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Conor McGregor to fight Nate Diaz at UFC 196

Last updated on .From the section Sportcomments10

Conor McGregor
Conor McGregor recently challenged boxing legend Floyd Mayweather to a fight on Facebook

Conor McGregor will fight Nate Diaz on 5 March after his UFCexternal-link lightweight world title bout with Rafael dos Anjos was called off.

Brazilian title holder Dos Anjos pulled out of the Las Vegas bout after injuring a foot in training.

Featherweight champion McGregor was aiming to be the first UFC fighter to hold two world titles at the same time.

UFC president Dana White announced the reorganised fight on Tuesday night.

Californian Diaz tweeted:external-link "He's going to have to get on his knees and beg."

McGregor knocked out Brazilian Jose Aldo in 13 seconds in December.

That victory confirmed the 27-year-old Irishman as the UFC's featherweight champion after he had held the interim title following Aldo's withdrawal from their planned fight last July.

McGregor plans to alternate between featherweight and lightweight, fighting for both belts, although his non-title bout with Diaz will be at welterweight, which is the heavier 170lb division.

Women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm is scheduled to defend her belt against Miesha Tate on the 5 March UFC 196 bill.

American Holm, 34, caused a major shock when she beat Ronda Rousey to win the title in November.

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10 comments

  • Comment posted by avp1982, at 12:23 24 Feb 2016

    I expect McGregor to win. He has an aura about him which instils confidence.

  • Comment posted by Myco, at 14:06 24 Feb 2016

    Thank you BBC for finally covering MMA.

    If anyone is looking for confirmation of Conor McGregor's effect on MMA, look no further than this national coverage.

    By the way, Diaz goes down in one.

  • Comment posted by U15510102, at 12:43 24 Feb 2016

    Dos Anjos was unlucky but he will not keep that belt once he is fit. Diaz will be a very interesting opponent. He likes hand to hand and is as brash as mcgreggor. Still fancy Mcgreggor but Diaz at a higher weight could be quite unpredictable. What we will see is how mcgreggor handles being heavier and if he can keep his speed.

  • Comment posted by U14518442, at 12:36 24 Feb 2016

    McGregor will kick him in Diaz!

  • Comment posted by U16481828, at 22:46 24 Feb 2016

    Can you add a MMA section on BBC Sport? (like you have Football, Rugby etc.)
    The BBC have just signed a deal with BBC3 and you still don't have a section for MMA on the website.

  • Comment posted by U15613464, at 19:17 24 Feb 2016

    It seems almost uncanny how many proposed opponents pull out of McGregor fights.. He's the star of the sport and after watching his last fights I can only see him dominating.. granite chin too fast too precise

  • Comment posted by U15633301, at 15:53 24 Feb 2016

    Not so sure it'll be over so quick, diaz has a good chin on him, ask Anderson Silva. I do think his style will play into Mcgregors hands though.

  • Comment posted by U3125334, at 12:48 24 Feb 2016

    Its a risk given McGregor has prepared for someone else and Diaz has been overweight when actually training for a fight before so he will likely be a fair bit heavier thank him. Diaz's risk is he wont have been preparing for a fight and McGregor has a very high KO count.
    Should be good mind and I wouldn't bet against McGregor

  • Comment posted by wheeliebug, at 15:58 24 Feb 2016

    I'm not surprised Diaz got the nod. There are better opponents available, but these 2 obnoxious characters will certainly be able to 'sell' the fight. They can both back up their talk, but it's the characters that will make this fight worth watching. I don't care who wins, I just want to see a good fight.

  • Comment posted by Frightnight, at 12:52 24 Feb 2016

    Mismatch - it will be over in two rounds! The man from the Emerald Isle to win without breaking a sweat.

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