Believe it or not, UFC 196 headliner Nate Diaz appreciates opponent Conor McGregor

Nate Diaz

LAS VEGAS – There was plenty of trash talk between UFC 196 headliners Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor this past week when the fight was announced, and there no doubt will be more in the next few days.

But it turns out Diaz (18-10 MMA, 13-8 UFC) actually might be something of a McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) fan, strange as that may seem.

“I like his fight style a lot better than a lot of peoples’ fight styles,” Diaz told MMAjunkie today after a short workout for the media and fans at Jabbawockeez Theater inside MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. “The fight game has gotten really weak (over) a long time. So I guess I could say I appreciate somebody that’s coming to fight.”

Diaz stepped up on short notice to fight UFC featherweight champion McGregor when lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos pulled out of their 155-pound title fight with a broken foot.

But as it came to be, the fight will go down at welterweight, a division Diaz has fought in before, but one that is two weight classes up for his Irish opponent. McGregor’s claim was that McGregor couldn’t make 155 pounds or 160 pounds on the short notice, so when 165 was tabled as a catchweight, McGregor said why not just go up to welterweight. UFC President Dana White backed up that claim.

“He didn’t want the fight at 170, it just ended up that way,” Diaz said. “The fight was played around with for months. They offered it to me left and right, this fight. I did several three-day training camps for this, short notice (expletive). Then I said no more playing, short notice, no camp – why weight cut? I’m still a lightweight fighter. I might be in better shape (at welterweight).”

But at the end of the day, Diaz said he’ll treat this fight as just another one, even though there are way more eyeballs on him now than possibly ever before.

“It’s another big fight, another big day. It’s what I’ve been doing,” Diaz said. “It feels a little different because it’s short notice, and there’s a lot of (expletive) crammed into one little week. But it’s a big show, and I’ve been on a lot of big shows. It’s a big deal because there’s a lot of people here. It’s pretty cool.”

Check out the full video from Diaz’s media scrum above. Then don’t miss his fight against McGregor in the UFC 196 main event, which takes place Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

For more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.