It seems like much longer than five months since Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz first fought. So much has transpired between the two that it seems impossible to believe this rivalry is less than six months old. Yet it is, and for better or worse, Saturday night marked the latest (but likely not final) chapter in the saga of McGregor and Diaz. McGregor emerged as the victor by the slimmest of margins, and he achieved it the only way he could. McGregor’s victory can be attributed not to improving physically, but tactically. Amid the storm of discussions over weight and height, McGregor proved that a physical advantage can be mitigated with enough correct preparation.
McGregor/Diaz II Recap: The Fight We Needed
McGregor’s Problems in the first fight
In their first meeting, McGregor largely abandoned his kicks and chose to box. He attempted to land his left hand on Diaz to the exclusion of nearly everything else. As such, Diaz was able to capitalize and counter the left, while landing his southpaw jab out in the open. Sitting down behind his shoulders, Diaz weathered McGregor’s early storm. Then turned up the volume as McGregor began to fade. Stuck on the end of Diaz’ jab with nowhere to go, a tired McGregor was caught in a submission, after attempting a takedown.
The first fight showed McGregor, and his camp, the dangers of competing with a longer and heavier southpaw boxer. He couldn’t walk forward without taking shots. He couldn’t rely on his power to secure the knockout. Most of all he couldn’t just stand and box with a man who is so used to boxing with southpaws. They took these lessons to heart and the results clearly showed during the rematch.
Improvements in the Second Fight: The Art of Misdirection
From the beginning moments of the first round, McGregor showed a very different approach to what he had previously shown. Still standing in the center of the cage, McGregor did not look exclusively for the counter left hand. But instead opened up with what has always been kryptonite to the Diaz brothers–leg kicks.
Because the Diaz brothers stand so heavy on their front foot, they have always been easily unbalanced by leg kicks. They are also hesitant to check them, until they start hurting. McGregor did a fantastic job of targeting the lead leg ruthlessly over the course of the first round. It wasn’t long before Diaz was picking his leg up every time McGregor twitched. Fighting at kicking and punching range are two different animals. A smaller man can completely mitigate a reach disadvantage by kicking with boxers. As Diaz had to stand outside his own range to avoid the kicks, he would have to commit to moving forward in order to land punches. McGregor herded him to the fence and as Diaz stepped in to throw a jab, his counter left sat him down on the seat of his pants.
It wasn’t a damaging shot. It was more a case of catching Diaz as he was coming in, and he was back on his feet almost immediately. But it goes to show the difference between taking a shot you expect and one you don’t. McGregor’s entire strategy in the first fight was to come forward, slip the punch and land the left hand. Once Diaz realized this, he was braced to take the shots, or he avoided them and countered. During the first fight McGregor landed much harder shots and didn’t manage to put Diaz down. By adding the constant threat of leg kicks, McGregor took Diaz’s mind off the left hand, and because of that, he created the openings necessary to land it.
Breaking the Line of Offence
Another improvement McGregor implemented Saturday night was his dedication to trying to stay off the fence. He drew boos from the crowd on numerous occasions by simply walking away from Diaz and back to the center of the cage, whenever he was in danger of being trapped. This is referred to as breaking the line of offence.
This may have looked a little strange to see in a fight, but it highlights another problem Diaz has always had–he can’t keep a man in front of him. If his opponent circles away from him, Diaz simply throws his hands out and asks him to come back. He is so heavy on his lead leg that he cannot turn with his opponent if they decide to break the line. He certainly cannot do it quickly enough to prevent them from stepping out and re-establishing their position.
Diaz showed some of the best, grueling, fence work in the game last night. Mimicking the style popularized by his older brother–Nick. But like his brother, Nate also suffered from not having a reliable means of getting the fight to the fence. By simply disengaging when put in a disadvantageous position, McGregor was able to save himself from taking punishment when he was fatigued. This allowed him to catch his breath, whereas in the first fight he took punches. It also allowed him to halt Diaz when he began to build momentum in an exchange, then start again.
By simply disengaging when put in a disadvantageous position, McGregor was able to save himself from taking punishment when he was fatigued.
Introducing the Basics
A big facet of McGregor’s game that had been conspicuously absent in all his fights, is any form of effective offence from his right hand. While he always used his right to deny an opponents jab, he has never really shown one of his own. Against Diaz his lead (right) hand looked more dexterous and active than ever, mixing lead uppercuts to the body with a good strong jab. The same type of jab that Diaz used to bother him in the first fight. The jab alone was not enough to turn the fight, but it landed on Diaz numerous times and it served to break Diaz’s line of attack. It made him shell him up and allowed McGregor to either move off line or land the left.
This is a fundamental part of boxing. The jab serves as an opening shot and as a means of maintaining range. It will disrupt your opponents movement, keep them at distance, and give you the opportunity to move away or follow-up. McGregor did a fantastic job of using his jab to get Diaz to cover up, then circled out. In the second round a jab-uppercut-jab from the right hand held Diaz still and lined him up perfectly for the left hand, which led to another knockdown.
The Work of Diaz
That is not to say this fight was all one-way traffic. Diaz was far from ineffective in this fight. While McGregor did a good job of mitigating his range disadvantage and keeping his larger opponent off him, he was not able to avoid him for the full 25 minutes. For long periods, after the first round, Diaz trapped his smaller opponent against the fence and did a great job of putting his weight on him. As he held him up with his head, and worked him over with classic Diaz-style combinations.
I am only putting one GIF here for the sake of space. Do not take that as a sign that Diaz was less effective. Exchanges like this took up a huge portion of the fight, especially towards the end of a round. McGregor’s cardio held up admirably for a man who has never fought more than 15 minutes, but under Diaz’s constant aggression, he wilted at points in the fight. What saved him was his mindset. Instead of swinging back or looking to grab a hold of him, McGregor stayed tight on the inside. He never opened up too much, and constantly looked for opportunities to circle out and get off the fence. This is the perfect strategy for a smaller man to use when pressed up against the fence. Firing back and clinching favor the bigger man in the more dominant position.
Diaz had moderate success with body jabs and kicks during this fight as well, tools he does not often use. When he targeted McGregor’s stationary body and legs instead of his evasive head, he had success landing. This obviously played a roll in dragging McGregor’s cardio down, leaving him vulnerable to being trapped on the cage.
Diaz had moderate success with body jabs and kicks during this fight as well, tools he does not often use.
Final Thoughts
This fight played out in the best possible way for McGregor. If he had knocked out Diaz in the first round and cemented the first fight as a fluke, nobody would be interested in watching a trilogy. But this fight was in no way one sided.
In an earlier article, I looked at all the things McGregor would have to do in order to be successful. He followed that plan almost to the letter. He changed everything that needed to be changed. Even so, he still wound up taking a beating and was in danger of being finished on numerous occasions. Both men came out looking better than they did in the first fight. Both men gave a great accounting of themselves, and both men left feeling like they deserved the win.
Before this fight many were ready to see the back of this seemingly meaningless rivalry. But word is that McGregor may be thinking of making the move up to lightweight soon. If that is true, the third fight will not be between two non-welterweights fighting at welterweight. It will be between two top tier lightweights in their actual division, with actual stakes. That seems a much more intriguing prospect than the first or second fight ever did.
