At 4:30am on Wednesday morning the MMA world was in shock as its biggest star Conor McGregor announced his retirement with a subtle ‘I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya’s later.’
What ensued in the next 48 hours was incredible. Rumours circulated that a rift between McGregor and the UFC had come to a head, with money, travel and promotion speculated as the reason for the shocking decision.
Eventually, UFC president Dana White gave clarity when he stated that the UFC had pulled McGregor from his main event fight with Nathan Diaz at UFC 200 due to McGregor refusing to participate in promotional obligations which included filming promos and participating in several press conferences around America. White insisted the issue had nothing to do with money and said that he did not believe McGregor had truly retired. Back to you Conor.
Two days after his incredible announcement, McGregor finally released a lengthy statement on Facebook outlining his frustrations about his promotional obligations and how he wanted to focus on training. McGregor was also quick to mention his incredible achievements, including the reported $400 million dollars he has generated in his last three fights inside eight months.
To finish the statement, McGregor answered the biggest question MMA fans had, ‘I AM NOT RETIRED.’ Back to you Dana.
White and the UFC replied emphatically when White re-iterated their stance and confirmed McGregor was definitely off the card. During the press conference Diaz did his best to get the fight back on the card, stating McGregor was the only man he was interested in fighting and if it wasn’t him he’d ‘go on vacation’.
White seemed unfazed by Diaz’s stance and said he and Nate would be having a ‘short conversation’ on his place on the card.
What Now?
Currently, UFC 200 is still an incredible card for any die-heart fan with two title fights featuring Meisha Tate versus Amanda Nunes for the bantamweight title and Jose Aldo versus Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title.
The card also features popular fighters like Cain Velasquez, Johny Hendricks, Diego Sanchez, Joe Lauzon, Jim Miller and Cat Zingano. That being said, UFC 200 carries the expectation that it will be the biggest and best card ever, and without a massive name like Conor McGregor, the UFC cannot expect to receive the mainstream attention it no doubt hoped for.
Big Names?
With McGregor seemingly out of the picture, the UFC needs to find another big star to headline the card. Two realistic possibilities come to mind, the No.1 pound for pound fighter in the world Jon Jones and the former dominant welterweight champion and future hall-of-famer Georges Saint Pierre.
Jones, who beat Ovince Saint Preux at UFC 197 to obtain the interim light heavyweight championship, has set up a massive rematch with current champ and bitter rival Daniel Cormier which could realistically be scheduled for UFC 200.
Cormier would easily have enough time to recover from the leg injury that forced him to withdraw from 197 while Jones would certainly have enough time to heal up after his successful return. With Jones on the card, the UFC could certainly attract some mainstream media attention, albeit less.
The second realistic possibility I mentioned was Georges Saint Pierre. Pierre would no doubt be the biggest name possible beside McGregor, with fans and the media alike waiting for his return to the octagon for over two years for his return to the octagon.
‘GSP’ is no doubt one of the UFC’s greatest fighters of all time, with nine consecutive title defences between 2008 and 2013. Many interesting match-ups await Pierre if he chooses to return, including a fight against the current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. Rumours also circulated that at one stage after UFC 196 a GSP versus Nate Diaz fight could happen.
The only issue stopping any of this from happening at the moment is Pierre’s contract. Reports suggest that the UFC’s Reebok deal is a huge roadblock in negotiations, as Georges left the UFC before the deal was introduced. If this issue can be resolved and an adequate opponent is willing to fight, Saint Pierre is a big name in MMA and with the ‘comeback’ narrative in play, could draw mainstream media coverage.
My Take
My take is fairly simple. The fans want it, Dana White says that he wants it, Nate Diaz wants it and according to White all the fighters want it, so why not re-instate Diaz v McGregor 2 as the main event? After all, this is UFC 200, and when it’s all said and done McGregor is the talk of the town during this period, so to have him ‘pulled’ from this event is extremely disappointing.
What are your thoughts?
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Nikita Tszyu defended his Australian super welterweight crown. But a fightback from opponent Danilo Creati threatened to spoil everything in the sixth round.
Nikita Tszyu has overcome a nasty mid-fight moment to score a unanimous points win over Danilo Creati and retain his Australian super welterweight title…
A bloodied Tim Tszyu has been cruelly denied in his quest to emulate his legendary father Kostya and become a unified world boxing champion…
Liam Wilson has suffered further heartbreak in Arizona, the Australian boxer losing his super-featherweight world-title fight against Mexican Oscar Valdez. In front of a…
Tim Tszyu has the chance to emulate his legendary father as a unified world boxing champion after the stakes were dramatically raised for his…
Australia's Alexander Volkanovski has lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, with the Spaniard scoring a stunning second round knockout in the main…
