I am a big Diaz bros fan, but I cant see how Nate wins vs Conor at all.

[Kelman]

As I intimated in the thread title, I'm a certified 'nuthugger' of the Diaz brothers. Love their personas and fighting styles. I've always felt that Nick was both the stronger, more interesting personality and the all-round tougher and better fighter, but I both like and rate Nate as well. His wins/performances vs Cerrone and Jim Miller were outstanding, he earned his title shot and proved his abilities there.

But I think we have to be realistic. Nate got lit up like a Christmas tree on the feet by Benson Henderson, Rafael dos Anjos, and Josh Thomson. Maybe with Benson and RDA you can say the threat of the takedown played into it (although I would disagree, I think both guys' kicks, movement and speed just had Nate beat in the stand-up fair and square), but you cant really try to push that line with regard to the Thomson fight. As I remember it, Thomson delivered a decisive beating on the feet in that fight, no doubts about it.


I was overjoyed by Nate's shock win against Michael Johnson, it was a brilliant night for any Diaz fan, but the fact is that Nate's performance was basically following Johnson around, flinging pretty basic and repetitive one-two's at his head, and winning on volume.


I have to believe that McGregor is going to employ the same strategy as Thomson, move around Diaz instead of walking to him like Johnson did, utilize kicks, and just break him down and then get the KO once Nate is pretty tired (partly due to the short camp) and worn down by the number of kicks and punches absorbed, as Nate remains pretty easy to hit cleanly.


I see this as a straightforward round 2 or 3 knockout for McGregor. It's a bad style for Diaz, as Benson, RDA, and Thomson all were. The guy to beat Conor is someone like RDA who could get McG into grappling mode. Nate doesnt have the wrestling or the inclination to do this. I, sadly, predict a one-sided fight here.

 

[Problem24/7]

Nuthugging Diaz fan? Represent your shit home boy.

 

[12ga.]

Well thats why he was picked... Best chance to beat style wise without dipping into lower ranked fighters so Conor can remain undefeated in UFC. But it's a fight man anything can happen. I think Nate should just keep distance with jabs until later rounds and sloppy sets in and clinch for takedown and sub him.

 

[SFMMA]

Good breakdown. I see Conor winning it.

 

[BigPapaShango]

The issue I see if that Nate can't see how he wins either, which leads me to believe that he is solely there for a payday.

 

[johnny]

Ground game.

 

[DizzyYeahYeah]

Lol. You highlighted some of Nate's losses. Why don't you do the same with Conor? Conor got choked out and Nate has a good submission game!!!!! WOAHHHHHHH. See how easy that is.

 

[melvinj0]

Turn it into a ground fight or maybe Nate will surprise everyone and outbox McGregor.

 

[yekmurat]

This is anybody s fight

 

[Hoop]

Well thats why he was picked... Best chance to beat style wise without dipping into lower ranked fighters so Conor can remain undefeated in UFC. But it's a fight man anything can happen. I think Nate should just keep distance with jabs until later rounds and sloppy sets in and clinch for takedown and sub him.

You're forgetting about Cerrone there.

 

[Xtal]

The thing is, most of McGregor's offense is with his hands, while the guys who got the better of Nate standing relied on kicks. Henderson and RDA had big success landing leg kicks and closing distance, and while RDA had a lot of success in boxing range after severely damaging Diaz's legs very early in the fight, Benson did not stay in that range very long to have much success, and both ended up using takedowns and clinch work primarily. The few successes I remember Bendo having were when he'd feint low with weird knee punches or fake shots to get Diaz looking for the shot, and would then land a good straight. Then Thomson was using a lot of weird running tactics to get away from Nate, which caused Nate to chase him down recklessly, and from there he used feints and angles in order to land a couple nasty head kicks before the one that did the job; whenever he got in boxing range, though, Thomson got lit up.

