Conor McGregor has beaten Nate Diaz in the highly anticipated rematch at UFC 202 held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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“I proved the class difference but that toughness and durability crept in in the later rounds”, said McGregor afterwards.
Heading into the final round Diaz was desperately trying for a submission as blood was cleary impacting on his vision, but McGregor had other ideas as he reverted back to his earlier tactics of landing solid leg kicks on his opponent.
In a five round war of attrition, either fighter had a reasonable claim to the win.
“I was over the moon when I walked into that weigh-in and they were all there”, he said, referring to the large, vocal Irish contingent in attendance. Sensing McGregor may be fading, he waded forward and started to make an impression.
“I’d love it. I was over the moon when I walked into that weigh-in and they (Irish fans) were all there”, he said. Now you want this trilogy, it happens on my terms. Diaz rallied late in the second and continued in the third. Diaz fought well, got his money, and will probably get another shot at fighting McGregor. I’ve got to talk.I’m speaking to the new people now [WME-IMG], so I don’t know.
Besides McGregor, Mayweather Sr. feels he would batter Nate Diaz, who made McGregor tap in their March bout. “I want No. 3, I gave him No. 2, so let’s do it”, Diaz added.
McGregor’s immediate reaction to victory over Diaz was to target a third and potentially decisive battle with the 31-year-old California native. McGregor and Diaz both alluded to it, and McGregor didn’t mention defending his featherweight title nor did he mention Floyd Mayweather Jr or anything like that. If he and Diaz do fight again, expect the purses to be even larger than at UFC 202. “I would beat both they asses”, Mayweather Sr. told the Mayweather Boxing Channel. He’s a big boy too, he was a good 30 pounds bigger than me in there.
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“Like my coach says, we win or we learn”. I don’t know what’s next.
