Conor McGregor believes he “slapped the head off” Nate Diaz

At UFC 196 back in March, fight fans witnessed UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor lose for the first time in his MMA career.

The seemingly invincible McGregor appeared unable to find his range, and ultimately ended up gassing in the 2nd round, resulting in Diaz landing a 1-2 combination that rocked McGregor, which led to a desperation takedown that quickly saw Diaz secure a rear naked choke, and win the fight.

While the pair were supposed to have their rematch at UFC 200, McGregor refused to fulfill his promotional duties, and was pulled from the event. After that, talks of a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather picked up steam, leading many to wonder if we would see a rematch between McGregor and Diaz.

McGregor reflected on the first fight in an interview with ESPN:

“What kind of fighter would I be, if I said, ‘Hey, I didn’t get you at 170, let me try to get you at 155.’ I’ll make my adjustments. I ate up to the weight. This time, I won’t do that.”

“The first eight minutes of the fight was easy. Let’s be honest, I slapped the head off him. Once the gas tank went, that was it. I drowned. He landed that one punch that rang the bell and went, ‘[Gasp,] I’m back.’ He was close to being done. One or two more shots and he would have been wrapped up.”

Video | Conor McGregor

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