UFC 196: McGregor vs Diaz

[David]

I have to admit to not watching the Holm fight, but what's the general consensus then? Rousey returns to face Tate for the title I guess?

[Brock Goldberg]

Agreed. I thought Tate looked good throughout, almost the perfect fight pretty much. She was composed, controlled and disciplined and did everything Ronda should have done against Holm.

 

I feel for Holly though, she seems so down to earth and I was hoping she would have a bit of a run with the title. I know we seem to be getting re-match after re-match right now but I would be happy to see these two go again.

[David]

Just watched episode 5 of Embedded there with the stuff from the press conference etc. Man, McGregor looks like a grade A tit now after coming away with the shite he did.

 

[Chunk]

I have to admit to not watching the Holm fight, but what's the general consensus then? Rousey returns to face Tate for the title I guess?

If Rousey isn't back until November, that's quite a long time to wait. I wonder if Meisha gets a fight in before then.

[ColinBollocks]

I have to admit to not watching the Holm fight, but what's the general consensus then? Rousey returns to face Tate for the title I guess?

I thought so too, but wand is saying Rousey won't fight until November at the earliest (which is pleasing news), so we may potentially get another fight in before Rousey returns. If the UFC/Rousey are still desperate for the immediate Holm rematch on her return they can always do Holm/Tate 2, with the idea it gives Holm another chance. Or, I guess they could always just say bugger the title and do Holm v Rousey 2 as a no.1 contender bout.

[Supremo]

What a mental, amazing sport. The whole spectrum of emotions. Anger when two judges didn't give Tom Lawlor a single round despite him clearly winning round one. Sheer delight and excitement for Meisha Tate getting the win in such dramatic, awesome fashion. And then shock and disappointment as Conor fell apart. I guess insane self belief is always going to have a limit, and this was that limit for Conor McGregor.

 

Like others, despite being disappointed that Conor lost, I did take satisfaction in being one of the sensible few who weren't blinded by the hype. I think in this very thread I noted Nate's boxing and ground game as the strengths that could trouble Conor, particularly at 170, and that's exactly what happened. Nate is certainly inconsistent, but to write him off as some type of jobber was always a stupid stance to take. When he shows up he's a beast.

 

I very much agree with what others have already said about McGregor though: I prefer him on the salads. He just didn't seem the same. He wasn't as fast and he wasn't as powerful. Or if he was as powerful then that power didn't translate to hitting someone at 170 rather than 145. I know he looked a thousand times healthier on the scales, but it was evident almost immediately that his optimum weight is either 145 or 155, with 155 probably being ideal. Anything extra he'd added didn't seem to help his performance at all.

 

I still scored the first round for Conor, but I think he lost his nerve with every clean connection he made, which Nate continually managed to shake off. Nate may have been his kryptonite in that sense. The Diaz brothers are so fucking stupid that you can't rattle them, either with mental warfare or a left hook to the chin. Their demeanour won't change no matter what. You could sense panic once Conor realised that, although from the opening bell he was already swinging wildly to try and deal with Nate's reach. It seemed like an inevitability the moment he stopped fighting with the same confidence he's had throughout all of his other fights.

 

Where the fuck were the spinning body kicks as well? The moment this fight was announced that seemed like the primary weapon that would win him the fight. They worked wonders against Chad Mendes when he came in on short notice, so it seemed elementary to incorporate them against Nate too. Yet I don't think he even attempted to throw one. The only kicks he threw were to the head, which he was never going to connect with given how long and tall Nate is.

 

All the credit in the world to Nate though. What a performance. He ate tonnes of shots, played his game brilliantly, and then swarmed when the opportunity presented itself. I really hope he doesn't do what his brother did and fuck off for a year now that he's made his millions. He's got all the momentum in the world right now. I imagine they'd give him a 155 title shot if he asked for it. Maybe at UFC 200. Plus, if you assume that this was always going to happen eventually, Conor couldn't keep challenging himself so ridiculously without someone finally beating him, I'm actually glad it was Nate that was the guy to conquer the streak. He's far more fun to watch than an Aldo, Edgar or RDA. There's no way any of those guys would have cut such an incredible post-fight promo. He's not surprised, motherfuckers. Brilliant.

 

I wouldn't say I'm as crushed by Conor's loss, or am feeling the same type of disappointed that the fun is over, as I was when Brock lost to Cain and Chael lost to Anderson for the second time. Maybe I'm more smart to the idea that guys can lose and still be huge stars, or maybe it's because this was a special set of circumstances where Conor was moving up, and wasn't risking his championship belt. His schtick will definitely lose a lot of steam though. And he better train like a motherfucker for whoever he faces for the 145 title next. Two losses in a row will be devastating.

 

Scroobius Pip has clearly been experiencing the nonsense chatter of new MMA fans on social media similar to what a few of us on here have mentioned this past week. He brilliantly addressed it on his Facebook not long after the fight.

 

Anyone going hard on Conor is silly. Dude. Sells. Fights. After every win he's been humble and respectful. About 50% of those watching (and commenting) wouldn't have been watching tonight if it wasn't for him. So calm yourselves. He lost a fight. Believe it or not that happens to around half the fighters on every card, of which there are several every month.

