In a technical, rugged and smart performance that answered his disappointment from a March loss to the bigger, heavier Diaz, McGregor won a majority decision by scores of 48-47 (Jeff Mullen), 47-47 (Glenn Trowbridge), 48-47 (Derek Cleary).
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Aldo was impressive in his latest win against Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 to become the interim featherweight champion. For a moment, this fight seemed destined to go down the same way as the first, as McGregor looked exhausted and frustrated as Diaz weathered another storm, doing it with a smile and a middle finger for his rival. Page2sports.com had it a 48-47 in favor for McGregor. Then Diaz dominated the second round with accurate, well-timed boxing before finishing the exhausted McGregor with a rear naked choke. “It certainly lit a fire under my belly”, McGregor said on Saturday night.
“Surprise, surprise [expletives]. The king is back”.
“I thought I won that fight, they can’t have a m**********r like me winning, I’m too real for this sport”.
Later in Round 2, Diaz found the energy to unleash a flurry of strikes, knocking McGregor down against the fence.
McGregor also showed respect for Diaz following the fight, most notably calling him “one tough motherf***er”. The California native expressed his disbelief about the scorecards after the fight and immediately demanded a trilogy. “I’ve got to figure out what’s next but right now, I don’t know what’s next”. That’s not to make excuses, I got it all on tape. Both men were tired in the fifth, Diaz flipped McGregor the middle finger when McGregor backed away from his pressure. “I’m ready for [No. 3]”.
Just like Diaz, McGregor was just as adamant that a trilogy must happen between the two in the future. “Come back down to 155 and we’ll do it”.
“I dropped him in the third round, and then at the end of the third he started loading up”, he said. I came up to 170 (pounds).
That win remains the best moment of McGregor’s UFC career so far, though he is yet to defend his featherweight belt; however the problem with a return to 145lbs is the physical demands of reducing his body weight.
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Conor looked calm and composed from the time he emerged from the locker room, which served as an indicator that he had a gameplan and was focused on executing it to avoid the events that put him down in the first outing at UFC 196.
