UFC 200: Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz Back On Card? Irish Fighter Says Fight Will Happen

Conor McGregor says he’s back on the card for UFC 200, but the famed Irish mixed-martial arts fighter appears to be the only one making that claim. Early Monday morning, McGregor posted on Twitter that he will face Nate Diaz on July 9, though neither UFC president Dana White nor anyone from UFC has confirmed that the fight will take place.

The rematch between McGregor and Diaz was supposed to headline UFC 200, but McGregor was pulled from the card on Tuesday when he refused to be part of the promotional tour for the major pay-per-view event. On Thursday, McGregor put out a statement explaining his actions, saying he would be willing to appear in New York for part of the tour. But White confirmed at a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday that he wouldn’t put McGregor back on the card.

If McGregor doesn't end up facing Diaz at UFC 200, this wouldn’t be the first time he’s tweeted about a fight that never took place. In October 2014, McGregor tweeted that he was going to fight Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 when Norman Parke withdrew from the card with a knee injury. McGregor was never added to the card, and he later admitted that UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta was set to make the fight happen, but White didn’t want the bout on the card.

McGregor is arguably the biggest name in UFC, perhaps even ahead of Ronda Rousey, so last week's controversy has built even more anticipation for a potential fight with Diaz. Even though it was announced that McGregor was off the card and every other fighter that will compete at UFC 200 was at Friday’s press conference, McGregor remained the main topic of discussion. Diaz handed McGregor his first ever loss at UFC 196 in March, and while the company is searching for a new opponent for him, Diaz said he doesn’t want to fight if he’s not facing McGregor.

"I came to fight Conor McGregor,” Diaz told reporters. “I don't really have too much interest in anybody else or interest in fighting at all. That's what he wanted and I'm down for whatever. Like I said, I'm going to come here to fight, if we're going to get that fight going. If not, I'm going on vacation for real.”

There is still plenty of time for UFC to add McGregor-Diaz II back on the card for UFC 200, which is expected to be the biggest PPV in the company’s history. White, however, seems determined not to give in to McGregor’s demands for a lighter promotion schedule.

After Jon Jones defeated Ovince Saint Preux on Saturday at UFC 197, White said that Jones would face light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier in the new main event of UFC 200 if both fighters are healthy.