Why McGregor puts everything on one card – while Diaz does not.
It’s not often in the UFC that a reigning champion accepts a non-title fight. In fact, the last such occurrence was around three-and-a-half years ago, when the UFC installed Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar as the last-minute main event of UFC 153 in Brazil. And this makes sense, does it not? A strap holder puts a whole lot on the line when fighting outside of his weight class for nothing more than a paycheck. A loss, of course, could mean a drop in stock within the UFC and among the fans. Or the fight could result in an injury that would put the champ on the shelf for an extended period of time.
But, as Conor McGregor is not hesitant to remind us, his paychecks are massive. For him, the short-term economic benefits outweigh the long-term career risks. “I’m motivated by movement and money, and the movement of money,” Conor waxed poetic at a promotional press conference with Nate Diaz on February 25. Or, more likely, the UFC featherweight champion simply does not believe that the risks are real. Most observers, especially those who watched Mr. Diaz dismantle Michael Johnson at UFC ON FOX 17, might beg to differ.
Could a loss to a short-notice Nate Diaz be disastrous for Conor McGregor? If disastrous means falling precipitously from his unprecedented perch atop the sport, then the answer is yes.
First, it would be all but impossible to argue that the Irishman deserves an immediate lightweight title shot coming off a loss to Diaz. And, a superfight at welterweight with Robbie Lawler would surely be out of the question. So McGregor would be relegated back to featherweight, where he would have to defend his belt against Frankie Edgar or Jose Aldo or Max Holloway, each of those match-ups ostensibly less lucrative and interesting than a tilt with Rafael Dos Anjos.
Or, Conor would find himself battling through a crowded 155-pound field featuring the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone, Eddie Alvarez, and Tony Ferguson. Perhaps, none of those fights, either, would feature anywhere near the same kind of payoff that a McGregor-RDA or McGregor-Lawler scrap would merit. Furthermore, if Conor can lose to Diaz, then there is reason to believe that every other top-five lightweight also poses a grim threat.
Nate Diaz’s position in this match-up, it seems, is a good deal prettier. Win or lose, he’s surely cashing his largest UFC check, by far. McGregor has repeatedly insisted that this fight is making Diaz a millionaire. Moreover, a loss, especially a competitive one, should not have a tremendous impact on Nate’s career. He’ll remain a top-ten lightweight, within striking distance of a title fight. A win, on the other hand, could mean that he leapfrogs Ferguson, Pettis, Khabib, and Alvarez and becomes Dos Anjos’ next challenger. That would result in back-to-back monetary windfalls for the younger Diaz and a real opportunity to bring the first UFC gold back to Stockton, CA.
Text: Daniel Patinkin
Foto: Mazdak Cavian
