Conor McGregor suffered a humbling submission loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in Las Vegas. The Irishman was badly hurt by a series of punches from Diaz in the second round and attempted a takedown as a result, but the American finished him off on the ground with a choke.McGregor, the featherweight champion who voluntarily stepped up 25lbs to make his welterweight debut, now faces a decision regarding his long-term weight division after losing at short-notice to Diaz. McGregor (right) was damaged on the feet before being finished on the ground McGregor was clearly at a size disadvantage against the taller and rangier Diaz but likely won the opening round with clever head movement to edge the lions share of the punching exchanges. His dangerous left fist drew blood from above Diazs eye, and a series of kicks to the Americans lead leg also interrupted his rhythm.But that range differential suddenly became a bigger issue in the second round. Diaz, whose trademark trash talk had been conspicuous by its absence, found his swagger after buckling McGregors legs with a straight left hand.With the Irish fighter quickly becoming a sitting duck, he attempted to take the fight to the ground, but Diaz established a dominant position and forced the submission after 4:12 minutes of the round. McGregor (right) landed some powerful shots in the first round I took the chance, McGregor (19-3) said. I thought I took the first round, I was inefficient with my energy. I respect Nate, he took the punch. These things happen in MMA. I took a chance and it didnt work out.Diaz (19-10) added: If Im not in the best shape, Ive got to start slow, save my energy, and then pick it up.Earlier, Holly Holm lost her womens bantamweight championship with a submission defeat to Miesha Tate.Holm, who won the belt in shocking fashion from Ronda Rousey in November, struggled on the two occasions that the fight went to the ground and was put to sleep by a choke in the fifth round.Tate, who has two defeats to Rousey on her record, almost won the title with a second-round choke but Holm valiantly refused to quit. The defending champion edged the first, third and fourth periods with her more accurate punches and kicks from a standing position but never looked likely to put Tate away.In the fifth, the challenger dragged her back down to the canvas and sunk in a choke which forced the referee to step in and save Holm.I knew I had to finish the fight, said Tate. I knew I had to be perfect in the fifth round. Cheap Warriors Jerseys . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Tim Hardaway Jersey Large . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. http://www.customwarriorsjersey.com/custom-tim-hardaway-jersey-large-78y.html . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Warriors Jerseys China . Barcelona also left injured defenders Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano and Jordi Alba out of its squad for the trip to Glasgow. That means that Marc Bartra will probably start again in the centre of the defence alongside Gerard Pique. Custom Warriors T-shirts . The Lightning are 2-0 so far on a four-game road trip, giving the club five straight wins as the guest and improving Tampas away record this season to 11-8-2. SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- For Chip Kelly and Blaine Gabbert, this season is about a second chance at NFL success.After being run off from his first NFL coaching job in Philadelphia, Kelly took over in San Francisco and has picked another reclamation project in Gabbert as his starting quarterback for the 49ers.Gabbert, who took over as the starter in San Francisco midway through last season, begins a season in that role for the first time since 2013, which was his third and final season in Jacksonville after being the 10th overall pick in 2011.Gabbert beat out Colin Kaepernick for the job, staying mostly in the background as Kaepernick made big headlines with his protest over the national anthem.Thats one thing you like about Blaines makeup, there are not too-high highs or too-low lows, Kelly said. Hes very steady in his approach. You get the same Blaine Gabbert every day and I think thats a good thing, especially at the quarterback position.The problem for the Niners is that the Gabbert from the last five years has been far from special. He has just an 8-27 record as a starter in the NFL, completing only 55.8 percent of his passes with 33 touchdowns and 31 interceptions.That kind of play led Jacksonville to trade him to San Francisco three years after drafting him. Gabbert looked a little better last season with the 49ers when he completed 63.1 percent of his passes and posted a career-high 86.2 passer rating in eight starts.The Niners hope for even better results this season in Kellys quarterback-friendly system that helped players such as Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez have perhaps their most success as pros. That wasnt enough for Kelly to keep his job with the Eagles, but Gabbert is excited about the opportunity to run that fast-paced offense.Coach Kelly puts a lot of trust in us to go out there and make the plays, Gabbert said. Thats what you want as a competitive player. You want to have the ball in your hands. You want to be kind of leaned on to make the plays, score the points for this team. And thats what this offense does. It puts guys in position to have explosive plays.Here are some other things to watch this season for the 49ers:CATCH THE BALL: No matter who is at quarterback this season, finding proven players to throw the ball to will be a problemm.dddddddddddd Torrey Smith was the only wideout on the roster with even 40 career catches before a couple of late trades added Jeremy Kerley and Rod Streater. Kerley had just 16 catches last season for the Jets and Rod Streater has only 10 receptions the past two years. Smith has been a good deep threat for much of his career, but the Niners lack a true No. 1 receiver.DAVIS RETURN: The 49ers dealt with a string of retirements last offseason with Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Chris Borland and Anthony Davis all deciding to call it quits. Davis proved to be temporary as he decided to come back at the start of training camp, giving a boost to San Franciscos offensive line. After being a stellar right tackle his first five years, Davis has moved to right guard this season for the first time since college with Trent Brown entrenched at tackle.DUCKS ON THE LINE: Kelly will have a couple familiar faces on the defensive line as GM Trent Baalke used his top draft picks each of the past two years on former Oregon linemen who had played for Kelly in college. Arik Armstead had just two sacks as a rookie last year, but is expected to make a much bigger impact in 2016. No. 7 overall pick DeForest Buckner has the potential to be dominant against the run and a strong pass rusher, giving the Niners a foundation for their defense.RUN TO DAYLIGHT: The Niners have one potential game-breaker on offense in third-year running back Carlos Hyde -- if he can stay healthy. Hyde showed his potential when he rushed for 168 yards in the opener last season. But he added only 302 more in six games before being shut down with a foot injury. Hydes downhill running style fits well in Kellys system.BOWMAN THE BEAST: Inside linebacker NaVorro Bowman is one of the few links left from the dominant defense that helped lead San Francisco to three straight NFC championship games from 2011-13. After sitting out 2014 with a knee injury, Bowman returned last season and made the All-Pro team despite looking like he had lost a step. But he has looked more explosive this summer and is poised for another big year.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
