The fight, which was
first reported by MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani on March 18, was made official during a UFC Tonight broadcast on Wednesday night. It will be contested at 170 pounds, as part of a milestone event on July 9 set to christen Las Vegas’ new T-Mobile Arena.
Earlier this month, Diaz submitted McGregor at
UFC 196 via a second-round rear-naked choke. McGregor was originally slated to face
Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title, but dos Anjos was forced to withdraw from the card just 11 days beforehand with a foot injury.
Despite the makeshift nature of Diaz stepping on short notice — and the fight being held at the compromised weight of 170 pounds — the UFC 196 pay-per-view reportedly did massive success. UFC president
Dana White went on record saying it surpassed
UFC 100in total buys, which did over
1.5 million PPVs.
