Yahoo Sports Dana White: ‘I Didn’t Want Nate Diaz to Get Screwed Up in This Whole Deal’
When featherweight champion Conor McGregor was pulled from the UFC 200 fight card and the scheduled rematch with Nate Diaz on Tuesday, Diaz was left without an opponent.
Early in the day on Wednesday, while appearing on The Herd on FS1, UFC president Dana White left the door open for McGregor to keep his slot on the July 9 event, but that door has since closed.
“We’re working on other fights right now. We pretty much decided that he (McGregor) didn’t want to show up, and his not here. The press conference is going to go on this Friday, and that’s that,” White told TMZ.com.
RELATED > Dana White: If Conor McGregor is Retired, Then Aldo vs. Edgar is for the Belt
UFC matchmakers are working to find Diaz a replacement opponent so the Stockton native can remain on the highly anticipated pay-per-view event.
“I didn’t want Nate to get screwed up in this whole deal and not have the opportunity to fight on this card. We talked to Nate. We threw out some opponents and we’ll see what happens,” White said.
Diaz stepped in on ten-days notice to take on McGregor when lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos withdrew from their planned UFC 196 champion vs. champion bout with a foot injury. Diaz defeated McGregor in the second round.
McGregor lobbied for a rematch at UFC 200, but was removed from the fight card after refusing to attend promotional obligations leading up to the event.
