The reaction to Conor McGregor‘s insane rampage in Brooklyn, during which the Irishman threw a dolly threw the window of a shuttle bus and injured several fighters, was mostly negative. Surprisingly, however, McGregor’s arch rival Nate Diaz initially reacted with a degree of understanding.
In his first reaction to the madness, Diaz suggested that McGregor’s actions were justified, as Khabib Nurmagomedov had cornered McGregor’s friend and training partner Artem Lobov earlier in the week.
He shouldn't have been trying to punk his boy when he was alone, like a bully. Then he expects not to get rolled on fukn rookie..
And then stay on the bus
haha u guys got punked ….— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) April 5, 2018
“[Nurmagomedov] shouldn’t have been trying to punk [McGregor’s] boy when he was alone, like a bully,” Diaz said in his initial reaction to the chaos. “Then he expects not to get rolled on, fukn rookie. And then stays on the bus. Haha u guys got punked.”
Since then, however, Diaz seems to have changed his tune.
Yesterday, if you didn’t hear, was the anniversary of the infamous Strikeforce: Nashville brawl, during which Diaz, his older brother Nick, and a handful of his training partners stormed the cage and started a massive skirmish with Jason “Mayhem” Miller and his team. In Diaz’s opinion, McGregor and his cohorts were trying to replicate this brawl when they went berserk in Brooklyn, but failed because “no one’s for real” anymore.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bhsgy7THOx1/
“This what they were trying to act like they were doing in NYC,” Diaz said in his post. “But no one’s for real in this sport. We’re the last of our kind. It’s a new day and age, ride or die, we started this G shit”
Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz have fought twice before. In their first meeting, Diaz shocked the world by upsetting the Irishman with a second-round choke. In their second fight, McGregor evened the score, defeating Diaz by majority decision. While it feels like a didn’t possibility at the moment, it seems likely that the pair meet for a tie-breaker sometime down the road.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 4/18/2018.