Conor McGregor Details Events Leading Up To His First UFC Loss

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor was once on a fifteen-fight win streak and on the verge of attempting to be the first simultaneous two weight world champion in UFC history, as the Irishman was set to meet 155-pound champion Rafael dos Anjos for the title at UFC 196 following his thirteen second starching of Jose Aldo just three months prior.

Unfortunately dos Anjos was forced to pull out of the bout citing a foot injury just two weeks out from his scheduled meeting with McGregor, and the Brazilian was replaced by Stockton native Nate Diaz for a welterweight contest.

Diaz would go on to put a crashing halt to the McGregor hype-train, as he would submit the featherweight champion via rear-naked choke after a dismal attempt at a takedown led to the Irishman’s downfall.

Since the loss McGregor has been obsessed with avenging his first UFC defeat to Diaz, as the 145-pound champ continuously badgered UFC President Dana White for an immediate rematch just days following the loss. The rematch was all set to go down for a brief moment, as the two brash rivals were pitted to main event next month’s colossal UFC 200 event.

The highly-anticipated bout was scrapped, however, as McGregor and UFC brass had a falling out regarding the Irishman’s media obligations.

Now the two sides have apparently resolved their differences as a deal has been struck for Diaz and McGregor to headline UFC 200 in August, giving McGregor the rematch he so desperately desires.

In a recent interview with Balls.ie, McGregor detailed the events leading up to his bout with Diaz, including the drastic weight jump that may have led to his dramatic downfall in March:

“I’m making a weight limit of 155lbs and then nine days before the fight they say, hey it’s 170lbs. 15lbs  is a big difference.

I was on a specific diet to make that 155lb limit and then to be told, nine days out, forget that diet, you’ve actually got to eat up. My body almost went into shock and I was stuffing my face and eating everything.

Usually when I making weight and cutting to featherweight it’s very taxing on me. I almost put myself in bubble wrap and don’t do anything non-fight related. This time I was, ‘I don’t have to make weight, I can train all day long’.

I was doing 6-8 hour sessions on fight week swinging out of gymnastic rings. Looking back, it wasn’t the best idea and it came back and bit me in the ass. I was a little bit heavy around the midsection. I was over-trained. My diet wasn’t great. It came back and bit me in the ass.

As my coach always says, we win or we learn and I have learned and now I am focused. I am staying on my nutrition. I’m very fight orientated now. I’m not swinging out of gymnastic rings too much and I certainly won’t be doing it on fight week. Everything is specific to the fight.”

McGregor’s past opponents have had a history of pulling out of their scheduled bouts, which is my the Irishman says he doesn’t prepare for any certain style. This time, however, McGregor is certain that come fight night Diaz will be a man of his word and show up for the scrap, giving McGregor an advantage he’s never had going into a camp:

“For the last fight I was preparing for Dos Anjos for the Lightweight belt, a small stocky southpaw. I didn’t actually bring in any southpaws, not one.

The reason why we don’t really care what the opponent is doing is because they always pull out, every damn time. This time I know Nate’s going to show up.

I’m going to be facing a tall, lanky southpaw with a decent lead hand. I have brought in tall, lanky southpaws with a solid lead hand. Guys with solid jiu-jitsu credentials and John is managing every session.”

Going into UFC 202 McGregor has all the confidence in the world that he can get the job done against Diaz this time around, but he does still ponder on what might have been had he not given himself up with that poor takedown attempt late in the second round of their bout in March:

“With the injury, I kind of left my cardio days behind. I didn’t wrack up the miles on the clock like I used to in my amateur days.

I’ve hit the road and I’m building up my cardio that way. I’m feeling very confident in myself that I’ll go in and I’ll toy with this man.

I always look back and wonder what would have happened if I just weathered the storm. He was one or two shots from being done I feel.

When that left hand hit he got this burst of energy. You could see it in his corner, they went insane. It was like they won the lotto. I took a couple of shots, then I shot and ended up in that submission.

It was downhill from there. I wonder what would have happened if I had just kept my hands up, kept circling, took the smacks and survived.”

UFC 202 takes place live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 20, 2016.

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