Despite McGregor’s first round dominance in the striking department, Diaz was able to wear the Irishman down with his boxing and finish him off with his jiujitsu. Diaz hands and grappling superiority, like many fans and observers pointed out, ended up being the things McGregor just could not get past on the physical front.
McGregor chucked it up to luck, that Diaz ‘won the lotto,’ but true fans of the game know nothing inside the cage (or in fight sports for that matter) just happen out of pure luck. Everything in this sport boils down to science — the science of martial arts.
And then there’s the verbal assault, the trash-talking. As good as McGregor is at getting under an opponent’s skin, there is just no getting under Diaz’.
That is what makes this rematch so intriguing.
How can a guy like Nate Diaz, who had virtually no time to prepare for a bout against such a talented fight in Conor McGregor, accomplish anything with less than two weeks notice?
How could McGregor lose that bout after he had obliterated Jose Aldo in 13 seconds, and had trampled on every other fighter he had ever been in the cage with prior?
Yet Diaz ended up winning, resoundingly so.
“They thought [McGregor] was untouchable right? They were putting him out like he was unstoppable. So I guess yeah, that exposed him I guess, right?”
Right, Nate. And now you get the chance to do it all again, this time with enough time to train.
This rematch, for all intents and purposes, is shaping up to be the biggest fight this year. That’s why they were putting this on the UFC 200 card, because the UFC knew this was the fight to make.
The fight is now just a little more than two weeks away. Both fighters at this point seem to be ready to go, even if the fight were to take place today.
Diaz, at the very least, knows what he’s getting into. And he knows exactly what he needs to do.
“Better hope he gets that knockout, otherwise it’s gonna be a fucked up night for him. You better whoop my ass for all that shit you talked,” said Diaz.
Watch the UFC 202: McGregor vs Diaz 2 Extended Promo to get pumped up…
