Sure, Conor McGregor is the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight champion and has yet to make a single title defense at 145 pounds, but why bother with any of that crap when there are more pressing matters at hand, like a Nate Diaz rematch at the UFC 200 pay-per-view (PPV) event in July.
No, I’m not trolling, this is real news from Ariel Helwani:
The UFC is close to finalizing a non-title welterweight rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz for the July 9 card, MMAFighting.com has learned from multiple sources. If all goes as planned, the promotion is hoping to announce the fight shortly.
ESPN corroborated the booking on Twitter.
McGregor, who was expected to vie for the lightweight title at UFC 196, was instead submitted by Diaz when the Stockton slugger stepped in — at the requested weight of 170 pounds — for the injured Rafael dos Anjos, who expects to return in late May or early June.
If you think this booking is “nonsense,” you’re not the only one.
I’m sure this latest news will go over well with already-pissed contender Frankie Edgar, who will probably move on to rematch former division titleholder Jose Aldo instead of waiting around for “Notorious” to exhaust his opportunities outside the featherweight division.
UFC officials have yet to make an official announcement, but you can expect them to be grilled during the UFC Fight Night 85 press conference.
Stay tuned.