A lot of hay has been made about Conor McGregor’s decision to rematch Nate Diaz at UFC 200 — not just because of the fight itself, but the weight it will be contested at. The original fight at UFC 196 went down at 170 pounds, partially because Nate was a last second replacement so cutting to 155 would be difficult, and partially because Nate’s manager was trying to ply the UFC for more money to make it a 155 pound fight.
But for UFC 200, there’s no reason for the fight to be at 170 … but it is anyways. Now Conor’s agent Audie Attar explains why McGregor wants the rematch at 170 when Nate Diaz is a lightweight and Conor is featherweight champ.
“He really wanted it at 170, because he wanted to prove he could beat him there,” Attar told MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi. “He wants to put the same canvas up and paint a different picture for the audience to watch. And that’s what it’s all about, really.”
“He said, ‘Look, I’m hearing everybody. If everybody wants to do 155, fine. Let’s do 155. The contract was already written at 170. And so, in Conor’s defense, he really didn’t give two sh*ts.”
According to Attar, McGregor spent his time in the locker room after his loss to Diaz watching the fight over and over, seeing it as many as 20 times before showing up to the press conference. It wasn’t just obsessive behavior (although it seems like that too) … the UFC champion had his coach by his side breaking down what went right and wrong.
They probably noticed the unnecessary punch McGregor ate with his hands at his waist that changed the whole fight. So yeah, here’s a suggestion for McGregor at UFC 200: don’t let Diaz hit you like that again. Good luck!
https://imgur.com/oIWsjxu
(Via MMA Fighting)