Conor McGregor will enter UFC 202 under the close watch of nutritionist George Lockhart to make sure that he is in the best shape against Nate Diaz. “The Notorious” will be looking to redeem himself from that UFC 196 loss which he lost via second round submission.
There will be major differences this time around for McGregor. There will be no last minute changes meaning his preparations are on target against Diaz. He even spent a record $300,000 on training camp just to prepare for Diaz, ESPN reported.
George Lockhart will be tasked to do that once more. He did the same for McGregor prior to UFC 196 though something went astray. One is that his regimen at the time was to prepare against Rafael Dos Anjos and not Diaz.
Dos Anjos withdrew due to a broken foot and Diaz picked up the slack. While it seemed McGregor was at a big advantage due to preparations, the UFC 196 outcome was the opposite.
Lockhart revealed that McGregor abandoned the FitnessVT program a week before the UFC 196. The program covered the timing, portion size and hormonal responses to food, MMA Junkie reported.
This time, the nutritionist recruited by coach John Kavanagh intends to look over McGregor until he officially enters the Octagon at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas this Saturday, Aug. 20. He adds that part of his plans is to make sure that the Irishman gets the proper energy and food based on the requirements of his performance.
One thing worth noting is the whole issue tied up with weight cut. Lockhart explains that weight cuts are not always beneficial and that McGregor has made the necessary adjustments since that shock loss to Diaz.
Come Saturday, it will all about establishing the proper antidote for McGregor to perform accordingly. A lot of his explanations are best understood via medical standpoint but the bottom line is optimizing McGregor against his previous tormentor.
With Lockhart keeping a close eye plus the ample time to prepare, McGregor may be on track to redeem himself. Diaz has opted to keep much of his preparations under wraps, a factor that everyone knows is equally dangerous.
Conor McGregor touched on a lot of things during his press day in Las Vegas. The video below offers highlights from that day.