Nate Diaz was a last-minute add to face Conor McGregor in Saturday’s UFC 196 in Las Vegas, but it still may result in one of the largest buys in UFC history.
UFC owner Dana White is expecting a gate of $7.6 million, which would be the third-highest in the company’s history, per Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com.
The McGregor-Diaz bout would trail only UFC 194 McGregor’s fight against Jose Aldo on Dec. 12, and UFC 129, which featured Georges St-Pierre and Jake Shields as the main event in Toronto, according to the UFC (via Robby Kalland of CBS Sports).
If that figure stands, it would also become the second-highest gate in Nevada history when the two meet inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. What’s more, the top three fights will have featured McGregor, per the Nevada State Athletic Commission, with the top fight being McGregor-Aldo reeling in just over $10 million. UFC 189, highlighted by McGregor and Chad Mendes totaled $6.9 million, per the NSAC.
Diaz replaced Rafael Dos Anjos on Feb. 23 in the fight against McGregor, and the buildup has been intense. That’s the main reason why this fight is drawing in so much money, but it’s also because this lightweight fight could be a strong candidate for Match of the Year, as it’s a matchup between two of the UFC’s biggest names.
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