Tag: UFC 196

What Happens If Nate Diaz Beats Conor McGregor?

It’s a legitimate question, as the fate of not just one or two, but three divisions could rest on the shoulders of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 196… The lead up to UFC 196 was marred with injury when Rafael dos Anjos broke his foot training for Conor McGregor and was forced to

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It’s a legitimate question, as the fate of not just one or two, but three divisions could rest on the shoulders of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 196…

The lead up to UFC 196 was marred with injury when Rafael dos Anjos broke his foot training for Conor McGregor and was forced to withdraw from this weekend’s (Saturday March 5, 2016) pay-per-view main event.

Suddenly the card was under serious threat of unravelling and the search for McGregor’s stand-in opponent was on with under two weeks left to fight date. The ironic similarities between UFC 196 and the UFC 189 saga were obvious.

In stepped Stockton bad boy Nate Diaz, and suddenly a battle of trash talkers would headline UFC 196, which, for the most part, has been massively entertaining.

But there was one caveat from the camp of Diaz, as they weren’t willing to cut down to lightweight on such short notice so the fight had to take place at welterweight. A fair enough statement, but the ramifications of this move up of two weight classes for featherweight champ ‘The Notorious’ could be felt in no small amount by three of the UFC’s most popular divisions.

McGregor-Dos-Anjos-Collage[1]

As McGregor makes his 170-pound debut, consider this; how well will his body adapt from being molded to that of a welterweight competitor, to cutting straight back down to featherweight for his next fight?

Probably not very well, and with the original booking of dos Anjos still potentially looming, it’s likely that he’ll be facing the Brazilian lightweight boss in his next fight. For the line of featherweight contenders and the ex-champion Jose Aldo, this is not an exciting prospect.

Frankie Edgar

So already you see the complications for the featherweight class, but what about lightweight?

If you remember, in recent weeks McGregor said he wants to fight Robbie Lawler for the welterweight belt at UFC 200. That statement may not hold weight in the myriad of trash talk going on recently, but remember how he called out the lightweight champion before thumping Aldo, and look what happened there.

So conceivably two divisions could be put completely on hold, as could the top contenders at welterweight if McGregor faces Lawler next, but that could also depend on when dos Anjos is healthy to defend.

And so we come to the crux of the article, what happens if Nate Diaz destroys Conor McGregor at UFC 196?

Read On TO Find Out….

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McGregor vs. Diaz: Career Stats, Highlights for Both Men Before UFC 196

Can you imagine how many sound bites a full-length promotion of Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz would have generated? McGregor might have met his match when it comes to mic work. Diaz can hold his own with anyone when it comes to trash talk and mind games…

Can you imagine how many sound bites a full-length promotion of Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz would have generated? McGregor might have met his match when it comes to mic work. Diaz can hold his own with anyone when it comes to trash talk and mind games.

The question is: Can he beat the Notorious One in the Octagon at UFC 196 on Saturday? McGregor was supposed to challenge Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC lightweight title, but the latter injured his foot and had to pull out. That would have been a great fight, but this one is really good too. 

Take a look at the pre-fight press conference: (Warning: video contains NSFW language)

McGregor, who holds the UFC Featherweight Championship, is jumping up two weight classes to face Diaz at 170 pounds. That’s almost Henry Armstrong-like, and it’s just another detail that makes this fight so compelling.

Here’s a look at the tale of the tape:

Best Wins

McGregor Puts Aldo to Sleep in 13 Seconds

The staredown lasted almost as long as the fight. McGregor destroyed one of the UFC’s most respected and dominant champions in record time at UFC 194. It was the quickest victory ever in a UFC title fight.

The previous record was held by Ronda Rousey, who defeated Cat Zingano in just 14 seconds. McGregor had already become arguably the most popular fighter in the promotion leading up to the fight with Aldo.

His victory made him a legend. Nothing that happens from here on out can change that.

 

Diaz Chokes Out Jim Miller

With a resume that includes fights against just about everyone of note in or around his weight class over the last 10 years, it’s hard to pick Diaz’s best wins. He is the season five winner of The Ultimate Fighter, but we’ll look at a win that happened after the show as his best.

The victory over Miller at UFC on Fox 3 stands out as the biggest because it gave Diaz a shot at the 155-pound title against then-champion Benson Henderson at UFC on Fox 5. 

Diaz submitted Miller—a noted submission artist—in the second round via guillotine choke. Though Henderson completely dominated Diaz in his next fight, the victory over Miller did more for the Stockton bad boy’s career than any other win.

 

Worst Losses

Duffy Submits McGregor

McGregor is undefeated in the UFC, but he does have two losses in his career. Both of them came by submission.

His most recent defeat came at the hands of current UFC lightweight Joseph Duffy back when both men were competing in the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship promotion in November 2010. 

