Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz Rematch at UFC 202 News: This is Fight Business, Says 'The Notorious'
Two weeks away from a blockbuster rematch, Conor McGregor chose to take a step away from Nate Diaz in a battle of trash-talking during the UFC 202 pre-fight conference for the August 20 schedule. McGregor said that he is not into show business and he is unwilling to hype the fight through word exchange.
McGregor is known to rarely pass opportunities to lambaste opponents. Despite taking a step back from the "word war," he turned another leaf during the conference and immediately made a statement that he is serious. The event is contrary to the pre-fight hype in UFC 196 when he was the more talkative gladiator. This time around, McGregor presented an image of a serious, focused and hungry-for-revenge fighter.
To recall, McGregor and Diaz traded blows in UFC 196, but it didn't go so well with the Irishman. Although he was able to sustain high-octane maneuvers during the first round, Diaz held on and ran away with the featherweight championship belt after the match.
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Although just a late replacement for then-champion Rafael Dos Anjos, the win marked the start for Diaz to continually rise to stardom after the grueling rear-naked choke before the end of the second round to defeat McGregor via submission. Diaz now sports a 19-10 win-loss record compared to McGregor who will enter the octagon with 19 wins and 3 losses.
Rematch preview
The biggest reason for the upset result is said to be McGregor's failure to anticipate Diaz' durability, apart from ineffective weight-loss strategy to achieve the featherweight limit. In this rematch, however, there are no more excuses using weight issues since both agreed to battle at a 170-pound limit.
McGregor also admitted that aiming for a first-round knockout during the previous match is a huge mistake because it resulted to lots of openings instead. He also cited that the trash-talk in UFC 196 is another culprit because he was bent on delivering a knock-out as promised.
"And I did go out to KO him in the first round," McGregor said. "I can say that I marched forward and backed him up against the fence and teed off on his head. I did what I said I would do."
Preparations for next fight
Meanwhile, the conference also provided a preview about how both fighters are preparing for the upcoming match. McGregor said that he is sparring with bigger fighters, particularly middleweights since he still cannot dissect how the 170-pound division can affect him. Diaz, on the other hand, said that he is sparring with smaller fighters to prepare for McGregor's speed.
