Welterweight Conor McGregor connects to the chin of Nate Diaz in their fight during UFC 196 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, March 5, 2016.
Thursday, March 31, 2016 | 10:42 a.m.
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Conor McGregor is getting a rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 200 in July.
Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar also will meet for the interim featherweight title on the same card at Las Vegas' new T-Mobile Arena, the promotion announced Wednesday.
Diaz beat McGregor by submission in the second round of a welterweight bout March 5 at UFC 196, ending one of the most lucrative pay-per-view shows in mixed martial arts history with a remarkable upset.
McGregor's 15-fight winning streak ended in the bout, which was fought 25 pounds above his usual 145-pound fighting weight. The rematch also will be contested at 170 pounds, the UFC said.
The loss punctured the intimidating aura gathered by McGregor, the loquacious Irish star who sits alongside Ronda Rousey as the UFC's biggest pay-per-view stars. McGregor had stopped his previous five opponents, and he landed numerous big shots on Diaz before tiring and losing the fight on the ground to Diaz's superior jiu-jitsu.
Although McGregor said immediately after the loss that he would probably return to featherweight, he decided instead to take a rematch with Diaz, the entertaining veteran. Diaz accepted the first fight less than two weeks beforehand after lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos dropped out with an injury.
McGregor is still the UFC's featherweight champion, but Aldo and Edgar will meet for the interim belt, with the winner getting the first shot at a unification fight against McGregor.
Aldo was the long-reigning featherweight champion of the UFC and the defunct WEC promotion until McGregor knocked him out in 13 seconds last December. Aldo has campaigned for a rematch, saying McGregor landed a lucky punch.
Edgar is a former lightweight champion who moved down to featherweight in February 2013, losing a competitive decision to Aldo. Edgar has won five straight fights since, and the veteran also has asked for a shot at McGregor.
UFC 200 is July 9 at the MGM Grand parent company's lavish new arena just off the Las Vegas Strip. The card also is likely to include former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez against Travis Browne, Rousey's boyfriend.
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