Duffy forced McGregor to tap from an arm-triangle choke with 38 seconds remaining in the first round. Here’s a look at the fight from Rip Under on YouTube:

McGregor has won 15 in a row since the defeat.

 

The Punk Stops Diaz

Diaz has only been stopped via strikes once in his career. It happened in April 2013 against Josh “The Punk” Thomson at UFC on Fox 7.

Thomson—who isn’t known for his striking power—dropped Diaz with a head kick and finished him off with punches. It was Diaz’s second loss in a row and sent him tumbling down the 155-pound rankings. 

 

Best Weapon

Aside from being a battle between two of the UFC’s most colorful personalities, this is also a clash of two very different styles. Even without the trash talk, this would be an interesting fight.

 

McGregor’s Stand-Up Skills

There may not be a fighter in the world who is as skilled as McGregor on the feet. His combination of balance, speed, power and accuracy makes him the most dangerous man in the world of MMA when it comes to pure striking. 

 

Diaz’s Jiu-Jitsu

Diaz has excellent boxing skills, but his bread and butter is his ground game. That’s especially the case in this matchup with McGregor. Diaz isn’t athletic enough to try to trade with McGregor.

His best chance is to get the fight to the ground where he figures to have a huge grappling advantage. The longer it stays on the feet, the less chance Diaz will have to win.

 

Who Wins?

McGregor is beatable, and there are more than a handful of guys between 155 and 170 pounds who can get it done (Rafael dos Anjos, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson, to name a few), but Diaz isn’t one of them. 

The Notorious One will pick Diaz apart from the outside with level-changing kicks en route to a second-round TKO win. 

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UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz Odds, Tickets, Predictions and Pre-Weigh-In Hype

If the UFC still included catchy titles after its pay-per-view offerings, UFC 196 might simply be titled, UFC 196: Welcome to the McGregor Show. 
The hype for the card has centered around the Irishman. Even with his lightweight title shot aga…

If the UFC still included catchy titles after its pay-per-view offerings, UFC 196 might simply be titled, UFC 196: Welcome to the McGregor Show. 

The hype for the card has centered around the Irishman. Even with his lightweight title shot against Rafael dos Anjos scrapped due to injury, The Notorious’ welterweight bout against Nate Diaz has remained front and center. 

It’s even overshadowing a quality championship bout between new women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm and perennial contender Miesha Tate. According to Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie, this card marks the first time since UFC 51 in 2005 where a non-title fight will have main event status over a title fight. 

Here’s a look at the main card with predictions for each of the fights and a closer look at the main attraction. 

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

 

McGregor vs. Diaz Odds

When Conor McGregor steps into the cage at UFC 196, he will be doing so in a weight class 25 pounds heavier than where he last fought. He’ll also face an opponent that he’s only had 10 days to train for. 

Vegas is apparently not shaken by those factors. According to the latest odds from Odds Shark, the featherweight champion is a sizable favorite in his bout against Diaz. 

McGregor has been known to make quick work of his opponents, especially with his latest win over Jose Aldo for the featherweight title lasting just 13 seconds. With that in mind, Odds Shark also reports that the odds of McGregor finishing the fight by (T)KO are at a favorable 20-53. 

 

The Hype

Nate Diaz was the perfect opponent to step in on short notice to fight McGregor. Obviously, the matchup no longer has the same stakes, but the intrigue and buildup may have increased. 

McGregor has made his name by matching incredible skills inside the cage with a mouth that rarely stops talking outside it. Diaz might not have the same flawless track record inside the cage, but he can certainly claim to keep up with McGregor in the trash-talk department. 

Despite the short notice, the two have already given the UFC enough sound bites to have plenty of promotional materials prepared, as evidenced by this teaser for the UFC Countdown show, as shared by UFC president Dana White:

Of course, no McGregor pre-fight hype would be complete without Mystic Mac making a prediction as to how and when he will be victorious, and McGregor called his shot at the UFC 196 press conference, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports: 

End of the first, I feel he will be put away. I respect Nate. Don’t get me wrong. I do respect Nate. There’s a lot of (expletives) in this game and he is not one of them. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a respect there between us but it’s business in there and business is business.

How Diaz responds to McGregor‘s trash talk will be an interesting storyline watch unfold. Usually it is Diaz who can gain an advantage by getting in his opponent’s head. It isn’t often that an opponent tries to do the exact same thing to him. 

 

Prediction

Lost in the buildup between two of the UFC’s biggest personalities is the fact that this is an intriguing fight stylistically. 

First, there’s the obvious size challenge for McGregor. The featherweight champion was already planning a move up to the 155-pound division, but this fight is taking place 15 pounds above that mark. 

Frankie Edgar—who has fought at both lightweight and featherweight—believes that the size issue could be big for McGregor, who is used to having a reach advantage. 

“(Diaz) has got great length. Conor does such a good job because he’s always the longer guy,” Edgar said, per Martin of Fox Sports. “He cuts a boatload of weight to be the big guy and now he’s not going to be the big guy.”

