Shortly following his second round loss to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, a humbled Conor McGregor expressed the desire to return to 145 pounds and defend his featherweight belt.
“At the end of the day, I am the featherweight world champion. I feel it is right to go back down and remind them of what I achieved and what I’ve done in that division,” he said. As for whether he’d face Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar? “I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see who the fans want to see most. What are the fans most interested in.”
It turns out the fans weren’t that interested in either of those. Instead, the next big money fight for McGregor could be a rematch with Nate Diaz, and it all might go down at UFC 200 on July 9. Via MMA Fighting:
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.
That’s right, the rematch is being planned at welterweight again, even though Nate Diaz typically fights at lightweight. Having the fight at 170 pounds was originally a concession McGregor gave to Diaz since their original match up was made 10 days from the fight, but now there’s more than enough time for both men to have proper camps and make the proper weight. Maybe they’re both happier eating steaks and going into the fight properly hydrated.
