CONOR MCGREGOR is as confident as ever and not backing away from his prediction of a knockout of Nate Diaz going into their rematch Saturday at UFC 202.
McGregor (19-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC), who was submitted in the second round by Diaz (19-10 MMA, 14-8 UFC) in their first meeting at UFC 196 in March, made his final media appearance before fight night at today’s UFC 202 open workouts in Las Vegas.
Since beating “The Notorious” more than five months ago, Diaz has catapulted into the spotlight as a top star for the UFC. McGregor claims all of that will be no more after the is weekend’s pay-per-view headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“That fairytale he’s having is about to come to an end,” McGregor said. “So all his little fans thinking he’s invincible and that he can’t be knocked out – he can be knocked out and he will be knocked out.”
McGregor was extra fired up at open workouts roughly 24 hours after the memorable UFC 202 pre-fight news conference which ended with a chaotic scene of him throwing bottles back and forth with Diaz and his team.
Although it was an unprofessional scene UFC President Dana White said could bring suspensions and fines to all parties involved, it no doubt raised the level of attention surrounding the rematch with just a few days to go.
McGregor said he doesn’t care about any of that, though. He simply wants UFC 202 to arrive so he can get in the octagon with Diaz for a second time and avenge the only loss of his UFC career.
“(Expletive) the Diaz brothers – (expletive) those cockroaches,” McGregor said. “It’s a big fight, it always was. We came here ready for war, not to throw little bitch bottles and run. We’re here ready to fight, so let’s go.”
According to McGregor, the rematch with Diaz is not about anything other than personal revenge. While a second consecutive loss would be harmful to the brand of the UFC featherweight champion, who will again fight Diaz at welterweight, he said no outcome would be harmful to his legacy in the sport.
“My legacy is set in stone,” McGregor said. “My legacy was set in stone when Jose (Aldo) crumbled in 13 seconds (at UFC 194). This is just something else outside of this. This is just a fight. I’m happy with that because that’s what I came here for. I came here for a straight fight.”
After giving some final thoughts on the matchup, McGregor sent one final message to Diaz and his team (while channeling Tupac) before tossing the microphone away and walking off stage.
“Like I said (expletive) Team Diaz,” McGregor said. “And if you’re down with Team Diaz, then (expletive) you too.”
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