Edgar believes that Diaz‘s length, paired with a good chin and a penchant for throwing a high volume of strikes, makes the man from Stockton, California, a live dog in this bout. 

While Diaz‘s pressure and size will certainly be a part of his game plan, that train of thought largely undersells McGregor as a counterpuncher. 

The Notorious has been known to dial up pressure of his own to fold opponents who can’t strike with him. However, his win over Jose Aldo revealed another side to his style. He’s extremely adept at counterstriking. McGregor‘s knockout win over the reigning featherweight champion was not based upon luck, as a perfectly timed counter to Aldo’s looping punch ended the king’s reign. 

If McGregor was able to pick off the most accomplished featherweight in the sport, one has to think he’s going to crack Diaz eventually. This fight should provide some memorable moments while it lasts, but with Diaz throwing so often, there will be openings for McGregor to expose. 

Prediction: McGregor by 1st-round TKO

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Conor McGregor UFC 196 Open Workout Video

The stage is set for this Saturday night’s (March 5, 2016) UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and this afternoon, featherweight champion Conor McGregor participated in an open workout session for fans and media heading into his main event bout against Nate Diaz. Not surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ put on

The post Conor McGregor UFC 196 Open Workout Video appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The stage is set for this Saturday night’s (March 5, 2016) UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, and this afternoon, featherweight champion Conor McGregor participated in an open workout session for fans and media heading into his main event bout against Nate Diaz.

Not surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ put on quite a show before his short notice 170-pound debut, providing even more buzz for 2016’s biggest fight so far. Watch the full session courtesy of MMA Fighting right here:

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Conor McGregor Plans To “Pound Out” Nate Diaz

conor-mcgregor

Conor McGregor isn’t concerned with the jiu-jitsu game of Nate Diaz.

McGregor, the reigning UFC featherweight champion, will move all the way up to welterweight to face Diaz this Saturday night at UFC 196 in the main event.

During an interview on “UFC Tonight” Wednesday, McGregor offered up his thoughts on how the bout will go down. Remember, “Notorious” has earned himself quite the moniker for being able to accurately forecast fight finishes.

“His jiu-jitsu is overrated. I see opportunities to pass his guard. I’ll bang it out and I’ll keep it on the feet. When he goes down, he rolls out to get out, I’ll pass his guard, mount him, pound him out or look for the choke.”

conor-mcgregor

Conor McGregor isn’t concerned with the jiu-jitsu game of Nate Diaz.

McGregor, the reigning UFC featherweight champion, will move all the way up to welterweight to face Diaz this Saturday night at UFC 196 in the main event.

During an interview on “UFC Tonight” Wednesday, McGregor offered up his thoughts on how the bout will go down. Remember, “Notorious” has earned himself quite the moniker for being able to accurately forecast fight finishes.

“His jiu-jitsu is overrated. I see opportunities to pass his guard. I’ll bang it out and I’ll keep it on the feet. When he goes down, he rolls out to get out, I’ll pass his guard, mount him, pound him out or look for the choke.”

Nate Diaz Reacts To Jon Anik: You Will Soon Be Slapped

It doesn’t seem as if many are picking Nate Diaz to upset UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor in the main event of this weekend’s (March 5, 2016) UFC 196 from Las Vegas, Nevada. In fact, UFC color commentator Jon Anik is so confident in McGregor that he’s offered to get a “209”, which

The post Nate Diaz Reacts To Jon Anik: You Will Soon Be Slapped appeared first on LowKick MMA.

It doesn’t seem as if many are picking Nate Diaz to upset UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor in the main event of this weekend’s (March 5, 2016) UFC 196 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

In fact, UFC color commentator Jon Anik is so confident in McGregor that he’s offered to get a “209”, which is the area code of Diaz’s home in Stockton, California, tattoo if Diaz can pull out a victory in Vegas.

The brash and outspoken Diaz didn’t take kindly to these comments as expected, taking to his official twitter account to fire back at Anik:

Originally, McGregor was slated to face off with reigning lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos for the 155-pound strap, but the Brazilian was forced out of the bout early last week with a broken foot.

It was then quickly announced that Diaz would step up on short notice to save the main event, but also that the two men would be fighting at welterweight.

The “Notorious” one has been victorious in all seven of his Octagon appearances, and is coming off of a fantastic 13 second knockout of former long-time 145-pound title holder Jose Aldo at December 12, 2015’s UFC 194.

Diaz, on the other, hand recently returned from a layoff to meet Michael Johnson at December 19, 2015’s UFC on FOX 17. Showing up on point and in shape, Diaz was able to pick up a well-deserved unanimous decision victory.

The hype and build-up to McGregor vs. Diaz has sure been a spectacle, but how do you see the fight playing out?

Do you agree with Anik, or could Diaz shock the world?

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