I read Sherdog often and the general populous of this forum talk in absolutes 'Nates gonna destroy McGregor round 1' 'McGregor CLEARLY won round 1' etc etc. Talking in absolutes to cement your opinion on how a fight went or is going to go is ridiculous and stunts what could be good conversation about fighters and fights. I was a fan of Nick Diaz long before Nate hit headlines. When the McGregor fight was announced against Nate I was like... Damn son this is gonna be good, I couldn't doubt McGregor again. I'd doubted him against Aldo. Nate although a good fighter has some glaring weaknesses to say he doesn't is an understatement. I'm not of the mindset that because Nate won the first he will wreck Conor in the second... and also that Conor who lost the first will make the improvements needed to win the second either. So sit back and enjoy this hyped fight between two men who naturally should fight in the same weight class (or MAYBE one weight class different certainly not 2).
I expect a more patient and technical Conor this time. Something like the Poirier fight. Conor has turned into a brawler lately and forgot his old roots. I'm for the ones who likes way more the Conor of the Holloway fight than the Conor of the Brandao fight.
I agree and its hard to beat a diaz at his own game. Take him somewhere he isn't comfortable and you'll have a different fight.
I agree he will be more patient this time. Hopefully he learned he's not going to one punch diaz. However I think diaz will win a patient fight or a brawl
I enjoyed watching Nate put a beat down on Conor but I think the Irishman is going to win the rematch. Nothing that we've seen from him inside the Octagon so far suggests that he will but I'm basing my prediction purely on the kind of person I think Conor is; intelligent, fluid, foresighted, and determined. He'll make the necessary adjustments and he'll defy the odds. It might be something lame like some Condit/Nick type shit but the Diaz bros. still don't have an answer to that so why not?
I doubt, after the fight he was all like how he made a mistake by trying to go for the finish all the time and not being worried of his gas. Either way I think he will fight a better fight and I want him to win because there is so many fun LW fights to make.
I think Conor beats him this time. i think he will come in with a more patient game plan and wear Diaz down. If RDA, Benson Henderson and Josh Thompson can beat Diaz, then Conor should be able to.
A patient Conor means that his output will be less, which allows Nate to apply more pressure. Hitting Nate fewer times is not the answer. Anyone can be KO'd, but Nate has an excellent chin. Also, full camp Nate should be harder to hit. So Conor picking his shots more carefully (i.e., less output) and Nate's better defense (i.e., getting hit less) helps Nate, not Conor. Anyone can win on a given night (e.g., Bisping vs Rockhold), but I am leaning heavily toward Nate winning the rematch. I want Nate to win.
Have the Diaz bros. figured out how to stop an elite kickboxer from circling around them and peppering point-kicks yet? What's to stop Conor from doing that if he comes in with significantly better stamina (big IF)? Makes sense that he'll come in with a customized decision game-plan considering that he tested Nate's chin already and it's solid as fuck.
Well I'm a Nate fan and while anything can happen in an MMA fight the only time Nate got KOd was by taking a ruthless head kick that he ducked into after having took other head kicks against Thomson. That's not something Conor has. So if Conor tries to fight more technically Nate will overwhelm him because Nate has the better technical stand up and has the better cardio. If it goes to the ground it's game over for Conor. There are a lot of ways for Nate to win and not a lot of ways for Conor to, so I don't think this will be a great fight, I think it will be a squash match and Conor will be on a two fight losing streak after. Oh and what are Nates glaring weaknesses? Susceptibility to leg kicks and getting wresltefucked by elite wrestlers. Those aren't Conor's strengths, so how do you see Conor winning this?
I think it will look different from the first fight, for certain. It's not as clear-cut as some say, although, they may just say that to get a rise from Conor fans - "B-but he won the first round!" Nate will have a mental advantage going in, but Conor knows what another loss will do for his credibility and hope of fighting at higher weightclasses
You're right about the weaknesses and Diaz's chin... Could Conor come in with a leg kicking game plan? though even if he does, surely he needs more than that.
Couple of things concern me about Conor going into the rematch. Conor talked afterwards about all the great uppercuts he landed on Nate. But these were his least effective punches. Nate landed the straight left that hurt Conor as he was preparing to throw an uppercut from the outside. Conor's failure to bring in a real boxing coach. The fight with Nate is essentially a boxing match. Guys like Freddie Roach, know the footwork and setups a smaller man needs to beat the bigger fighter.(Pacquiao vs. Margarito). Guys like Kavanagh are decent coaches, but they don't have that specialized knowledge. Kavanagh said the rematch will be like the first round, but for all five rounds. Bringing in tall lefties to spar will help Conor, but depending on a leap in cardiovascular conditioning is risky.
Don't be naive. Diaz will win it. Better cardio, boxing, bjj, chin and cardio again. Will be a little bit heavier and will punch harder. Last time when he punched Conor he refused to fight and turned into a panic wrestler. This time Nate will ktfo him like Maynard in last fight.
