Now is not the time to be a hero in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Conor McGregor is the latest MMA superstar to have their immense hype met by stronger-than-expected opposition, after Nate Diaz took him down with a hectic choke in UFC 196. If you missed it, the finale looked a little something like this:
Yeesh. Either way, McGregor – who climbed up two entire weight divisions to fight Diaz – has vowed to come back to higher weight classes even stronger.
“I’m happy with [the fight]. I’ll learn, I’ll grow, and I’ll come back,” a busted-up McGregor offered.
Before returning to his pet featherweight class, he’ll shed the 12 entire kilograms he packed on to fight Diaz at welterweight.
“145 [pounds] is a cut, it’s intense, but I make it and I make it every time. I think 145 will be next and I’ll defend my belt.
I think after I defend my belt and climb myself back up, I think I will get a shot at that lightweight belt once again. Maybe me and Nate will do it again.”
At the post-fight presser, he said “it’s a bitter, bitter pill to swallow. I took a shot, went at it, and I feel I was simply inefficient with my energy. Usually I fight a man in a division I am champion in, and they crumble under those shots.”
Either way, that brings McGregor’s MMA record to 19-3. Woe betide the next fan favourite to fight at the pinnacle of their popularity.
Source: YouTube.
Photo: Rey Del Rio / Getty.
Photo: Rey Del Rio / Getty.
