Advertisement
Reaction

'Surprise, surprise! The king is back!' McGregor invites Diaz to another fight on his terms

Will we do it all again?

Conor McGregor celebrates winning Tom Hogan / INPHO Tom Hogan / INPHO / INPHO

“SURPRISE, SURPRISE! THE king is back!” said McGregor.

And, if it was missing since defeat in March, a little swagger returned too.

The Dubliner immediately set his sights on a third meeting with Nate Diaz after tonight’s epic rematch however. Though the final instalment of what would be a famous UFC trilogy has to happen on McGregor’s terms, he insists.

“All I know is it’s one-one,” the SBG fighter told Joe Rogan after his majority decision victory over the Stockton fighter.

“Regroup, boy, we’ll do it again. If you want this trilogy, it’s on my terms. I came up to 170, now you’ll come back to 155 and we’ll finish what we’ve started. I knew what I had to do this time around and I did it.”

Asked if strong kicks — like Rafael Dos Anjos employed against Diaz — were part of the strategy cooked up on the Naas Rd, MacGregor said: “You’re damn right. But he took them better than I expected.

“He didn’t let me know. The first three rounds, I proved the difference in class. But then that toughness and durability that he has crept back in, in the later rounds.

“But it was a hell of a fight, he’s a hell of a competitor. He brought out the best in me.”

He added: “Like my coach said, we win or we learn. And I learned from the last contest.”

UFC 202 Mixed Martial Arts Kanye West cageside in Vegas. AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Nate Diaz too insisted he wanted a concluding chapter to the rivalry with McGregor.

“I came here to fight. I want number three, I gave him number two, so let’s do it,” he said. “Thank you to my team, Richard Perez, Gilbert, Jake and my brother Nick Diaz he’s the best fighter in the world. Peace out, Stockton.”

UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship / YouTube

Artem Lobov: ‘I find it hard to respect them outside of the octagon’

First blood to Team McGregor as Lobov dominates Diaz’s team-mate Avila

Your Voice
Readers Comments
64
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.