Diaz coach: UFC 202 scoring rigged for trilogy
Diaz’s boxing coach says he scored the last three rounds to Diaz, and accuses the judges of prioritising a third money-spinning fight over objective judging.
If Nate wasn’t injured, McGregor would’ve got stopped. If it went another 30 seconds, Nate would’ve tapped him out because Conor was ready to go anyway. [Nate] was in good shape before the second fight, but the knee set him back along with the rib. He couldn’t train for the last three weeks. Nate couldn’t back out because he’d be sidelined and they’d have gave someone else the chance like they did with Dos Anjos…You can’t win a round by running. He was just looking at the clock. I knew that they were going to give that second round to McGregor, and the fight itself because I figure they wanted a third fight. A company just bought it out – they want to make more money. A lot of people know that he didn’t win that fight.
Diaz: Immediate McGregor rematch unlikely
Speaking to Sonnen on his podcast, Diaz says he doesn’t expect an immediate rematch.
I don’t know [what’s going on behind the scenes]. Remember last time they rushed to his house the next morning and said he was all obsessed or whatever? I was pretty crazy about it for a couple of days, but it’s whatever to me, you know? I won that fight and I’m not like jumping for joy already for round three. I think I beat him twice, so it’s 2-0 as far as I’m concerned. If they want to do it down the road, I don’t know – I’m not in a hurry. I believe they know too, because he’s got a smart coach on his hands. Him and his coach know what happened in the fight and they’re not stupid, so I think they are going to do what they can to return to his division and get onto a new stage.
Dos Anjos: ‘I just saw two sloppy guys’
Dos Anjos says the UFC 202 fight with McGregor and Diaz was ‘sloppy’. He also rates the fight as a win for Diaz.
Most of the people [celebrating the fight] watched MMA for the first time that day. I just saw two sloppy guys after the second round. The fight got so sloppy. I didn’t see the best fight of all time at all. The first round was good. Conor dropped Nate a couple times, but I didn’t think ‘what an exciting fight.’ I’ve seen better fights. [I don’t agree with the majority decision,] I scored it for Nate.
Cowherd: UFC 202 was a ‘nail in the coffin’ of boxing
Cowheard says that UFC is killing boxing.
[UFC 202] was basically, metaphorically, a nail in the coffin of boxing. And all these boxing fans were lining up saying, ‘You don’t get it! You don’t get it!’…UFC is talked about all the time…There are certain people who are purists. Newspapers and boxing still can still make money, but they are dead industries walking. UFC is now the water cooler sport in America when it comes to mano-a-mano fighting. It is taking over boxing. Occasionally, every three years, you will have a pay-per-view with boxing, and it pops. Every three years. UFC is every other weekend.
‘You don’t see shots like that in MMA’
McGregor post a Facebook video of his best hits in UFC 202 against Diaz. McGregor:
You don’t see shots like that in MMA.
https://www.facebook.com/thenotoriousmma/videos/1343888989012730/
‘You’re an absolute warrior’
UFC releases a video of the words McGregor and Diaz exchanged as they embraced after the fight. McGregor to Diaz:
Great fight brother. Great f–king fight. You’re an absolute warrior. You’re an absolute warrior man.
https://www.facebook.com/UFCUnitedKingdom/videos/1086880661347883/
Diaz: ‘I’m coming for you’
Diaz says he wants to fight McGregor again.
By this time last fight I had already accepted (the) rematch. Rest up, I’m coming for you.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJey-WWjSE2/
Listed on injury suspension list
McGregor is listed on the Nevada State Athletic Commissions injury suspension list with a “foot/ankle fracture” and must be cleared by an orthopedic doctor in order to fight again before Feb. 17, 2017, which seems likely. He will serve a minimum suspension of two months with the earliest he can return being Oct. 20, even if cleared by a doctor. Diaz has been given an injury suspension of one month for a severe cut above his left eye. Diaz cannot take contact until Sept. 11 nor fight until Sept. 20, though he won’t fight before then.
White: No trilogy fight
White says he does not want McGregor to fight again Diaz again in a “trilogy” fight. Instead he wants McGregor to defend his title against interim champ Aldo. He says McGregor has two options — either fight Aldo or surrender his title to him — or cut weight to 155 and fight Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.
The war was fun and super successful but I’m movin’ on.
Alvarez taunts McGregor, Diaz
Alvarez taunts McGregor and Diaz on Twitter.
Better keep that weak shit away from the lightweight division , You both got work to do @TheNotoriousMMA @NateDiaz209 #ufc #thnq #comeCMe
— Eddie Alvarez (@Ealvarezfight) August 21, 2016
White: Trilogy fight isn’t happening ‘right now’
White says a third meeting between McGregor and Diaz isn’t going to happen right away.
We’re definitely not doing this a third time right now. I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t want to see this fight again, but Conor’s either going to go defend his title or give his title up and then we’ll figure out where to go from there. Conor has to defend his title or make a decision to give it up or whatever he wants to do. I don’t know. I gotta sit down and see what’s next.
‘Respect’
Pacquiao sends a message to McGregor and Diaz on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/mannypacquiao/status/767217913342242816
Backstage interview
McGregor gives a backstage interview. On what he said to Diaz.
You’re a f-ckin’ absolute warrior. Respect. We’ll do it again.
Will trilogy be his next fight?
