Side-by-side pic: Cardio-minded Conor McGregor 'then' and 'now' following UFC 202 weigh ins

There is a lot going into Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon tomorrow (Sat., Aug. 20, 2016) at UFC 202 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight titleholder will once again test the waters at 170 pounds and challenge Nate Diaz in a highly-anticipated rematch.

Remember, Diaz defeated "Notorious" back at UFC 196 with a second-round rear-naked choke. The finish came after McGregor unexpectedly gassed from a wild offensive first round that left Diaz bloody and looking for answers. Leading into their rematch at UFC 202, McGregor must find a way to conserve energy and tactically dissect the bigger and stronger Stockton striker.

Having focused on conditioning and cardio instead of the muscle-packing strategy he implored back in March, McGregor aims to right his only Octagon wrong when he meets Diaz in a rematch. We've put together a side-by-side pic (shown above) of McGregor from today's (Fri., Aug. 19, 2016) UFC 202 weigh ins compared to UFC 196 in order to see the difference(s) in his body. He weighed the same amount -- 168 pounds -- for both contests.

While much can be made about McGregor's physical capabilities entering UFC 202, he will have to mentally dodge his usual triggers to launch knockout blows in order to outwork and outpoint the game Diaz.

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 202 fight card on fight night, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then the remaining undercard balance on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET.

To see the entire UFC 202 fight card and line up click here. Both photos courtesy of Esther Lin at MMAFighting.com.