“Mystic Mac” got his wish granted in the UFC once again. Following Conor McGregor’s multiple efforts within the UFC to get an immediate rematch with Nate Diaz, UFC 200 finally has a main event. According to UFC President Dana White, McGregor was obsessed in fighting Diaz another time.
White said Wednesday on ESPN,
After the fight, Lorenzo (Fertitta) and I went up to Conor’s house that he was renting here in Las Vegas and started talking about, ‘what are you thinking, what’s next?’ And he was obsessed, obsessed with fighting Nate Diaz again.
So its official MMA hounds! Diaz vs. McGregor 2 will headline UFC 200 on July 9, 2016 at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Most surprisingly, the match will be contested again at 170 pounds. Apparently, White and Lorenzo Fertitta tried to get the rematch set at 155 pounds, but McGregor insisted for a welterweight bout, virtually identical to UFC 196.
White said,
Obviously Lorenzo and I tried to argue with him and say let’s go back down to 145 and defend your title, or if you really want the Diaz fight that bad, do it at 155. And he wants to fight at 170. Even his coach, Coach (John) Kavanagh, tried to get him to get off this rematch and off the 170-pound fight, but it’s what he wanted.
The co-main event of UFC 200 will feature an interim featherweight title bout between MMA legends Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is expected to square off against Travis Browne.
The full UFC 200 fight card will be announced shortly by the UFC.
