Conor McGregor experienced his first loss in the Octagon at UFC 196, but has changed the way he’s preparing for their rematch at UFC 200 and is confident that not only will he win, but he expects to ‘toy’ with Nate Diaz this time out:
“I’m feeling very confident in myself and I’m going to toy with this man,” McGregor said. “For seven or eight minutes of the last fight, I was going to win but that fade away left hand he caught with – my senses were still there and it was almost like a fatigue thing.
“My balance wasn’t gone and I always look back now and I question what would have just happened if I weathered the storm? He was one or two shots from being done I feel.
“When that left hand hit he got this burst of energy, you could see it in his corner they went insane, they acted like they’d just won the lotto,” McGregor joked. “I took a couple more shots, I shot and then ended up in a guillotine and it was just all downhill from there.
“I wonder what would’ve happened if I just kept circling and took the smacks and survived? Eventually, all the energy he gained from that left-hand shot would’ve dipped again and then round three would’ve begun.
“I think there’s a lot of stuff I can improve upon next time and I’m going in there confident I will get this rematch back.”
