Conor McGregor in the aftermath of his UFC 196 defeat to Nate Diaz. Raymond Spencer / INPHO
Raymond Spencer / INPHO / INPHO
CONOR McGREGOR WILL return to winning ways when he takes on Nate Diaz on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
Advertisement
That’s according to Joseph Duffy, who expects McGregor to overcome Diaz in this weekend’s UFC 202 main event at the T-Mobile Arena.
McGregor will be aiming to exact revenge over Diaz, having been submitted in the second round of their bout at UFC 196 back in March.
Despite losing the first round, Diaz — who had stepped in on less than a fortnight’s notice to replace the injured Rafael dos Anjos — handed McGregor his first taste of defeat since he was beaten by Duffy in a Cage Warriors bout in November 2010.
“In the first fight I felt like Conor was loading up a little bit too much,” Duffy told The42. “Maybe all the pressure got to him a bit. He was taking on Diaz on short notice and people thought it was going to be a landslide. Everyone thought Conor was going to knock him out — myself included.”
The bookmakers still expect McGregor to avenge the only UFC loss of his career, and Duffy — who picked up his third UFC victory last month with a very impressive stoppage of Mitch Clarke — believes McGregor’s status as favourite is justified.
He said: “Diaz has been through the mill and he’s fought the who’s who of the game. He gives everyone a hard time. But I think this time Conor will be more relaxed and he’ll pick him off over five rounds to win by decision.”
McGregor's old foe Duffy backs him to avenge loss to Diaz
CONOR McGREGOR WILL return to winning ways when he takes on Nate Diaz on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
That’s according to Joseph Duffy, who expects McGregor to overcome Diaz in this weekend’s UFC 202 main event at the T-Mobile Arena.
McGregor will be aiming to exact revenge over Diaz, having been submitted in the second round of their bout at UFC 196 back in March.
Despite losing the first round, Diaz — who had stepped in on less than a fortnight’s notice to replace the injured Rafael dos Anjos — handed McGregor his first taste of defeat since he was beaten by Duffy in a Cage Warriors bout in November 2010.
“In the first fight I felt like Conor was loading up a little bit too much,” Duffy told The42. “Maybe all the pressure got to him a bit. He was taking on Diaz on short notice and people thought it was going to be a landslide. Everyone thought Conor was going to knock him out — myself included.”
The bookmakers still expect McGregor to avenge the only UFC loss of his career, and Duffy — who picked up his third UFC victory last month with a very impressive stoppage of Mitch Clarke — believes McGregor’s status as favourite is justified.
He said: “Diaz has been through the mill and he’s fought the who’s who of the game. He gives everyone a hard time. But I think this time Conor will be more relaxed and he’ll pick him off over five rounds to win by decision.”
My reputation as a coach is at stake in Conor McGregor’s rematch with Nate Diaz
Pat Miletich explains why Conor McGregor is ‘going to get his ass beat by Nate again’
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Conor McGregor Joseph Duffy MMA Nate Diaz PREDICTION UFC UFC 202