Conor McGregor is confident that in his rematch against Nate Diaz in the UFC 202, he will redeem himself and win the bout. This is because he said he has recognized his mistakes that led to his defeat in the UFC 196.
The Irish mixed martial artist said during his coach John Kavanagh's "Win or Learn" book tour that one factor that led to his loss to Diaz was his diet.
McGregor said that his body was "in shock" as he tried to bulk up to 170 lb shortly after he fought in the lightweight division against Rafael dos Anjos.
"Looking back it wasn't the best idea and it bit me in the ass. I was a little heavy around the midsection and I was over trained, my diet wasn't great and it came back and bit me in the ass," he said, via Mirror UK.
"So as the coach says 'you win or you learn' and I learned. This time, I'm staying on my nutrition and I'm very fight orientated and I'm not swinging on gymnastic rings too much anymore," he went on to say.
For McGregor vs. Diaz 2, the Irishman also brought in the perfect sparring partners to prepare him for a tussle with a "tall lanky" fighter like Diaz.
McGregor is training with renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and black-belter Dillon Danis as well as several Olympic boxers. On top of that, he also pays close attention to his diet and conditioning.
"I'm feeling very confident in myself that I'll go in and I'll toy with this man," McGregor declared, predicting the outcome of his rematch with Diaz.
Although the loss definitely stings, especially because he believes he was close to beating Diaz, he used this to prepare and be the one who dominates the rematch.
"I think there's a lot of stuff I can improve upon next time and I'm going in there confident I will get this rematch back," McGregor declared.
McGregor vs. Diaz 2 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena on August 20.
