Conor McGregor is blown away by the similarities between the Amanda Nunes vs. Julianna Pena rivalry and his own with Nate Diaz.
McGregor, a former UFC two-division champion like Nunes, couldn’t help but marvel at the result of Saturday night’s UFC 277 main event after Nunes defeated Peña in a dominant unanimous decision to not only avenge her loss last December, but also to re-claim her status as a two-division champ.
McGregor believes the Nunes-Peña series looks very much like his against Diaz.
“It’s mad to me the similarities of last night’s ladies bantamweight world title fight rematch to mine and Diaz’s fights,” McGregor said on Twitter audio. “No. 1, the highly touted, the GOAT of the sport, me and Amanda Nunes – sheer toughness, willingness to fight, but caught off guard.
“Took a couple of shots, gives a couple of shots, eats a couple of shots, but then the tide turns (and) gets choked. Now the return of the rematch, confidence on the other side, tenacity, toughness, all that is still there. More focused work on Amanda Nunes’ side …
“At the end of the original bout (with Diaz), ‘I’m not surprised motherf*ckers.’ And then again, ‘I’m not surprised motherf*ckers.’ Julianna said it.
“And then the (Nunes-Peña rematch) goes the exact same way in the second fight (as mine with Diaz). Dropped multiple times, just better prepared, cracks with the shots, gets dropped multiple times, (but) the toughness is still there, she’s still on Amanda’s face, (Diaz) still on my face. Some fights are iconic mixed martial arts bouts. Amanda is a double champ, I’m double champ. I’m not surprised, I’m not surprised. I don’t know. It’s a mad scene.”
The holy goat 🐐 pic.twitter.com/S5RsFY75o6
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) July 31, 2022
Just like Nunes and Peña, both McGregor and Diaz are 1-1 in their two-fight series.
Diaz beat McGregor in their first meeting, putting him away with a rear-naked choke at UFC 196 in March 2016. It was a big upset. The same happened in Nunes’ first meeting with Peña. She was submitted by “The Venezuelan Vixen” in the second round in a massive shock to the MMA world
In their rematches, McGregor and Nunes would both go on to decisions. McGregor outpointed Diaz in a majority decision, and Nunes dominating in a unanimous reading. Similar outcomes, but with the only difference that Nunes’ fights were for gold, and she was undoubtedly more dominant than McGregor was in his rematch.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 277.
