Remember all the hot water Conor McGregor landed himself in by skipping one UFC press conference?
McGregor was initially tasked with the job of headlining the landmark UFC 200 card, which was marketed as the promotion’s biggest ever event. The card was stacked with stars from the bottom of the early prelims to the main event, which was originally the welterweight do-over between the Notorious and Nate Diaz.
The fight was bumped off the card entirely after McGregor failed to show up to a press conference promoting the event a couple of months before it was set to take place. The whole debacle culminated in McGregor announcing his retirement on Twitter before the highly anticipated rematch was eventually rebooked for UFC 202 which subsequently became a PPV smash-hit.
I have decided to retire young.
Thanks for the cheese.
Catch ya's later.— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 19, 2016
It appears as though the promotion have changed their tune regarding the importance of fighter attendance at media events, or at the very least, they’re willing to make exceptions for certain fighters.
UFC representatives confirmed to MMAJunkie that neither women’s bantamweight title challenger Ronda Rousey nor champion Amanda Nunes will take part in the Ultimate Media Day for UFC 207, the card Rousey is set to make her return on.
Rousey hasn’t been seen inside the Octagon since losing her consciousness, her pristine professional record and her belt to Holly Holm at UFC 193. Despite the occasional talk show appearance, she has been on a media blackout since suffering the heartbreaking loss which looks like it will continue during fight week. There are concerns over Rousey’s mental well-being heading into this fight, particularly after reports that she needed to be consoled backstage at the UFC 205 weigh-ins.
Minus the main event, Ultimate Media Day will instead feature the rest of the UFC 207 main card fighters, including UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz and challenger Cody Garbrandt, as well as former heavyweight champions Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum.
