Wow, UFC 196 turned out to be one of the most heart-racing, dramatic nights of MMA I think I have ever experienced, and you can thank Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Holly Holm, and Miesha Tate for that. I’m sure there will be no shortage of analysis, editorials, and discussion in future weeks, but do allow me to jot down some very honest thoughts and perceptions of what I all witnessed.
Let’s discuss the main event – Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz. This fight means something to me. It makes me realize how you or I can NEVER underestimate the sport of mixed martial arts. Once you think you know what will happen, no matter how logical, popular, or certain you may think you are, there is ALWAYS the chance for it to blow up in your face.
This sport is unpredictable for many reasons. The small margin for error combined with the extreme bodily consequences turns MMA into a concoction of unstable truths and falsehoods. Logic simply does not have a strong presence in combat sports. We can break fights down all night long and pick who should win a fight, but at the end of the day the fighters still have to go out there and perform, which leaves much room for unpredictability to settle in.
Nate Diaz weathered the McGregor storm (a very powerful storm if I may add), and snagged the second round submission win. As much as McGregor wanted us to believe that size would not play a factor in his ability to KO his opponent stiff – it did. Diaz was able to slip just out of reach on several McGregor left hands, and was able to extend his snappy punches to hit Conor when Conor was not expecting to be hit. While Diaz’s face was still painted red, Nate was spared further punishment with his command of distance.
Furthermore, we saw Conor loading up more than usual. Against Jose Aldo, Conor didn’t swing the left hand, he simply placed it on Aldo’s face, like dotting a piece of paper with the tip of a sharpened pencil. But against Nate, we saw Conor look animalistic in the Octagon as he swung the overhand left, the left hook, the wheel kick, and uppercuts at Nate with nasty intentions. Very much like a tiger hunting after a wounded gazelle. I believe it was McGregor wanting to live up to the pressure and expectations he put on himself by putting Diaz out in the first round. However, Diaz was able to take these shots well, perhaps due to being the bigger man (more weight to absorb the force of the shots). Nevertheless, Conor got off to great effect early by landing virtually at will, but at what cost? The cost was his own energy resources.
McGregor admitted during the post-fight press conference that he was inefficient with his energy, and Nate was more efficient. In my analysis of this match up, I mentioned how Nate can sway the tides of momentum through his Stockton Slap, his taunts, and his pitter-patter punching style. As Conor continued to dish out brutal attacks, Nate waited for his moment to tip the scales and send the pendulum heading the other way. If he attempted this too early, he could have been exposed and finished by a fresh and energetic McGregor. He timed it just right though as the left straight was uncorked to the jawline of Conor, snatching his equilibrium momentarily. From then on it was nothing but the pendulum picking up speed and screaming away from Conor’s grasp as Diaz locked up the clinch, weighed on Conor, and smashed more left hands to the face. When McGregor had no other option, he shot the half-hearted, desperate takedown that so many have tried against him. With energy sapped from his body, and his balance still not quite there, a defenseless McGregor seceded mount, then his back, and then his neck.
So what can we learn from this fight?
While I wanted to see Conor succeed and continue to be David against an army of Goliaths, I couldn’t help but feel remotely satisfied with this result as there is so much for MMA enthusiasts like me to learn from here. The first thing to understand is that Conor McGregor at 170 lbs is still a massive work in progress. Unlike many, I’m not writing Conor off for future attempts at welterweight, but adjustments need to be made (particularly, adjustments to his fighting style). Conor’s style is meant to be used against smaller, shorter opponents who can’t take his left hand. Against a seemingly opposite style in Nate Diaz, we saw Conor’s style fall short (literally). If Conor finds himself fighting the bigger man again, he needs to rely more on hit-and-run tactics rather than the “let’s stand, trade, and see if you can take my left hand” type of method he imposed here against Diaz. Perhaps this was McGregor’s ego getting the better of him; we know he is confident in his power, but we didn’t know how his power would transfer moving up in wait. He needs to shift from being a silky smooth slugger to an agile, efficient martial artist when taking on the bigger man.
Secondly, Conor McGregor is still one of the very best, and he is still a very special human being. In this fight with Diaz, the audience got a real treat. We got to see McGregor uncork his entire arsenal at someone willing to take it. Not only did McGregor’s movement look surreal early on in the fight, but his hands are among the best in MMA. Period. His defense needs some slight adjustments though. Early on, McGregor had no problem slipping Diaz’s long jab, cross, and check hook, but as McGregor slowed down, his feet started to drag, and he wasn’t exiting out of the range of gunfire quick enough.
Credit needs to be given where credit is due. Nate Diaz is a phenomenal fighter, and he embodies exactly what it means to be a modern day martial artist in the modern day gladitorial forum. Diaz stepped up against the anomaly, and did so with confidence in himself, his team, and his abilities – not so much in his preparation. Conor speaks often that his confidence comes from his preparation and his work ethic, but what if that’s stripped away like it is when going up against a brand new opponent on two weeks notice?
In summary, this was a fantastic fight for so many reasons. We saw a man so used to receiving positive outcomes receive a negative one for the first time amidst so much attention and expectation. The pressures that Conor McGregor deals with have to be insurmountable, but yet he seems to be able to walk with them on his shoulders no problem. It delighted me to see him in rather good spirits after the loss. I feel McGregor will go through some understanding, but he is ultimately a student of the fight game. Unfortunately (and fortunately), students have the role of learning, and Conor McGregor is not quite done being a student.
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