The Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor rematch that was originally scheduled for UFC 200, before it was abruptly canceled, is now probably back on for sure for UFC 202. The fight was confirmed last night in an announcement during UFC 199. It will take place on Aug. 20 in Las Vegas:
In their previous match, which you likely don't need to be reminded of because it took place just three months ago, Diaz forced McGregor to submit in the second round. Diaz's victory came despite just 11 days notice after McGregor's original opponent, Rafael dos Anjos, broke his foot.
The two were set to fight again as the headlining match at UFC 200 (which will take place on July 9), but the fight was axed after McGregor refused to fly from Iceland to Vegas to make a promotional appearance for it back in April.
What followed was an unnecessarily complicated stream of developments as Diaz stated he wasn't interested in fighting a last second fill-in. McGregor seemed to imply he was retiring. McGregor did imply the fight was back on. And Diaz/UFC prez Dana White had difficulty coming to an agreement about how much Diaz would get paid.Â
Now that it's all settled, we'll finally get a chance to see the fight we already saw back in March.
Also overshadowing last night's event was a separate announcement that Brock Lesnar would headline UFC 200 against a (for now) mystery opponent. What we're saying is, start saving up those pay-per-view dollars now. Or, if you're a real cheapskate frugal, start looking for an illegal stream that doesn't cut out every three seconds.
