A battle between lions.

Wow. When it comes to rematches few of them live up to the hype. First fights in a feud are usually made into rematches simply because of the sheer entertainment the first bout produced. But in the case of of the rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, expectations were not only met, but completely surpassed. McGregor and Diaz engaged in an instant classic this past weekend. Not only was the fight exciting, but it answered a ton of questions as well, chief among them being whether Conor McGregor could battle back from adversity. The Irishman passed with flying colors. After a dominant first round put in by the UFC featherweight champion, McGregor continued to pelt Diaz with shots until the closing moments of the second round. Things looked as if they were taking a turn as Diaz began to pour it on. The Stockton native put an equally dominant beating on McGregor in the third. As soon as it seemed that McGregor would be taken out, “The Notorious” got a second wind in the fourth round battling back from the brink of defeat. A back and forth fifth round closed things out with Diaz getting the edge with a much needed takedown. Though McGregor may have gotten the win, at the end neither man has nothing to be ashamed of. Both McGregor and Diaz put on a brilliant display of heart and guts and should be applauded. Back in March when McGregor first lost to Diaz the entire MMA world was ready to write off the brash Irishman as just a flash in the pan. He faced a ton of adversity in last Saturday’s bout and had to dig deep in order to secure a victory. While many experts are saying that McGregor has redeemed himself, that simply isn’t the case. Losing to Nate Diaz isn’t something that anyone should be ashamed of and the hate that McGregor was getting was unfounded. Two warriors did battle and one came out the victor. The two men put it all on the line every time and because of that there is no shame in defeat for either man. What did you you think of UFC 202’s main event? Let us know by hitting up our comments below or head on over to our official Facebook and Twitter.

Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.