Conor McGregor’s UFC juggernaut came to a shuddering halt as he was choked out by Nate Diaz at UFC 196 at the MGM grand in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“I respect Nate, he came in , he took the fight at short notice. These things happen. I’ll learn and grow,” a disappointed McGregor told the octagon announcer after one of the most stunning upsets in UFC history.

In the fight for the women’s bantamweight belt, Miesha Tate caused another stunning upset, snatching the title from Holly Holm in spectacular fashion, choking her out late in the final round to claim the belt Holm won by defeating Ronda Rousey.

But the ear-splitting din that greeted the arrival of Diaz and McGregor was evidence of what most had come to see.

McGregor wasted no time in taunting his opponent, and neither fighter can have heard the referee’s instructions as they were too busy talking themselves.

It didn’t stop when the fight started either, McGregor shaking his head at Diaz’s effort, and the Irish fighter landed several heavy blows with his left hand, opening a cut over the American’s left eye that streamed more and more blood.

Diaz took more punishment before landing a heavy punch of his own, rocking McGregor back on his heels. Diaz immediately pounced, landing a series of shots that left McGregor stunned.

Called in at short notice to replace lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, Diaz then pummelled McGregor, who has promised to make the UFC a billion-dollar business, as well as taking his share of that considerable pie.

The tills at the iconic Las Vegas venue were ringing from late afternoon as fans flocked to purchase t-shirts, caps and souvenirs, the overwhelming majority of which bore the name and image of the Irishman who has taken over mixed martial arts.

The crowd roared its approval as McGregor made his first appearance of the night on the big screens at the MGM Grand, which showed him strutting into the venue, immaculately dressed in a checked suit and pink shirt and tie.

Fighting at 170 pounds, McGregor looked trim and muscled as he entered the octagon to pounding music.

Much of the talk - and there has been a lot of talk this week - has centred around weight classes and which belts McGregor could challenge for and when.

McGregor, whose natural weight is a good bit heavier than the featherweight division in which he has made his name, has boasted all week about being able to eat as he wished, and tipped the scales at 168 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in.

With just eleven days to prepare for one of the toughest challenges in the fight game, Diaz threw all the right poses, calm in his corner as the McGregor circus rolled into the arena.

The Notorious One promised when he burst on to the UFC scene that he and his team weren’t there to take part, they were there to take over.

McGregor is a different proposition, and this week he seemed almost completely out of the control of the governing body.

UFC kingpin Dana White has already said that McGregor is hard to ignore and that if he wants to fight Robbie Lawler it will happen.

For now though at least, Nate Diaz has put a stop to that takeover.