UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor II is etched into the MMA history books as one of the greatest fights of all time, but not everyone will be watching it again.
8-year UFC lightweight vet Jim Miller, who collides with Joe Lauzon at UFC on FOX 21 this Saturday, couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by UFC 202’s main event last week. It was good, but not that good.
Miller told MMA Fighting’s Esther Lin that something seemed off with both Diaz and McGregor on the night.
"I thought it was a very compelling fight, [but] I've seen those guys perform a lot better if I'm being hypercritical," Miller said during a live Facebook interview, per MMAF’s Chuck Mindenhall. "It wasn't the greatest fight in the world in my mind, because Conor got very tired. And Nate, his boxing just looked off. He wasn't striking like he normally strikes, or like he has. If he boxed Conor like he did Michael Johnson, I think the fight is different.
"It was an exciting fight because things were going on, you had all the lead-up but, again, it wasn't their best performances. But yeah, it was a good fight."
Diaz immediately cited injury trouble in the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, but still put on a gutsy performance. McGregor, who walked away with a majority decision win, spent $300,000 on training preparation but, similar to the first fight, seemed to tire in the second round.
Despite both men’s flaws, the two fought in the pocket until the final bell and left the T-Mobile Arena as immortals.
Miller has fought Diaz in the past, losing via brutal guillotine choke in 2012 and is open to fighting McGregor at lightweight if ‘The Notorious’ makes the switch.
"Let's do it, you know?" he said. "It's a step up. As you get into the heavier divisions, even just that 10 pounds, guys start hitting harder. Featherweight and lightweight are very similar weight classes in my opinion. But, that being said, as a featherweight you need to have that speed. Where there are guys at 55, they're a little bit slower but they make it work. As you go down, guys don't hit as hard, but you need to have that cardio to keep the pace up, so it's a little bit different of a dynamic. He has fought as a lightweight in the past, but this is the deep end of the pool. So we'll see how it goes. He's obviously a talented fighter and very capable."
Miller vs. Lauzon will kick off the main card at UFC on FOX: Maia vs. Condit, which takes place Saturday, August 27, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
