Rafael dos Anjos injured, out of UFC 196 main event fight against Conor McGregor

[Kimbo]

Rafael dos Anjos has been forced to withdraw from next week's highly-anticipated UFC 196 main event fight against Conor McGregor.

According to multiple sources, dos Anjos suffered a broken foot late last week, forcing him to pull out of the lightweight title fight against McGregor. The UFC is currently working on finding a replacement to fight McGregor on less than two weeks' notice, however, nothing has been finalized at this time.

It's déjà vu all over again for McGregor. Last summer, then-featherweight champion Jose Aldo withdrew from his fight against the Irishman just eleven days before UFC 189. Of course, back then, the UFC adjusted quickly and booked Chad Mendes to fight McGregor and the event went off without a hitch. Furthermore, this marks the fourth time in McGregor's eight UFC fights that his original opponent was forced to pull out of their fight.

McGregor, the current featherweight champion, was on the verge of history, as he was hoping to become the first fighter in the promotion's history to hold two belts at the same.

Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate for the UFC women's bantamweight title is currently the co-main event for the March 5 card, which is set for Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena.

 

[Capt.Kangaroo]

Looks like Diaz may take the fight against McGregor

C/P
Nate Diaz gets the call, faces Conor McGregor in new UFC 196 main event
Following an injury to lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos ahead of UFC 196, Nate Diaz has been tapped as the replacement to step in and face Conor McGregor in the new main event on March 5 in Las Vegas.


UFC officials confirmed the new fight on Tuesday.


Dos Anjos was forced out of the fight after suffering a broken foot last week in training, and as soon as news broke that he no longer was competing at UFC 196, a slew of potential opponents began jockeying to land the marquee spot against McGregor.


Ultimately, Diaz ended up as the choice, and now he'll get the chance to face McGregor at UFC 196 next weekend. The fight will take place at welterweight with Diaz accepting it on short notice and McGregor happily accepting the move to 170 pounds.


The outspoken Stockton, Calif. native just recently defeated Michael Johnson at FOX UFC Fight Night in December, but just before that fight he was calling out McGregor for a potential matchup.


The latest on UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor


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Aldo's coach: We were offered, turned down McGregor rematch at UFC 196
"He talks all that money fight s--t, he knows where it's at. It's right here," Diaz said in December. "It's not these guys fighting in the main event. The main event's right here. These guys already got punked out at that press conference. He already beat them. That's a win.


"If he wants to fight a real fight, he knows where's it at, he knows where the money fight's at. It's right here."


McGregor responded in kind after he won a "Fighter of the Year" award earlier this month, taking aim at Diaz and painting him as a minor leaguer in the UFC.


"I heard Nate Diaz couldn't even afford the flight over to Las Vegas for the ceremony," McGregor said in his acceptance speech.


"Stop holding bitterness deep in your bum soul. Stuck on $20,000 to show and $20,000 to fight. I wipe my ass with that money. I tip your wage, Nate, yeah."


Now the rivals will get to settle their differences inside the Octagon as the new headliner for UFC 196 in Las Vegas, with the women's bantamweight title fight between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate as the co-main event.


McGregor (19-2) won the featherweight title in December, winning his long-awaited matchup with Jose Aldo in 13 seconds. The Irish pay-per-view star had hoped to hold the 155-pound lightweight belt simultaneously by beating Dos Anjos (24-7).


Diaz and his older brother, Nick, are rivaled only by McGregor himself as mixed martial arts' most eloquent trash-talkers, and the UFC 196 fighters are already off to an entertaining start.


While fans speculated about McGregor's new opponent earlier Tuesday, Nate Diaz tweeted: "He's going to have to get on his knees and beg..."

Foxsports

Nathan Diaz ✔ ‎@NateDiaz209
He's going to have to get on his knees and beg...
12:51 PM - 23 Feb 2016