It’s said you love the one you hate. When bitterest rivals Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor went toe-to-toe twice inside the octagon, they may have developed a kind of hate for one another, but the beauty of fighting is – no matter how much you dislike your foe – in the end, you WILL respect him. This is why Diaz defends McGregor now for unfair criticism he has been getting from the boxing world.
Diaz Defends McGregor
According to TMZ, Nate Diaz thinks that the boxers criticizing Conor McGregor are clowns.
He talked about the one-dimensional nature of boxing fights and questioned what these boxers would be saying if Mayweather was stepping into an octagon to face McGregor in an MMA fight.
He came to the aid of his fellow UFC star by highlighting how tough MMA fighters are. That is a valid point. It is one thing to examine the skills of the fighters and making calculated predictions about the fight. It’s another to count a fighter out completely and saying that he will get embarrassed in the ring. Especially someone who has been trained and tested to survive brutal punishments.
No one should be saying that Conor will get embarrassed, especially when Conor is in the business of ‘real fighting’.
Fellow Fighter, not Opponent
Surprisingly, Diaz had nothing to say about the possibility of another matchup against McGregor. The rumblings of their possible 3rd meeting have been heard throughout the world of UFC.
This was purely a fellow MMA fighter defending another. A year ago the phrase Diaz defends McGregor wouldn’t have been in anyone’s thoughts.
Nate also had some choice words for Paulie Malignaggi and told him ‘don’t even speak’.
It is clear that Nate Diaz is backing McGregor against Mayweather in the Aug 26 bout. This is in contrast to the rumors that were circling around last month about him walking out with Mayweather. At the time he said that it will depend on what goes in the coming months. Clearly, he has made his decision now.
It will be interesting to see what the mood will be like when, or if, these two meet in a fight again.
All being said it is truly heartwarming to see two of the sports’ biggest rivals come together in aid of one another.
