THIS WEEK WAS set to be Conor McGregor’s shot at history, and then one ill-timed kick brought the whole house of cards tumbling down.
Now Rafael dos Anjos has to take a step to the side — for the time being, at least — and Nate Diaz has taken his place on centre stage.
This is not the fight that McGregor’s army of travelling fans were promised but as is so often the case, the UFC, its savvy matchmakers and its slick machinery appear to have salvaged a triumph from the jaws of disaster.
When news broke that dos Anjos had injured his foot in sparring and would not be able to defend his lightweight title at UFC 196 on Saturday night, it robbed McGregor of the opportunity to do the thing that he relishes most: break new ground and achieve the “unachievable.”
A win would have seen him become the first fighter in the organisation’s history to simultaneously hold two titles in two separate weight classes. When dos Anjos pulled out, it stung, McGregor admitted.
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The storylines were shelved and new ones hastily written, but they appear every bit as compelling. With millions of dollars riding on the slightest drop in viewing figures, that might seem like a stroke of good fortune for Dana White and the Fertitta brothers, but in this industry, very little is left to chance.
Diaz is a ready-made foil for McGregor and, most importantly, a man who is just as in tune with the business side of the game. We’re about to see what happens when the immovable object of trash-talking meets its unstoppable force.
This is the third time in less than nine months that McGregor’s acolytes have been asked to raid the piggybank and credit union and head to Las Vegas. Most of them booked flights and hotel rooms in the expectation of a historic title fight — will they be happy that the UFC have found the next best thing at such short notice?
The younger Diaz brother has been angling for this since December when, with maximum calculation and minimum subtlety, he called out McGregor in an expletive-laden rant and moved himself into the shop window.
The ink was barely dry on the new contracts when the two clashed at their press conference, a taste of the verbal sparring that is bound to intensify every day between now and Saturday night’s showdown in the MGM Grand Garden.
Diaz’s “steroid” pops were an obvious attempt at provocation, and while they might not succeed in ruffling McGregor’s feathers, they have certainly sharpened the edge to the build-up.
Add the intrigue of McGregor’s 25-pound leap from featherweight to welterweight, Diaz’s proven ability to last the distance (only two of his 10 professional defeats has been by stoppage), and the countless potential matchups for UFC 200’s megacard that will live and die by the result, and it’s easy to see why this fight sells.
The Stockton brawler isn’t bringing a belt or providing the same platform for history as dos Anjos did, and yet the Brazilian already seems like yesterday’s man. Industry reports indicate that 196 could reach somewhere in the region of one million pay-per-view buys. Not bad for Plan B.
(By comparison, McGregor’s win against Aldo sold 1.2m PPVs while Holly Holm, who defends her bantamweight title against Miesha Tate in Saturday’s co-main event, drew marginally less at 1.1m for her unceremonious dethroning of Ronda Rousey.)
There was no sign of an impending Irish takeover in Dublin Airport on Tuesday morning, though fight week only really begins in earnest with the open workouts on Wednesday afternoon.
Anybody who was making their way towards Vegas flew very much under the radar, with none of the usual boisterous colour that has become their calling card. In New York’s JFK Airport, an obvious stopping point for transatlantic travellers, the only tell-tale sign was the occasional homage to the “man bun” once sported by their idol.
When Saturday comes, we might be looking back on this time as the calm before the storm.
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Letter from Las Vegas: Plenty to savour in Diaz clash as McGregor's army heads west
— Niall Kelly reports from Las Vegas
THIS WEEK WAS set to be Conor McGregor’s shot at history, and then one ill-timed kick brought the whole house of cards tumbling down.
Now Rafael dos Anjos has to take a step to the side — for the time being, at least — and Nate Diaz has taken his place on centre stage.
This is not the fight that McGregor’s army of travelling fans were promised but as is so often the case, the UFC, its savvy matchmakers and its slick machinery appear to have salvaged a triumph from the jaws of disaster.
When news broke that dos Anjos had injured his foot in sparring and would not be able to defend his lightweight title at UFC 196 on Saturday night, it robbed McGregor of the opportunity to do the thing that he relishes most: break new ground and achieve the “unachievable.”
A win would have seen him become the first fighter in the organisation’s history to simultaneously hold two titles in two separate weight classes. When dos Anjos pulled out, it stung, McGregor admitted.
The storylines were shelved and new ones hastily written, but they appear every bit as compelling. With millions of dollars riding on the slightest drop in viewing figures, that might seem like a stroke of good fortune for Dana White and the Fertitta brothers, but in this industry, very little is left to chance.
Diaz is a ready-made foil for McGregor and, most importantly, a man who is just as in tune with the business side of the game. We’re about to see what happens when the immovable object of trash-talking meets its unstoppable force.
This is the third time in less than nine months that McGregor’s acolytes have been asked to raid the piggybank and credit union and head to Las Vegas. Most of them booked flights and hotel rooms in the expectation of a historic title fight — will they be happy that the UFC have found the next best thing at such short notice?
The younger Diaz brother has been angling for this since December when, with maximum calculation and minimum subtlety, he called out McGregor in an expletive-laden rant and moved himself into the shop window.
The ink was barely dry on the new contracts when the two clashed at their press conference, a taste of the verbal sparring that is bound to intensify every day between now and Saturday night’s showdown in the MGM Grand Garden.
Diaz’s “steroid” pops were an obvious attempt at provocation, and while they might not succeed in ruffling McGregor’s feathers, they have certainly sharpened the edge to the build-up.
Add the intrigue of McGregor’s 25-pound leap from featherweight to welterweight, Diaz’s proven ability to last the distance (only two of his 10 professional defeats has been by stoppage), and the countless potential matchups for UFC 200’s megacard that will live and die by the result, and it’s easy to see why this fight sells.
The Stockton brawler isn’t bringing a belt or providing the same platform for history as dos Anjos did, and yet the Brazilian already seems like yesterday’s man. Industry reports indicate that 196 could reach somewhere in the region of one million pay-per-view buys. Not bad for Plan B.
(By comparison, McGregor’s win against Aldo sold 1.2m PPVs while Holly Holm, who defends her bantamweight title against Miesha Tate in Saturday’s co-main event, drew marginally less at 1.1m for her unceremonious dethroning of Ronda Rousey.)
There was no sign of an impending Irish takeover in Dublin Airport on Tuesday morning, though fight week only really begins in earnest with the open workouts on Wednesday afternoon.
Anybody who was making their way towards Vegas flew very much under the radar, with none of the usual boisterous colour that has become their calling card. In New York’s JFK Airport, an obvious stopping point for transatlantic travellers, the only tell-tale sign was the occasional homage to the “man bun” once sported by their idol.
When Saturday comes, we might be looking back on this time as the calm before the storm.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
Conor McGregor brings fan close to tears after surprise visit to LA apartment
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Conor McGregor Nate Diaz UFC UFC 196