Whether he fell in love with his power, bought into the hype, or a different thing all together, for whatever reason, Conor McGregor seemed to have fought uncharacteristically during UFC 196. Gone were his calculated attacks and systematic body blows. Instead of using movement, speed and perfectly timed counters that he’s been known for, McGregor decided to just plod forward, slug it out, and head hunt.
McGregor seemed dead set on getting an early KO, and while he thought anyone else would’ve “crumbled under those shots“, Diaz didn’t. He took Conor’s best shots and kept coming forward. For his part, Diaz said Conor’s power wasn’t anything new to him.
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“Nothing surprised me, except that I got hit at all,” Diaz said during the post-fight press conference. “I think with a full camp I would’ve been flawless, but it’s whatever.”
“He punches hard. He’s a hard hitting little guy, but nothing I never felt before.”
“I sparred full camps with top 10 boxers, forever. Omar Henry, Andre Ward when he fought Chad Dawson. I’ve been hit by everything. I’ve sparred with heavyweight fighters,” he said. “If you ain’t taking me out, you going to get taken out, straight up.”
Related: Diaz: Weight had nothing to do with McGregor win, I was the superior martial artist
Diaz stepped in a massive main event with barely any training and zero sparring, but credits the win to all the experience he has gained.
“I knew I was the superior boxer. The superior martial artist. Superior jiujitsu. As I said from the beginning, I have the best training partners in every aspect. Boxing, kickboxing, jiujitsu, and MMA.”
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