Dana White Confirms Conor vs. Khabib Won’t Have World Tour

If you were expecting a big promotional world tour for Conor vs Khabib, think again.

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The fight that the MMA world wanted and needed is finally official.

Dana White let the cat out of the bag during the 25th Anniversary UFC press conference from Los Angeles, Califonia, last Friday (Aug. 3, 2018). Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0) will defend his lightweight title against the returning Conor McGregor (21-3) in the main event of UFC 229 on Oct. 6 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But don’t expect a big horse and pony show in the form of a World Tour similar to McGregor’s previous media whirlwind with Jose Aldo in the months preceding the biggest fight in MMA history. According to UFC President Dana White, there’s just not enough time for that.

“We don’t have time for a world tour,” UFC president Dana White said at the UFC 227 post-fight press conference. “These guys are going to fight the first week of October. Both guys are going to go into camp. We’ll do something fun, we’ll do some different stuff. We’re literally having a big meeting on Monday to get this stuff in order and get it going.”

A promotional bonanza probably isn’t going to be needed to help sell this fight. Fans and media members alike agree that if this fight does in fact happen, it should easily eclipse the MMA PPV record currently held by McGregor and Nate Diaz for their rematch at UFC 202.

The fight has to happen first, however, and after McGregor was arrested for assault when he threw a metal dolly through Khabib’s bus at UFC 223, a number of bad things could get in the way of that. White isn’t worried, however, claiming the UFC will be able to keep tension under control:

“We’re pretty confident that we can control what happens,” White said. “What happened in New York, obviously if you look at what happened, everyone was loading onto the buses, everything was done, and our staff still handled it pretty damn well for what was going down. We’re very aware. Nothing is going to happen. We’ll be good.”

Its impossible to tell just how long this fight has been in the works, but some insiders believe this fight was already a foregone conclusion in the UFC’s eyes, and for good reason, as it legitimately has a shot to be the biggest fight in the UFC’s twenty-five years.

For that reason, it just doesn’t need a world tour.

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Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz Returns Come Right On Time For UFC

Conor McGregor & Nate Diaz’s comebacks came at the exact right time.

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Yesterday, the UFC went big and announced the long-awaited returns of rivals Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at their 25th Anniversary Press Conference from Los Angeles, California.

They won’t be fighting each other in their long-rumored trilogy bout – at least not yet – as it was announced McGregor will meet lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229 and Diaz will face surging top lightweight Dustin Poirier in the co-main event of November 3’s UFC 230.

At least, that’s the plan for now, as Diaz soon claimed he wouldn’t be fighting at UFC 230 after walking out of the presser during the announcement of McGregor’s return. The Stockton bad boy soon went off on the UFC and Dana White for supposedly telling lies about him turning down fights while he was dealing with a lawsuit and failing to promote him effectively. So just like everything seemingly involving the Diaz brothers, nothing is for certain, although it seems like he will be back to fight Poirier this fall.

As for McGregor, well, his return was much more anticipated than the late-night revelation of Diaz’ return this week, with signs pointing to him returning to action against Nurmagomedov ever since he cleared up his assault charges from his UFC 223 melee in a Brooklyn, New York, courtroom last month. Regardless of the specifics of each, however, both come at a time when the UFC needs them most.

Pay-per-view (PPV) buys and television ratings have literally been at all-time lows in 2018, with July 7’s UFC 226 barely breaking 400,000 buys despite a historic champion vs. champion superfight in the main event and July 28’s UFC on FOX 30 drawing the lowest ratings in history even though it had two pivotal knockouts at the top of the billing. That’s all about to change, of course, as McGregor’s return against the undefeated “Eagle” could legitimately be the first UFC card to bring in 2 million buys. Even if it doesn’t, the Irishman’s return to the Octagon will almost assuredly save an otherwise disastrous year for UFC owners Endeavor like his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather did last year.

Diaz’ return a month later against Poirier, a perhaps lesser-known but maybe more exciting opponent in terms of in-cage action, is simply icing on the cake, and he reminded us why he’s so unique and valuable to the sport of MMA at the tail-end of his on-camera rant yesterday. Asked about the outcome of Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor, Diaz unleashed a classic tirade about how the outcome didn’t matter because both were his “b****’:

“I whipped one’s a** and I slapped the f*** outta the other one, so they’re both my little b*****s, that’s who I got. F***, right in his face, he didn’t do s***. Scared for his life, him and all his Russian friends. He’s from a third-world country, n****a, I’m from Stockton, he got his a** slapped, didn’t do s***. All their eyes lit up, didn’t do s***, his whole team, f****n’ all p*****s.”

Photo Credit: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports

Crude, some may claim, yet it’s a rant only Diaz could come out with and get so many heads turning, so his return is more than a breath of fresh air no matter what his in-cage record may state he deserves or doesn’t deserve.

