Conor McGregor earns redemption versus Nate Diaz - but duty calls before a decider

Conor McGregor’s win at UFC 202 ended a testing six months for the company’s franchise player, writes Liam Happe - but it appears a ‘homecoming’ of sorts could come before he and Nate Diaz decide their series once and for all.

“Surprise, surprise mother****ers - the king is back!”

Conor McGregor’s return to winning ways was followed by a textbook Conor declaration moments afterwards in the Octagon. But as much as it smacked of the usual attention-grabbing style which makes McGregor stand out, you could see the relief escaping his mouth along with the colourful words.

McGregor brought five months of drama to a satisfying end in Las Vegas at UFC 202, winning his rematch versus Diaz via majority decision after being surprisingly submitted by the California fighter in March. Avenging his first loss in almost six years was just the tip of the iceberg.

Their first bout at UFC 196 was originally designed to be the Irishman’s bid to become the first ever two-weight champion, with a bid to add the lightweight crown to his featherweight title. But when Rafael dos Anjos broke his foot, the Diaz bout was scrambled together at welterweight and the seemingly-unstoppable McGregor had a new mountain to climb.

At the time, many assumed the extra step up at such short notice was his undoing. It would soon transpire that Conor blamed something else.

Issuing what appeared to be a ‘retirement’ on Twitter, McGregor was in the midst of a spat with UFC boss Dana White over the sheer volume of media and PR obligations which followed his rise up the company’s charts both as a performer and a personality. He was paid to fight, argued Conor, not sit on dozens of talk show sofas and waste valuable training time being whisked around the globe for photo ops.

When the two resolved their differences, McGregor’s featherweight reign would again take a back seat. He was hell-bent on proving that he could beat Diaz this time around.

He did just that in a brutal and exciting bout which fans across the globe loved. It also extended his record streak of taking home fight night bonuses (every UFC card involves a bonus being awarded to fighters for fight of the night, knockout of the night and so on), as both McGregor-Diaz encounters earned fight of the night honours and took Conor to seven straight accolades as well as eight in nine.

[FIGHT REPORT: MCGREGOR VS DIAZ II]

As expected, the brash and often volatile words between the two men before their rematch made way for more respectful reflections and talk of a decider.

“I came to this fight worse off than last time,” Diaz said. “I didn’t get to train. I had injuries. I’m not making excuses, but you should have finished me off. I’m ready for [No. 3]. I gave you [No. 2].”

“All I know is that it’s 1-1,” McGregor said. “I came up to 170 [pounds] to test the bigger man, face adversity. I want the trilogy, but it’s on my terms. Come back to 155 [pounds]. Let’s do it.”

Given McGregor’s success throughout his career at both feather and light - not to mention that desire to become a double champ - it’s not surprising he would want a third fight with Diaz this time to be at lightweight and help him build back towards that goal.

However, Dana White has been clear about one thing: next up for Conor is a defence of the title he spectacularly snatched from Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds in December, or else he’ll be forfeiting.

That leads many to believe he’ll be back in the Octagon as early as November 12, when UFC finally debuts in New York. And if you thought Dublin crowds and Conor’s formidable travelling contingent made a racket for his fights, NYC’s Irish contingent would be right up there at UFC 205 if McGregor does indeed defend his belt at Madison Square Garden.

That didn’t stop McGregor from concluding the press conference in the same fashion he began his interview straight after the fight, insisting the ball is very much in his court.

“I don’t think they’re gonna [strip me of the title],” he said. “I mean, how can they?

“If they’re gonna do that–if they want to give my belt to the guy I KO’d in 13-seconds, and bury that division in the prelims or the Fight Pass stuff, cause that’s what they’re gonna do.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about. I’m in a beautiful position right now, that was built through hard work and I’m going to capitalize on that.

“There is a lot in the pipeline. Sh** is about to hit the fan I feel. So we’ll see.”