Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz has been confirmed for UFC 196 on March 5.
It's been a frantic 24 hours to rescue the main event with Diaz stepping in to fight the featherweight champion at
welterweight after Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out.
But this is a fight that has been on the cards for a while. The fans wanted it, the UFC wanted it and Nate Diaz
really wanted it.
The one moment when everyone thought 'this fight has to happen' was back in December when the American beat Michael Johnson.
Instead of the usual thanking God, his mum or the fans, he launched straight into an expletive-laden tirade against McGregor - calling out the Irishman there and then.
It's no wonder it was cut from Fox...
McGregor's coach John Kavanagh's assessment of the fight and of Diaz was pretty brutal...
https://twitter.com/John_Kavanagh/status/678397974007980033?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
But the torch was lit, appetites were whet and people wanted the fight made.
It looks like it almost was too - with MMA writer Ariel Helwani saying that it could have been Diaz and not RDA facing McGregor in the first place...
https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/702373514280570880
https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/702373867025784833
Diaz himself had originally claimed that the fight was made before RDA was picked as McGregor's opponent.
"He said it's on!" Diaz had claimed. "We're going to do this."
"Hell yeah [UFC bosses] want it. Everybody wants that fight... If people want to see a real fight, they know who to call.
"When we fight, we're going to fight," he told
MMA Fighting. "Fight-fight. For real, fight. He thinks he's the ninja. I'm the ninja. Ninja Gaiden. American Ninja. Real motherf**king ninja.
"This [is a] ninja martial artist right here. I started that sh*t. That sh*t came from Stockton, with us - me and my team.
"American Ninja [vs] Irish Ninja. Bring that sh*t on."
https://youtu.be/6OcpWnKbsSw
So when RDA pulled out on Tuesday - despite names like Donald Cerrone, Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo being thrown around - there was only one name that people wanted to see. Diaz.
Even Dana White acknowledge that when he
broke the news on Sports Center.
