Late Sunday night, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor sent out a tweet saying that he’s back on the UFC 200 card. He also thanked Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta for putting him back on the card.
Happy to announce that I am BACK on UFC 200! Shout out to @danawhite and @lorenzofertitta on getting this one done for the fans. #Respect
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 25, 2016
It took the UFC president nearly 12 hours to confirm or deny that “The Notorious One” would be headlining UFC’s 200th pay-per-view in July. He has, in fact, denied that the featherweight champ is back on the show, saying that he hasn’t talked to McGregor or his manager since last week’s press-conference.
“It’s not true. We haven’t talked to Conor or his manager since the press conference. I don’t know why he would tweet that.”
Now it’s clear that the purpose of McGregor’s tweet was to put pressure on the UFC and hopefully force them into putting him back in the main event of UFC 200. But, it looks like Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta haven’t changed their mind about McGregor’s status for July’s show.
There’s a good chance that the McGregor vs. Diaz rematch will be replaced with the Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier rematch for the light heavyweight championship. Both Jones and Cormier have expressed their interest in fighting on the card, and if DC is able to get cleared to fight on that date, then Dana White will make DC vs. Jones 2 official for UFC 200.
If the light heavyweight championship fight ends up falling through, then the UFC doesn’t really have many options for the UFC 200 main event. There’s a chance that they could convince Georges St. Pierre to come back. But, as of right now, a GSP comeback at UFC 200 doesn’t seem likely.
Ronda Rousey is busy shooting a movie, and she’s not expected to return to action until November. Plus, she has made it clear that she’ll only come back and fight if the women’s bantamweight championship is on the line, and the UFC has already made a championship match for UFC 200. There’s really no chance of a Rousey return this coming July unless the UFC wants to pull Amanda Nunes from the fight.
There’s a small chance that the UFC will put Conor McGregor back on the UFC 200 card if they can’t make a suitable main-event for the show. But again, there’s a good chance that Jones vs. Cormier will end up headlining the show. Unless that fight falls through, which is possible, McGregor will be sitting at home on July 9.
If the UFC can’t find a replacement for McGregor vs. Diaz, then the main event of the show will either be Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight championship or Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes for the women’s bantamweight championship. Both fights should be interesting, but they’re not fights that the majority of UFC fans are clamoring to see.
We’re probably not even close to being finished with the Conor McGregor vs. Dana White and the UFC saga, as we’re still over two months away from UFC 200. A lot can happen between now and then.
Daniel Cormier is going to see a doctor today, and if he’s cleared to fight this coming July, then expect the UFC to announce that Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier will headline UFC 200. As of this writing, there hasn’t been any news on DC’s doctor visit. But, whether it’s good or bad, we should know exactly what’s going on with the UFC light heavyweight champion by the end of today or tomorrow at the latest.
[Photo by Jayne Russell/Getty Images ]
