In the end, McGregor’s adapted gameplan paid dividends as he won only the second decision victory of his career – and the only one to go past the third round.
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McGregor (20-3) forced the action in the opening round, landing multiple leg kicks to Diaz’s lead leg and a straight left that knocked down Diaz (20-11).
“The Notorious” Conor McGregor came out to “Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G which suited the occasion because Nate Diaz made his entrance to “I’m A Souljah” by 2PAC. I’ve got that all on tape, just to set it off and not make excuses because I’ve got that all videoed up. “It took the mind, I didn’t just head hunt I hit the leg, I hit the body and I didn’t overload on my shots”, he added. Diaz continued to attack in the third and, for the final 90 seconds of the fourth, they stood in the center of the cage and exchanged blows.
“I proved the class difference but that toughness and durability crept in the later rounds”, said McGregor. “Let’s regroup and do it again”.
After the result was given, and to the deafening sound of cheers, the Dublin native wasted no time in calling for a re-match, this time at 155 pounds.
Following the fight, Jose Aldo, who was defeated by McGregor in 13 seconds in December past year in a featherweight bout, tweeted: “Where you at @TheNotoriousMMA?”. Come back to 155. He recovered and accepted what had happened and patiently went back to work.
However, the last two rounds were the true testament to McGregor’s resilience as he composed himself and took calculated risks.
UFC president Dana White told SportsCenter afterward that a potential trilogy fight could be complicated by McGregor’s featherweight title. The interim 145-pound champion is a man I KO’d in 13 seconds.
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This time around, McGregor came out of the blocks livelier, with the animosity between the pair clear as they did not touch gloves before the action began. “I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t want to see this fight again, but Conor’s either going to go defend his title or give his title up and then we’ll figure out where to go from there”.
