With the eyes of the world on Conor McGregor’s upcoming fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, a new situation has been developing. With just over a month to go before UFC 230 comes live from Madison Square Gardens, there’s a small problem yet to be addressed: there’s no main event. According to highly-respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, an announcement is expected some time today as to who will be headlining. But overnight, several UFC fighters have been making their own plans.
Things seem to have started with Rafael Dos Anjos. He tweeted yesterday that if the UFC were to make a 165lb division, presumably named ‘Light Welterweight’, he’d be interested in being a part of it. Two of McGregor’s former victims, Dustin Poirier and Nate Diaz, who are booked to meet on the card but not for the main event, have both leapt into the fray on Twitter to say that they are fighting in the main event for the new 165lb belt.
All of this appears to be news to Dana White. According to the UFC website, the main event is still To Be Announced vs To Be Decided. Diaz and Poirier are not even the co-main event at present; that honour goes to Jacare Souza and David Branch. So what’s going on? Are they simply trying to gauge interest in a new belt? Or are they trying to force the UFC’s hand by making the decision for them? If the UFC decide to fight back against Diaz and Poirier, what are their options? Well, as they have often done when backed into a corner, sources claim that an interim title will be put on the line, which makes a mockery of the whole process (just ask Colby Covington, whose interim title turned out to be useful for a photo op with Donald Trump and not much else). But there is precedent for this sort of thing. After all, it was only a few years ago that a brash Irishman, new to the UFC, started making bold claims about some sort of superfight where he would meet one of the world’s best boxers. Watch this space to see if they manage to pull off the MMA heist of the year!