Conor McGregor says Nate Diaz fought like 'Homer Simpson' at UFC 196, believes he'll hit him even more at UFC 202

There wasn't much more Conor McGregor could do to Nate Diaz at UFC 196 this past March. Despite smacking the Stockton native around the Octagon for the first six minutes, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight king was unable to stop Diaz in his tracks. Diaz ate the smaller McGregor's shots, proceeded to hit a second gear and picked the Irishman apart before finishing him via second-round rear naked choke.

Leading into his rematch with Diaz at UFC 202 on Aug. 20 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, McGregor will aim to better conserve his energy and output. But according to "Notorious," it's going to take even more punishment to finish a guy who doesn't go down.

"You ever see that episode of The Simpsons where Homer starts boxing?" said McGregor during Friday's (Aug. 12, 2016) UFC 202 press day (click here to view). "He's competing, he's just sitting in the ring and getting the head slapped off him. Boom, boom, boom. And then just the guy can't punch him no more. And then Homer tips him and the guy falls over. That was similar. That's the way Nate was in that fight. He was like Homer Simpson. He just took the shots until I couldn't hit him no more. He's gonna be no different this fight. He's gonna just take the shots and hope that I can't hit him no more. Only, I'm gonna be still there poking him in the face. So, I look forward to it."

Despite critics saying McGregor rushed in too aggressively against the talented Diaz in their first meeting, the 145-pound champ does not plan on pulling any punches come UFC 202.

"I'm still gonna go after the boy," added McGregor. "I'm still gonna put him against that fence and I'm still gonna bust that soft skin up. He might have a rough chin, but he's got soft skin. So I'm gonna open that face up real nice. The difference will be I will still be there in the late rounds. I'll still be at that tempo."

If McGregor is able to last much longer than he did at UFC 196, Diaz could be in trouble. After all, the Irish superstar is the faster, more versatile, more agile and more explosive fighter.

Stick with Mania as more UFC 202 news and coverage trickles in.