MMA fighter Conor McGregor likes to talk up his game, but challenger Nate Diaz shut him down during the main event at UFC 196 on Saturday.
McGregor, who usually fights at featherweight (145 pounds), faced Diaz in a welterweight bout (170 pounds), and Diaz choked him out in the second round.
To his credit, McGregor (19–3 MMA, 7–1 UFC) faced the media after his first UFC loss to explain what happened, per Rory Brigstock-Barron of the Daily Mail.
"I felt I took him in the first round, but I was inefficient with my energy. He was efficient, I wasn't efficient," McGregor said. "I took a chance, came up weight, and it didn't work out."
His coach, John Kavanagh, was disappointed but congratulated Diaz on the victory via Twitter: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. Congrats to Nate and his team on a great win."
While this was a huge upset, Diaz (19-10), who signed onto the card only 11 days ago, expected to win. He used some colorful language in the ring after the fight, saying, "I'm not surprised," followed by an expletive, per the UFC (Warning: Link contains NSFW language).
McGregor spoke to the assembled media at a post-fight press conference, insisting he is still hoping to feature at UFC 200 this summer, per MMA journalist Simon Head:
In the post-fight press conference, the victor offered his thoughts on the fight and insisted that despite taking the bout at short notice, was still in great shape, per MMA Fighting's Shaheen Al-Shatti:
Nate Diaz is asked on FS1 is he was actually in poor shape: "On my worst day, I'll train for two hours. I don't have hobbies."
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) March 6, 2016
Diaz: He's a good fighter, but he's where he is at because of the push he's getting. I knew I was better than him.
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) March 6, 2016
Diaz: I was watching his fights and I was like, he keeps this pressure and these guys break. That's the same pressure I keep, only less.
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) March 6, 2016
Diaz: All of a sudden he's shooting for a takedown & I was like, oh, you're a wrestler now? You're a wrestler? Remember, I'm the black belt.
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) March 6, 2016
After Ronda Rousey talked and talked before her loss to Holly Holm, only to be ridiculed by others afterward, McGregor is now suffering the same fate.
UFC featherweight fighter Jose Aldo, who lost in 13 seconds in December to McGregor at UFC 194, did not mince words when tweeting at McGregor (Warning: Tweet contains NSFW language):
See ya at #UFC200, @TheNotoriousMMA. Your fairy tale is over. You got nowhere to run now. Time to a rematch, pussy. pic.twitter.com/67fmic8qxG
— Jose Aldo Junior (@josealdojunior) March 6, 2016
UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos called McGregor "soft" and retweeted a post from Renzo Gracie, who mocked McGregor's bravado before the fight:
Jiujitsu it's the greatest... Because it educates.. Humbleness is a must to all of us @nickdiaz209 is an educator ;) pic.twitter.com/akB9yOCwUj
— Renzo_Gracie_BJJ (@RenzoGracieBJJ) March 6, 2016
Shortly after the fight, Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com noted former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, who is now a featherweight, asked UFC President Dana White about fighting Diaz: "Edgar asks [White] straight up if he gets the next shot. Dana says he doesn't know what Conor will do, but he thinks it should be 145."
There's no doubt that Saturday's loss should humble McGregor, who is arguably the sport's biggest talker. He guaranteed he would knock Diaz out in the first round, which provided more fuel to the fire.
If there is any silver lining for McGregor, it's that he earned a cool $1 million, compared to Diaz's $500,000, per the Nevada State Athletic Commission (via ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto).
