Conor McGregor Says He ‘Slapped The Head Off Nate Diaz’ At UFC 196

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor hasn’t appeared to lose an ounce of confidence since suffering his first loss in over five years to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 this past March.

McGregor, who prior to his bout with Diaz starched former featherweight king Jose Aldo in only 13-seconds at UFC 194 in December, was submitted by Diaz in the second round of their March bout via rear-naked choke after the Irishman failed to respect Diaz’s ability.

Following his welterweight loss to Diaz, McGregor was obsessed with an immediate rematch against the Stockton native and demanded it to be on all the same terms as their original meeting.

In a recent interview with ESPN, McGregor spoke of his continued desire for a Diaz rematch, as well as his lackluster performance in the upset loss:

“What kind of fighter would I be, if I said, ‘Hey, I didn’t get you at 170, let me try to get you at 155,'” McGregor said. “I’ll make my adjustments. I ate up to the weight. This time, I won’t do that.”

Despite being stunned and choked out by Diaz in spectacular fashion, McGregor claims that the first eight minutes of the welterweight bout was ‘easy’ for him:

“The first eight minutes of the fight was easy,” McGregor said. “Let’s be honest, I slapped the head off him.

Once the gas tank went, that was it. I drowned. He landed that one punch that rang the bell and went, ‘[Gasp,] I’m back.’

He was close to being done. One or two more shots and he would have been wrapped up.

The Irishman also looked at his unusual preparation for the bout as a factor to his sub-par performance against Diaz:

“Swinging on gymnastic rings on fight week isn’t the best thing. Usually, I wrap myself in bubble wrap and only do fight-specific things, but just because of that weight, no weight cut, I had put it in my head that, ‘I’m free.’

I had energy to burn. I was doing so much bounce footwork, the balls of my feet were burned to a crisp. Looking back, it was ridiculous. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

McGregor also stated that he has hired experts to closely monitor his cardiovascular output, as well as working with his nutritionist George Lockhart year-round:

“Look at me right now,” McGregor said while eating a plate of vegetables with fish. “Fish, red cabbage, asparagus — I’m nowhere near a fight ,and I’m on the clock with nutrition.”

While McGregor prepares for his desired rematch with Diaz, fellow featherweights Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar are set to throw down at UFC 200 for the interim featherweight title.

A division that many have claimed the Irishman is subsequently ‘holding hostage’ with his obsession over Diaz preventing him from defending his title that he won almost six months ago:

“It was my idea,” McGregor said. “I wanted to have my revenge at 170, and they’re crying and complaining about the 145-pound belt, which I just won three months ago.

That division was killed, it was dead. Jose went down in 13 seconds. What more can I do? I traveled the world with that man. I finally got him in the Octagon, and he only lasts 13 seconds.

“I didn’t see a challenge there anymore. So, I wanted to create interest from a fan’s perspective and my perspective.

I want to see them two go at it, with an interim belt on the line. Then I will see people walking around my division with a belt and that will intrigue me. It will make me want that belt again.”

While financial negotiations between Diaz and UFC brass have come to a stand still, the two brash rivals are expected to throw down once more with a target date of UFC 203 in mind.