Apr 25, 2016
UFC disputes McGregor's tweet he's back
The UFC says Conor McGregor's tweet claiming he's back on the UFC 200 card is not accurate. McGregor tweeted early Monday morning that he will be fighting in Las Vegas on July 9, but later in the day a UFC spokesperson refuted the claim, saying the tweet is not accurate.
TSN.ca Staff
The UFC says Conor McGregor's tweet claiming he's back on the UFC 200 card is not accurate.
After a whirlwind week that saw the Dubliner claim to be retired and get pulled from his main event rematch against Nate Diaz for failure to fulfill promotional duties, the 27-year-old featherweight champion tweeted early Monday morning that he will be fighting in Las Vegas on July 9.
But later in the day a UFC spokesperson refuted the claim, saying the tweet is not accurate.
The featherweight champion suffered his first loss in the UFC at the hands of Diaz back in March. McGregor was scheduled to fight lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but the Brazilian was forced to pull out with a foot injury. Diaz stepped into the main event at UFC 196 and secured a second-round submission victory over the Irishman.
UFC president Dana White said McGregor was "obsessed" with a rematch and the organization granted him his wish on its landmark event.
McGregor and his team shipped off to Iceland to prepare for the event. He refused to leave his training camp to travel for promotional duties, saying it would hurt his preparation if he did. Then suddenly last week, he announced he was retiring on Twitter.
Later in the day, White announced that McGregor would not appear in the main event at UFC 200.
In the last few days, including at a major press conference in New York, White has been adamant that McGregor wouldn’t be fighting at UFC 200. White said the UFC was looking into other matchups for Diaz and potentially a new main event for the card.