Even if you don't like Conor, you should be grateful he stepped up

[bugrimmar]

1. In today's MMA, hardly anyone goes up weight classes anymore. I understand that Nate is a natural 155 and Conor is big for 145 but that still means he fought a guy one weight class above him. Better yet, he took the fight at 170, a weight he's not fought professionally at before.

2. People would argue that "he just didn't have to go through a weight cut" but that also means he was carrying around more weight than he usually does during the fights. I think that contributed a lot to why he got tired.

3. Hitting a 145 pound guy isn't the same as hitting a 155 pound guy. Bigger guys require bigger power to knock down. In that aspect, I think he bit off more than he could chew and he realized that Nate wasn't going down the same way the others did. That made him punch harder and harder and that gassed him out even more.

4. Nate doesn't get out of shape. You should know that the Diaz brothers are gym rats and they always train, run marathons, etc. even when there's no fight coming up. This means that Conor didn't fight an out of shape guy. He fought a tough guy who was a championship contender not too long ago.

5. RDA and Nate are completely different opponents. One could argue that the RDA fight was much tougher and the result would probably have been the same but changing opponents in the middle must mess up a fighter's game plan.

6. Conor could've pulled out of this fight and waited for RDA or whatever but obviously, he wanted the payday and he wanted to give the fans a show. That's why he went out guns blazing despite the fact that Nate has a well respected chin.

7. Other champions would not have taken this fight, especially two weight classes above their title. Look at Jon Jones, Fabricio Werdum, etc. when their opponent gets replaced. What do they do? They pull out and destroy the fight card.

If you look at all those points, there's no point hating on Conor. Yes, he's disrespectful and yes he's annoying sometimes. I personally don't like his attitude. But the fact that he stepped up despite all the difficulties he had to go through to give us fans a good show and save the UFC 196 card, he deserves our respect.

 

[BattleBeast]

Didn't read, but Im grateful he got chocked.

 

[12ga.]

Why would I be grateful if I were say a Ferguson fan who's paid his dues in LW only to get stepped over?

 

[Diggem]

Why should anybody be grateful that Conor was being gifted title shots? GTFO.

I am grateful that Diaz Stockton slapped Conor in the face multiple times.

 

[Mebetter]

Conor has fought at 155 before if anything he stepped down to an unnatural weight class to have an advantage; he gets no kudos from me for fighting at a proper weight.

 

[LostMyBlackBelt]

McTappy thought he could make a lot of money for an easy fight.

 

[DontWaitUp]

Yes, he's disrespectful and yes he's annoying sometimes. I personally don't like his attitude. But the fact that he stepped up despite all the difficulties he had to go through to give us fans a good show and save the UFC 196 card, he deserves our respect.

I absolutely agree. Conor the munificent. Conor the magnanimous. So altruistic with his time and talent. Self sacrificing in a way the world has never seen before. Philanthropic doesn't begin to describe this selfless gift to the masses. Doctors, policeman, firefighters, nurses, teachers, social workers, religious organizations, outreach programs all pale in comparison to the heroic efforts of a man who goes up 2 weight classes. Christ need not come back to take those with Him to eternal glory, for we have Conor to be thankful for. Why don't you grow up pal. The guys a self serving prick.

 

[Wise1]

Other UFC champs that went up a weight division to fight tough guys: Bj Penn, Anderson Silva,

Other UFC champs to do so on short notice and go up TWO weight divisions: ... Conor stands alone

UFC champs that have turned down less risky propositions: Jon Jones, Werdum,

I will forever be a fan of McG. I just wish the "Conor bless" sh** would stop... and Conor should not talk about Jesus.

 

[silvasurfer5253]

Dude, he made my weekend.

 

[rbastid]

I agree Conor had balls to step up to 155 and fight a monster in RDA. But can we stop with the joke of "He jumped up 2 weight classes" He fought a 155 pound fighter who didn't have enough time to cut weight, so they gave a fight at a higher weight class. They assumed Diaz would be weak from not having a camp and only having 10 days to figure out a game plan for the hard to pin down Conor, he wasn't stepping up to fight at 170, he was moving to 170 thinking he was gutting a joke fight. Many in shape guys at 155 and 170 offered to take the fight, why pick a guy not in camp and far enough away from his last fight to still be in fight shape? It wasn't because it was the hardest fight out there.

This is like making a big deal about Cowboy's fight at 170, where he fought a 155er who didn't have enough time to cut weight. Or saying Tyron Woodley should be a ranked MW because he fought Gastelum at 180 (though a catchweight fight it still is the weight of 172-186, the MW level)

I feel the same way when it comes to Diaz. Yes, he had an A+ win and should be rewarded handsomely for it. That shouldn't be by getting a fight against Robbie Lawler. If he wants the RDA fight, then give him that, but counting this as a legit 170 win is crap and hurts those in the division fighting at that weight. If he wants to count it as a 170 win, then hell he's 1-2 at 170 in the last 5 years, which means he's unranked and still doesn't deserve a shot.

