After plenty of posturing by all parties involved, the UFC confirmed Saturday night Conor McGregor will return to the Octagon for a rematch with Nate Diaz, per UFC commentator Jon Anik.
The two will fight at UFC 202 on August 20.
McGregor and Diaz originally fought at UFC 196, with Diaz submitting the featherweight champion in the second round.
They were originally supposed to fight at UFC 200, but McGregor threw a wrench into those plans when he tweeted on April 19 that he was retiring. In a lengthy Facebook post two days later, he explained he had had a disagreement with the UFC over his pay and promotional obligations, leading to his sudden departure.
With neither McGregor nor the UFC budging in the dispute, a fight between McGregor and Floyd Mayweather became a possible outcome. Mayweather even went so far as to make a fake poster hyping up the bout:
But MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported Saturday evening the UFC was working with McGregor and Diaz to get a rematch done.
Considering the amount of money involved, the two fighters were bound to hash out their differences. UFC President Dana White said on ESPN Radio’s Max & Marcellus (via MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer) that UFC 196 registered 1.5 million pay-per-view buys, and Meltzer noted the event likely produced more revenue for the UFC than any to date.
A rematch between Diaz and McGregor could potentially bring in even more money, and even if UFC 202 simply matches UFC 196’s buy rate, it’ll be a massive financial success for the company.
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