Conor McGregor’s first press conference since it was confirmed he would be fighting Nate Diaz, not Rafael dos Anjos, at UFC 196 was always going to be a colourful occasion. The featherweight champion wasted little time tearing into his opponent—as well as his several other rivals.
McGregor will face Diaz in a welterweight showdown on March 5 following Dos Anjos’ injury, and while the Irishman had some harsh words for his new opponent, he had plenty to say about Dos Anjos and those who turned down the chance to fight him.
“They all have sore vaginas,” he said, per Tim Elbra of Fox Sports. “Dos Anjos broke his foot and his vagina in the same day, so did [Frankie] Edgar, I couldn’t believe it. [Jose] Aldo—I bounced his head on the canvas like a basketball. You need to take a year, year-and-a-half off.”
McGregor particularly targeted Edgar, who turned down the fight at short notice, he claimed.
"Frankie never shut up and then he was given a phone call and a date and he hasn't been seen or heard from since," the Notorious added, per Martin Domin of the MailOnline.
McGregor beat Aldo inside 13 seconds at UFC 194 and president Dana White confirmed on SportsCenter that both Aldo and Edgar turned down the fight, per The 42. White also confirmed Edgar’s reason for shunning the fight was due to injury, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo.
Dos Anjos posted a picture of his foot problem on social media on Wednesday and apologised for his withdrawal to his fans:
Sorry to all my real fans and @ufc,I never cancel any fight due to injury but accidents happen #Jesus #truechampion pic.twitter.com/wrV58w9KaS
— Rafael dos Anjos (@RdosAnjosMMA) February 24, 2016
But McGregor wasn’t buying the injury. “Dos Anjos has a bruise on his foot but if I jumped under an X-ray the doctor would say, what are you doing kid, stop this!” he said in the presser, per Domin. “It's a bruised foot! It's called ice and Ibuprofen. When you pull out with an injury like that there's not much I can do to bring you back into the mix.”
Diaz didn’t escape the attentions of the featherweight champion, though, with McGregor, perhaps somewhat condescendingly, referring to him as Nick Diaz’s younger brother, per Domin:
I like Nick's little bro. He’s like a little cholo gangster from the hood but he teaches kids on a Sunday. He makes gun signs with one hand and makes animal balloons with the other.
He showed up for his last fight in shape, it was an OK performance and he talked well. I'm just ready to fight now, let's see what this man is about.
Here’s a look at the two squaring off at the press conference, per Dana White’s Twitter feed:
McGregor vs Diaz on March 5 at #UFC196 pic.twitter.com/JIdEDuwIt8
— Dana White (@danawhite) February 24, 2016
Although fans were hugely disappointed to see Dos Anjos withdraw from the bout with McGregor, Diaz is a replacement who has sated the desires of MMA fans. After all, the 30-year-old has been in some gripping contests down the years and will have no qualms about going toe-to-toe with McGregor.
That being said, the Irishman stated that even though he’ll be jumping up two weight classes from his last fight, there are fundamental flaws in Diaz’s armoury for him to exploit:
He comes forward but his understanding of ring control is amateurish, it's novice where I come from. I'm looking forward to him coming out, I come out like a champion greyhound at 100mph so we'll see what he's about when the bell goes.
People think it's a game and an act but when we're in there it's no game, it's no act, I'm simply the best fighter. I respect Nate but it's business and he will be KO'd inside the first round.
McGregor also suggested that Diaz hit the jackpot by landing the fight with him. “I got world titles and multi-millions of dollars, you got $20,000 to show for your last fight,” he said, per Elbra. “I felt pity on your broke ass, I wanted to make you rich. Nate, congratulations: You’re rich now.”
Additionally, McGregor delivered a few of his classic quips, including a suggestion that the UFC should issue his own title belt, per MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani:
McGregor: it doesn’t matter what weight division or what belt is on the line because I am my own belt. It’s the McGregor belt.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 24, 2016
McGregor: The only weight I care about is the weight of them checks, and they are super heavyweight…I run the west coast and the east coast.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 24, 2016
McGregor: People keep thinking it’s a game or an act … I’m just simply the best fighter.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) February 24, 2016
Diaz didn’t have too much too elaborate to say in response, although he did make a peculiar claim that “they’re all on steroids” in reference to UFC fighters, per Elbra. Needless to stay, that was a comment that riled McGregor, but for the rest of the presser he was snappy, sharp and typically entertaining.
Diaz is a fighter who comes alive inside the Octagon, though, and while McGregor will have the edge in terms of movement, as he notes, this is a big jump up for him. Getting the better of these press conference exchanges has long been easy work for the Notorious, but running over a hardened competitor like Diaz in an unfamiliar weight division will prove to be difficult.
