Yet by the end of the night in Las Vegas, featherweight champion McGregor, known as the “Notorious One”, was on the losing end of a fight for the first time in his UFC career as Diaz forced a tap-out in the second round to claim victory.
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“Skill-wise, I made a big, big jump from the (Chad) Mendes performance to the Aldo performance, but I didn’t get to show a lot of that because the fight was so quick”, McGregor said. But she won’t be able to fight at the pay-per-view because she is scheduled to film the remake of “Roadhouse”, and Rousey probably won’t fight again until late 2016.
However, the Team Nova União standout turned down the said offer, stating that he needed more time to prepare.
“Now, another man gets a victory over me, he celebrates it. That’s the sign of a loser”.
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. Dos Anjos wound up getting hurt and Nate Diaz took the fight at 170. He lost in devastating fashion on Saturday night, and I couldn’t be happier. Nate then caught McGregor’s kick and threw him down, but the Irish managed to sweep to top position gave Diaz a few ground-and-pound. She has fought Tate on two previous occasions, winning both contests by submission.
“I think with a bit of adjustment, and the recognition that it must take more than one, more than two, more than three to put the heavier man away – I think if I go in there with that mindset at a heavier weight, I will do fine again”, McGregor said.
“My fights are always pulling big numbers, you know”, Diaz said.
“Nothing surprised me except that I got hit at all”.
“He could take a hell of a shot”.
“It’s a bitter, bitter pill to swallow”, McGregor said.
McGregor’s defeat was not the only shock in Las Vegas as Holly Holm lost her bantamweight title to Miesha Tate.
“I felt I took him in the first, but I wasn’t efficient”, he admitted. I’ve got even more footage of the two fighters that you didn’t see over the weekend. The loss to Diaz has leveled that playing field now, and McGregor should have to the defend his featherweight title as a normal champion would. When the history books are written, I showed up.
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That, however, brings us to the other reason McGregor’s loss is a good thing: He needs to learn how to overcome adversity in fights, and not just by doing his usual thing (pressuring opponents with endless full-power punches) harder than before.
