Wow…so perhaps UFC president Dana White was wrong when he said Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor weren’t fighting at UFC 219?
Taking a trip into the bizarre this year, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor boxed Floyd Mayweather. Although it was more spectacle than a sporting affair, all eyes were on the two outspoken athletes.
When the August 26 date finally rolled around, Mayweather and McGregor had completed a world tour. Countless hours of promotional work and trash talk were put in. When all was said and done, though, it was Mayweather who had the last word.
Putting away the Irishman with a tenth round TKO, ‘Money’ rode off into the sunset at 50-0. McGregor earned some respect from the boxing community for his efforts, but he was simply outmatched.
Back to the world of MMA, and the rumors instantly started circling. Reports of a December 30 clash with Nate Diaz at UFC 219 were among the most popular.
The Possibilities
Since losing to Mayweather, McGregor and his team have made it very clear whom they want next. Kevin Lee and Tony Ferguson are not among those names, even though one of them will be interim champion after UFC 216.
They want Diaz, but UFC boss Dana White shut down the possibility of that fight happening this year. According to McGregor himself, it could still happen, but he wants the Ronda Rousey treatment if it does.
During his pay-per-view interview in Glasgow last night, don’t worry we didn’t pay, McGregor was reported as saying:
McGregor says the only way he fights on Dec. 30 is if he only has to show for the weigh-in and then fight
— Peter Carroll (@PetesyCarroll) September 29, 2017
No Media?!?
Surely it would be impossible to black out media before such a huge event? Well, no actually, if Ronda Rousey could do it then anyone can. According to MMAFighting.com, there are far more options than just the Diaz fight:
“Of course the Nate Diaz trilogy fight is there. Maybe one of these boxing guys…maybe Malignaggi would come over and do an MMA bout…or Floyd, maybe I could entice Floyd back.
“We could either do a rematch in boxing, or like he said originally, we’ll do an MMA fight next. They are the options that are on the table for me right now.”
Continue reading below…
McGregor really is skeptical about Adalaide Byrd being married to Robert Byrd, referee of MayMac
— Peter Carroll (@PetesyCarroll) September 29, 2017
“I’m happy (Lee and Ferguson) are fighting. This is what I wanted because they’re all bums at the end of the day make no mistake about that. I’m just happy they’re fighting. I just want to see them compete,” declared McGregor.
“Too many of them pull out right at the wire and we’re still not at this fight yet, so I’m just going to pray that this one goes ahead. Of course Nate is still there waiting, but he’ll be left waiting until we figure something out.”
He added: “I’m just going to put a few options out there and see what bounces back. It’s got to excite me, let me see what these two fools do this weekend. We’ll see what the energy is like.”