Probably not. The belt situation is lingering. I’ve gotta talk about what’s next. I’m speaking to new people right now. There’s a lot of options. And some might not be this sport.
About Diaz comments that he was ‘running away’:
He’s a big boy. A big volume puncher. I had to get out of there, being the beats down and settle myself. But he’ll drop too. I was on my feet the whole time. I wasn’t wobbled or nothing… Fair play to him…The class was evident in the early rounds of that fight. His size and his durability came into it in the later rounds. But I’m the better fighter, it’s as simple as that.
Post-fight interview
Diaz gives a post-fight interview.
I thought I won, at least three rounds to two. I didn’t even think that was a question. And they gave it to him. I’m not bitter, it’s all good. I got paid…He did a lot of running in that fight. He should have got a yellow card for that type of thing. I chased him round that thing. He was scared to engage. I feel like they should have taken points for that…To top it off I was injured coming into this fight. That ain’t some excuses. I hurt my knee about a month ago I wasn’t able to train jiu-jitsu for the last month. And then about two weeks after that I was sparring boxing and I really hurt my rib. That put me out of sparring. Not to make excuses, I got that all on videoed up. He should have finished me off. If I was fighting me I’d have took me clean out…I just stayed in one spot. He was running laps around me.
On the third fight at 155:
I’ve been at 155 my whole career! When Conor’s ready to do his thing again, no rush, take your time, go on vacation, or we can do it any time.
Did you enjoy it in there?
No. Look at my face.
Post-fight press conference
McGregor gives his first press conference after the fight.
It was not easy. It was a war. I’m happy it went that way. I got to show my heart in there.
On Diaz helping him up at the end.
He’s a class competitor. It’s intense in the build up and everything is real. If my team saw his team then something’s going down. We’ll regroup and gather up for another battle.
Is 170 done for you?
I wanna to get my abs back. I can’t get abs at this weight. Sometimes I feel I’m a bit of a fat belly. I’m going to go down weight. I’m the 145 pound champion. It will be on my terms this time. He was way bigger than the last time. I knew I was up agaisnt it. I was thinking this might be a mistake, but I said, f-ck it, I’ll train hard, be smart, learn from our mistakes and go in. But I belive that if we do it it’ll be 155, maybe for the belt.
On the leg kicks:
Fuck leg kicks. My leg is a bitch.
On the scoring
I felt I won the fight. 3-2 was a fair opinion. I won that fight and I’m happy with it. My respect to my opponent. He’s a hell of a fighter.
https://www.facebook.com/mmafighting/videos/10154516868324479/
White: An ‘epic fight’
White appears on ESPN to talk about McGregor-Diaz UFC 2o2.
It lived up to all my expectations, and exceeded it. I didn’t see that fight going five rounds, but it did. One minute it looked like Conor was gassed, and he got a second wind. Diaz got dropped a couple of times, looked like he was done, and he came back. It’s an absolute epic fight. [Conor] did what I thought he might do. He was chopping that leg. I thought he would go to the body a lot more.
On a third fight:
Well Connor has to defend his title or give it up…If I was Conor I would defend my title.
UFC 202: McGregor beats Diaz
McGregor beats Diaz in a majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47) after five rounds. McGregor leads with leg kicks in the first round, knocking down Diaz within 1m 30s. Diaz is knocked down in the beginning of the second round, and starts bleeding from above the eyes. Round three comprises grappling, with a strong finish from Diaz. A re-energized McGregor comes back in round four. In the final seconds of the final round Diaz gets McGregor on the ground.
McGregor:
Surprise! Surprise, motherf-cker! The king is back! He took [leg kicks] better than I expected. He’s a hell of a fighter. A hell of a competitor. He brought out the best in me. But I stayed calm with him. I learned from last contest. This time I want to do it at 155 pounds, I came in at 170 with him as the bigger man and I overcame that adversity. Now this trilogy is on my terms, come back down to 155 and we’ll do it.
Diaz:
I thought I had him. I’m too real for this fight. I’m ready to go again. Good job Conor, but we going for three.
http://www.facebook.com/UFCUnitedKingdom/videos/1083279865041296/
UFC 202: Embedded Vlog -Episode 6
UFC releases the final episode of UFC 202: Embedded, following Diaz, Cerrone, Johnson in the leadup to the UFC 202 official and ceremonial weigh-ins. Diaz:
I’ve been fighting my whole life. I’ve been dealing with mother f-ckers acting up. We’re fighting Saturday. See what happens.
Lockhart talks about McGregor’s nutrition.
We’ve been prepping his body to hold more carbs. So his muscles will be full without any spillage.
Weigh-In 360 degree video
0 0 Mark Devlin Mark Devlin2016-08-20 05:55:032016-08-20 05:55:03Weigh-In 360 degree video
White: McGregor, Diaz facing penalties for water bottle fight
White says that McGregor and Diaz may be sued, and may also face penalties for their water bottle fight. The Nevada State Athletic Commission will be in charge of issuing discipline.
The word is that in this thing, somebody was injured. So, there’s gonna be a lawsuit…Who knows how it’s gonna play out…I guarantee both of these guys are gonna get massive fines, and there’s probably going to be a hearing after the fight…[McGregor and Diaz] could be (facing) suspensions, community service, it’s gonna be ugly. … It’s going to cost them both a lot of money, a lot of headache and hassle. They’re both in big trouble.