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 horrible".
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 in his kicks
At UFC 196, The Notorious was defeated by a bloody Nate Diaz
Now 37-year-old Diaz was able to win the upset by defeating McGregor with a rear naked choke, despite an encouraging start from the Irishman.
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.
"The sensation was horrible, and I 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.
"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.
McGregor got his back at UFC 202.
