Conor McGregor Engages Nate Diaz In Twitter War

Conor McGregor has taken the fight out of the Octagon into social media, throwing barbs at Nate Diaz who beat the Irishman at UFC 196 on March 5, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor’s Twitter barrage on May 2 was focused around Diaz who handed him his first UFC loss via a second round rear-naked choke in their welterweight non-title matchup.

Conor McGregor has been trying to get himself back in the card he was thrown out of, by challenging the UFC to cut the bull%*#t, and engaging in a Twitter barrage on Monday morning May 2, as a back-and-forth with followers’ tweets.

According to MMA Fighting, UFC president Dana White announced on April 19 over ESPN’s SportsCenter that Conor was pulled from the marquee card because of his refusal to promote the fight in Las Vegas that week. White mentioned a press conference, the filming of a commercial and other marketing spots McGregor reneged on after his surprise tweet earlier about retiring young.

Conor has been ranting through social media ever since, insisting he is the big money fight for UFC 200 on July 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. McGregor has gone on to claim he has the “Mayweather/Pacquiao record primed” to make the card the biggest and most lucrative one in UFC and MMA history combined. Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao reportedly did 4.4 million buys, more than double McGregor’s best, a number the Irishman feels he can beat.

As Conor exchanged tweets with followers on May 2, his focus veered off toward Diaz. McGregor explained why the fight with Diaz went the way it did.

“Conor McGregor ? ?@TheNotoriousMMA

On the floor he was swept and controlled.

When the tank goes, no amount of skill can save you.

You will see.

10:49 AM – 2 May 2016

3,218 3,218 Retweets 8,644 8,644 likes”

Then Conor dug in deeper, criticizing his opponent’s response to a post-fight interview. McGregor posted this follow-up tweet.

“Conor McGregor ? ?@TheNotoriousMMA

He has made more excuses for the first 8 minutes of our fight than I have made for the last 2 minutes of our fight. https://twitter.com/markjeffrey01/status/727155749227515904 …

11:23 AM – 2 May 2016

4,368 4,368 Retweets 10,039 10,039 likes”

Conor’s dialogue with followers heated up as he panned Diaz. The next McGregor tweet carried a patronizing flavor.

“Conor McGregor ? ?@TheNotoriousMMA

I love it! Adapt and overcome.

I am coming in light and lean for my rematch and I will school this boy to the bell. https://twitter.com/frontrowbrian/status/727053481379422208 …

10:42 AM – 2 May 2016

6,939 6,939 Retweets 12,499 12,499 likes”

Out of the blue, Nate Diaz slammed back his rebuttal. It had the brevity of a sucker punch.

“Nathan Diaz ? ?@NateDiaz209

#whitebelt

4:59 PM – 2 May 2016

2,572 2,572 Retweets 4,484 4,484 likes”

Nate Diaz has gotten himself on record as relegating Conor McGregor’s ability as a fighter to “white belt” status.

According to Bleacher Report, the UFC needed to ensure that after pulling Conor McGregor from the card, UFC 200 would still be the big-draw pay-per-view for 2016. The company has hyped up a rematch between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. A grudge fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz would have to wait, allowing for a buildup in animosity, shades of Mayweather versus Pacquiao.

Resisting public pressure to get the McGregor-Diaz showdown back on as originally planned, UFC president Dana White stood his ground about barring Conor McGregor from the July card. According to Yahoo! Sports, White issued the following statement on April 26.

“Conor’s his own guy, he’s going to do what he’s going to do but he’s not fighting on [UFC] 200. Listen, he’ll fight on 201, 202, 203, whatever, I don’t know when, but we’ll get it figured out.”

[Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images]