Conor McGregor (L) hits Nate Diaz with a left during their welterweight rematch at the UFC 202 event at T-Mobile Arena on August 20, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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“Conor has to defend his title or make a decision to give it up or whatever he wants to do”, White said.
“All I know is that it’s 1-1”, McGregor said.
The intense rivalry between McGregor and Diaz pushed their first fight and the rematch to astronomical levels of interest from fans across the world.
Do you allow him to continue holding onto the title without defending it, giving him another shot at claiming a second belt believing that if he’s successful, he’ll vacate the featherweight strap of his own accord? But McGregor landed better shots, scored knock downs, and made Diaz look like his face went through a serious ordeal. “When I fight Nate again, it will be 155 pounds – it will be on my terms this time”.
“I didn’t see that fight going five rounds, and it did”, he said.
I mean, McGregor’s an wonderful fighter, he’s one of the best out there.
In doing so, McGregor becomes the first UFC fighter to earn a post-fight bonus in seven consecutive fights.
It seems like a curious proposal from White, too, as he’s repeatedly stated McGregor would be forced to move back down to featherweight in an age where the biggest potential money-making fight is often booked instead of the one that makes the most sense according to rank.
“It was amusing to me so I was telling him, “I don’t hear too much this time” and “Whoop, whoop”. McGregor pocketed $3 million while Diaz takes home $2 million.
Following the fight, Jose Aldo, who was defeated by McGregor in 13 seconds in December a year ago in a featherweight bout, tweeted: “Where you at @TheNotoriousMMA?”.
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McGregor exacted revenge for a loss at UFC 196. Dana White also threatened that he will strip McGregor of the UFC featherweight title but the champ is not anxious. The garrulous McGregor had promised to finish Diaz early this time around, and promotion for the fight included a bottle-throwing melee at a press conference Wednesday. “You won’t see me until then”. A fight against Alvarez would give McGregor a chance to fulfill his dream of winning belts in multiple weight classes.
