After a day of deliberation we can finally confirm that Nate Diaz will step in for an injured Rafael Dos Anjos to face Conor McGregor at UFC 196.
A host of contenders were queuing up to get a shot at the loud-mouthed Irishman but in the end it was Diaz who got the nod, with the fight taking place at 170lbs.
While McGregor will be bitterly disappointed to have missed out on the chance to become the first fighter to hold two belts simultaneously he will take some solace in the decision to pick Diaz.
The Californian is one of the most popular fighters on the roster and even though the belt is not on the line it is unlikely that the change in opponent will make much difference to the PPV numbers.
Diaz put himself on McGregor’s radar after his most recent win in December.
In his post fight interview he said: “F*ck that. Conor McGregor, you’re taking everything I worked for, mother f*cker. I’m gonna fight your f*cking ass. You know what’s the real fight, what’s the real money fight — me. Not these clowns that you already punked at the press conference. Ain’t nobody wants to see that. You know you can beat them already. It’s an easy fight. You want the real sh*t. Right here.”
The choice reflects the UFC’s faith in Diaz’s marketability – a number of viable, high profile fighters asked for the opportunity but ultimately they went with the man they think sells.
There was interest from Anthony Pettis and Khabib Nurmagamedov, to name just a couple, but in the end it came down to a two horse race between Diaz and Donald Cerrone.
Both men took to Twitter to stake their claim with Diaz saying: “He’s going to have to get on his knees and beg…”.
Meanwhile Cerrone was campaigning for the shot throughout the day on Twitter, at one point posting: “Anyone, anywhere. I’ll be ready. Just waiting on this call”.
Although some will be disappointed to see “Cowboy” overlooked most fans are satisfied with the decision.
The two best trash talkers in the game will go toe-to-toe in ten days time in Las Vegas.