 

[HIMBOB]

Point 7.

Other champs weren't allowed to keep their belt safe when accepting late notice replacements.

Conor is the 10th guy this year (ie average of one per week) to accept a replacement in opponent under 2 weeks out from the fight. Not one has turned down the replacement. Technically Werdum pulled out injured but regardless he had his belt on the line and that makes all the difference.

 

[Dragon Punch]

I respect Conor for stepping up but I respect Nate even more for stepping in late and choking him out.

 

[prikoke]

Other UFC champs that went up a weight division to fight tough guys: Bj Penn, Anderson Silva,

Other UFC champs to do so on short notice and go up TWO weight divisions: ... Conor stands alone

UFC champs that have turned down less risky propositions: Jon Jones, Werdum,

I will forever be a fan of McG. I just wish the "Conor bless" sh** would stop... and Conor should not talk about Jesus.

Can you stop it with the "TWO divisions" nonsense? Nate is a LW. They just both agreed to not cut weight this time.

 

[cumafish]

I'm grateful that he got exposed, does that count?

 

[logicprob]

They should be grateful for having the UFC today because if it wasn't for Conor, the UFC would probably be dead right now. He revived the sport to the point people thought he would make his own league. He has not only given life to the UFC but made it the most entertaining and fun it has ever been. Conor transcends being just a fighter, he is a cultural icon and will go down as one of the biggest athletes in sports history.

 

[rbastid]

Other UFC champs that went up a weight division to fight tough guys: Bj Penn, Anderson Silva,

Even though he did go up to LHW, putting Silva on the level of BJ Penn when it comes to moving weight is like saying Andy Wang is on the level of RDA cause they fought at 155.

Anderson was offered tough fights at 205 and he kept turning them down under the excuse of "That's Lyoto's division", even after Machida lost the belt. Fight Shogun, "No That's Lyoto's division" Fight Randy, "No that's Lyoto's division" Fight a guy ranked 211 in the division or one with the worst striking in the UFC (lets not pretend Forrest is some technically skilled genius, he's a winger) WHERE DO I SIGN?

Meanwhile BJ goes up and fights the champs or at least highly ranked fighters like Nick and Rory.

 

[Wise1]

Can you stop it with the "TWO divisions" nonsense? Nate is a LW. They just both agreed to not cut weight this time.

Even though he did go up to LHW, putting Silva on the level of BJ Penn when it comes to moving weight is like saying Andy Wang is on the level of RDA cause they fought at 155.

Anderson was offered tough fights at 205 and he kept turning them down under the excuse of "That's Lyoto's division", even after Machida lost the belt. Fight Shogun, "No That's Lyoto's division" Fight Randy, "No that's Lyoto's division" Fight a guy ranked 211 in the division or one with the worst striking in the UFC (lets not pretend Forrest is some technically skilled genius, he's a winger) WHERE DO I SIGN?

Meanwhile BJ goes up and fights the champs or at least highly ranked fighters like Nick and Rory.

Yea your right, what Anderson did was no biggie! So, how many times did Gsp do that? Jon Jones? Jose Aldo? DJ? Barao? Chuck?

 

[12ga.]

I never respected this move beyond fighters being stepped over. You go up when you have no fights left. You have literally cleaned everyone's clock like GSP could have, or these days , Jones in talking about it. Then it makes sense if you wish to challenge yourself. Conor never did clean out is division or even defend. It was a get rich quick cash grab by Dana and UFC simple as that. Thats fine business is business and all that but I don't have to respect it.

 

[bugrimmar]

Point 7.

Other champs weren't allowed to keep their belt safe when accepting late notice replacements.

Conor is the 10th guy this year (ie average of one per week) to accept a replacement in opponent under 2 weeks out from the fight. Not one has turned down the replacement. Technically Werdum pulled out injured but regardless he had his belt on the line and that makes all the difference.

None of those 10 guys had as much to risk as Conor did. He's a megastar who's willing to put his neck on the line. No matter what anyone says, this was a hell of a risk and he didn't have to take it.

 

[gutty333]

Actually if you think about it, Conor talked soo much that really his ego is what we should be thankful for. Ever wonder that due to all the talking Conor has done he has no option but to step up and prove it. So in other words if the only fighter they could get was say Cain Velasquez, Conor was in a position that he had to step up, if he was true to his trash talking. So here is a lesson to be learn, sometimes it might be best to keep your mouth shut, so that you can tell your ego to sit down and listen. The moment you say you will do something, well now show us I will go and get a cup of popcorn and enjoy.
One good example is that now he has to show up at ufc 200 for bragging about how he is going to main event the biggest show, as a fan I am ok with that. But if you do the math ufc 200 is in july, assuming he defend the 145lbs belt, Conor has like 3 months to not only train but cut down, which is very unhealthy to the body. When you put your ego aside you approach things the smart way, similar to how DC took a long break when coming down to 205lbs. Poor Conor, he might be doing more damage to himself than he thinks.