Author: Tyler Conway

The most likely candidate may be Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, who needed only one round to knock out Vitor Belfort at UFC 198 on Saturday. Fighting in back-to-back months would be something of a Herculean task—199 is just three weeks after 198—but he may be the only middleweight in enough shape to keep the card going on short notice.

Souza, 36, is 6-1 since joining the UFC from Strikeforce. His lone loss came via split decision against Yoel Romero at UFC 194, but Romero tested positive for a banned substance. While Romero’s victory stands in the record books, it’s been tainted enough to not hurt Souza’s standing within the sport.

The UFC’s official rankings have Souza as the second contender for the middleweight crown. It’s uncertain where the promotion would turn if the Brazilian isn’t ready to go.

Either way, it’s a tough blow given how much UFC 199 was riding on this rematch. Weidman had been talking a big game during the pre-fight hype, saying the loss was a “fluke,” per Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting:

I know what I’m capable of. I know my potential and I know I wasn’t close to it. The fact that because of what I’ve accomplished in the past gives me the opportunity to get a rematch is a great situation to be in. In most situations, people don’t get the second chance, especially right away. So, I’m very grateful for the opportunity I have. There’s no question in my mind that I’m gonna go out there and make a statement, completely dominate him and make sure everybody knows the last fight was a fluke.

The last-minute injury may mean Weidman has to fight his way back to No. 1 contendership. If the injury isn’t serious, UFC President Dana White may have him take a tune-up at UFC 201 on July 30 or UFC 202 in preparation of facing the winner.

It’s just a bad situation all-around for Weidman and the UFC. 

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Conor McGregor has had enough of the back-and-forth. He wants Nate Diaz, and he’s not holding back until he gets his way.

In a NSFW Instagram post Sunday, McGregor called on UFC President Dana White to “cut the bulls–t” and put together a rematch between he and Diaz:

Originally slated for UFC 200, the highly anticipated fight between McGregor and Diaz was called off after the former threatened to not promote the fight, including the press conference and the commercial.

At the UFC 200 press conference, Diaz said he would only fight McGregor. “I just came to fight [McGregor],” Diaz said, per Brent Brookhouse of MMA Junkie. “I don’t really have too much interest in anybody else. I don’t have any interest in fighting at all. But if that’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to do it.”

The 31-year-old Diaz tweeted he was going “on vacation” last week, indicating he would not be competing at perhaps the biggest event in UFC history. White, who announced Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier would go head-to-head in the new UFC 200 rematch, said he’s still open to Diaz taking another bout.

“We’re going to offer him some fights and see what he wants to do. It sounded like he wanted [McGregor] and only [McGregor] at the press conference, but we gave him the opportunity to come,” White said, per Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting. “I didn’t want to rip him off of the opportunity to fight at 200 if he wanted.”

This is the second time White has had to wipe off a huge fight from his UFC 200 card. Ronda Rousey was originally expected to have her rematch with Holly Holm on the card but requested additional time off. Holm went on to lose to Miesha Tate at UFC 196, likely costing MMA its biggest women’s bout in history.

With McGregor also off the card, the UFC is going to have a tough time making this event the bonanza most expected. McGregor and Rousey are arguably the two biggest mainstream names in the sport and will leave a void in the card, especially for casual fans.

 

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