The main event at UFC 200 is up in the air after Conor McGregor was pulled from his fight against Nate Diaz, but the card for the July 9 event will still include Diaz.
UFC President Dana White told reporters at the UFC 200 press conference Friday that Diaz “will fight at 200,” and the UFC is working to find a new opponent for him, per MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
However, at the same press conference, Diaz left no doubt that he wants to fight McGregor, per UFC Europe’s official Twitter account:
Following that up, Diaz said McGregor is the only opponent he plans on fighting, per MMA writer Josh Gross: “If Conor fight doesn’t happen, I’m going on vacation.”
Per John Pollock of the Fight Network, White said if Diaz gets a new opponent, the UFC would elevate one of the two title fights scheduled for UFC 200—Miesha Tate will defend her bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes, and Jose Aldo will fight Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title—to the main event.
McGregor shook the foundation of the UFC earlier in the week with a tweet saying he had “decided to retire young.”
After some uncertainty about McGregor’s status as an active mixed martial artist, White announced he had taken the 27-year-old off the UFC 200 card because he was refusing to take part in any of the pre-fight promotional activities, which included Friday’s press conference.
McGregor then issued a statement on Facebook, explaining he is not retiring and noting he is “still ready to go for UFC 200”:
Despite McGregor’s insistence he wants to fight Diaz, TMZ Sports reported the UFC plans on sticking to its original guns by keeping Notorious off the card.
The UFC is in a precarious position, especially if Diaz maintains his stance about not fighting anyone else. UFC 200 was supposed to be the biggest event of the year, with McGregor being showcased.
However, McGregor’s desire to not play ball with the necessary business obligations threw the UFC for a loop, and the company can coddle its most popular fighter for only so long.
Diaz stands to gain nothing from a fight against someone else. He has defeated McGregor once, by far the biggest win in his career, and would be able to rewrite his legacy with a second win over the sport’s biggest star.
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