Gilbert Melendez says teammate Nate Diaz will finish Conor McGregor again in the rematch, regardless of the changes the Irishman makes in the Octagon.
Although there’s no word on the rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, Gilbert Melendez believes the fight will happen and predicts his Cesar Gracie teammate to win again.
Both men were originally scheduled to headline the blockbuster UFC 200 PPV on July 9, but McGregor was pulled from the bout after refusing to attend a Las Vegas press conference last month.
The rematch was to be contested at welterweight, where ‘The Notorious’ made his 170-pound debut against Diaz at UFC 196. McGregor found success early on, but succumbed to Diaz’ pressure boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, tapping to a rear-naked choke in the second round.
‘El Nino’, who has been a frequent sparring partner and friend of Diaz, believes McGregor will try to ‘dance around’ his teammate to try and negate the weight difference but is confident the outcome will remain the same.
“I don’t see it going any differently. I see Conor, if he does fight him again, he fights like the smaller man. He’ll try to stick and move and try to kick out Nate’s front leg and try to take his shots. Ultimately, Nate will stand strong, he’ll eventually walk him down, he’ll start landing the 1-2 and we’ll see the same finish,” Melendez told FOX Sports.
“Maybe a little bit later because Conor’s going to use his footwork to dance around and maybe not try to stand in the pocket as much.”
Despite McGregor’s battle outside the Octagon with the UFC, the Irishman recently joined Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta for dinner to discuss the future of their relationship. According to McGregor, things went smoothly and all emotions have been put aside.
Although a return against Diaz is expected, rumours continue to mout of a potential mega-money boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. White shut down the idea, but McGregor and ‘The Best Ever’ continue to tease of the bout in the media.