Yup. That was the debate leading to today's fight. After going through 3 consecutive 5 round fights, & taking tons of shots, how long can lawler keep it up. Apparently, not for long
Wow. What a fight. I actually thought Diaz did enough to win. Oh well Looking forward to McGregor- Diaz 3.
I thought it could have gone either way. But you have to impressed with how both men came back when you thought they were done. By the end of the 1st, I thought Nate was being outboxed and it was only a matter of time before he gets knocked out. By the end of the 2nd, I thought McGregor was already gassed out and that it was only a matter of time he was going to be submitted again. Surprised he lasted 3 more rounds. By the 5th though you can see Connor kept looking at the clock. He knew he couldn't finish Nate and that his only chance was if it went the distance. That last minute barrage by Nate would have won it for him if it only happened 20 second earlier. You can see McGregor made adjustments in his strategy. He was more defensive this time and he did virtually none of the taunting (Diaz did and in volumes, points and even giving Connor the finger) which was quite uncharacteristic of him. He was kicking Nate's thigh for a good amount of the fight and that sort of bothered Nate. He also had good counterpunches that knocked Nate. But both of these was still not enough and it was exhausting him. This just shows he has no business fighting at 170 (so he has wisely said he will agree to a rematch at 155). He has the speed but not the power. "Precision beats power. Timing beats speed" motto only seems to apply in his division. The thing that saved him was that he came prepared if Nate were to get him in trouble, he knew how to react instead of trying to takedown Nate (which led to his defeat in their first match) Can't wait for a 3rd match but I just can't see how Connor can knock out Nate. The guy is just too tough. Speaking of knock outs, did you see that knockout by Rumble? I just look away and the fight's done!
I watched the fight again. it seems clear that Conor won rounds, 1, 2 & 4. surprised though how round 3 was a 10-8 for Nate. it seemed as though the judges gave a lot of credit to Nate's volume punching (slapping) thus the close score; but clearly, judging from Nate's busted up face, Conor landed the more significant punches throughout the fight. That being said, Conor has no business being in the 170 category which also explains his declaration that a part 3 of this series will be at 155.
I'll go watch the fight again just to see if I change my initial assessment but man, it was so exciting to watch live. I was listening to some interviews by some fighters regarding the terms of Conor to fight at 155 instead of 170 for their next fight. I thought what Dominic Cruz said is quite interesting. He said that the natural body weight of both fighters is at 155. For Conor, he was carrying extra weight. This meant more knock out power but at the expense of lower stamina. That fight just showed that that trade-off did not work to the advantage of Conor. I am intrigued with how fighting at 155 will change the fight. We may see a Conor who has more in the gas tank but with less power so he will have to compensate with volume. There are many other factors at play though. What I'm a bit bothered with is how messed up Diaz looks like after each fight. The dude simply doesn't care but at the rate he's going, he will have brain damage when he's in his 40s.
That's how Diego Sanchez looks to me now. Watching his interviews, his speech is already slurred, doesn't look right anymore.
^ as Conor said, the guy was 'leaking' & yet he kept coming at him.. wow. as for Diego, yeah, he's one crazy dude as well. I think the harder you punch his face, the more riled up he gets.
I can't remember who tweeted this but it got me laughing so hard: "Nate Diaz has been punched so much in the face he now looks like Nick Diaz"
My thoughts exactly. Fantastic fight and performance from both but you have to be a Connor-hater if you think Diaz should've gotten the win. that was NOT a 10-8 round.
Wow. Demian Maia is just a wizard on the ground. Submits Condit in Round 1. He should get a crack at the welterweight championship soon.
CM Punk will be making his debut this Sunday. It has been a loooong journey for him to start his UFC career.
Feel bad for CM Punk. Props to him for laying it all on the line but where does he go from here? Miocic is a beast. I thought Overeem already had him but he recovered pretty well.
Hey, even Brock lost in his first fight in the UFC after he ditched the WWE. He can still bounce back.
Funny post fight events after the Werdum-Browne fight. Edmond Tarverdyan got a little kick from Werdum because the stupidass coach was talking too much smack. I hoped they didn't separate them so that Tarverdyan gets a beating of his life.
True but as I recall, he was dominating Mir until he was submitted. On the other hand. CM Punks debut was lopsided. Seems Dana and the UFC will not sign him. His next fight if ever will most likely be in another promotion.
Hmm. That's a little a different. Brock Lesnar is an NCAA Division 1 Heayweight champion. He also fought once in K1 before debuting in the UFC. This was C.M. punks first professional unscripted fight.
From a money / ticket sales standpoint this makes perfect sense. However, this doesn't make sense in terms of matchmaking. This is MacGregor's 3rd fight in the Lightweight division. He has yet to defend his Featherweight title. They should have given Aldo a title shot by now. As for Alvarez, why is he a fighting a featherweight. He should fight Khabib who's the no. 1 Lightweight contender.
Funniest bit of the press conference for me: Reporter: "Conor, take a look around you. You got a lot of champions, a lot of grizzled vets. Who do you think would give you the hardest fight out of anybody on stage?" Conor: *looks around* Jeremy Stephens: "Right here. Right here. The hardest hitting 145 pound. The REAL hardest hitting 145-er, right here. This guy TKOs people. When I knock people out, they don't f*cking move." Conor: "Who the F*CK is THAT guy? What the F*CK is that?" *entire audience roars in laughter* HAHAHA.