Three ways Nate Diaz is different from anyone Conor McGregor has ever faced

Make no mistake about it, Nate Diaz is at a serious disadvantage this Saturday when he fights Conor McGregor because he hasn't had time to prepare for it. At the highest levels, the smallest margins in terms of conditioning, timing, and sharpness — all things honed during training camps, the type of which McGregor has had in advance of UFC 196, and Diaz has not — and so the better prepared man or woman is usually the favorite to win.

Because he's the only man to have put in a full training camp for this weekend's big Las Vegas pay-per-view, I am picking McGregor to win. With that said, Diaz is unlike anyone McGregor has faced, for at least three distinct reasons.

1. Nate Diaz's superior conditioning

Nate and his brother Nick are perhaps the only fighters you could imagine having a physical conditioning advantage heading into a fight, despite not having a training camp. The Stockton fighters have reputations as thugs with bad attitudes, but the reality is that they are among the most disciplined, hard-working and focused martial artists in the world.

Years ago, former lightweight champion Jens Pulver told me how impressed he was by the young kid who was in the gym before anyone else, and who stayed later than everyone else. He was talking about a teenage Nick Diaz, and that work ethic made a real impression on "Lil Evil."

He'd go on to coach Nate on "The Ultimate Fighter" season 5 and was similarly impressed with the younger Diaz. I've spoken with other UFC fighters who are known for their hard work and conditioning, but have spent time training with the Diaz brothers and were blown away by the hours they put in after spending time with them.

Nick and Nate don't just train fights, they cycle, swim and run ... all the time. Diaz may or may not be in better fight shape than McGregor this Saturday, since he hasn't been in a fight camp, but he still will likely be the best-conditioned fighter the Irishman has fought.

If Diaz doesn't go down early, he'll probably be in McGregor's face, pumping punches for all five rounds. That's tough to deal with, and McGregor never has had to before.

2. Nate Diaz's mental mastery

McGregor enjoys destabilizing opponents mentally. At this high level, it isn't likely that he's scared anyone, but he does anger them and take them out of their game plans.

It can be hard to stay disciplined and safe when you've got a knucklehead talking to you in the cage, after months of him doing the same, in the most personal ways. That's when things happen like Jose Aldo charging in with a right cross, and virtually none of his trademark kicks happen.

We've already gotten a taste of how different Diaz is in this regard. At the press conference announcing their fight last week, McGregor took his verbal lumps just as much as he handed them out.

No one before Diaz really had been eager and able to go back at McGregor verbally, in his own, secure way. Talking isn't fighting, of course, but Diaz will be Diaz on fight night, we can rest assured.

He won't be flustered by McGregor's words and won't make mistakes based on emotion. In fact, it will be interesting to see whether or not McGregor, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, will be the one to crack a bit mentally when Diaz starts calling him names and taunting him, getting the crowd on his side.

To beat Nate Diaz, you've got to beat him. Even when you do that, he still isn't mentally broken, and probably will call you out afterward.

The point is, McGregor won't get in Diaz's head at all, and he won't even likely frustrate him. He can take Diaz out, but that's exactly what he'll have to do, cleanly — take him out.

Diaz isn't going to fade or wilt. A decade or more before McGregor was charging across the Octagon, raising his hands in the air and taunting opponents before hitting them, Nick and Nate were teaching him how to.

McGregor never before has faced someone better at mental warfare than he is, but that's exactly what he'll be up against on Saturday.

3. Nate Diaz's size

Much is rightly being made of the weight in this contest. Sure, Diaz has competed at a high level at welterweight before, whereas McGregor is a featherweight and going up 25 pounds for this contest.

Nate Diaz is the tallest and longest opponent Conor McGregor has ever faced.

The size that most interests me here is Diaz's height and length. McGregor has very long arms, so he may be only a couple inches shorter in overall arm reach than Diaz.

A couple inches can be the difference between making an opponent and getting knocked out, however. At featherweight, McGregor usually has some height and length on opponents.

Against Diaz, he'll be punching and kicking up. More than that, his own sense of distance for defensive purposes may be thrown off a bit.

McGregor has a great sense of range and timing, and often fights with his hands low, relying on head movement to get out of the way of strikes. Against Diaz, McGregor will have to get further out of the way of strikes than he is used to.

Where a lean backward may work to get away from featherweight opponents' punches, it may not be enough to be out of range of Diaz's long punches. McGregor is also not afraid to take a shot or two — or to give one back.

He can't let a volume puncher like Nate find his own range and rhythm, however. Once Diaz starts touching you with his fists, many more are coming behind them.

McGregor likely has what it takes on the feet to deal with the length, but he will have an adjustment to make, in large part because Nate Diaz is the tallest and longest opponent he's ever faced.