Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor was (expletive) done, shouldn't get flak for tapping at UFC 196

Celtic Fan · Mar 16, 2016

So Holly Holm has been getting praise for not tapping and taking a nap in her title fight loss and Connor has been getting flak for tapping out an 'quitting' but Nate Diaz dropped this wisdom in Connor's defense (in a typical Diaz way of course)

UFC President Dana White called Holm a “gangster” for going out on her shield and not tapping to the choke. Others have criticized McGregor, the UFC featherweight champ who moved to welterweight to face Diaz, for tapping too quickly, or even tapping at all.

Diaz said he doesn’t see it that way, though. The situations Holm and McGregor found themselves in were vastly, he says, and is adament there shouldn’t be a lack of pride in a fighter giving in when they’ve been bested inside the octagon.

“If you’ve got to tap out, you’ve got to tap out,” Diaz told MMAjunkie. “I think Holly, she thought she was maybe going to get out. She had already gotten out of one (choke earlier in the fight) and she thought, ‘I’m not quitting.’ McGregor, he was (expletive) done. All the way done. It’s all right. He had to tap out because there was no getting out of that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with tapping out.”

Diaz’s finish of McGregor marked his record-setting ninth submission victory in modern UFC competition. That means he knows better than anyone on the roster what it’s like to lock up a choke so tight or twist a limb in such grizzly fashion that an opponent is forced to exit the contest.

He said that’s the position McGregor was in from the choke, and there was no getting out. To make matters worse, “The Notorious” was clearly affected by some big shots from Diaz on the feet moments before the finish.

Diaz said there’s no shame in deciding to tap out, but in his mind there’s an easy way to avoid having to make such a difficult choice: Don’t get put in a position where you’re forced too.

“It’s a fight against the best fighters in the world; you’ve got to tap to that (expletive),” Diaz said. “You ain’t getting out of it. You can tap out, or you can go to sleep. It’s (expletive) the same (expletive). You tap out if you’re caught. The thing is, that’s what I think, is don’t get caught.”
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Celtic Fan · Mar 16, 2016

And then there are these comments from PVZ... which IMO just shows her youth and inexperience really... sets a bad president for how tapping in an honorable way to end a fight

UFC strawweight prospect says she would've preferred to go unconscious than tap to Rose Namajunas' rear-naked choke last December, much like Holly Holm went out cold vs. Miesha Tate at UFC 196.

One of the bigger talking points to come out of UFC 196 was the way the co-main and main events ended. Holly Holm lost her women's bantamweight belt to Miesha Tate with a dramatic rear-naked choke in the final round of a fight which Holm would've otherwise retained the title via win or draw had it gone to the scorecards. Featherweight champion Conor McGregor desperately shot for a takedown vs. Nate Diaz in their welterweight contest, with Diaz quickly forcing McGregor to tap with an RNC of his own in round 2.

UFC president Dana White praised Holm for not tapping out, whereas McGregor has taken heat for being "mentally weak" and his heart has been questioned. As the debates rage on, one rising UFC star wishes she'd taken the Holm approach to her own loss.

Strawweight prospect Paige VanZant was bloodied up, beaten up, and straight-up dominated by Rose Namajunas in their UFC Fight Night 80 main event back in December. PVZ didn't tap to several submission attempts by "Thug Rose" over the course of their contest, but she finally tapped to a rear-naked choke in the 5th and final round of a fight she otherwise was going to lose by unanimous decision.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, VanZant said she regrets "giving up" by tapping to Namajunas' choke.

"I think it's just you giving up," VanZant said. "It's submitting and saying, 'I give up, you can win.' And that's just where I feel I could have just gone out. I would have rather have gone out than tap out."

"I do care that I lost, but it's the fact that I tapped out," VanZant said. "I said, 'Rose, you can beat me. Go for it.'"

As far as her thoughts on Holm, VanZant praised her toughness and thinks she'll recover strongly from the loss.

"That shows a lot of heart, a lot of determination," VanZant said. "I think she's gonna come back really, really strong from it."
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speeds · Mar 16, 2016

Matt Mitrione said something similar. Don't tap to a choke. Tap to a joint lock. Fighters have their own opinions about it.

To me there is no difference between tapping and going out.

Celtic Fan · Mar 17, 2016

speeds said: ↑

Matt Mitrione said something similar. Don't tap to a choke. Tap to a joint lock. Fighters have their own opinions about it.

To me there is no difference between tapping and going out.
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I agree. It's not bad if you tap out before you pass out and fighters saying so could lead to others taking unnecessary risks (and naps) when they are in a submission hold.

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Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor was (expletive) done, shouldn't get flak for tapping at UFC 196

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Nate Diaz: Conor McGregor was (expletive) done, shouldn't get flak for tapping at UFC 196

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