So yeah, I still don't feel like the fun has stopped completely, but it definitely has a flat tyre. I think it all rests on Conor's next fight. And that's why I'm terrified it might be Frankie The Hitman Edgar.

[seanz25]

Anything worth watching on the FP or Fox prelims btw?

[paltaper]

Well, that was silly booking. Yes, he can talk his way back probably, but the star on the rise buzz he has is possibly gone. Looks like I won't be getting my outdoors UFC in Dublin show fo show now

 

Why would you book a guy to go up 25lbs at almost the drop of a hat in a 'sport'? Maybe Leicester will take on a 15 man team soon? That'd make sense.

 

Ah, maybe it wasn't silly booking. Maybe they made enough money to cover only possibly killing him. Maybe I'll go have a cup of tea and ponder...

[Cousin Jim Bob]

Rouseys movie projects have been delayed. She texted Dana last night that she is ready to get back in the gym asap. Theres a huge chance now of seeing Rousey/Tate on UFC200. Plus a PPV with both Rousey and Conor on it.

[David]

Yeah, I figured Rousey would suddenly get interested again if Tate won. She's beaten her twice, right? That figures.

[wandshogun09]

Good little media scrum with Nate Diaz;

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=Up8qLjVmG3c

 

Talk about rising to the occasion. His first UFC PPV main event, on less than two weeks notice and against a guy nearly everyone thought was going to knock him out and he turns all that into his biggest career win.

 

It almost seems too good to be true for Nate. Diaz business never runs this smoothly. Which is why I'm fully expecting him to fail the weed test. It'd be the most Diaz thing ever.

 

Oh and GAD strikes again in that scrum...

 

Diaz: Hey, I'm coming to the UK in...

GAD: Yeah, yeah, come and see us!

Diaz: I'm coming...

GAD: Yeah, come and see us!

Diaz: You know, Jake Shields is doing that...

GAD: Yeah, I'll take you out for lunch.

Diaz: OK. I'm...

GAD: We'll take you out for lunch.

Diaz: Get me on social media and we'll connect but...

GAD: Yeah, yeah, cool. Thanks bro.

Diaz: (mumbles something)

GAD: Thanks bro.

 

Let him finish a sentence, will you?! For fuck's sake man. I even want to know what Jake Shields is going to be doing now, just because GAD cut Nate off before he could tell us. When he said "I'll take you out for lunch" I could swear Nate had a look that read "is this floppy haired motherfucker trying to fuck me or fight me?" Offering to take someone out to lunch is probably fighting words on the mean streets of Stockton, CA.

 

 

Thanks bro.

[David]

Does anyone actually think that after the way McGregor has responded after losing, the way he spoke at the presser, that he could actually become a bigger star after this loss? I've seen a lot of the people who were hating on him now speak about him in nicer terms.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I was thinking that.

 

He seems to have won over a lot of haters in losing, without losing his fans.

 

I think the non-fans who watched just because they love a bit of buzz might be gone, but within the sport I think he could well increase his standing. He just can't really afford to lose again.

 

I think Aldo completely misjudged the mood with his tweet and looks a right nob.

[jimufctna24]

Does anyone actually think that after the way McGregor has responded after losing, the way he spoke at the presser, that he could actually become a bigger star after this loss? I've seen a lot of the people who were hating on him now speak about him in nicer terms.

Depends. The common rule in the UFC is that when a superstar loses, they lose some of their drawing power. Lesnar's fight with Overeem didn't draw like his fights with Carwin and Couture. Liddel's fight with Jardine didn't draw as much as his title defence against Horn the previous year. You can argue that the removal of a title had some effect on these dips.

 

Also, there are no set rules for what works in combat sport. Kimbo Slice lost in Elite XC, yet still set records on TUF. Whatever the case, McGregor is far from done, and will probably maintain his status as the sport's biggest drawing card. 

[David]

I think Aldo completely misjudged the mood with his tweet and looks a right nob.

 

Aldo's just doing his limited best to try and sell the rematch. He's obviously not very good at this kind of thing, and not speaking English doesn't help, but at least he's trying.

 

 

Does anyone actually think that after the way McGregor has responded after losing, the way he spoke at the presser, that he could actually become a bigger star after this loss? I've seen a lot of the people who were hating on him now speak about him in nicer terms.

Depends. The common rule in the UFC is that when a superstar loses, they lose some of their drawing power. Lesnar's fight with Overeem didn't draw like his fights with Carwin and Couture. Liddel's fight with Jardine didn't draw as much as his title defence against Horn the previous year. You can argue that the removal of a title had some effect on these dips.

 

Also, there are no set rules for what works in combat sport. Kimbo Slice lost in Elite XC, yet still set records on TUF. Whatever the case, McGregor is far from done, and will probably maintain his status as the sport's biggest drawing card. 

 

 

I think McGregor's appeal is different from Brock's though. I think he'll have the support of the Irish and Europe as a whole, and the Irish-American demographic in the US.

 

Sometimes a fighter being humbled is what it takes for him to gain more support. He now looks human.