Three reasons why Conor McGregor will beat Nate Diaz at UFC 202
Conor McGregor will look to get revenge on Nate Diaz in their rematch in Las Vegas at UFC 202
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2 min read
Nate Diaz's shocking submission of Conor McGregor at UFC 196 back in March and the ensuing five months of drama, fight cancellations, fake retirements and trash talk have led to Saturday's highly anticipated rematch at UFC 202.
The lead up to the bout, which was supposed to headline UFC 200, has featured the expected trash talk from McGregor and Diaz, culminating in water bottles being heaved across the room at their press conference on Wednesday. There's clearly no love lost between the two fighters coming into the rematch, and if the first fight is any indication we should be in for another classic on Saturday.
Here are three reasons why McGregor will win in the rematch Saturday night on pay-per-view:
1. Motivation: McGregor will not have to search for any added motivation to win this fight. There isn't a belt on the line, only pride -- and lots of money -- and McGregor is looking to restore his fighting pride after losing to Diaz in March. It was McGregor's first loss in UFC competition and his first loss in 16 fights overall. The loss to Diaz made McGregor appear human, like he had vulnerability in the Octagon, for the first time and for a fighter who wants to be known as the best in any division, he has to win this fight to make that claim.
2. Patience: McGregor was winning the first fight before he lost his patience against the strong chin of Diaz. McGregor had Diaz's face gushing blood and was battering him with punches. With a more patient approach, McGregor could have avoided the fate that befell him in the first fight, but he dropped his hands in an effort to tee off on Diaz, look for the second round knockout and got caught with some big shots himself, leading to his eventual loss by submission.
McGregor should learn from that mistake and understand that this fight won't be like his many early knockouts at featherweight. He's going to have to be patient and keep his defense tight, even when he's hurting Diaz because Diaz is so damn tough. Few fighters have the chin to take the shots Diaz took over the first six minutes of that fight and stay standing, much less the chin to take those shots and then respond with big punches of their own.
This time around, McGregor will need to stay patient, but if he's watched the film from the first fight he'll see that he was in control before he pressed the issue and walked himself into trouble. Defeating Diaz likely means taking the fight into later rounds, if not going the full distance, and a more patient McGregor can win that kind of fight.
3. Preparation: This goes along with the patience portion. McGregor has spent all of his time preparing for the challenge of Diaz this time around, rather than having two weeks like last time. McGregor has been working with bigger fighters in sparring sessions and has had a chance to review film and see what worked and what didn't.
There are no excuses this time around for McGregor and if he wants his next fight -- a featherweight title fight with Jose Aldo -- to be the massive event he feels all his fights should be he has to win this one. McGregor loves the spotlight, so I expect him to make sure it stays on him with an impressive showing on Saturday night.
