Nate Diaz beats Conor McGregor: 'I’ll face it like a man, like a champion,' says McGregor after shock UFC 196 loss

It was the Irishman's debut bout at 170lbs as he stepped up two weight divisions from his usual featherweight division

Conor McGregor (Getty)

Conor McGregor has pledged to take his UFC 196 defeat to Nate Diaz “like a man” after a night of upsets in Las Vagas.

It was the Irishman's debut bout at 170lbs as he stepped up two weight divisions from his usual featherweight division but he was submitted by Diaz after four minutes and 12 seconds of the second round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“I took the chance going in at 170 [pounds],” McGregor told UFC commentator Joe Rogan afterwards. “Nate came in, I felt I took him in the first round, but I was inefficient with my energy.

“But I’m humble in victory or defeat. I respect Nate. He came in, he took the fight on short notice, he came in at 170 and done the job. He was efficient, I wasn’t efficient. That was it, I feel.

“These things happen. I’ll learn, I’ll grow. It is what it is. I’ll face it like a man, like a champion. I’ll come back and do it again.”

Elsewhere, Miesha Tate also defeated Holly Holm to win the UFC's women's bantamweight title. Holm said: "It wasn’t the right move to shake her off my back, it was stupid and I should have fought it off more. When you are up against a wrestler like that of course that threat is there for a takedown and you have to recognise it."