The suspense was growing after it was announced Rafael dos Anjos would not fight Conor McGregor in UFC 196 because of a broken foot: Who would take dos Anjos' place?
UFC president Dana White ended the anticipation Tuesday on ESPN's "SportsCenter" when he announced Nate Diaz would face McGregor in a non-title welterweight bout.
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White said that Jose Aldo, whom McGregor defeated for the featherweight championship in December, and Frankie Edgar both turned down the fight, which led the UFC to pick Diaz.
"A lot of guys wanted this fight, but we ended up with Nate Diaz. We felt this was the fight to make and the fight the fans wanted to see," White said during the broadcast.
Because of the short notice (UFC 196 will take place March 5), Diaz, who weighs 170 pounds, will not have time to slim down for the fight. That means the 145-pound McGregor (19-2) will be fighting two weight classes higher than usual. This will be his first fight as a welterweight.
Diaz (18-10) is coming off a victory by unanimous decision over Michael Johnson in December.
He fired a shot at McGregor on social media, but McGregor has yet to respond.
He's going to have to get on his knees and beg...
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) February 23, 2016