Conor McGregor will face Nate Diaz at the main event of UFC 196 on March 5 after lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out of his title defense against the Irishman due to a foot injury.
UFC president Dana White told ESPN.com that Diaz agreed to take on the Irish superstar despite the fight being on 12 days’ notice.
It will be a welterweight bout, meaning that McGregor will have to climb two weight classes from featherweight.
"We called Jose Aldo; Jose Aldo turned the fight down," said White. "We called Frankie Edgar; Frankie Edgar turned the fight down. Those are two guys everybody was talking about.
"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."
McGregor, the reigning featherweight champion, was originally slated to challenge Dos Anjos for the lightweight crown. The fight, however, fell through when the Brazilian withdrew with a broken foot on Tuesday.
Dos Anjos is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks.
Diaz has been wanting to fight McGregor for some time now.
Last December, he called out the Irishman with an expletive-laced rant after beating up Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 17.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
