When Conor McGregor fights Nate Diaz at UFC 202 this Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada, he expects to be fighting in enemy territory.
“The Notorious” one appeared as a guest on “The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com ahead of his highly-anticipated 170-pound rematch against the Stockton native and spoke about his belief that this time around, there will be more Diaz fans in the arena than McGregor fans.
“I estimate that I’ll be fighting in enemy territory this time. Usually it’s been home for me in this place, with traveling fans. I’m estimating I’m going into a war zone here. That’s what I’m estimating, that’s what I’ve been preparing for, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
As McGregor continued the discussion, he explained that he has been fighting in Las Vegas his last few times out because it’s been “big business,” but it’s getting close to time to deliver a fight to his home country fans in Ireland.
“I fight all the f*cking time, so it’s getting close for me now that I want to fight back home, that I want to give my fans back home a fight,” McGregor said. “I’ve been kept away from my home for a while. I understand that it’s big business out here, and that’s why we’re here. I’ve got to handle myself too. As much as I want to perform for the fans back home, and I want to have those shows back home and do that, I’ve still got to handle my business out here.
“So I know my countrymen will be supporting me wherever they are, and I know there will be many here in town, and I know there will be even more back home in Ireland and all over the world supporting me. So, I am content with that for now.”
As far as the business side of things, as one would expect, the UFC mega-star is predicting record-breaking numbers for his rematch with Diaz this weekend.
“The ticket sales have been great for it, for a such a big arena at this time of year, the end of summer with everything going on,” McGregor said. “I’m very happy with it. We’re talking record breaking again. You know that. You know the pay-per-view buys will be smashed. I’ve dominated the headlines it seems. I have every game wrapped up. I have the boxing game, I have the wrestling game. I have this game wrapped up for years now. What else can I do?
“This will break all records and I’m very happy with it.”
Check out this week’s episode of “The MMA Hour,” which featured an appearance by Conor McGregor, his coach John Kavanagh, Demian Maia and more, by clicking here.
Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II headlines the UFC 202 pay-per-view event, which takes place this Saturday, August 20th from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Make sure to join us here at MMANews.com this Saturday night for live coverage of the UFC 202 PPV!
