CONOR MCGREGOR believes he could have grabbed Nate Diaz's legs moments before his UFC 196 loss - but he "bottled" it because it "felt too nasty".
He suffered his first loss in the UFC as a 33-year-old when he jumped up two weight divisions to welterweight in 2016 to face Diaz.
McGregor was enjoying some joy from his kick
McGregor was not able to win the bout, so Diaz, 36, won the upset with a rear naked choke.
McGregor believes that McGregor could have avoided defeat moments before the fight ended.
In an Instagram post, he explained that he didn't follow through with the kick at this moment.
"I felt terrible and decided to stop following through with it.
"Fight would have been stopped, no doubt. I was able to identify the angle of the leg and set it up for snapping. It felt too bad. It was too much for me.
"Fast forward a few minutes later and I'm on deck getting strangled. Mad game.
BETTING SPECIAL - GET KHAN AT HUGE 40/1 OR BROOK AT 30/1 FOR BOXING SHOWDOWN"I am still against making these kicks illegal, tho. Protect your feet and angles, and that's all. It's okay.
"They are horribly horrible kicks, tho."
McGregor was able to get his back when he faced Diaz again in August that year. He won the rematch by points, having dropped the American three times in Las Vegas.
