Conor McGregor’s win against Nate Diaz at UFC 202 demonstrates the most important tool a fighter can possess – the ability to learn from his mistakes and adapt his skillset.

Any good fighter can win a favorable style matchup. Conor McGregor is always going to quickly dust the kind of fighter that backs himself to the cage, overwhelmed by the pressure. McGregor will have no trouble hitting his back-stepping left on the fighter looking to catch him with a lunging straight. His UFC 202 opponent, Nate Diaz, however, is not a favorable style matchup for Conor McGregor.

McGregor’s game is designed to take advantage of orthodox fighters, tricking them into stepping outside his lead foot so he can land a straight across the plane of their body. Diaz’s southpaw stance nixes that, putting his lead shoulder in the way and closing the direct route to the chin found in an orthodox/southpaw engagement.

With the reach disadvantage, the elimination of his back-stepping straight counter, and McGregor’s utter lack of a lead hand, he was forced to rapidly close distance in order to land his left hand. Of course, explosively leaping in and out of range is only sustainable for so long, and Diaz’s pace quickly wilted McGregor.

The first fight showed that McGregor didn’t have the tools to consistently beat Diaz. His refusal to jab put him at a serious disadvantage, forcing him to leap in and out with the straight. He’d never shown the round kicks that have troubled Diaz in the past. Indeed, he didn’t have the tools to beat Diaz consistently, and that is why this win reflects so well on him. McGregor went back to the drawing board and developed those tools.

McGregor came out with an improved version of the gameplan Josh Thompson used against Nate Diaz. He set himself up just outside of Diaz’s reach, avoided the pocket at all costs, and picked away with leg kicks. By now everyone knows that the bladed stance the Diaz brothers adopt leave them open to outside leg kicks. Not only does a bladed stance make it more difficult to turn the shin into the kick to check, but it also exposes the back of the leg. Any kick landed with a modicum of force will cause the knee to bend and break the fighter’s balance. McGregor would punt Diaz’s leg out as he circled at range and use them to break his balance as he came forward, interrupting his attack.

In their first fight, Diaz was content to sit at range and force McGregor to cover the distance. This time, the leg kicks gave McGregor the initiative and forced Diaz to answer them. Diaz couldn’t afford to stay on the outside and eat leg kicks constantly, so he had to press forward into the pocket, effectively covering the distance for McGregor. While Thompson would occasionally throw a few flurries to get Diaz off him and escape the pocket, McGregor has the skill in his hands to execute precise counters.

McGregor intentionally set a distance that kept his head just out of Diaz’s reach. When Diaz tried to cover it, he would give away his intentions by lunging in and McGregor would slip and counter.

Ironically, this lead Diaz into the same pitfall McGregor himself fell into during their first fight. This time it was Diaz making the drastic in-and-out movements and falling prey to counters. Upon seeing McGregor so far away from him, Diaz would lunge in and try to hit him with the first strike. Diaz’s large, committed steps took him out of position to defend counters and continue with follow-up punches.

Taking short steps into range behind a jab allows you to measure the distance and keep yourself in position to fire back. The first punch need not land, but serves to move you into range and provoke a reaction from the opponent. Because McGregor was looking to slip and counter, feinting the jab and advancing behind non-committal punches would’ve helped Diaz throw off his timing and exploit his reactions. This is the lesson Duane Ludwig attempted to impart onto TJ Dillashaw as he urged him to feel his way in against Dominick Cruz and to just touch him.

Instead, Diaz’s jab became one-note. Attempting to land jabs from kicking range left Diaz without the ability to manipulate rhythm and disguise his jab behind the milling and feinting that usually make it so effective.

Most of Diaz’s success at range came as he advanced subtly and kept his feet under him while throwing. This allowed him to bait McGregor’s counters and slips and take advantage of them. McGregor is usually going to slip the first punch thrown at him, but his defense falters when his opponent is still there to throw the second, third, and fourth.

Given that McGregor’s lack of a lead hand was a big point of criticism in the first fight with Diaz, it’s no coincidence that he came into the rematch with a vastly improved jab. While Diaz was often trying to lunge in and compromising his positioning to land jabs, McGregor demonstrated why the jab need not land to be effective. McGregor wasn’t spearing Diaz with a ramrod jab, but he used it to distract Diaz and set up the straight, to control distance and limit Diaz’s ability to freely advance, and to limit his own volume and allow himself to keep his feet underneath him as he moved forward.

