UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor has been granted his chance at redemption. The Irishman will face his conqueror Nate Diaz in a rematch at UFC 200 at Welterweight, no less!
Arguably the hottest fighter in the UFC at the moment, Nate Diaz reportedly wanted the match to take place at Lightweight, his regular weight class and one where Conor McGregor has fought frequently, but the Irishman was insistent on the rematch being identical to the first contest.
UFC President Dana White described the moment in an interview with ESPN: “Lorenzo and I tried to argue with him and say let’s go back down to 145 and defend your title, or if you really want the Diaz fight that bad, do it at 155. And he wants to fight at 170. Even his coach, Coach (John) Kavanagh, tried to get him to get off this rematch and off the 170-pound fight, but it’s what he wanted.”
This rematch disqualifies a title defense by McGregor, so the man whose decade-long reign he ended with a straight left, Jose Aldo, will face perennial contender Frankie Edgar for the interim Featherweight.
Edgar, a former UFC Lightweight Champion, lost a Unanimous Decision to Aldo at UFC 156. It was his Featherweight debut and a championship bout. Edgar is 5-0 since then, beating title challengers Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes and has been demanding a title shot.
Aldo stated that he would fight in the UFC once again only if he was given a rematch with McGregor or a shot at the Featherweight title. The card also features Takanori Gomi vs. Jim Miller and Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Lauzon. UFC 200 has been announced as the first sporting event to be hosted by the recently completed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
