UFC 196: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz – Not History, But Lots of Hate
You can hate UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor all you want, but at this point his fighting spirit is undeniable.
In a repeat of what happened prior to last summer’s bout with Jose Aldo, McGregor lost another opponent less than two weeks before fight night, when UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of his planned title defense against McGregor at UFC 196 due to a broken foot.
Fortunately for the UFC – as well as fans – McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has proven time and time again that he embodies the “anyone, anytime, anywhere” mentality. On Tuesday night, he accepted a fight with Nate Diaz (18-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) at Welterweight, two weight classes above where he holds UFC gold, in the newly made UFC 196 main event.
Last-minute switches have become commonplace for “The Notorious” during his UFC career. UFC 196 will mark his eighth Octagon appearance, and four of those fights have featured an opponent switch. Moreover, six of his past 12 fights overall have not seen him fight his originally announced opponent. The carousel of foes would rattle some athletes, but not McGregor. He’s remained all business throughout.
But Diaz won’t be a pushover. Even though he opened as a significant betting underdog, the 21-fight UFC veteran will own a three-inch height and two-inch reach advantage over McGregor. A well-known commodity to most viewers of the sport, the Stockton Slugger is the younger brother of UFC rebel Nick Diaz, and like McGregor, is a polarizing figure with no equal. Whether he’s flipping the middle finger during fights or spouting an endless stream of trash talk, Diaz is unique. He’s also a pretty damn good fighter to boot, as evidenced by his 13 career UFC victories.
McGregor’s fight with dos Anjos could have cemented his legacy as an all-time great. He already holds the UFC’s 145-pound belt but wanted to move up for a career-defining showdown with dos Anjos that, if he won, would have made him the first to ever hold two UFC belts simultaneously.
The brash Irishman could have easily opted to push the fight back and wait for dos Anjos to recover, especially considering UFC 196 has a solid undercard, including the women’s Bantamweight title fight between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate. But at this point everyone should know that’s not how he rolls.
McGregor already put in a full training camp and flew stateside to Los Angeles in order to complete preparation and pre-fight media. He won’t let that go to waste, especially when a significant payday is attached each time he steps in the cage. It’s no secret McGregor loves making money (that’s putting it mildly), and he’s willing to fight anyone, at any weight, so long as it means cashing a paycheck at the end of the day.
A fight between McGregor and Diaz has felt inevitable for some time. Diaz was rumored to step in for Aldo when he pulled out of UFC 189 in July with a rib injury, but ultimately the contest never came to fruition.