Urijah Faber says he actually advised Conor McGregor to further sharpen his ground game.
UFC featherweight world champion Conor McGregor experienced the most high-profile beating of his career in the hands of Nate Diaz at UFC 196.
Despite his pre-fight claims of once again coming out victorious in convincing fashion, the exact opposite happened on fight night. “The Notorious” was instead forced into submission via rear-naked choke in the second round of their main event bout last March 5th.
Many attribute McGregor’s loss to his grappling disadvantage, going up against an elite-level black belt such as Diaz. Apparently, Urijah Faber shares the same sentiment.
“He got whooped,” Faber told TMZ Sports. “He didn’t even fight the hands, man. I’ve been trying to tell Conor, ‘you gotta work on your jits.’ But Diaz is tough, man. A lot of people don’t know how tough Diaz is.”
Right after Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out 11 days before the fight, Faber was said to be Dana White’s top pick to step in as replacement. The said match-up obviously did not materialize, but if it does end up happening down the line, “The California Kid” says he could very well give McGregor a difficult time.
“I’m definitely a bad match-up for him, though. (I’ve) got the most submissions in UFC history, and he has a history of submitting.”