McGregor doesn't have, or at least doesn't use, those tools. He doesn't use a lot of head movement and a lot of his straight left success comes from his reach advantage, which he won't have. He does have an arsenal of kicks we've seen, but he seems to use those as range finders and distance keepers rather than as actual attacks. We saw Nate deal with a good, powerful striker in Michael Johnson, so I don't doubt he has a decent chance striking, but his huge advantage is in the grappling. He could very well get McGregor on the ground, or possibly overwhelm him with volume to force a shot. I'm a huge Conor fan who obviously wants him to win, but Diaz is absolutely no slouch, and can hang with anybody at the elite level.

 

[AWKWARD]

Diaz can actually throw straight punches which works wonders when you're fighting someone like Michael Johnson who only knows how to get any power by winging hooks and haymakers. Johnson had no clue what to do with Nate's decent left straight, which is ridiculous. Don't expect that to happen with Conor.

 

[epic wynn]

The issue I see if that Nate can't see how he wins either, which leads me to believe that he is solely there for a payday.

nope .. we're talking bout a diaz .. see it only one way .. their way, the right way ..

 

[Torrox]

Just hit him with some good shit.

 

[deltapapha]

nate is a good boxer and at least as good on the ground as Conor. I am a huge Conor fan but I actually have no idea who is going to win.

 

[basementdweller]

As I intimated in the thread title, I'm a certified 'nuthugger' of the Diaz brothers. Love their personas and fighting styles. I've always felt that Nick was both the stronger, more interesting personality and the all-round tougher and better fighter, but I both like and rate Nate as well. His wins/performances vs Cerrone and Jim Miller were outstanding, he earned his title shot and proved his abilities there.

But I think we have to be realistic. Nate got lit up like a Christmas tree on the feet by Benson Henderson, Rafael dos Anjos, and Josh Thomson. Maybe with Benson and RDA you can say the threat of the takedown played into it (although I would disagree, I think both guys' kicks, movement and speed just had Nate beat in the stand-up fair and square), but you cant really try to push that line with regard to the Thomson fight. As I remember it, Thomson delivered a decisive beating on the feet in that fight, no doubts about it.


I was overjoyed by Nate's shock win against Michael Johnson, it was a brilliant night for any Diaz fan, but the fact is that Nate's performance was basically following Johnson around, flinging pretty basic and repetitive one-two's at his head, and winning on volume.


I have to believe that McGregor is going to employ the same strategy as Thomson, move around Diaz instead of walking to him like Johnson did, utilize kicks, and just break him down and then get the KO once Nate is pretty tired (partly due to the short camp) and worn down by the number of kicks and punches absorbed, as Nate remains pretty easy to hit cleanly.


I see this as a straightforward round 2 or 3 knockout for McGregor. It's a bad style for Diaz, as Benson, RDA, and Thomson all were. The guy to beat Conor is someone like RDA who could get McG into grappling mode. Nate doesnt have the wrestling or the inclination to do this. I, sadly, predict a one-sided fight here.

well done, my thoughts exactly. Thomson picked Diaz apart

 

[rplende]

I think you are going to be an even bigger fan of Nate after Saturday.

 

[LukeSkyRutten]

Even Nate can't see how Nate wins. He hasn't had a camp. He knows he's coming in to earn a million dollars to get beat.

 

[Moneymma]

Lol. You highlighted some of Nate's losses. Why don't you do the same with Conor? Conor got choked out and Nate has a good submission game!!!!! WOAHHHHHHH. See how easy that is.

LOL even in his wins over cerrone and johnson nate he won because he baited them into boxing match. cerrone was never known for his boxing(or footwork) and he got lit up,but had some success with leg kicks and idk why he didnt use his wrestling or more head&body kicks. unlike cerrone,conor has great boxing and has better movement and ringcraft. dont expect to see conor to eat one_twos or see nate teeing off on co conor like diaz bros do against opponents that dont even know how to circle out. nate had nothing on the feet against bendo and RDA,they were pushing the pace,kicking him and just dominated him. conor will likely frustrate nate on the feet with his angles and kicks. conor via tko rd 2

 

[SteelHeems]

nate is a good boxer and at least as good on the ground as Conor. I am a huge Conor fan but I actually have no idea who is going to win.

Nate is miles ahead on the ground. it's not even close.