The UFC 202 press conference was held August 17, in Las Vegas. The presser went smoothly for the first few minutes. Reporters asked Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Glover Teixeira, and Nate Diaz routine questions, all of which were answered cordially, professionally, and without incident. Then Conor McGregor showed up, and all hell broke loose.
After McGregor fielded a question from Ariel Helwani regarding his tardiness (McGregor was 15 mins. late), ESPN’s Brett Okamoto asked Diaz, “Dana has said that Conor would return to 145, win or lose. Do you have any reaction to that, based on some of your previous comments?
Chaos Erupts Between McGregor and Diaz at UFC 202 Press Conference
Diaz replied, “They’re trying to make an escape route.”
Okamoto then turned his attention to McGregor, asking him, “Would you feel any obligation to give him a rematch, relatively quickly, based on the fact that you were able to get one with him right away?”
McGregor replied, “The way it all panned out, I’ve got other business to handle after this fight. But make no mistake, there will be a trilogy fight down the line. It won’t be straight away, but we will do it three times, 100%.” This must not have sat too well with Diaz, because when the cameras panned out, his chair was empty. Shortly after, Diaz can be heard off camera saying, “F*** your whole team. How about that?”
McGregor replied, “F*** your whole team. Li’l crackhead ese’s.” Another camera angle showed Diaz walking out, throwing McGregor the double middle fingers, and talking undiscernable smack in true Diaz fashion.
Video & Pics: McGregor Arrives Late, Has Water Bottle-Flinging Fracas with Diaz https://t.co/6s6FKe2R9T @DvMandel pic.twitter.com/45YWouOWvM
— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) August 17, 2016
McGregor, however, still had the mic. “Shut your f***ing mouth, you little nothing. You little nothing. Get the f*** out of here! Get the f*** out of here!” At that point, the entire Diaz entourage can be seen throwing McGregor the double birds, and Diaz launched a water bottle at the stage. McGregor then leaped out of his chair, grabbed his own water bottle, and launched it at Diaz. He then returned to his seat to grab a few more and launched them at the Diaz brothers. All the while, Dana White can be heard panicking —literally sounding like a father who has lost control of his three-year-old— “Conor! Don’t throw that… Conor!” McGregor, of course, paid no attention and continued launching projectiles at the Diaz crew until White had to abruptly call an end to the madness.
