The spectacle that is Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz II is nearly over a week away, and mixed martial arts (MMA) fans are waiting in anticipation to see the two trash-talking rivals collide once again.
Their first encounter at UFC 196 ended when a 1-2 combo from Diaz landed flush on the Irish champion’s chin, resulting in the battle being taken to the mat and the Stockton Native locking in the rear-naked choke for the second round tap.
Following the contest many fans labeled the biggest gap between McGregor and Diaz as drastic difference in the two men’s ground abilities, as Diaz holds a black belt in Gracie jiu-jitsu as opposed to McGregor’s brown belt under coach John Kavanagh.
In a recent conference call to promote the UFC 202 rematch (courtesy of MMA Junkie) McGregor responded to these comments stating that he believes the difference between he and his counterpart was not their skills on the ground, but rather the durability and endurance of Diaz:
“I don’t think the difference between us in that fight was the jiu-jitsu; I think it was the durability, the endurance, the experience,” McGregor said.
“I think that was the difference. When we were both fresh, I ended up in the mat and caught that kick and he did that takedown he does, and I swept him.”
Despite the criticisms of others McGregor claims he is confident if the fight finds it’s way on the ground against Diaz, as he has brought in bigger bodies with jiu jitsu backgrounds to push him to the brink in preparation for the fight:
“I am confident on the mat with Nate. After that, I’ve brought in heavier people, more experienced jiu-jitsu people, to come in and push me daily. I will be experienced for his jiu-jitsu in the later rounds, also.”
“People can say what the (expletive) they want,” McGregor said. “I didn’t feel his weight anywhere until that moment, until when he sprawled.
When I went to turn away from mount and regain guard or something, he sprawled me out at the right time and that was it. It was done at that stage, but (expletive) it. I’ll take that one on the chin.”
McGregor’s choice to run it back immediately after suffering the upset loss to Diaz may be a head scratcher to some, but when it’s all said and done McGregor says people will look back on him and his career as the man who wasn’t afraid to step up to the plate:
“When people look back on my career, I’m just a kid that came from nothing and done it, went all the (expletive) way,” McGregor said.
“I showed up all the time, showed up to fight every time. There’s a lot of (expletives) in this game. I’ve said it before – other people that claim they want to fight and they want to do this and they want to do that.
They don’t do jack (expletive). I bring it every time. I’m not afraid of no challenges. That’s how my career will be remembered: a guy that showed up to fight every single time.”
McGregor and Diaz will meet in the main event of UFC 202 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 20, 2016.
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