After a day of waiting and speculating when UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was forced out of his UFC 196 showdown with Conor McGregor due to a broken foot, the promotion has finally decided just whom ‘The Notorious’ will face. An announcement from UFC President Dana White came on ESPN this evening that McGregor
After a day of waiting and speculating when UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos was forced out of his UFC 196 showdown with Conor McGregor due to a broken foot, the promotion has finally decided just whom ‘The Notorious’ will face.
An announcement from UFC President Dana White came on ESPN this evening that McGregor will square off with Nate Diaz at the March 5 event from Las Vegas.
The fight will go down at welterweight with Diaz having little time to make a drastic cut to 155 pounds. McGregor has repeatedly teased a move up to 170 pounds to take on Robbie Lawler after he won the lightweight strap, but his move up was hastened by dos Anjos’ injury.
There was talk that would also replace dos Anjos, and White confirmed that Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo, the two fighters who had perhaps been the most vocal about supposedly deserving a fight with McGregor, refused to accept the short notice match-up.
White said that the UFC ultimately decided that Diaz was the more exciting fight and the one McGregor wanted after fighters like Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Urijah Faber, and BJ Penn all offered to fight ‘The Notorious’ in Vegas.
McGregor and Diaz do have some history, as Diaz famously called McGregor out in an expletive-laced tirade after he thoroughly beat Michael Johnson at December’s UFC on FOX 17. Fans may have wanted to witness what would have been one of the most trash talk-filled buildups in UFC history, but at least the fight is taking place in the first place.
In either case, Rafael Dos Anjos has in fact pulled out of his UFC 196 main event due to a broken foot suffered during training, leaving the Notorious one in need of yet another last-minute replacement. And here’s where things are getting interesting…
In either case, Rafael Dos Anjos has in fact pulled out of his UFC 196 main event due to a broken foot suffered during training, leaving the Notorious one in need of yet another last-minute replacement. And here’s where things are getting interesting…
As you might expect, the first name to come up as a potential replacement for Dos Anjos was Frankie Edgar, who was unsuccessfully rallying for a fight against McGregor right up to the point that he was booked against the lightweight champion. Unfortunately, Ariel Helwani was the first to break the news that Edgar would be unavailable to fight due to a lingering injury, via Twitter.
Next in line was perennial lightweight contender Nate Diaz, who is fresh off an impressive win over Michael Johnson, wherein he called out McGregor in a profanity-laced post-fight interview. And for what it’s worth, it looks like Diaz is at least willing to face McGregor on short notice, but only under one condition…
Given the insanely long build-up and insanely short actual length of their last fight, booking Jose Aldo in a (non-title fight) rematch also seemed to make sense. When asked point blank if he would take the fight, however, Aldo revealed some interesting news via his manager and coach, Andre Pederneiras.
“Dana [White] called me, telling what happened and asking if Aldo was in shape to fight. I said he wasn’t and that there wasn’t enough time, and unfortunately he wouldn’t be able to fight next week,” said Pederneiras via MMAFighting.
While this notion seems to be in direct contradiction to a statement made by Aldo on Instagram a few weeks ago, it’s perhaps best that we just move on. The man is only two months out from a vicious KO loss, after all.
Of course, when all else fails, you’re left with Donald Cerrone. As we know, “Cowboy” happens to be one of the few fighters that is both perpetually ready to fight and has happened to mince words with McGregor in the past. While he may be coming off a win over Alex Oliveira that took place just two days ago, Cerrone has already verbally agreed to face McGregor. In fact, Cerrone has already begun to make the cut down from 170 pounds, posting an auspicious video on Instagram and writing on Twitter that “Anyone, anywhere. I’ll be ready. Just waiting on this call.”
So there are a couple sensible options out there to save UFC 196 — mainly Diaz or Cerrone — but the fate of the card now lies in the UFC’s hands. Let’s hope they don’t botch it.
The MMA world received a bombshell of bad news this morning (Tues., February 23, 2016) when a broken foot forced lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos out of his awaited UFC 196 showdown with featherweight champion Conor McGregor, prompting a rush to find a replacement opponent for the rapidly approaching March 5 event from Las Vegas.
The MMA world received a bombshell of bad news this morning (Tues., February 23, 2016) when a broken foot forced lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos out of his awaited UFC 196 showdown with featherweight champion Conor McGregor, prompting a rush to find a replacement opponent for the rapidly approaching March 5 event from Las Vegas.
There was a windfall of top-ranked contenders who not surprisingly jumped on the opportunity quickly, with lightweights Anthony Pettis, Donald Cerrone, and Nate Diaz all throwing their names into the hat as potential replacements. Two fighters who aren’t going to be replacing ‘RDA,’ however, are McGregor’s featherweight counterparts Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
Longtime former champion Aldo, who was infamously knocked out by McGregor in a mere 13 seconds at UFC 194 after pulling out of their original match-up at UFC 189 in July 2015, is apparently not in shape to fight McGregor on short notice and is not a viable replacement. His Nova Uniao head coach Andre Pederneiras told Brazilian outlet Combate that it just wouldn’t happen:
“Dana (White) called me, telling what happened and asking if Aldo was in shape to fight. I said he wasn’t and that there wasn’t enough time, and unfortunately he wouldn’t be able to fight next week.”
