How many fighters were falling over themselves to get a shot at Conor McGregor when Rafael Dos Anjos pulled out injured?
Almost every man in the UFC from bantamweight to welterweight was lining up for a chance of the famous ‘red panty night’ against McGregor at UFC 196.
The likes of Mannu Gamburyan, Northern Irishman Norman Parke, Donald Cerrone and undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov were being thrown around in a mad 24 hours after RDA announced he had broken his foot.
But looking at every poll on the Internet, it was clear who the fans wanted. Stockton bad boy Nate Diaz.
McGregor himself admitted the younger Diaz brother was the man he wanted to face – because he ‘wasn’t a p*ssy’ – and even stepped up to welterweight to fight him.
But it appear that Diaz – who has stepped in at just 11 days’ notice – was not the name on the top of Dana White’s list of replacements for RDA.
The UFC supremo was apparently pushing featherweight Urijah Faber for the fight.
Faber, who almost clashed with McGregor ahead of UFC 189 before facing him as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter, had sent a picture of himself out looking ripped and ready at 158lbs.
http://twitter.com/UrijahFaber/status/702225757049720832
He told Yahoo Sports: “Dana called me and offered me the fight. He said I was who he is pushing for. I accepted, but Conor ended up wanting Diaz. I was ready. Lean at 158-pounds.”
The current bantamweight contender didn’t care about the gaping size different between himself and McGregor, who was walking around at 177lbs two weeks out.
“He looked friggin’ huge. I would have been at a big disadvantage, but would have had to use speed and grappling, [It would have been an] uphill battle, but I don’t care.”
