When things went wrong at the presser.. or right if you're a fan! #UFC196 pic.twitter.com/Z44RNF5Wn7
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) March 3, 2016
Could this UFC 196 press conference have ended in any other fashion? Nate Diaz confidently walked up to Conor McGregor, who had been trashing his way of life and very existence for the previous hour, stuck his fist in McGregor’s face as a show of force, then all hell broke loose. It looks like McGregor slapped Nate’s hand out of the way, but it also kind of looks like a punch.
Either way, it set off a chain of events that led to Diaz and his crew needing to be held back by security as they went full 209. It wasn’t Jones/Cormier, but it was close to being a bad, bad situation.
Naturally, Twitter went wild at the events:
Nick Diaz and Jake Shields were up on stage VERY quickly when that happened.
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) March 3, 2016
Then, it’s over. The weigh-ins are going to be crazy.
https://twitter.com/ZProphet_MMA/status/705516446303055873
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 3, 2016
Dana White's @Sholler_UFC moment. pic.twitter.com/37L3MlOw7T
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) March 3, 2016
We just about had a fight at the presser! #UFC196 pic.twitter.com/XDoOCzDzTr
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) March 3, 2016
PANDEMONIUM! pic.twitter.com/RzDsnVm6q5
— Ben Fowlkes (@benfowlkesMMA) March 3, 2016
https://twitter.com/GrabakaHitman/status/705530601252757504
A member of the Diaz fighter house made an interesting observation:
No one held Conor back cause he wasn't gonna do shit #UFC196
— nickmcd209 (@NickMcD209) March 3, 2016
Needless to say, the weigh-ins are going to be crazy tomorrow, and the fight itself should be quite good. It seems like for the first time in his UFC run, Conor is facing an opponent who isn’t wilting to his head games. But then, Jose didn’t seem phased until he stepped into the cage on fight night. Hopefully nothing insane happens and these two make it into the cage Saturday night.