Conor McGregor has an opponent for UFC 196. The UFC Featherweight Champion will reportedly take on Nate Diaz on March 5 in Las Vegas, according to B.J. Penn.
BREAKING NEWS! Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor is a go for UFC 196.#UFC196 @NateDiaz209 @TheNotoriousMMAhttps://t.co/HCOMFoRH6I
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) February 24, 2016
Originally, McGregor was set to take on Rafael Dos Anjos at the event, but Dos Anjos had to pull out earlier today due to an injury. There was a ton of speculation as to who would go on to face the man who graces the latest edition of Sports Illustrated, with Diaz trying to lobby for himself on Twitter.
He's going to have to get on his knees and beg…
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) February 23, 2016
Apparently, this lobbying worked out for Diaz. He is 18-10 in his MMA career, and his last fight went down on Dec. 19 of 2015 against Michael Johnson – Diaz ended up winning that fight via a unanimous decision. However, he has lost three of his last five fights dating back to 2012.
According to BJPenn.com, the weight class for the fight still needs to be determined. There have been rumors of a fight between the two for some time – back in December, Diaz said that a fight with McGregor was “on,” but did not give a timetable for when that fight would go down.
Update: Dana White appeared on SportsCenter tonight and confirmed that the fight is official. White also added that Diaz/McGregor will fight at 170 pounds.
