Clearly at this point no one can doubt the performance of Connor McGregor or for that matter the performance of Nate Diaz. This was a fantastic fight and is a clear indicator why boxing in the U.S. is on the decline and MMA continues to rise.
Initially, when McGregor agreed to go up weight classes against a much bigger fighter I had little hope for him in winning but in their first matchup McGregor despite losing to a choke proved in the previous several minutes he was the real deal and was there to compete.
Being the smaller fighter my expectation was for him to have a good early on performance and win the early rounds and end up being gassed and knocked out. The larger Diaz being natural at that weight would take shots and outlast him. McGregor was with more confidence than power and stamina in the first fight. Over time his shots had less zip on them and Diaz despite being cut up was able to withstand the shots.
The second fight was nothing short of amazing. Watch this fight if you can. McGregor clearly worked on his stamina and his power sending Diaz to the canvas more than one but with incredible recovery powers and non stop fight Diaz pulled himself up bloody and determined to press on. McGregor not having the best defense and relying largely on his reflexes took many shots. You could easily envision the first outcome repeating itself.
The score cards were incredibly close but I had McGregor winning more conclusively.
A rematch in the future I could really see the more talented McGregor winning again because he really has come into his own at this weight class and having better cardio and power should be expected. If there is a third fight I would recommend placing bets on McGregor.
Now on the issue of Mayweather vs McGregor, this is a money issue. Either fighting in the others domain makes little to no sense and would look like a blowout. There is no reason for this happening unless years of training were banked and even then its not competitive and just a money grab. McGregor can't box and Mayweather can't possibly have a ground game.
Of course it was happening...
~ @jeffjaygo ~