John Kavanagh (photo via College Times / Youtube)

By FCF Staff

Although Nate Diaz has been stopped just once since 2006, and Conor McGregor wasn’t able to put him away before, the Irish star’s coach says things will be different in the rematch.

McGregor bloodied Diaz with multiple punches in their first encounter in March, before the latter landed some hard shots of his own, and submitted the featherweight champ. The two are scheduled to fight again in a welterweight contest at UFC 202, August 20th.

Recently, McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh wrote a blog for Irish publication, The 42.  The Straight Blast Gym founder credited Diaz for his toughness and cardio, but made this prediction for the rematch:

We’re ready for 25 minutes but I do believe that the cumulative damage will have become too much by the fourth round, resulting in Nate’s corner stopping the fight if the referee doesn’t do it before that.

This is a very important fight for Conor, but I also feel that my own reputation as a coach is at stake. This contest can be a bit of a game-changer for us all. Some observers who are obsessed with weight classes and belts don’t see this as a very meaningful fight. They’re more interested in seeing Conor defend his featherweight belt and going after the lightweight strap too.

Diaz has been stopped just twice in his career. In 2006, he was submitted by Hermes Franca, and in 2013,  Josh Thomson TKO’d him with strikes.

UFC 202 will be hosted by the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.