How a fighter trains for a fight at 170lbs vs. how a fighter trains at 155lbs is different. Conor was expecting to fight at 155lbs, and while making 170lbs simply meant that neither he nor Diaz would be cutting weight, it was still a bigger jump up in size for Conor than for Diaz.
Conor was fighting with more bulk on him than he’s used to, and it looked like near the end of the second he had tired himself out from putting everything he had into his punches. He was trying to finish Diaz with each punch, and every time he did so he made himself more vulnerable. It wasn’t quite the same scenario as Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar, but it was similar.
The bigger you are the more it takes out of you to go full throttle, Conor may have been surprised by how gassed he got in the 2nd round. He will have a better idea of how to pace himself heading into this fight.