Although the bladed stance allows for faster linear movement, it compromises a fighter’s ability to move laterally. In a more square stance, it’s easy to step out with the lead leg and pivot around a singular point on the ground. But with the lead foot already turned in and the rear foot directly behind it, there isn’t as much room to maneuver. Pivoting in a bladed stance is more difficult and it takes longer to line up a circling opponent.

McGregor exploited this beautifully. He alternated between backing Diaz up to the cage, baiting him to step forward into a counter, and moving around at range, constantly pivoting and circling. His pivots and sidesteps prevented Diaz from setting his feet and sitting down on a hard shot, forcing him to turn to keep McGregor in his crosshairs. Diaz’s turns came labored and slow as a result of his bladed stance, and McGregor would crack him with his feet out of position as he turned.

While the distance control and lead hand of McGregor allowed him to limit his volume and maintain his cardio, his commitment to punching the body no doubt helped drag Diaz down to his level. He would hit the body to draw the hands down and open up shots to the head, and vice-versa.

Diaz had the advantage in the clinch, but McGregor had clearly improved his clinch game in preparation for this fight. Diaz caught McGregor on one leg mid-kick late in the second and started swarming, but McGregor defended well. He overhooks Diaz’s right arm and controls the left bicep while digging his forehead into Diaz’s face. Sensing McGregor about to angle off, Diaz straightens up and moves back to the center of McGregor’s body, before dropping his level and wedging his head in under McGregor’s. Diaz tees off with punches, but McGregor keeps his arms tight to his body and manages to deflect some before ducking a hook and angling out with a counter. Diaz presses back into him and lands a straight, but McGregor is able to catch his arm across his body and pull him into a couple knees. Diaz got the better of the clinch with his body-head flurries, but McGregor was competitive. He landed some fantastic angling elbows as he broke the clinch.

After Diaz had been stung by counters repeatedly, he started coming in behind a high guard and using catch-and-pitch counters. He would wait for McGregor to throw at him before parrying or deflecting the blow with his arms and firing back.

Late in the third round, Diaz disguised a 1-2 behind a feinted front kick and pressed forward with another 1-2 that clipped McGregor. He fell into the clinch and dug his forehead into McGregor’s face as he did his best imitation of his brother, Nick Diaz. Nate spent the last forty seconds swarming McGregor and nearly finishing him with seamless body-head combinations.

After that scare, McGregor spent the fourth round playing keep-away. He speared Diaz’s body with a couple of front kicks and doubled down on his commitment to turning Diaz and avoiding the pocket. Diaz managed to find the clinch a few times, but McGregor would break with a strike at every opportunity. McGregor failed to keep up his movement in the fifth round and fell into the clinch, where Diaz was able to grind out the round. Unfortunately for him, McGregor was already up two rounds on two judges’ scorecards and McGregor came away with the win.

Before this fight, McGregor had already demonstrated the ability to adopt various styles. From the elusive outfighter that walked Marcus Brimage onto his punches, to the swarming pressure fighter that overwhelmed Chad Mendes. He made excellent use of both archetypes against Diaz, blending them seamlessly and mixing up his attack.

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What he hadn’t demonstrated, however, was the ability to develop entirely new skills in such a short amount of time. It’s easy to envisage a world in which McGregor tried to fight Diaz harder, rather than smarter. Or a world in which he refined his already existing skillset and adapted it to suit Nate Diaz, but fell short. Instead, McGregor recognized the tools he would need to beat Diaz, tools that he hadn’t shown previously. He acquired them in his training camp, molded them to fit Diaz’s tendencies, and applied them brilliantly over 5 rounds of war.

The rematch made it clear that McGregor’s loss to Diaz made him a better fighter. It’s often said that the true test of greatness is not staying on top, but how one picks himself up when he falls, and I couldn’t imagine a better or more heartening response from McGregor. McGregor has triumphed over everyone he’s fought since coming to the UFC, but he’s never demonstrated greatness the way he did at UFC 202.