Five Reasons Diaz vs. McGregor Was The Most Hyped UFC Fight Of All-Time

The MMA world has had a full week to digest the ramifications of last week’s (Sat., March 5, 2016) absolutely blockbuster UFC 196 card from Las Vegas, Nevada, and one thing is for certain: despite some massive shake-ups, the game-changing event did huge business for the promotion.

It was the latest in the series of recently huge pay-per-views headlined by featherweight champion Conor McGregor that have been a vital piece of the UFC’s surge in popularity from 2015-2016, and even though he ultimately lost to Nate Diaz in the main event, the build-up and hype of the fight certainly can’t be denied as one of the most exciting in MMA history.

In fact, there are some signs that definitely suggest it was the most hyped UFC fight ever, and definitely a much bigger draw than McGregor’s originally scheduled lightweight title match with Rafael dos Anjos. Obviously McGregor was the star, but the massive following of Diaz no doubt put it over the top into truly historic territory.

The numbers would agree. Let’s take a look at why UFC 196’s main event was the most hyped fight in UFC history.

5.) Pay-per-view Buyrate:

Definitely the most surface-level sign that Diaz vs. McGregor was the most hyped fight in UFC history was its monstrous pay-per-view haul, as Dana White recently revealed it had hit 1.5 million buys, second only to the 1.6 million of 2009’s historic UFC 100.

While that classic card had fights like Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir, Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves, and Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping, it could easily be argued that Diaz vs. McGregor was certainly more hyped and anticipated than any one of those bouts, and that’s saying a lot.

But it’s true, as the fact that it persuaded so many people to buy it shows the encompassing appeal of both McGregor’s and even Diaz’ magnetic draws.

4.) Pre-fight Press Conferences:

Obviously a lot of the hype and buzz was drawn from the two pre-fight press conferences, which dealt the world the trash talk war that only McGregor and Diaz could build.

McGregor made things a bit personal when he called Diaz a “little cholo gangster from the hood,” and Diaz stuck firm to his stances that McGregor was on steroids and had no truly skilled training partners.

The penultimate moment of the pre-fight conferences was undoubtedly the face-off at the second one the day before the weigh-ins, where a near-brawl erupted in a scuffle and ‘Notorious’ punched Diaz’ hand when it got it too close to his face. It was hype that was expected from the beef, and it worked.

3.) Conor’s Unprecedented Move Up:

Another reason Diaz vs. McGregor ended up having so much buzz was McGregor’s move up two weight classes to face a short notice Diaz at 170.

His detractors would tell you that Diaz is a normal lightweight who simply couldn’t get down to his usual 155-pound weight due to a lack of time, but McGregor obviously paid the price for fighting an opponent who was ultimately bigger than him.

Previously plowing through the featherweight landscape thanks in large to his massive size and reach edges at 145 pounds, McGregor instead found himself on the receiving end of a longer reach this time, eventually failing to knock out the bigger, hard-nosed Diaz with any of the huge power punches he was seemingly over-extending himself with.

It was a massive gamble to move up to 170, and one that no other champions have done in UFC. It was also one that didn’t pan out, and it could easily be argued that it wasn’t worth it for McGregor after we know he lost and lost badly.

But it’s just a testament to his true fighting spirit of staying active and not turning down a challenge. Love him or hate him, McGregor is a true fighter, and his willingness to step outside his normal division gave a ton of hype to his bout with Diaz even if he lost.

2.) Short Notice Media Frenzy:

Very similar to his short notice bout with Chad Mendes at UFC 189 last summer, the frenzy of McGregor receiving a new opponent only days before the event sent MMA into an absolute windfall of buzz, hype, attention, announcements, and overall madness.

What was unlike his bout with Mendes, however, was that Diaz was well known for his trash-talking, take-no-nonsense persona following many years fighting the best the promotion had to offer. While Mendes was a tough challenge in his own right, he just didn’t provide the instant heat Diaz brought when he first spoke into the microphone at the impromptu press conference after he had been deemed McGregor’s next opponent.

The brash ‘Notorious’ had already stirred up hype in a pre-fight press conference with his original opponent dos Anjos, but without many noteworthy barbs from the Brazilian champion, who does most of his talking during the fight, there just wasn’t the second added element of anticipation.

Diaz brought just that on short notice, and it resulted in arguably the biggest press blitz ever for a UFC fight before one of its most historic events.

1.) Mac’s (Somewhat Diminished) Mystique:

A final and potentially most damaging reason Diaz vs. McGregor was the UFC’s most hyped fight was simply the skyrocketing momentum and mystique of the self-proclaimed unbeatable Irishman.

He foretold of not only winning the 155-pound title at UFC 196, but even skipping the division altogether and moving up to face welterweight champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 200 if he was to defeat Diaz. That was obviously biting off way more than he could chew, yet McGregor’s mystique shouldn’t take too much of a hit.

He is still the featherweight champion, and while his hype will never be the same as it was when he was perceived to be nigh unstoppable, he should return to the featherweight division he’s thus far dominated for a pair of high-profile bouts with Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. If he can win both of those, it will seem like his fight with Diaz never happened.

If he loses, everyone will say he has been exposed; but that would have happened eventually if it were truly the case anyway. While it was a calculated gamble that didn’t pay off, it was also McGregor’s aura and electric drawing power that made the UFC 196 main event so hyped.

And it the single most hyped UFC fight of all-time.