UFC President Dana White has revealed that Nate Diaz was Conor McGregor’s preferred opponent for UFC 196 following the withdrawal of Rafael dos Anjos.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that the Brazilian was to miss the spectacle with an injury, with Diaz announced as his replacement. White has revealed there was a substantial shortlist to come in, which included former lightweight champions BJ Penn and Anthony Pettis, but he felt that Diaz was ultimately the best match.
“We figured that this would be the most exciting fight,” said White, per SportsCenter (via Fancy MMA, h/t The 42) “It’s the fight that Conor really wanted. A lot of people wanted to fight Conor McGregor, but Diaz wanted the fight and we felt that this was the fight to make.”
He continued:
Let me tell you, there was a long list of people that said they wanted the chance to fight Conor McGregor. We called Jose Aldo, Jose Aldo turned the fight down. We called Frankie Edgar, Frankie Edgar turned the fight down. Those were two guys that everybody was talking about. Those two [were] out of the way.
We called ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone. [He] absolutely accepted the fight, would love to take the fight. BJ Penn wanted the fight, Anthony Pettis wanted the fight, a lot of people wanted this fight. But we ended up with Nate Diaz. We felt this was the fight to make and the fight that the fans wanted to see.
More to follow.
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