UFC 196: McGregor v Diaz

McGregor really shouldn't be considered for the Dos Anjos fight now. He lost what was basically a LW fight tonight and you shouldn't get a title shot after losing in a divsion (unless you just lost the belt). His aura of invincibility is gone now too and his bargaining power with the UFC will have diminished as a result. It'll be interesting to see who he fights next and at what division. No doubt Frankie Edgar is already demanding he come back down for UFC 200.

darced wrote: »

Thats the most probable outcome but if Conor fought smarter and avoided getting clipped for 5 rounds which I know is extremely unlikley he would bust Lawlor up and it would be thrilling. I thought he looked powerful in their tonight, remember Mendes ate lots of lefts too. Nate was looking pretty hurt in that fight which you dont ever see.

You're not getting it. Robbie is much bigger than Conor. He's bigger than Nate too.

Conor is a small-medium LW. He'd get mauled by ANY medium-large WW. Especially the champion.

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

Frankie is a better wrestler, but his not going to finish submit on the ground and he won't transition the way Nate does. Nate's JiuJitsu is probably the best at 155 after RDA and better than anyones in 145.

Frankie's more than capable of submitting him imo, not that he needs to.

Can't wait to see gamebred pop in.

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Well he was clearly winning the fight until he got stunned from that one punch. Diaz could barely see out of one eye.

But yeah all immaterial now.

Diaz landed more than one punch and mcgregor was out on his feet. Jesus the way some people are talking Diaz did nothing bar land one shot.

In what way could he barely see? Had a bit of blood around the eye but nothing serious or fight ending. It didn't close up or swell - when the decision was called Diaz was cleaned up and it was just a regular run of the mill cut.

Conor was too cocky, sloppy and showed he shouldn't really be fighting at that weight. RDA would've killed him. It was a lesson - hopefully he learns from it but only time will tell

Frankie will have loved that. That has to be Conor's next fight, defending at FW. He might not like it and the cut is horrible, but he doesn't really have another option unless he vacates it and throws his hat in the ring at LW, but I can't see how he'd get that title shot now. Maybe if he lost a close decision he could have played the short notice, different weight card - but not after being finished like that. The winner of Khabib - Ferguson will be looking for that as well as Alvarez, not to mention Nate of course.

There will be a serious backlash on Conor now after all that he's said but I think he'll come out stronger from it. His opponents now have alot more ammunition to throw at him and he himself can't speak with as much bravado as he has before. But he always talks about training and learning all the time, so I'm sure he'll be working hard on strengthening the holes in his game. Frankie has to be the fight now. As long as he manages the weight cut correctly and makes it healthy, I definitely think he can win that. It could be like Mendes(apart from 2 week camp) where Frankie gets some takedowns but just gets tagged too much on the feet. But if Conor were to lose that, the aura would have well and truly gone. Some of the shine is gone now sure, but there's the excuse of the last minute change, moving up in weight etc. Despite this I do think he can do well at LW in the future, he just needs to work on some things and realise that he's not fighting featherweights anymore. But any talk of WW is pure lunacy, weight classes are there for a reason.

Well it's fair to say that no-one can say that the UFC is fixed after tonight.

That could very much stand to it in the long term as it gives it credibility.

Not a big follower of the sport but was astounded by what McGregor created for himself through talent, force of personality and hard work and i wish him the best in the future.

Dana spotted backstage throwing hunnid dolla bills at GSP.

There are a good few LWs and FWs that beat Conor imo. He's done very well to get where he is and make the money he has, but a part of that has been favourable matchmaking and intimidation, as well as talent of course. But Diaz had tools to exploit Conor and was never going to be intimidated.

chupacabra wrote: »

Just this guy:

Sarcasm to make the same point

A devastating night.

Firstly, as a fan I'll say well done to Nate Diaz. If you were to pick one fighter in the UFC who deserves a big night like that then it would be hard to look past him (or his brother Nick for that matter).

Secondly, while it's obviously gutting for those of us who are McGregor fans, it's probably worth taking stock. Conor's style of promotion etc means it's fair game after the defeat to have a go at him (and I'm sure he's more than expecting it himself and obviously well able to handle it) but there has been people on here, in the real world, media, fellow fighters and more who have been lining up since 2013 to fire their bullets so it has been a long time coming for them.

Thirdly, if you want to be a great in this sport you're going to taste defeat at some point. It's just a fact. You will lose at least once in the UFC if you become known as a great. Anderson Silva has 3 UFC losses on his record and will go down as the greatest ever. Demetrious Johnson has a loss on his record but has since won 9 on the bounce and is arguably the P4P #1 at the moment. GSP lost his belt to Matt Serra and subsequently won 12 on the bounce, while he also tasted defeat to Matt Hughes previous to the Serra bout. The record books will also show that Jon Jones has an L on his record however ridiculous, but he has bounced back and won 12 on the spin. Jose Aldo was obviously put away by Conor in 13 seconds. All absolute, undeniable legends of the sport. The list goes on and there's one common denominator - they all have at least 1 UFC loss on their records.

I've been guilty of it myself in the past (especially when it came to Rousey v Holm), but there really is no such thing as a certainty in this sport and that's why it's one of the best in the world.

IMO Conor should be applauded for having the balls to take a fight 2 weight classes above his own and against a new opponent on a week's notice. It didn't end well but it's refreshing. There's very, very few other fighters in the organisation that would do the same.

The most interesting thing is how McGregor comes back from this adversity. Lets not forget he has already tasted defeated in his career and bounced back so this is nothing new to him (albeit on a lesser scale). All I know for sure is that I'm proud to have him representing our country in this sport and will be aiming to be there to support him the next time he makes that walk.

stephenl15 wrote: »

Ehhh have a look back, showed respect to every single one of his opponents after the fight. All the gloating is done beforehand to hype it up.

'You hit the canvas like a bitch' - type comments. 'I buried bodies out in the desert'. etc.,

You say hype, I say not humble.