Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz may not be the superfight we had been expecting, but it is absolutely among the most exciting matchups we could have expected to watch as MMA lovers. UFC 196 won’t just include McGregor vs Diaz, it will also see Holly Holm put her bantamweight title at stake for the very first time when she chooses on Miesha Tate.
Conor McGregor (-400) vs Nate Diaz (+300)
We have the featherweight winner taking on the ranked lightweight in a welterweight fight. Yeah, this struggle will be a bit weird.
McGregor makes his initial appearance from the Octagon since dusting Jose Aldo in 13 minutes to acquire the featherweight title. Considering joining the UFC back in 2013, McGregor is 7-0 with half of the victories coming via stoppage.
Much has been made of McGregor’s striking style along with also the crushing knockout power the Irishman possesses. His standup game relies within a vertical posture that enables McGregor to throw his teammates without even exerting surplus time or energy. He has become an expert at using his kicks to make the space he can use to open his arsenal of attacks. The swiftness and brutality of those attacks are unparalleled in MMA today.
The biggest question mark in this battle is size. McGregor is fighting at 170 lbs for the first time in his profession; a jump of 25 lbs in contrast to his last struggle, and will be at a reach disadvantage for the very first time inside the UFC. ‘The Notorious One’ always held a distinct advantage in size in the lower weight classes, but Nate is about four inches taller and includes a two-inch reach advantage.
Diaz owns a fighting style that’s uniquely suited to him and his brother Nick. He is a volume boxer first and foremost on his feet, meaning that he throws punches in bunches and loves to be aggressive. The Stockton-native is good at keeping his distance, quickly moving into throw a flurry and then return to space. Diaz pairs his striking skills with a phenomenal ground game that has resulted in 11 of the 18 career wins coming through submission.
Despite his powerful ground game, Diaz is unable to truly use it thanks to some poor wrestling match. It appears that Diaz will frequently attempt to taunt his opponents to a position where they go for the takedown and he can do his job. Though his striking sport is strong, it’s far from perfect since it entails a simple attack with couple of unpredictable elements.
Can Diaz submit McGregor? Yes. Can he get the chance to? Not likely.
This is expected to be a standup affair although Diaz is a competent striker, he fails to possess the exact same degree of skills that McGregor does. Conor has good movement skills, which ought to help him conquer his reach disadvantage and pick up the win in this one.
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