UFC 202: As Conor seeks vengeance, Nate aims to eradicate the McGregor era once and for all.

The wait is finally (almost) over.  This coming Saturday, at the T-Mobile Arena, Nate Diaz will face Conor McGregor in what is undoubtedly one of the most eagerly waited, and tough-to-call rematches in UFC history. Cliché? Heard it all before? Yes, well, at the end of the day, it is McGregor who is fighting, so I should at least get some leeway on this one!

The pair get under each other's skin in an interview
on the Jay & Dan show prior to UFC 196.
Credit: Jay & Dan Podcast

Now don't worry, I won't ramble on for long about the magnitude of this re-match, as simply, there is no need too. However, what was impressive to me was not the fact that Nate beat Conor on eight days’ notice (yes of course that's notable in its own right) it was the fact in which eight days was all it took to break "all of" the UFC's records on one Saturday night. 

A press conference, and a couple interviews on some "Tim and Suzie nobody gives a fuck morning shows" to make 196 the biggest PPV in UFC history.  The Stockton style? The McGregor effect? Choose your pick.

Speculation has been drawn to the pairs last outing in which concludes down to one question: Did McGregor gas out? To answer this, we can look at two different approaches, from two very well respected trainers. Firstly, John Kavanagh who (surprise surprise) is McGregor's coach at SBG Charlestown and secondly, Firas Zahabi who is head coach at Tristar Gym in Montreal.

Just two days after Conor's first UFC defeat - Kavanagh told Ariel Helwani he had "never seen Conor breath that heavy before." This doesn't come as a surprise though. 'Exhaustion' and 'inefficiency' were the two words used by coach and fighter to describe the key components of Conor's downfall mid second round to the Stockton native.

McGregor and Coach Kavanagh feel exhaustion was the main factor in his loss,
however Firas Zahabi thinks otherwise.
Credit: Esther Lin - MMAFighting

On the flip side, Zahabi's pre-fight analysis of the match-up is somewhat a great contrast of Kavangh's. "McGregor did not get tired" Zahabi firmly states. "The one-two from Nate" adjoined with the psychological effect of Diaz not hitting the deck, like Conor's previous opponent's after the "big left hand shot," was what lead to his loss. "You're crazy" if you think it was his cardio.

Playing the devil's advocate in Firas' assessments is not often an easy role to take up. However due to the fact the fight was at welterweight, a weight in which McGregor had never competed in, a justifiable counter argument to Zahabi's strongly thought out analysis does seem clear. Conor himself stated he was eating steaks, rice and even ice cream for god sakes, in the lead up to this fight. A great quote from Kavanagh prior to UFC 196 was "You've seen him on salads watch what happens when he's on steaks!"

Left picture: UFC 194 Weigh In - vs Aldo at 145 pounds
Right picture: UFC 196 Weigh In - vs Diaz at 170 pounds
Credit: Esther Lin - MMAFighting

Packing on all that lean muscle mass (which is evident in before and after pictures of McGregor) can play a crucial role on one's cardiovascular fitness. Which, supporting Kavangh's theory, may of lead to Conor being exhausted by the end of the first. 

Scrap that all now. Because the pairs first fight was almost five months ago, so the talk of the town should be there upcoming one, not their first outing. 

A lot of changes have been made by McGregor’s camp in preparation for this re-match. Most notably is (for the first time ever) they are preparing for a specific opponent. Last minute pullouts have been a common theme of The Notorious' hectic schedule. But confident in the fact Diaz will (fingers crossed) show up on Saturday in one piece, the SBG camp have brought in guys from all over the world to emulate Nate's southpaw style. Dillon Danis - a multiple world time BJJ champion, and Conor Wallace - a six-time All-Ireland boxing champion are examples of this.

Don't get me wrong, the fact that two of the most charismatic showmen in the UFC are about to stand toe-to-toe, and create a twenty first century war is appealing, but it is not the key contributor in what makes this fight so special. We have seen re-matches on the grandest stage of all in the UFC - for example St Pierre vs Serra 2, Aldo vs Mendes 2 - and they just don't live up to the bill as the unpredictability is not there. A clear favourite is set and most usually, they always prevail as the victor. 

Not in this re-match though. Fans are split fifty-fifty, down the middle in their picks, half saying Diaz shows off his octagon experience again, and will overwhelm Conor with his endless skills wherever the fight may go. The other half predicting there is no way Nate escapes the Celtic cross for the second time. 

Saturday night, we will find out which half's prediction is fulfilled!