Joe Rogan Is Going Nuts For Nick Diaz vs. Conor McGregor

UFC 202 went down in Las Vegas last Saturday August 20. The main event was the long awaited rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, and did not disappoint. Following Diaz’s submission win over McGregor at UFC 196, the Irishman was out for revenge. MMA fans were treated to a five-round war at UFC 202, and vengeance was sweet for McGregor. Although its been debated in the time since, ‘The Notorious’ took home the majority decision win.

For Diaz its probable he’ll take some time off. After appeals for an immediate rematch were shot down, it was clear the promotion had other plans for McGregor. The Irish star is yet to defend the featherweight title, but that may not change anytime soon. UFC president Dana White revealed plans for a lightweight title clash featuring McGregor soon after UFC 202. Jose Aldo is probably not a big fan of this potential super fight.

The McGregor Show

After a brief detour, the Conor McGregor show is back on the road again. With the score evened against Nate Diaz, its back down the weight classes with a possible stop in the lightweight championship bout with Alvarez. UFC color commentator Joe Rogan made an interesting comment on social media the other day, claiming he’d love to see McGregor face Nick Diaz next.

Furthering that post during his recent podcast, Rogan said he literally wants to see that fight more than anything else in the world right now.
“This is what I want to see; I want to see Nick Diaz vs. Conor McGregor. I want to see that more than I want to see anything in life. More than I want to see the Aroura Borealis, more than I want to revisit the Milky Way–I want to see NICK DIAZ vs. CONOR McGREGOR.”

Thankfully it wasn’t only Rogan’s fantasies we heard about during this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. The UFC commentator also gave a breakdown and recap of the UFC 202 main event. For casual fans that may be wondering why McGregor didn’t follow Diaz to the ground when he scored knockdowns, here’s Rogan’s analysis.

Not Going Down

 “He was awesome. He’s a bad motherf*cker dude. Nobody gets a first round knockout against Nate Diaz, it’s going to be a war. He knew it, he had to be conservative. It was insane, like nothing ever. He doesn’t need to go down to the ground with (Nate). If you do that with a guy like Nate Diaz, he might not be hurt at all. Conor f*cked up Nate’s right leg with kicks.”

“He’s just getting chewed up with this left leg kick. It makes it super difficult to move. Conor just fought a smooth and smart game plan. He didn’t unload himself, in the first fight he did that and his gas tank emptied. He ran away, you can say that, but it’s OK.”

Running?

Nate Diaz and many of his fans reacted angrily to Conor McGregor ‘running away’ from exchanges during their fight. You could view this tactic two ways–As Diaz says ‘he was scared,’ or McGregor was simply avoiding Diaz’s biggest strength. Why trade with a guy against the fence when this is his best option in the striking exchanges?