Conor McGregor Vs. Nate Diaz Rematch Being Considered For ‘UFC 200’
This coming July’s UFC 200 may end up being the biggest pay-per-view in the history of the company. The event is expected to have a stacked card, which will likely end up being headlined by a Conor McGregor fight. But, as for who that fight will be against, well, that’s still up in the air.
Earlier this week, Conor McGregor told TMZ that he was open to facing Nate Diaz again. Of course, Diaz handed McGregor his first UFC defeat just a couple of weeks ago at UFC 196.
Now it looks like Diaz vs. McGregor 2 is on the table for UFC 200. In fact, it looks like that’ll be the fight that main-events the show.
Choosing to fight Diaz again, especially at welterweight, which is where the rematch would take place if it happens, may not be the best idea in the world. But, there’s a good chance that McGregor convinced the UFC brass that he could defeat Diaz if the two were to face-off again, because it’s unlikely that the UFC would put McGregor back inside the octagon with someone who he just lost to in a pretty decisive manner.
There were two other fights on the table for McGregor at UFC 200, and both of them involved him defending his UFC featherweight championship. One of the fights would be a rematch with Jose Aldo, who McGregor defeated to win the featherweight title. The other fight would be with Frankie Edgar, who is clearly the No. 1 featherweight contender.
In his chat with TMZ, McGregor said that he would consider fighting both Aldo and Edgar at UFC 200, and that he would ultimately decide to fight the opponent that he thinks would draw the most money.
McGregor’s fight with Nate Diaz reportedly did 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, making it the second biggest UFC show in history behind UFC 100. So, while a rematch with Diaz may not be the best idea for McGregor if he wants to get back on the winning track, it may be the biggest fight that the UFC could do at UFC 200.
To be fair, McGregor did look great for the majority of the UFC 196 main event. But moving up two weight classes proved to be too much for him, as his punches didn’t have the same power as they had down at 145 pounds, and stamina was also an issue for him due to the weight gain.
Nate Diaz is sick of hearing McGregor say that he was winning the fight until late in the second round. In Diaz’s mind, it doesn’t matter who was winning the fight in the first round, or even early in the second round. All that matters is who won in the end.
“I don’t think it’s just the UFC. It’s everybody. People are saying, ‘Oh, (McGregor) is great, he’s accepted the loss so well.’ If I would have lost, people would be saying, ‘piece of s**t shouldn’t have accepted the fight.’ I don’t mean to be bitter, but there are a lot of excuses being made for this guy. He’s talking about winning the first round. There are five rounds in a fight. Who gives a s**t if you won a round? You lost (the fight).”
So, it looks like there is still an issue between McGregor and Diaz that needs to be resolved inside the octagon. According to MMA Fighting, Diaz vs. McGregor 2 is the fight most likely to main event what’s expected to be the UFC’s biggest show of all-time this coming July. If that’s the case, then the second fight between the two should be made official within the next couple of weeks, if not sooner.
[Featured image via Rey Del Rio / Getty Images]
