The buzz in the MMA world over the past couple of weeks is that the UFC are planning an immediate rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate diaz at UFC 200 in July, and a new Instagram post from ‘The Notorious’ only adds fuel to that fire.
“It was a good knock. Enjoy it. We’ll see the next time,” McGregor wrote on the social media site along with a picture of him punching Diaz in the jaw with a left hook.
Immediately after his submission loss to Diaz at UFC 196, McGregor said that his intention was to drop back down to featherweight to defend his title for the first time, but a week later in an interview with TMZ he admitted he was still interested in a rematch – though he didn’t indicate whether he meant now or in the future.
Eventually word emerged via highly respected reporter Ariel Helwani that the UFC was targeting the rematch, and on the latest edition of the ‘UFC Tonight’ show on FOX Sports 1, Diaz said he wanted to fight McGregor at lightweight, so that there’d be no room for excuses when he defeated the Irish star for a second time.
With the UFC themselves claiming that UFC 196 delivered 1.5 million pay-per-view buys – which would leave it second only to UFC 100 in the history of the sport, it’s not hard to see why the UFC are keen to forge ahead with a repeat performance.
However, some fans believe that McGregor should have to defend his 145lb title against Frankie Edgar instead, while Jose Aldo has also been campaigning for a title rematch too.
We’ll have to wait and see what the UFC decides to do, but whatever happens it’s clear that despite his first loss in the Octagon, Conor McGregor is still very much in demand.
