Who Wins? Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz At UFC 196

The UFC 196 main event is going to be madness. Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz at welterweight, expect many middle fingers…

As the UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos broke his foot one week ago, we are now just five days away from seeing Conor McGregor face Nate Diaz. The UFC 196 main event is perhaps less meaningful, but maybe equally or more fun than the original booking, it really all depends what you look for in a fight. For fans of attitude and trash talk, this is a great one, but let’s look at how they stack up in the octagon.

Conor McGregor, for once, will be at a reach disadvantage against the naturally bigger Nate Diaz, by two inches. The Stockton bad boy is three inches taller, so it will certainly be intriguing to see how ‘The Notorious’ deals with a fighter that also uses range well and is longer than anyone he’s faced.

Physicality aside, we have an interesting pairing of styles. On the one hand, with McGregor, you have a very diverse strategy, in the form of intuitive movement and body shapes, as well as the ability to strike on the front or back foot, which could prove pivotal. In terms of arsenal, McGregor has an in depth set of tools and likes to throw spinning kicks as well as power punches and anything in between. Diaz is more of a precise boxer, and the performance he put in against Michael Johnson is a perfect example of how effective Diaz can e when he utilizes his length properly.

The big question in this fight is will Diaz be able to take the power strikes of McGregor as he’s done with opponents in the past? Another factor that could quite easily win this fight is the defense of McGregor, as well as his footwork, which will be key in overcoming the range of Diaz. We saw in the Josh Thomson fight that good footwork and head kicks can unravel a taller fighter, but Diaz was also in pretty corny shape that night.

If the ripped and focused Diaz that dominated Michael Johnson in December shows up against McGregor on Saturday March 5, this could well be either man’s fight for the taking. One major advantage that Diaz holds over McGregor though? The grappling, as the Cesar Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt has shown in past fights, he can be a nightmare even for accomplished ground fighters.

So, who you got?

Skip to page 2 for the UFC 196 fight card and schedule…

Main Card (10 PM ET, PPV)

Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor
Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate
Ilir Latifi vs. Gian Villante
Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor
Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko

Preliminary Card (8 PM ET, FS1)

Siyar Bahadurzada vs. Brandon Thatch
Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb
Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Vitor Miranda
Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly

Preliminary Card (6:30 PM ET, Fight Pass)

Jim Miller vs. Diego Sanchez
Jason Saggo vs. Justin Salas
Julian Erosa vs. Teruto Ishihara