We knew that Nate Diaz had some statistical advantages over Conor McGregor going into their match-up at UFC 196.
Diaz had a three-inch height advantage and a two-inch reach advantage.
We also knew that there was likely a weight disparity between the two, just not how much.
According to former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen, once rehydrated after the weigh-in, Diaz went to sleep at 183 lbs. He stepped into the octagon at approximately 181 lbs.
For the fight, McGregor weighed in a 168 lbs while Diaz tipped the scales at 169 lbs.
Sonnen was speaking on his 'You're Welcome!' podcast.
You can’t go up twenty-three pounds in less than three months and not be tired. You just can’t do it. Nate went to bed the night before the fight at 183-pounds. He probably got into the cage at 181-pounds. Conor probably came into the ring at 166-pounds. So you’re looking at about fourteen to fifteen pounds right there. That matters at the size.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour last week, John Kavanagh expressed his surprise with how fatigued McGregor looked during the fight. Obviously this is something which Sonnen feels was caused by the swift jump in weight-class.
Sonnen also believes that despite the loss, McGregor's stock has risen.
It was really quite incredible. I thought Conor McGregor, I thought his stock went up. He got beat. He got beat up. And he should have. He should have. He went up two weight classes. Ok he’s the 145 pound champ and skips 155 and moves all the way up to 170. Covers a three weight spread right there. That just doesn’t happen. Nobody has even attempted it. Let alone done it successfully. He was successful for a big portion of that fight. Don’t forget that. He was successful for a while.
via BJPenn.com
