If the Stockton Slap came out, it was never going to be good news for McGregor.
The Diaz brothers' signature move is nothing if not notorious. As one individual below says, it's the People's Elbow of MMA. You know it's not going to do any damage physically but to see your opponent duck your big shot, respond with a slap and laugh in your face, is about as mentally demoralising as things can get inside a ring or an Octagon.
For all the unnecessary Muhammad Ali comparisons, McGregor has never been one to showboat inside the cage. He's efficient with his shots, he gets the job done and does his talking afterwards. Although, we may now have to say that he 'was' efficient with his shots. The shots that would have rocked featherweights did nothing to Diaz and yet McGregor kept throwing them.
Diaz was respecting him as an opponent but for all the blood on show, he soon realised that he was going to get his shot and the first slap came out.
Then came the killer punch that rocked McGregor. Diaz probably could have went in for the kill after that but instead he stood back to line up the real killer blow in terms of tearing apart McGregor's aura.
Against Michael Johnson, Diaz apparently said 'I just slapped you, bitch' as he threw his arms out wide. It would come as little surprise if we were to learn there was something similar thrown to the already beaten McGregor in that second exchange.
Unsurprisingly, it went down rather well with those who were waiting to see the dethroning of the king.
We call that the #StocktonSlap @NateDiaz209 you the man! #UFC196
— Tito Ortiz (@titoortiz) March 6, 2016
Watch Nate Diaz "Stockton Slap" Conor McGregor so hard he nearly gets dropped! WOW! https://t.co/1jFbc0NOAO
— shop CrisCyborg.com (@criscyborg) March 7, 2016
I'm about to Stockton slap myself!!!#UFC196
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) March 6, 2016
@natediaz209 got me working my #StocktonSlap . Mad respect for what he did last night. People… https://t.co/BOb49Vwol8
— Josh Thomson (@THEREALPUNK) March 6, 2016
They should put the ole Stockton Slap on the cover of that video game now.
— Brian Campbell (@BCampbell) March 6, 2016
That #StocktonSlap though lol #ufc196 @ufc
— Zoila Frausto (@ZoilaFrausto) March 6, 2016
And just in case that wasn't enough embarrassment, there's been quite a few of these compilation videos doing the rounds today. McGregor's fans might not enjoy it but one way or another, you've got to give Diaz plenty of style points. Even at the pinnacle of his career, he needed to open up some wounds and pour some salt in.
See also: Conor McGregor Gave An Honest Assessment Of What Went Wrong Against Nate Diaz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1aBk14Pfjo&feature=youtu.be
