Conor McGregor drafts in BJJ star as training partner for Nate Diaz rematch

A wise move from 'The Notorious' ahead of UFC 202 in August.

Conor McGregor may be holding to the fact that his stand-up game against Nate Diaz, at UFC 196, was superior but even he would not contest that he was undone when he tried to take the fight to the mat. McGregor's dart for Diaz' legs was quickly turned around and, in a flash, he was tapping out. Diaz, who learned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from the infamous Gracie brothers and had Kron Gracie in his corner, dominated, softened McGregor's defence with well placed punches and applied the submission lock. While McGregor believes he lost the fight due to running out of gas, he is also aware of the need to up his BJJ game if he is to avenge his first ever defeat in the UFC. To that end, the Dubliner has hired jiu-jitsu black-belt Dillon Danis to help him prepare for his upcoming bout. The 22-year-old, who trains under 5-time IBJJF world champion Marcelo Garcia in Manhattan, posted this on Instagram on Monday: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGmh8g8mEc0/ John Kavanagh, McGregor's coach, also took to Instagram to thank Danis, a 'phenomenal grappler', for his sojourn at Straight Blast Gym: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGmVXQsAqIC/ One of Diaz' biggest barbs, before UFC 196, was that McGregor's training partners lacked pedigree. He goaded:

"Who do you train with? You train with nobody."

While Danis is no Gracie, he is highly regarded by many in the MMA world and should help McGregor hone his grappling skills. - Main image via Conor McGregor (Instagram)