This should’ve been the day Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz were warming up for their open workouts before UFC 200, but the MMA Gods are cruel, and we know what happened next. Now, Nate and Conor are set for a UFC 202 rematch, and their special circus is still dominating UFC headlines, with nearly triple the live stream viewers than yesterday’s UFC 200 press conference. Conor and Nate move needles.
Unfortunately, the acoustics were borked and no one could hear anything.
I can't here shit here..
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) July 7, 2016
Let’s dive right into the highlights.
The questions began with reporters asking Conor and Nate what they thought about Jon Jones’ potential doping violation. Nate called back to his UFC 196 press conference in which he said Conor was on steroids, and said, “Everyone’s on steroids.”
Conor was slightly more articulate.
“I could sit up here and say well well well, but I’m a successful human being and successful human beings do not celebrate in the adversity or misfortune of others. So I wish Jon well, I wish everyone backstage well, I know they’re running around like headless chickens trying to get everything together. But all I missed was a press conference. If I look at the facts, the main event of the fight and the co-main event of the fight weren’t even at that press conference. So it is what it is. August 20 is my date. UFC 202, the real UFC 200. And I will have my redemption.”
Of course, Conor was asked about the state of his featherweight title with Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo set to fight for the interim title at UFC 200.
“I giggle when they try to take that credit from me for going up this weight and fighting at 170 pounds, and they try to say this is just a fight where I’m not cutting weight or he’s not cutting weight and all this bullsh*t. Make no mistake, I am the undisputed 145 pound UFC champion and that is my division, a division that I have destroyed. Saturday night now, two fighters get to fight and rise up and see where we are. But make no mistake, that 145 pound division is my division. I am the world champion at that weight and I will continue to dominate that division. I have other business that has presented itself that I must handle first, but make no mistake. 145, 155. These are my divisions and I will continue to come back and dominate them.”
And Conor is definitely adjusting for Nate, with bigger training partners this time around.
“I’m gonna go in and do what I always do. I’m gonna press forward have that man back up similar to how I had him backed up in the last fight and I’m going to tee off on him. This time I’m going to be a lot more prepared for the size and the weight, and for the distance also. One thing I underestimated was his durability and his experience. I will not make that mistake again.”
And then Conor made Dana feel uncomfortable by talking his yanking from UFC 200.
“I feel I carried 2015 on my back. I feel like the reason there’s a 4.2 billion price tag on the company is because of me. I believe that’s what the Chinese estimate as my net worth at 4.2 billion. So I felt like I deserved a bit of leeway. But I have to understand that I didn’t communicate my point very well, and that was it. It is what it is, it’s in the past. Here we are. August 20. UFC 202. I’m happy to put it behind me and get back to competing and training for a contest.”
At the face off, things almost got tense, but Dana White soothed his fighters by saying, “good boys, good boys” and everything went smoothly.
Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz face off #UFC202 pic.twitter.com/BwLb9cSxPQ
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 7, 2016
Now is anyone ever going to talk about UFC 201?