Watch Replay UFC 200 Tate vs Nunes Prelims

he event is the first that the organization has hosted at T-Mobile Arena, which opened in April 2016.^[1] It is taking place during the UFC’s annual International Fight Week and marks the second time the UFC hosted three events in consecutive days.

A welterweight rematch between The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner and former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz and current UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor was originally expected to headline the event.^[2]^[3] The pairing previously met earlier in the year at UFC 196. McGregor was expected to challenge UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, but dos Anjos pulled out due to abroken foot only 11 days before the event. Diaz eventually replaced him and the bout was shifted to the welterweight division.^[4] Diaz won the fight via rear-naked choke in the second round.^[5]

On April 19, after McGregor tweeted a supposed retirement, the UFC announced that he was pulled from the event and a replacement for him was being sought. UFC President Dana White clarified that McGregor’s removal was related to his refusal to come to a press conference that week, because «he was in Iceland training and didn’t want to ruin his preparation for the fight».^[6] McGregor released a statement two days later, claiming he was not retired and that he requested the UFC to allow him to focus more on the fight preparation this time, as he felt he lost his focus during the media obligations for the previous fight. He then stated that he was ready for the event and would come for a scheduled New York press conference, but if that’s not enough, he «doesn’t know what to say».^[7] A report later claimed that the UFC decided to cancel the fight indeed, in what was rumored to be a $10 million paycheck for McGregor.^[8]

Watch Replay UFC 200 Tate vs Nunes Prelims