“I feel confident and there’s a lot of good energy going into this fight”.
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“Dance for me, Nate”, McGregor jabbed, referring to Diaz’ payday this weekend and asking him for a thank you.
Pulling on his socks, and training shoes, having just been going through some moves in front of the UFC cameras, “Mystic Mac” was at the end of another hard day as he prepares for his first UFC welterweight contest against Nate Diaz at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night.
Diaz got real close to McGregor in Las Vegas – and it didn’t go down well. “It’s like, no, I want to beat the best in the world”.
Straight Blast Gym coach John Kavanagh had already brought up the idea for McGregor to have a title run at welterweight, 25 pounds heavier than his original weight class at 145-pounds, against champion Robbie Lawler.
“I’ve watched some of her fights and I’ve seen her chin get tested, and I think it’s a little bit suspect”, Tate said. “I’m too fast for him”. And for him, the size difference he has with “Ruthless” would not be a problem. “He’s trying to say people are afraid to fight him – I hunted him down, stalked him, got him”.
But according to UFC president Dana White, setting up the fight was not without its obstacles.
“I’m open to discussion. Conor really does step up and face anyone, anywhere, anytime”.
Asked who his ideal opponent would be, McGregor cracked a smile. “I’ll fight anybody, ‘” White said.
McGregor added: “I’m all about them numbers, Gareth”. You’d assume that Conor would stick around at 155 to complete his quest of taking the belt off current champion Rafael dos Anjos, but it sounds like Conor is revoking Rafael’s opportunity to face him.
For Kavanagh, a loss to the teak-tough Diaz is unthinkable.
“There’s a respect there between us, but it’s business in there, and he will be KO’d inside the first round”. “I’m a lion in there, and I’m going to eat you alive”. In comparison with the chaotic carnivals that kicked off here during his two previous fight weeks, McGregor footsoldiers have been relatively slow pouring into the desert for this bout. Once there, no one in the women’s Bantamweight division can touch her. What was most surprising about that fight, and what Tate could perhaps find herself to be concerned with, was Holm’s strength.
“We welcome the challenge”.
Check out the image below to see just how big he is now!
Peppered with bravado and salvoes of four-letter words, it might look like the press conferences are simply two brash fighters talking trash, but this is all part of building a brand in a sport that is unashamedly macho, inside and outside the octagon.
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Diaz: “No one knows what a gazelle is anyway”. The champion-versus-champion match with dos Anjos may be off the table for McGregor, but Diaz’s notoriety may actually elevate intrigue for his latest bout without the historical relevance dos Anjos offered.
