A brief preface: I wrote this blog last night, and before I could publish it this morning, UFC announced that Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier light-heavyweight title unification bout will be the new main event for UFC 200, which really makes this a moot post.  Apparently Jones did not suffer any severe injuries in his fight against Ovince St. Preux, and Cormier feels that he will also be fully recovered in time to train and fight Jones at 200.  So the question has been answered before I had the chance to ask.

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Back in 2009, the Ultimate Fighting Championship hyped UFC 100 as a landmark event, putting on two championship bouts featuring the promotion’s two of the most popular fighters at the time: Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre.  Headlined by the big names and backed up by a solid undercard, UFC 100 brought in a whopping 1.6 million Pay-Per-View (PPV) buys, a record that remains unbroken to this day.  Needless to say, the fans as well as the UFC staff both have high expectations for another big-number event in UFC 200.  Everyone was curious to find out who will be performing on the ‘big show’, and eventually a nice fight card came together on paper.  Headlined by a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, there were also two title fights scheduled for the event: Frankie Edgar taking on Jose Aldo for the interim featherweight title (the real title still technically held by McGregor), and Miesha Tate defending her new bantamweight crown against Amanda Nunes. The remainder of the card also seemed very promising, all the way down to the Fight Pass prelims, and there are plenty of opportunities to place a bet on UFC 200 if you’re a gambling type.  Unfortunately, last week shenanigans began as the scheduled main event fell apart – seemingly for no apparent reason.  I wonder if any sports books are taking bets on what will ultimately end up as the headlining bout of this event.  Here are our most likely options:

[#2 FW] Conor McGregor vs [#2 LW] Nate Diaz

It all started with a cryptic tweet from Conor McGregor claiming that he is retiring from the sport.  Speculation has run wild on the reasons behind this statement. Was it a negotiating ploy to get more money for the fight?  Was McGregor shook up by a recent death of a fighter following an MMA bout in Ireland, which Conor witnessed from the ringside?  Did he already make enough money in his short career to live out the rest of his life comfortably and not have to worry about potential broken limbs, brain damage, or worse?  As it turns out, none of the above.  The point of contention between McGregor and Zuffa was a pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas, which McGregor refused to attend, as he feels it would disrupt his training camp in Iceland.  With neither side willing to budge, UFC has pulled McGregor off the card, and started looking for a replacement opponent for Diaz.  Few days later, McGregor tweeted that the fight is back on, but this was disputed by Dana.  Nick Diaz also has not remained silent: first he claimed that he will retire along with McGregor, then it was something along the lines of “I don’t want to fight anyone but McGregor, in fact I really don’t want to fight at all, but I will fight whomever UFC puts in front of me”.  Most recently, Diaz announced that the fight is off and he is going on vacation.  I don’t know who to believe here, but can’t shake the feeling that this is all just a strange manner to generate more hype for the fight- let a few weeks pass, and perhaps all parties will come to an agreement and the fight will be back on. Should the fight go ahead, the betting odds for UFC 200 cannot predict a winner from McGregor and Diaz.

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Light Heavyweight (205)
[#6] Glover Teixeira (24-4-0, -208) vs. [#8] Rashad Evans (21-4-1, +171)
Glover Teixeira is the All-Time #24 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.
Rashad Evans is the All-Time #8 ranked Light Heavyweight fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Glover Teixeira (2-1-0)
2015-11-07: W vs. [#27LHW] Patrick Cummins (8-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:12 of round 2
2015-08-08: W vs. [#12LHW] Ovince St. Preux (19-7-0) via Technical Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 3:10 of round 3
2014-10-25: L vs. [#4LHW] Phil Davis (15-3-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Rashad Evans (2-1-0)
2015-10-03: L vs. [#3LHW] Ryan Bader (20-5-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-11-16: W vs. [*] Chael Sonnen (28-14-1) via TKO (Punches) in 4:05 of round 1
2013-06-15: W vs. [#12MW] Dan Henderson (31-14-0) via SD (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Glover Teixeira 161, Rashad Evans 196
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Women Strawweight (115)
[#5] Rose Namajunas (4-2-0, -217) vs. [#9] Tecia Torres (7-0-0, +177)

Last 3 Fights: Rose Namajunas (2-1-0)
2015-12-10: W vs. [#28SW] Paige VanZant (6-2-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:25 of round 5
2015-10-03: W vs. [#25SW] Angela Hill (4-3-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 2:47 of round 1
2014-12-12: L vs. [#7SW] Carla Esparza (10-3-0) via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) in 1:26 of round 3

