Get booking, ladies and gents.
Not only has the main event of UFC 200 been officially confirmed but the next year in Conor McGregor’s life could well have been determined by the addition of some massive bouts to the biggest UFC card in history.
Reports had circulated for weeks that, rather than have a title fight headline the 9 July event, that a rematch between McGregor and Nate Diaz, the only man to beat him in the Octagon, would be the main event at UFC 200.
Those rumours were confirmed absolutely on Wednesday evening when it was announced that McGregor vs. Diaz II, at welterweight, would indeed headline the historic card.
BREAKING: UFC 200 Main Event: @TheNotoriousMMA vs. @NateDiaz209 at 170lbs
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) March 30, 2016
Diaz’s victory over McGregor is not even a month old but their reunion has already been decided as they have been selected as the closers to the event expected to smash UFC 100’s record-holding pay-per-view buyrate.
Many had expected any potential rematch between Diaz and ‘The Notorious’ to be contested at 155 lbs, a more natural weight class for both men, but Dana White explained how McGregor was intent on righting his wrongs at welterweight.
“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,” White said on ESPN.
“Obsessed with fighting Nate Diaz again.
“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 lb fight, but it’s what he wanted.”
That wasn’t the only monumental clash added to the culmination of international fight week as an interim featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar was also announced on Wednesday night.
BREAKING: Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight championship
— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) March 30, 2016
This is essentially a decider for who takes on McGregor next, regardless of how he fares in his second trip to welterweight, and it too is a rematch.
Aldo enjoyed a unanimous decision victory over Edgar at UFC 156 in 2013 but the pair will come head-to-head once more in a fight with major title, if not career, implications for both fighters.
“Win, lose, or draw against Nate Diaz, he (McGregor) will go in and he will fight either Jose or Frankie,” White added. “Whoever wins at 200.”
UFC 200 currently looks like this
- Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz
- Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar – for interim featherweight title
- Travis Browne vs. Cain Velasquez
- Derek Brunson vs. Gegard Mousasi
- Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez
