UFC 200 News: Dana White Targeting Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier as Headliner of Event
As of posting, the rematch between UFC featherweight world champion Conor McGregor and former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz at UFC 200 is off.
According to UFC president Dana White, their reason for taking "The Notorious" out of their monumental July 9th event at the T-Mobile Arena is Las Vegas was because the Irish fighter refused to do the media leading up to the bout.
White adds that they are planning to look for another opponent for Diaz, however, the Stockton, California native insists that he either fights McGregor, or he goes on vacation. Quite expectedly, a few superstars wanted to step in to replace McGregor, among them being former long-time 205-pound champion Jon Jones.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Prior to his UFC 197 fight on Saturday night at the MGM Grand against number six-ranked light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux, "Bones" already expressed his desire to "save" UFC 200 by facing current undisputed champion Daniel Cormier.
"Is there anybody else who fought at both? I would love to be the only guy to fight at UFC 100 and 200," Jones said in a report by MMA Fighting.
Jones did end up with a victory over Saint Preux, albeit in an underwhelming performance which many observers have attributed to ring rust. The 28-year old fighter now holds the interim title, and is slated to unify the belts with Cormier in a still indefinite date.
However, White opened the possibility of the fight finally happening at UFC 200, should the negotiations to put McGregor back in fall through completely.
Speaking to ESPN's Brett Okamoto at the backstage area after the fight, the outspoken UFC executive did concur that the idea of having Jones and Cormier have their rematch at UFC 200 is something they are considering.
"If they're both healthy, yeah, it's a possibility that could be the main event of UFC 200," White said.
Cormier, for his part, is awaiting on his doctor's advise, if he will be cleared in time for July 9th.
