Dana White: UFC is looking at ‘another fight' for Conor McGregor that isn't Nate Diaz
http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/6/2...king-at-another-fight-for-conor-mcgregor-that
On Thursday, UFC president
Dana White said on SportsCenter that he was
unsure if the much-discussed rematch between
Nate Diaz and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor would ever take place, but that the UFC was still trying to hammer out a deal to get the rematch booked.
However in a subsequent interview on FOX Sports 1's The Herd, White appeared less hopeful, revealing that the UFC has begun looking at alternative opponents for McGregor's next fight after unsuccessfully trying to reach a deal with Diaz.
"It's just madness," White said. "It's just been tough. It's been a tough go-through, so we're looking at another fight for Conor right now and we'll see how this thing comes together. But Conor is just so obsessed with Diaz at 170, it's been crazy."
Diaz defeated McGregor on short notice at UFC 196 via second-round rear-naked choke. The two were initially slated to rematch on July 9 at
UFC 200, however those plans were scrapped in April when McGregor refused to fly to Las Vegas to participate in promotion for the fight.
Of late, UFC officials met separately with both McGregor and Diaz in the hopes of re-booking the fight for August 20 at UFC 202, but after having left the meeting with Diaz frustrated and unable to come to terms, White indicated that the UFC has begun looking at fallback plans to get McGregor back in action -- with or without Diaz.
"The reality is that since that Conor McGregor fight -- obviously when you win a fight of that magnitude, it has definitely rubbed off on Nate," White said. "People do want to see Nate fight. People do want to see this fight again, and I'm one of those guys who, I want to make the fight that people want to see, and I believe people do want to see this fight.
"But, people do want to see Conor McGregor vs.
Frankie Edgar or
Jose Aldo again too. I'm sure they would want to see him fight
Rafael dos Anjos at 155 for that title, so there's a lot of fights out there for Conor, if we can't get this Nate fight done."
Dana White details 'frustrating' negotiations with Nate Diaz over Conor McGregor rematch
http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/6/2...rating-negotiations-with-nate-diaz-over-conor
The latest chapter in the public negotiations between the UFC and
Nate Diaz played out on Thursday when UFC president
Dana White confirmed that he left his recent Stockton meeting with Diaz frustrated and unable to come to terms on the blockbuster rematch between Diaz and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor.
"No, that was true," White said on FOX Sports 1's The Herd. "That was true. It wasn't necessarily as much Nate Diaz as it was the management, but yeah, I did. And the problem is -- what drives me crazy is when you have a contract. Everybody sits down at one point and we do a deal. Everybody is happy. You shake hands, you hug. And then we move onto the next fight and everybody wants to blow up the deal."
Diaz defeated McGregor in March at
UFC 196, submitting the Irish sensation with a second-round rear-naked choke after replacing the injured
Rafael dos Anjos on less than two week's notice. The two were booked for a rematch at
UFC 200, however plans changed when McGregor refused to fly out to Las Vegas to participate in promotion and was subsequently pulled off the July 9 card.
UFC officials recently met with both Diaz and McGregor in the hopes of re-booking the fight for August 20 at UFC 202. In an appearance on The MMA Hour, Diaz said that the meeting
"wasn't the best" but also "wasn't the worst," and the rift between he and the UFC has been "exaggerated" by the public. However, White indicated on Thursday that Diaz's demands have been the hold-up to finalizing the rematch, and that the UFC has
begun looking at alternative opponents for McGregor in case an agreement fails to come together.
"What you try to do in a deal like this is you try to be as fair as you can be, and obviously the problem is that we have a deal," White said. "We already have a deal. [Diaz] has a contract.
"Conor has a deal. It's not like we went in and renegotiated. This was a big myth coming out of that fight. Conor McGregor has never, ever -- not only does he step up and take big fights last minute, moved up however many pounds to fight Nate and was willing to fight anybody; that's why people love Conor, because Conor will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime -- he has never come back and tried to renegotiate a contract, ever. Ever.
"So that was a big myth that he was doing that. Nate, we signed a new deal going into that fight, then he signed the contract for UFC 200. So then Conor doesn't show up for UFC 200, and now Nate is trying to blow up the deal. It's just frustrating. But listen, that's the business we're in. This is what we do. Everybody is not going to be happy all the time. It's part of the deal, so now our job is, Lorenzo (Fertitta) and I have to sit down and try to figure out how to make this deal work."
While the decision the book the Diaz-McGregor rematch initially drew criticism from fans, the drama surrounding UFC 200 seems to have propelled the match-up into one of the most anticipated fights available to the UFC in 2016. And Diaz appears to know it. On The MMA Hour, Diaz asked to be compensated fairly and said that he wanted to
"maximize" his earning potential for a McGregor rematch, adding that he would be willing to walk away from the negotiating table if the UFC insists on giving him a deal less than what he feels he is worth.
With the date of UFC 202 fast approaching and the fight still in limbo, White indicated that scenario may ultimately be what happens.
"We've been going back and forth and trying to make this fight happen, but the problem is timing," White said. "Now we're running out of time, because I've already got -- this fight is supposed to be August 20th, or something like that. I've already got September 20th done. I've already got that card made, it's done, and now we're moving onto the next one. So we're going to get to a point here where we're going to run out of time and we're just not going to be able to make the fight. So Conor is going to have to pick a new opponent that he would like to fight, or lose that date."
IHME SEKOILUU KYL.
