There's a reason UFC booked Nate to fight shortly after Conor's fight

[Fatback96]

Can you guess? Isn't it funny how Conor and Nate disappeared for almost 2 years and now they both get announced at the same press conference?

You guessed it, they have the option for Nate fill in for a last minute replacement.
While the Khabib fight is huge, the 3rd Nate fight will always be big, and they need some sort of backup plan when dealing with this much money at stake. It's very smart of the UFC to have this backup plan.

Kudos to them for actually thinking ahead.

 

[Kvolcom]

Nah, this is just how you promote. Nate wins and a fight against either Conor or khabib sells big. He has stories w both of those guys. Nate will call out the winner if he wins.

 

[DarkneT]

No fucking shit Sherlock

 

[Miq]

 

[McBlaze]

 

[notori0us1]

The replacement is going to be Kevin Lee if either guy pulls out. Kevin Lee's star potential is huge (bigger than Khabib's) and he has a good chance of beating both guys.

 

[Adamant]

Win or lose, the third Nate fight should be booked after the Khabib fight.

 

[chaos_36]

The replacement is going to be Kevin Lee if either guy pulls out. Kevin Lee's star potential is huge (bigger than Khabib's) and he has a good chance of beating both guys.

This is bang on the money. Kevin Lee is your future GOAT whether you accept him or not.

 

[agibmxmma]

Doubt it in regards to Nate stepping in if Khabib or McGregor can't make it to the fight, but I do believe that Kevin Lee will be the replacement fighter for the Khabib vs McGregor fight.

 

[dim_]

Except nate won't be cutting to make weight for 229, he will be cutting for 230.

You don't put the backup on a card one month later

So no

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

Lol @ Kevin Lee being a star or a GOAT


You guys probably draft Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan

 

[kiley_sean]

Except nate won't be cutting to make weight for 229, he will be cutting for 230.

You don't put the backup on a card one month later

So no

Thank you!

 

[D'z]

Duh. This is why both Nate and Dustin are pissed and talking about not fighting. TS isn't announcing some big news, this was common knowledge as of a week ago.

 

[Jim Gilmore]

There's a reason UFC booked Nate to fight shortly after Conor's fight

They’re booking all these stars because they want to show as large a yearly profit as possible, along with the new TV deal, so WME can sell the UFC or go public, and cash the fuck out.

 

[Mo8_98]

they need to make money. Nate can't sit out much longer. He's not big enough of a star to sustain interest and will get lost in the shuffle.

 

[Adjutant]

This is bang on the money. Kevin Lee is your future GOAT whether you accept him or not.

I like Kevin Lee, but he’s doing himself a disservice by walking around grabbing his junk. It’s ghetto as fuck and stereotypical

 

[Evangelion]

Win or lose, the third Nate fight should be booked after the Khabib fight.

 

[Rittsy]

Nate said it was because his lawsuit with his former management got settled.

The McGregor/Diaz trilogy is always there. It won't be a last minute rush job. They'll have Lee step in if Khabib gets injured. Ferguson has also just been cleared to fight.

 

[LockardTheGOAT]

I think it's much more to do with Nate not wanting to fight again until he heard the news that Conor is returning than the UFC being tactical. lol @ anyone thinking they'd use Nate Diaz as a last minute replacement. The rubber match between Conor and Nate is too big of a fight to simply throw onto a card as a last minute substitute. That wouldn't happen.

If Khabib pulls out, Tony Ferguson will almost certainly be booked as his replacement. It's the next most logical fight in the division (since Tony is the Interim Champ and also riding a 10-fight win streak; He's the other "boogeyman" at Lightweight alongside Khabib), plus Tony said yesterday that he finished his four month recovery period and we've still got two months left to go before the fight.

 

[Irresponsible Dad]

No way.. ufc knows Nate would ask for one zillion dollars to save that fight (or ownership lol)