Dana White Says McGregor vs. Diaz III Is ‘Internet Bulls***’
Conor McGregor‘s return to mixed martial arts (MMA) action is on the horizon, and while many believe a trilogy bout with rival Nate Diaz is next, UFC President Dana White is here to shut those rumors down.
Longtime top-ranked UFC 155-pounder Tony Ferguson is the new interim lightweight champion of the world after defeating No. 7-ranked Kevin Lee in the main event of last night’s (Sat. October 7, 2017) UFC 216 pay-per-view (PPV) from Las Vegas, Nevada.
At the UFC 216 post-fight press conference, Dana White noted that the rumors that McGregor’s next fight will be a trilogy lightweight title bout with Nate Diaz are nothing but ‘internet bullsh*t.’ White doubled down by saying that the unification bout is the only fight that makes sense next:
“Nobody is talking about Diaz,” White said. “Diaz has never been talked about, that’s internet bullsh*t. Tony is the interim champion, Conor is the champion, it’s the fight that makes sense. It’s the fight that has to happen, it doesn’t make sense, it’s the fight that has to happen.”
When asked if he and McGregor have spoken about what’s next for “The Notorious One,” White said that they haven’t, but knows the Irishman wants to fight before the end of the year:
“Not yet,” White said. “We didn’t specifically talk about it, but we did talk about it kind of. He wants to fight again this year. He does want to fight again this year, so – he went and partied for a while, and I went home for a while – you got to let him blow off some steam and then figure it out.”
Ferguson may not be as big of a name as Nate Diaz in the mainstream media world, however, White has no doubts that a match-up between “El Cucuy” and the combat sports world’s biggest star will definitely be a great fight:
“Tony is a busy guy man,” White said. “He keeps coming forward, he keeps throwing all kinds of different things at you, and Conor’s awesome. There’s no way it’s not a great fight. Impossible.”
