Fight card no longer subject to change!
Finally.
It’s been a long, strange path to UFC 196, which takes place tonight (Sat., March 5, 2016) inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The pay-per-view (PPV) show was originally supposed to go down in Brazil, but those plans were eventually scrapped. In fact, UFC 196 was supposed to be UFC 197, but injuries to Heavyweight studs Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez flipped that script. To compensate, company officials booked Featherweight champion Conor McGregor to battle Lightweight kingpin Rafael dos Anjos in a “Champion vs. Champion” clash. But, an injury to the Brazilian (see it here) forced a last-minute shuffle, pushing foul-mouthed Nate Diaz into the spotlight to battle the Irishman in a non-title Welterweight scrap.
It was a controversial decision. And it’s been a wild ride ever since.
The final stop on their short journey concludes later this evening in “Sin City.” It’s an opportunity for McGregor to prove that he is, indeed, the very definition of the top pound-for-pound fighter in the organization. Diaz, meanwhile, gets to cash in and, possibly, prove that he blazed the trail McGregor has torched since his arrival on the scene, he just failed to capitalize on it like “Notorious.”
For perhaps the first time ever, a UFC world title fight will take a back seat to the curious title-free match up. That’s right, women’s Bantamweight champion Holly Holm will attempt to make her first-ever title defense in the PPV co-main event opposite Miesha Tate.
But, “Preacher’s Daughter” isn’t bothered one bit.
When it’s all said and done, UFC 196 will go down as a very memorable show despite the numerous setbacks. UFC has teed up McGregor to steal this show and add to his growing legend exponentially with such a huge step up in weight. He definitely looks the part.
Check out the complete UFC 196 line up below:
UFC 196 PPV Main Event:
170 lbs.: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz
UFC 196 PPV Co-Main Event:
135 lbs.: UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate
UFC 196 PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):
205 lbs.: Gian Villante vs. Ilir Latifi
205 lbs.: Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor
135 lbs.: Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko
UFC 196 “Prelims” on FOX Sports 1 (8 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Brandon Thatch vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
170 lbs.: Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb
185 lbs.: Vitor Miranda vs. Marcelo Guimaraes
145 lbs.: Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly
UFC 196 “Prelims” on UFC Fight Pass (6:30 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Diego Sanchez vs. Jim Miller
155 lbs.: Justin Salas vs. Jason Saggo
145 lbs.: Julian Erosa vs. Teruto Ishihara
For the latest, LIVE updates and UFC 196: “McGregor vs. Diaz” results TONIGHT click here.