UFC president Dana White appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter last night to announce that Nate Diaz would be Rafael dos Anjos‘ replacement at UFC 196 against Conor McGregor. In addition, the fight would be held at 170 which is two weight classes higher than McGregor’s typical featherweight class. It was a terrible decision by White as there were much better options available.
Although he wouldn’t admit it when asked, the main reason White selected Diaz over the other fighters is his ability to sell a fight. Over the next 11 days, McGregor and Diaz will dish out some serious trash-talk like we’ve never seen. It’s going to get fans excited to watch the fight because they’re two of the best talkers in the sport, but when it’s time for the actual fight on March 5, we will all be left disappointed.
Other guys willing to take the fight included Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, Anthony Pettis and Urijah Faber, but none of those guys can create the type of excitement outside the octagon that Diaz can. White got blinded by the necessity to sell pay-per-views instead of giving us the best fight possible inside the octagon.
Since December 1, 2013, Diaz has fought twice, losing to dos Anjos in December 2014 and defeating Michael Johnson in December 2015. He’s the fifth-ranked fighter in the lightweight division and has an 18-10 in his career; there’s nothing on his resume that backs up White’s reasoning to choose Diaz other than the fact that he talks a good game.
The other side of this that isn’t getting enough attention is what happens if Diaz actually wins? McGregor is the current face of UFC after Ronda Rousey‘s loss to Holly Holm, so no one has any idea how harmful a loss, even at lightweight, would be for him and the sport.
As a message to White and the rest of the UFC, this fan won’t be buying the pay-per-view. I’ll probably just find somewhere to stream the Holm-Miesha Tate fight.