Conor McGregor might be one of the most legendary trash talkers in the history of combat sports but he’s more than capable of paying respect when its due.
The latest example of this came from an interesting Instagram post where McGregor was showing off some of his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training with a caption below the photo that read “controlling the human head”.
Now McGregor gets all sorts of comments whenever he posts anything on social media and rarely does he ever respond but that wasn’t the case with this particular set of photos where a Nate Diaz fan reminded him of their first encounter from UFC 196 in 2016.
Diaz submitted McGregor in the second round with a rear naked choke, which still stands as the only defeat on the Irishman’s record since joining the UFC roster. McGregor later avenged that loss with a hard fought five round majority decision to defeat Diaz five months later at UFC 202.
Still, McGregor is often reminded of that first fight and how Diaz controlled his head that night, but rather than lash out at the fan’s comment, the reigning UFC lightweight champion actually paid respect to his former opponent.
“A truly beautiful position. The most intense position to be in under the lights of the entire world. Try and imagine what it would feel like. Amazing. Respect to Nate always and our trilogy will be special when we do it 100-percent,” McGregor wrote.
“There is no rush Nate Diaz, our trilogy will show true to us for what we are. Warriors.”
There’s little doubt that the UFC will eventually match up McGregor against Diaz for a third time, especially considering the monstrous pay-per-view numbers the first two fights produced.
It’s also very likely that once that fight is made official, McGregor and Diaz will amp up the trash talk to unprecedented levels in anticipation of meeting in the Octagon.
Still, McGregor opted for a much friendlier route with this particular post as he paid credit to Diaz for a job well done while looking forward to settling the score once and for all when they finally meet for a third time.
Who will win the eventual trilogy fight between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
