The final five minutes came. People were on the edge of their seats. All 15,539 of them captivated by the performance of the warriors before them.
Ref McCarthy started the round for the last time for that night as the fifth round did not only close the fight between the two martial artists, but also close the massive UFC 202 event altogether.
The tattooed fighter lunged at Diaz with a flying knee attempt and fought off take down efforts, and survived a beating dished out in a clinch battle.
Aggression, heavy clinch work and a successful take down after many attempts won Diaz the closing round, albeit McGregor did not go without a fight.
The take away
As soon as the rounds concluded, the bad blood between the competitors dissipated. After taking McGregor to the ground, Diaz helped him up and the two expressed respect for one another.
Make no mistake, the drama and emotions beforehand was as real as it could get. Middle fingers, profanity and trash talks; flying water bottles and energy drink unapologetically described the competitiveness and ego a fighter has to have in order to stay afloat in the terrifyingly deep sea filled with hungry competitors.
Of course, a fight does not have to be built upon negativity.
However, truth be told, how would you expect two people trying to separate each other from their consciousness ought to behave? After all, these are the modern day equivalent of gladiators fighting on the sands of Colosseum, spilling their blood and guts for the entertainment of the paying lot.
Announcer Bruce Buffer entered the arena. Referee John McCarthy put Diaz and McGregor on his right and left side respectively.
