Looking ahead to UFC 202: Conor’s comeback or a win double for Diaz?

THE countdown to UFC 202 is officially on, and the big question on everyone’s lips is can Conor McGregor turn the tables on Nate Diaz and walk away with the win on August 20?

All common sense suggests the fight should go Diaz’s way again. He went into their first fight at UFC 196, took McGregor’s best shots, rocked him, then submitted him. It was a decisive win after a wild start.

But the biggest reason for believing history will repeat itself is the fact that Diaz had virtually no training camp. His coach Richard Perez recently said Diaz had just eight days’ preparation ahead of the bout.

McGregor, of course, had the benefit of a full training camp, though the opponent and weight class changed at the 11th hour.

But things will be markedly different in the rematch.

For starters, Diaz will be coming off a full training camp, while McGregor has admitted he’s tailoring his preparations specifically for Diaz.

That’s particularly interesting, as McGregor and his SBG teammates have previously been very vocal about the fact that they don’t train for specific opponents.

But that loss to Diaz – and their belief that Diaz won’t pull out of the rematch – has clearly changed that.

So now we head towards Las Vegas and arguably the most eagerly-anticipated rematch in UFC history as MMA’s biggest star looks to exact revenge against an opponent who’ll come into the bout significantly better prepared than he did the first time around.

As I say, all common sense points to a Diaz win, but you just can’t rule McGregor out.

The fact that he wanted this rematch under the same conditions as before, at welterweight, shows just how important it is for the Dubliner to prove himself once again.

He’ll be roared on by a significant Irish contingent once again, and he’s also fired by the importance of this fight to his career. Forget his title fights with Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo, this is the biggest fight of his career.

We often don’t see the best from fighters until their back is against the wall. So on August 20 we might just see the best Conor McGregor yet.

But will it be enough against a fully-trained Nate Diaz who’s already beaten him inside the distance after no training camp?

The sensible part of me says it’ll be another win for Nate Diaz – rematches often go the same way as the first bout – but 2016 has been a year of upsets.

Seven world champions have been dethroned this year and against Luke Rockhold Brit Michael Bisping proved that you can come back from a damaging submission loss to exact revenge in dramatic, and decisive, fashion.

If McGregor can replicate Bisping’s successful revenge mission we could well be talking about one of the most dramatic fights in recent memory.

This rematch is going to make for fascinating viewing.

I’ll be in Las Vegas next week to bring you video blogs, Facebook Live updates and Instagram Stories throughout UFC 202 fight week.

For the latest updates, news and behind-the-scenes coverage on social media, follow me on:

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/simonhead
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/simonheadsport
• Facebook: http://fb.com/ufcsunsport