The fight game has been waiting for Diaz to return since he lost a thin majority decision to McGregor at UFC 202 in August 2016, and he’s still the only man to defeat “The Notorious” in the Octagon. Part of that is because McGregor hasn’t competed in MMA since 2016 himself, and while his August 2017 boxing match with Mayweather. was a fun enough spectacle in its own right, the UFC and MMA as a whole have been aching to see their biggest star compete as they watched him go down a concerning path outside the cage.

He’s appeared to have righted that ship – at least for now – and will swoop in to save the year with quite possibly the biggest mixed martial arts contest of all-time.

Make no mistake, even though “The Eagle” is their biggest asset in their desired and expanding Russian market, the UFC wants McGregor to win and presumably face off against the winner of Diaz vs. Poirier a month later. Both would be rematches of fights he’s already won and the kind of massive business the UFC’s current ownership seems to be trying to manufacture out of thin air with their ridiculous creation of never-ending interim titles that are stipped from their winners as quickly as they are won.

But all the fake UFC titles in the world won’t even add up to one one-thousandth of one Conor McGregor, and we’re already seeing that the day after his return was announced.

Couple that with Diaz’ unexpected comeback to stir the pot, and you have all the ingredients to end 2018 with a unique mix of MMA action never before staged in one months’ span.

It’s been a brutal year for MMA and its fans; no serious follower of the sport could or would dispute that statement. All of that is about to turn around exactly at the right time, ladies and gentlemen.

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Video: Nate Diaz Walks Out Of UFC Presser During Conor McGregor Announcement

Watch Nate Diaz walk out of today’s UFC presser while Conor McGregor’s return was announced.

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Most of the mixed martial arts (MMA) world was beyond happy when the UFC announced Conor McGregor’s awaited return at their 25th Anniversary Press Conference from L.A. today.

However, returning lightweight Nate Diaz was not among them.

Diaz was confirmed to be returning to face No. 3-ranked contender Dustin Poirier at November 3’s UFC 230 from New York, but soon claimed that he was no longer fighting on the card in a social media post slamming the UFC. Poirier soon echoed a similar sentiment, and the pay-per-view’s most anticipated fight soon became uncertain just moments after it was announced.

Diaz appeared to take offense at the McGregor fight announcement, as he walked out of the press event when the promo for his longtime rival’s return was airing onscreen. Check it out from MMANYTT here:

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Dustin Poirier Responds To Nate Diaz’ Claim He Wont Fight At UFC 230

Dustin Poirier responded to Nate Diaz’ claim he’s already off UFC 230.

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Although his fight with surging lightweight contender Dustin Poirier at November’s UFC 230 was officially confirmed today, Nate Diaz claimed soon thereafter that he wasn’t actually fighting on the card while slamming his employers.

The reaction was supposedly due to the UFC announcing Conor McGregor long-awaited return against Khabib Nurmagomedov at October’s UFC 229, during which Diaz walked out of the press event. His actions sparked speculation that Diaz wanted to return at that card instead and garner the expected increase in pay-per-view revenue.

Whatever the reason, he’s got the MMA world talking as his return is supposedly already in jeopardy not even a full day after it was reported last night. Poirier soon responded to Diaz’ claim on social media as well, and his response may not be what you would expect from “The Diamond.”

Poirier actually agreed with Diaz, saying ‘f*** the UFC’ and claiming he wouldn’t fight at UFC 230 either:

This situation appears to have many more layers than just a simple Diaz return to the Octagon.

We’ll keep you informed as more details arise.

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Nate Diaz Says F*** The UFC, Claims He Won’t Fight At UFC 230

Nate Diaz is already claiming he’s not fighting Dustin Poirier in New York.

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The MMA world got a much-needed shot in the arm at today’s 25th Anniversary Press Conference when it was officially confirmed that Nate Diaz would finally return against top lightweight contender Dustin Poirier.

The bout was somewhat of a surprise booking given that many expected Diaz to be holding out hope for a lucrative trilogy fight with Conor McGregor, the MMA superstar with whom he split a pair of record-setting fights with in 2016. Diaz revealed another reason why he’s been on the sidelines for over two years, and simply stated it was “time to go” as the reason for his return.

He faced off with Poirier and things appeared set for his awaited return, but moments after Diaz left the presser when the UFC played a promo for McGregor’s awaited return against Khabib Nurmagomedov, Diaz said he wasn’t actually fighting at UFC 230 anymore on social media:

There’s no telling just why Diaz left the presser early, but it obviously had something to do with McGregor’s return. Perhaps he’s looking to fight Poirier on UFC 229 so he can cash in on more pay-per-view points.

We’ll see how this situation plays out soon.

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BREAKING: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor Official For UFC 229

It’s official, Conor McGregor will challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title in October. Earlier today (Aug. 3), a special UFC 25th Anniversary press conference took place in Los Angeles, California. UFC president Dana White kep…

It’s official, Conor McGregor will challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title in October. Earlier today (Aug. 3), a special UFC 25th Anniversary press conference took place in Los Angeles, California. UFC president Dana White kept the fight announcement a surprise until the end of the presser. McGregor and Nurmagomedov will collide on Oct. […]

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