Conor McGregor has taken to his official Instagram account to explain why he didn’t stop Nate Diaz during their first fight back at UFC 196.
Having won the Featherweight Championship belt a few months prior, McGregor jumped up two weight classes to fight Diaz at UFC 196 in Las Vegas at welterweight.
The contest ended in defeat for the Irishman in round two by a rear-naked choke hold which forced him to submit.
McGregor had a strong first round, but was troubled in the second by combinations from Diaz which ultimately gave him his first loss in his UFC career.
The fight also cost him the chance of becoming the first UFC fighter in history to hold belts in two divisions at the same time, something he would later go on to achieve, as we all know.
Now taking to Instagram recently to explain why he didn’t finish off Diaz, McGregor explained on his story why it could have been all so different in the first fight.
“I actually chose not to follow through with this kick in this exact moment. The sensation felt horrible and I backed out of following through with it.
“(The) fight would have been stopped no doubt though. I (had) the angle on the leg and had it primed to snap. I bottled it but it felt too nasty. Even for me. Fast forward a few minutes later and I’m on the deck getting strangled. Mad game.
“You’ve got to protect your angles and footing and that’s it.”
The pair would go on to meet five months later in the same city where McGregor would exact his revenge on Diaz, winning via majority decision in a fight that would become the most bought pay-per-view.
That was, of course, up until UFC 229, where McGregor would meet Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sadly for the Irishman, that fight also ended in defeat.
(The kick in question can be seen in the above video at 15:15)
Now retired, McGregor is clearly reminiscing on how it all could have been different. Whether fans believe his words, however, is another matter.