With another fight ahead of him at UFC 200 where he will once again be competing at 170lbs, Conor McGregor looks a different fighter to the one who tipped the scales at 145lbs when fighting Jose Aldo.
George Lockhart, who worked with McGregor to make the leap to 170lbs for the fight against Nate Diaz, was speaking to MMA Digest recently about the meal plan and changes that helped him pack on the pounds ahead of that bout.
While McGregor lost the fight, he certainly looked more comfortable at welterweight than he has when making the cut to featherweight, something which has fueled speculation that he may not drop back down to defend his title.
Speaking about the changes that McGregor had to make against Diaz, Lockhart stated that the shift wasn't as huge as many might have thought: "The eating was still the same, you want to eat clean and just [stick to] the same principles that we do with everybody: types of food, timing of food, hormonal response to the food and then the portion sizes".
Addressing the concern over the way that McGregor seem to suffer fatigue early on in the fight, Lockhart added that Diaz had an impressive level of stamina and cardio that meant he was able to absorb the hits from the Dubliner and keep fighting.
"The shots that he [Diaz] took, I mean I was blown away. I'm not talking about Conor, but I'm just talking in general. When somebody's got extra weight, your body, the more muscle you have the more oxygen your body is using. It takes a lot of oxygen to provide the energy needed to give the muscles the fuel to keep doing what they're doing."
While he didn't give exact details on where McGregor is in terms of his preparation at the moment, he added that there won't be a need to cut much weight to face Diaz in July.
However, Lockhart also noted that the idea that McGregor may not drop back down is a flawed one, given that he is in great shape and the cut would not be that bad to return to featherweight and defend his title.
"When people see the numbers I think that's all they look at. They look at 145lbs, 155lbs, 170lbs and think 'that's 30 pounds that he's got to gain'. In actuality, no, it just means he's cutting less [...] people gotta take a look at the real numbers, not just the weight classes".
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
