UFC 202: Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz discuss chaotic press conference

The bad blood between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz boiled over at the final press conference Wednesday before their rematch at UFC 202, as expletives, middle fingers and water bottles flew during a bizarre scene at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Once the dust settled (and the water dried), both sides gave their respective takes on what happened.

Diaz appeared on “UFC Tonight” and made it clear that the reason he walked out was because McGregor was nearly a half-hour late to the press conference. Diaz took it as a sign of disrespect, which prompted him to give his UFC 202 opponent the middle-finger salute.

“Like I said, that guy [McGregor] walks in like he was the show,” Diaz said. “But I thought the show was over, so I left the show.”

As Diaz was walking out, he (along with his team) exchanged words from a distance with McGregor before a water bottle was thrown at the UFC featherweight champion. Things went downhill from there as McGregor launched multiple bottles and energy drinks toward Diaz and his team.

“I just saw bottles being thrown. I was like, all right, [expletive] that, you want to try throwing bottles? I’ll throw cans,” McGregor told the LA Times shortly after the fracas.

“But it was all in self-defense,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “I was scared for my life.”

The video found McGregor in a much more serious disposition than he had been in the build to the fight. His eagerness to entertain is gone, exchanged for a demeanor that’s focused squarely on the task at hand.

“They walked out shouting, talking,” McGregor said. “But what was it? We’re here ready to fight. We’re ready for war. So, let’s bring it.”

As for Diaz, he seems to have already put the incident behind him and shares the same sentiment as McGregor.

“It’s the same guy versus the same guy, it’s whatever, I don’t care,” Diaz said.

But the one thing he does appear to care about is his line of thinking that suggests that the UFC is hoping that he doesn’t win the rematch. It’s something that he’s expressed before and it appears he’s doubling down on the notion as the fight draws near.

“I’m too real for this whole game, and they can’t have a guy like me winning because look at what’s happening,” Diaz said. “I get paid finally, I’ve been stuck in contracts for years, and then they sell the UFC. It’s changing baby, and it’s because of what’s going on here. And if people don’t recognize that, they’re tripping. And the same thing, that’s why they threw me right back in there, they want to weed me out and get me out of here before it gets too big.”

But, in true Diaz fashion, he is looking to ruin the UFC’s plans to push him aside.

“It’s already an unstoppable force that’s going at a high pace, so the game is in trouble with someone like me winning,” Diaz said. “So that’s why. They know me and they know that. They hope I don’t win.”