It’s near-unbelievable to think that Conor McGregor (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) made his debut for the UFC just three years ago and in that time has risen to unparalleled prominence in the sport.
After achieving a seven fight win-streak within the promotion, the aggressive striker steamrolled through the featherweight division. The Irishman produced six knockout finishes inside two rounds, with only one fight going the distance against now third ranked Max Holloway.
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While known for ample flair inside the cage, McGregor thrusted himself into the mainstream sporting pantheon with genius trash talk, often besting his opponent before ever stepping inside the cage.
Every media obligation was a spectacle and after the rising superstar began to predict the round and method in which his opponents fell, every word from his mouth felt prophetic; as if we were watching Muhammad Ali of our generation.
McGregor owns the stage like a lyrical artist in the midst of a rap battle, shouting punchlines that would make comedic professional and UFC commentator Joe Rogan proud.
After ‘Mystic Mac’ once again foretold of victory over Brazilian titleholder Jose Aldo, fans began to believe that this man truly possessed the gift of divine prognostication.
Wearing gold on his wrist and now around his waist, the new featherweight top dog looked to conquer another Brazilian in former lightweight titleholder, Raphael Dos Anjos (RDA).
However, due to a broken foot suffered in practice, the Brazilian would have to pull out of the championship fight just 11 days before the bout. McGregor, coming off a similar situation with Jose Aldo, would need to find a new dance partner on just two weeks’ notice.
After a dominant performance over lightweight prospect Michael Johnson, former TUF Season 5 champion Nate Diaz (19-10 MMA, 14-8 UFC) called out the already booked Conor McGregor, claiming he was the “real money fight.”
After the injury, Diaz was the obvious choice to fill in for RDA and McGregor agreed to shift the bout to the 170-pound division.
What then transpired on March fifth 2016 greatly altered the trajectory of both fighter’s careers.
In the fight, McGregor started strong and followed the trend of his previous conquests, pressing with big combinations that bloodied the face of Diaz.
Despite McGregor’s trademark aggressiveness, Diaz seemed to grow as the contest wore on and by the second stanza had taken control with his reach and seized momentum.
He then wobbled the Irishman with clean strikes on the feet, forcing McGregor to shoot for an ill-advised takedown which put Diaz in a strong position on the ground and locking up a fight-ending rear naked choke for the submission.
In an astonishing upset, Diaz broke McGregor’s reign of dominance and tore apart the world of MMA.
Cue the rematch, which was originally booked for UFC 200 however a disagreement between McGregor and the UFC over media scheduling led to his removal from the card.
The two fighters will now meet on August 21 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in what is now likely the most anticipated rematch in UFC history. After their first encounter, there has been extensive criticism of McGregor’s ground game but the freestyle fighter believes this was not the critical factor in the defeat.
“I don’t think the difference between us in that fight was the jiu-jitsu; I think it was the durability, the endurance, the experience,” McGregor stated during a recent UFC 202 media conference call.
“I think that was the difference. When we were both fresh, I ended up on the mat and caught that kick and he did that takedown he does, and I swept him.”
For a man that was used to swiftly destroying his opponents with sheer power, McGregor felt that he needed to be more efficient with his transfer of energy on the bigger man.
“I am confident on the mat with Nate. After that, I’ve brought in heavier people, more experienced jiu-jitsu people, to come in and push me daily. I will be experienced for his jiu-jitsu in the later rounds”.
In addition to the fighters own comments, McGregor’s trainer Coach John Kavanagh has boasted of the fighter’s drastic improvement over the course of their camp.
“There’s no comparing this training camp to any we have done previously,” Kavanagh wrote in a UFC 202 pre-fight blog for The 42. “I’ve often spoken of how drastically Conor improves with each training camp, and while there’s certainly no denying he gets better for every fight, this has undoubtedly been his biggest leap forward yet.”
Kavanagh illustrated how he plans to conquer the durability of the bigger opponent, Diaz.
“Patience will be essential for Conor in this fight,” Kavanagh wrote. “We’re ready for 25 minutes but I do believe that the cumulative damage will have become too much by the fourth round, resulting in Nate’s corner stopping the fight if the referee doesn’t do it before that.”
With his superstar status on the line, McGregor is bloodthirsty, and looking to avenge his sole loss in the UFC.
For a man that has fought for the title twice, the proud Dublin boy acknowledges that this is “100 per cent” the most important fight of his career. A second consecutive loss would severely diminish his legacy and more importantly, his brand. McGregor’s camp fully realises this, and hopes to eradicate any luminary skepticism against the multifaceted Diaz.
“We want to deliver a contest which will remove any doubts or questions in the aftermath,” Kavanagh continued in his column.
‘The Notorious’ will attempt to salvage his grand reputation and uphold his image within the UFC ranks on August 21 in UFC 202 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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