, he has tremendous balance, speed and striking accuracy for his offensive style (44 percent), and he's a maniacal competitor.
Diaz is a great boxer with an expert-level ground game, but he's not going to improve. He'll be the same guy he was when he beat McGregor in March.
Therein lies the problem for Diaz in the rematch. McGregor will not be the same guy. He won't gas out trying to put Diaz away in the first round.
He'll respect Diaz's power a little more than he did in the first fight, and he'll battle like there's no tomorrow to stay off the ground.
McGregor landed 61 significant strikes against Diaz in the first fight, and the latter's face was showing serious wear before The Notorious One lost steam from carrying the extra weight.
This time, he'll be ready and won't run out of gas. McGregor will win by TKO. Don't be surprised.
Sleeper Bout for Fight of the Night
McGregor vs. Diaz and Johnson vs. Teixeira are the featured attractions, but keep an eye on Gyu Lim vs. Perry.
Gyu Lim has already won two Fight of the Night bonuses in his five-fight UFC career. He likes to mix it up and brawl. He'll likely have a willing participant in Perry.
In six fights—all victories—Perry has scored a knockout victory. Here's a look at one of his most recent finishes in March against Frank Carrillo at Island Fights 37. The end comes at the 4:45 mark of the video:
Lim and Perry should put on a good show.
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