That’s a far cry from Aldo’s Instagram post in January, where he said the only fight he would accept outside of a title shot was a rematch with McGregor, and he would take it ‘anytime, anywhere’:
“For everything I have done, everything I have accepted and mostly how the fight ended, I will not accept any other fight other than a title shot. My only exception would be fighting (McGregor), at any time, anywhere, and once that he is afraid and knows that I’m gonna win… Doesn’t have to be title fight against him. Keep my belt, but I wanna whoop (your) ass anywhere.”
UFC 196 will go down in only 11 days, so it’s not difficult to understand why Aldo was not in fight shape without a bout scheduled. However, the former champion has received a ton of criticism for his inactivity and frequent injury withdrawals over the past few years, and this would undoubtedly have been a huge boost back up to his standing as a fighter, both with his employer and fans.
Yet he’s not going to take advantage of the opportunity, and UFC President Dana White is understandably not happy with the tenuous situation. Read on to the next page to find out what other developments are arising in this mix-up….
It looks like Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone isn’t the only top star willing to fill-in on short notice to fight UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor.
Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis expressed interest in taking the fight aga…
It looks like Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone isn’t the only top star willing to fill-in on short notice to fight UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor.
Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis expressed interest in taking the fight against McGregor shortly after the news broke regarding Rafael dos Anjos pulling out of the fight with a broken foot.
Roufusport head coach Duke Roufus tweeted UFC President Dana White shortly after the story came out on Tuesday morning, writing, “[Anthony Pettis] said put me in coach.”
Soon after the initial tweet from Roufus, Pettis replied, “I’m down to throw down!!!”
UFC 196 takes place on March 5, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the second time in seven months, a champion has pulled out a fight against Conor McGregor (19-2). The main event is now in jeopardy with reports coming out that Rafael Dos Anjos (25-7) is out of UFC 196 with a broken foot. McGregor is now left without an opponent.
Many have speculated Donald Cerrone as a potential replacement. “Cowboy” is coming off of a 1st round submission victory on Sunday in a Welterweight bout against Alex Oliveira. Cerrone’s camp JacksonWink MMA has even went onto Twitter to push for the fight.
However, a better and stylistically entertaining fight to make for the Irishman is Nate Diaz(18-10). Diaz is coming off of an impressive unanimous decision win over Michael Johnson (16-10). He showed his crisp boxing in that fight by cutting angles and consistently landing combinations. The Stockton native landed 153 strikes against Johnson.
McGregor vs. Diaz could be a standup war where we see a kickboxer vs. boxer type of matchup. Also, for the first time ever in the UFC, “The Notorious” would be facing someone with a longer reach than him. Diaz has a 76 inch reach compared to McGregor’s 74 inch reach. That alone would make the bout intriguing.
Although Diaz has stayed quiet, some have went onto Twitter to campaign for the fight to happen.
Stay tuned to mmanews.com to hear more developments throughout the day!
For the second time in seven months, a champion has pulled out a fight against Conor McGregor (19-2). The main event is now in jeopardy with reports coming out that Rafael Dos Anjos (25-7) is out of UFC 196 with a broken foot. McGregor is now left without an opponent.
Many have speculated Donald Cerrone as a potential replacement. “Cowboy” is coming off of a 1st round submission victory on Sunday in a Welterweight bout against Alex Oliveira. Cerrone’s camp JacksonWink MMA has even went onto Twitter to push for the fight.
However, a better and stylistically entertaining fight to make for the Irishman is Nate Diaz(18-10). Diaz is coming off of an impressive unanimous decision win over Michael Johnson (16-10). He showed his crisp boxing in that fight by cutting angles and consistently landing combinations. The Stockton native landed 153 strikes against Johnson.
McGregor vs. Diaz could be a standup war where we see a kickboxer vs. boxer type of matchup. Also, for the first time ever in the UFC, “The Notorious” would be facing someone with a longer reach than him. Diaz has a 76 inch reach compared to McGregor’s 74 inch reach. That alone would make the bout intriguing.
Although Diaz has stayed quiet, some have went onto Twitter to campaign for the fight to happen.
With dos Anjos out, the only guys I could see taking that fight on 11 days notice are Nate Diaz or Cerrone. Probably have to be at 170 too.
On the heels of the Rafael dos Anjos injury news, Jackson-Wink MMA is letting it be known Donald Cerrone is ready to face Conor McGregor.
Early Tuesday morning it was reported that dos Anjos, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, suffered a broken foot in training for his UFC 196 bout vs. McGregor. The injury will keep him sidelined through March, but his most recent opponent appears ready.
Cerrone is coming off a first round finish of Alex Oliveira this past weekend, and has made it known he would relish the opportunity to face McGregor, who currently holds the UFC featherweight strap.
RDA is out of #ufc196 not fighting McGregor anymore due to injury. Well #UFC if u need a replacement we know a Guy who likes to hurt a guy!
On the heels of the Rafael dos Anjos injury news, Jackson-Wink MMA is letting it be known Donald Cerrone is ready to face Conor McGregor.
Early Tuesday morning it was reported that dos Anjos, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, suffered a broken foot in training for his UFC 196 bout vs. McGregor. The injury will keep him sidelined through March, but his most recent opponent appears ready.
Cerrone is coming off a first round finish of Alex Oliveira this past weekend, and has made it known he would relish the opportunity to face McGregor, who currently holds the UFC featherweight strap.
RDA is out of #ufc196 not fighting McGregor anymore due to injury. Well #UFC if u need a replacement we know a Guy who likes to hurt a guy!
