“After the fight, Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I went up to Conor’s house that he was renting here in Las Vegas and started talking about, ‘what are you thinking, what’s next?’ And he was obsessed. Obsessed with fighting Nate Diaz again. Obviously Lorenzo and I tried to argue with him and say let’s go back down to 145 and defend your title, or if you really want the Diaz fight that bad, do it at 155. And he wants to fight at 170. Even his coach, Coach [John] Kavanagh, tried to get him to get off this rematch and off the 170-pound fight, but it’s what he wanted… Conor McGregor is a guy who has had fights fall out seven days before he’s supposed to defend his title, and he steps up and he takes on all comers. The guy fights anybody, anywhere, anytime. He’s stepped up on late notice and done the these things. He wants this Nate Diaz fight? We’ll give it to him. We’ll make Frankie [Edgar] and Jose [Aldo] for the interim title, and whoever wins that fight will then fight Conor McGregor for the 145-pound title… Win, lose, or draw against Nate Diaz, he will go in and he will fight either Jose or Frankie. Whoever wins at [UFC] 200.”
-Dana White talks to ESPN about the just-announced UFC 200 main event between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, and why McGregor will fight Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar next (transcribed by MMAFighting.com).
Penick’s Analysis: I don’t get the need for McGregor to do the fight at 170 lbs, but I suppose that’s his prerogative. It’s nice to hear that the Featherweight Title fight will be next for him regardless, because it should be after he didn’t wind up fighting for the Lightweight Title at UFC 196. Edgar-Aldo is a fantastic fight in its own right, and is the right thing to put together while McGregor tries to take care of business. Now, a win over Diaz means they’d meet a third time eventually, but the UFC will likely want to see McGregor defend his title or relinquish it from there, rather than take up an entire year on one trilogy.
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