Dana White is hard at work trying to land Conor McGregor his rematch against Nate Diaz, but the UFC president isn’t sure if he can get the pen to paper.
White appeared on SportsCenter and The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Thursday to discuss the McGregor situation. The reigning featherweight champion lost to Diaz at UFC 196 and has been trying to get a rematch ever since.
On SportsCenter, White claimed that McGregor is “obsessed” (h/t Jeremy Botter of FloCombat) with the rematch. On The Herd, White said they are actively looking at other options—including the winner of Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar or Rafael dos Anjos—along with the Diaz bout.
Yet, that’s not the only fight McGregor has been linked to in the past few weeks. Floyd Mayweather has also entered the fray and tweeted about a possible boxing tilt with the UFC’s bombastic superstar. White didn’t extinguish the flames entirely, but did say Mayweather isn’t fighting McGregor without calling the UFC first.
White may be targeting UFC 202 for McGregor’s return to the Octagon. Still, the rematch with Diaz appears to be on shaky ground with the UFC putting pressure to get the deal done. White confirmed that he did leave his meeting in Stockton, California, upset with Diaz’s management.
According to White, McGregor will need to choose a different opponent or lose the UFC 202 main event slot altogether.
The circus that is Conor McGregor continues to be the UFC’s bell cow, but it is becoming a sideshow in figuring out his next fight. When the Irishman steps back inside the cage, it will be a massive fight no matter who is standing opposite him.
The heat is rising in nailing down an opponent for his return, and the UFC is ready to move past the Diaz rematch to get McGregor back at the top of the bill sooner rather than later.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com