How 'Bout Them Sports

“I don’t worry about any weight’s belt because my checks are super-heavyweight.” -McGregor

“Conor knocked out three swole up midgets and now he thinks he’s the man.” – Diaz

Conor McGregor has struck fear or deep emotion into every fighter he’s faced so far in the UFC. He has turned up the heat on Dustin Porier, Dennis Siver and Jose Aldo, bringing all of them into such a frenzy that they made mistakes that cost them their consciousness. Yes, trash talk for a psychological purpose is Conor McGregor’s world, but no one says he lives there alone. Nick and Nate Diaz have long been two of the most game, aggressive, and downright mean fighters the UFC has ever seen. Be it their multiple post fight brawls (with Mayhem Miller and KJ Noons, respectively), their penchant for flipping the finger to their opponent (including the famous double finger flip by Nate Diaz while finishing a triangle choke on Kurt Pellegrino), the Stockton bad boys have given the UFC Public Relations crew fits, and the fans a list of incredible performances to accompany their trash talk. Now, McGregor may meet the first man he’s ever faced who won’t crumble under his trash talk, and might just get McGregor to make a mistake with some jawing of his own.

At the most recent press conference, the first meeting between the two, the brawlers traded barbs back and forth while answering questions, but throughout the course of the interaction McGregor heard an unfamiliar sound…the crowd chanting his opponent’s name.

When McGregor stated that Diaz had been unwilling to accept their fight at 155 pounds (now to be contested at 170 pounds, meaning both McGregor and Diaz will cut virtually no weight) Diaz quipped back as only a Diaz could.

“I ain’t gonna lose weight over his bulls**t and frankly I don’t give a f**k what he offers me.”

The crowd responded with an intense chant of “DIAZ – DIAZ – DIAZ” , but the shots didn’t stop there.

“No one give’s a f**k about your bitch-ass belt.” To which McGregor responded “Neither do I” prompting a smile and quip from Diaz who stated “Then how come you gotta take it everywhere?” to which the crowd went wild.

The two attacked each other over income, quality of competition and who embodied the concept of a “real fighter”. When push comes to shove, however, they’re both as real as it gets, with the two of them born finishers with a willingness to fight the best in the game. Diaz is among the all-time leaders for Fight and Submission of the Night bonuses, and is the Ultimate Fighter – Season 5 champion, and while his 19-10 record seems slightly average for a Top-10 caliber fighter, Nate is only 30 years old with wins over a murderer’s row of some of history’s top lightweights. McGregor obviously became a seemingly overnight sensation after 5 straight dominant victories that earned him the interim featherweight championship, and now the unified belt for that weight-class.

The two are aggressive, mean-spirited in the cage, and the intensity is very real. McGregor’s deep belief that he is genuinely the best fighter to ever exist is genuine, and it shows in his almost insane confidence. Both Diaz brothers have a history of specifically hunting down the men who make their claims and putting them to the test. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, but their opponents never leave without catching a serious beating.

When the two meet in the cage on March 5^th, expect the trash talk to flow early and often from both fighters, as they have a long history of mid-fight trash-talk and antics. The crowd will be on its feet from beginning to end, and while Diaz is understandably the underdog, its foolish to discredit the Stockton-born fighter’s length, submission skills and furious boxing. The Diaz brothers are known for a ferocious pace and for breaking spirits. Let’s see if Connor’s championship mentality can stand up to the war of attrition that a Diaz fight always brings. Don’t believe me? I will leave you with Joe Rogan’s statements on the fight…

“McGregor won’t be able to get into Nate’s face like he does or he’s going to get punched in the mouth. He’ll wait for him in front of his door in the morning, find out where his room is in the hotel and punch him in the face on the way to breakfast in the morning.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you… one HELL of a fight.