Last 3 Fights: Tecia Torres (3-0-0)
2015-12-12: W vs. [#34SW] Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger (6-2-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-06-13: W vs. [#25SW] Angela Hill (4-3-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
2014-12-12: W vs. [#93SW] Angela Magana (11-8-0) via UD (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Rose Namajunas 128, Tecia Torres 126
Previous Match-up Record: Tecia Torres leads 1-0-0
Wins Against Common Opposition: Even: Both have 2 win(s) against common opposition.
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Lightweight (160)
[*] Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0-0, -1013) vs. [#65] Darrell Horcher (12-1-0, +608)

Last 3 Fights: Khabib Nurmagomedov (3-0-0)
2014-04-19: W vs. [#1LW/#1DD/#2P4P] Rafael dos Anjos (25-7-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-09-21: W vs. [#52LW] Pat Healy (30-21-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
2013-05-25: W vs. [#53LW] Abel Trujillo (13-6-0) via UD (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Last 3 Fights: Darrell Horcher (3-0-0)
2015-10-31: W vs. [#276LW] Stephen Regman (5-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 3:23 of round 3
2015-02-07: W vs. [#405LW] Jordan Stiner (9-4-0) via TKO (Head Kick and Punches) in 3:45 of round 3
2014-08-23: W vs. [#149LW] Alex Ricci (9-3-0) via UD (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Khabib Nurmagomedov 728, Darrell Horcher 168
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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Heavyweight (265)
[#7] Junior dos Santos (17-4-0, -132) vs. [#8] Ben Rothwell (36-9-0, +109)
Junior dos Santos is the All-Time #5 ranked Heavyweight and #23 ranked Absolute fighter.

Last 3 Fights: Junior dos Santos (1-2-0)
2015-12-19: L vs. [#4HW+] Alistair Overeem (40-14-0) via TKO (Punches) in 4:43 of round 2
2014-12-13: W vs. [#3HW+] Stipe Miocic (14-2-0) via UD (48-47, 49-46, 49-46)
2013-10-19: L vs. [#2HW+] Cain Velasquez (13-2-0) via TKO (Slam and Punch) in 3:09 of round 5

Last 3 Fights: Ben Rothwell (3-0-0)
2016-01-30: W vs. [#13HW+] Josh Barnett (34-8-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 3:48 of round 2
2015-06-06: W vs. [#26HW+] Matt Mitrione (9-5-0) via Submission (Guillotine Choke) in 1:54 of round 1
2014-09-05: W vs. [#4HW+] Alistair Overeem (40-14-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:19 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Junior dos Santos 113, Ben Rothwell 71
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Junior dos Santos leads 5-3
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Heavyweight (265)
[#21] Derrick Lewis (14-4-0, -142) vs. [#30] Gabriel Gonzaga (17-10-0, +119)

Last 3 Fights: Derrick Lewis (2-1-0)
2016-02-06: W vs. [#37HW+] Damian Grabowski (20-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in 2:17 of round 1
2015-10-03: W vs. [#44HW+] Viktor Pesta (10-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:15 of round 3
2015-06-06: L vs. [#35HW+] Shawn Jordan (18-7-0) via TKO (Hook Kick and Punches) in 0:48 of round 2

Last 3 Fights: Gabriel Gonzaga (1-2-0)
2015-12-11: W vs. [#49HW+] Konstantin Erokhin (9-3-0) via UD (30-28, 30-27, 30-27)
2015-04-11: L vs. [#22HW+] Mirko Filipovic (31-11-2) via TKO (Elbows and Punches) in 3:30 of round 3
2014-12-13: L vs. [#26HW+] Matt Mitrione (9-5-0) via TKO (Punches) in 1:59 of round 1

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Derrick Lewis 64, Gabriel Gonzaga 121
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: Gabriel Gonzaga leads 1-0
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Heavyweight (265)
[#81] Francis Ngannou (6-1-0, -130) vs. [#117] Curtis Blaydes (5-0-0, +108)

Last 3 Fights: Francis Ngannou (3-0-0)
2015-12-19: W vs. [#254HW+] Luis Henrique Barbosa de (8-2-0) via KO (Punch) in 2:53 of round 2
2015-05-28: W vs. [#179HW+] William Baldutti (7-3-0) via TKO (Punches) in ? of round 2
2014-09-20: W vs. [#252HW+] Luc Ngeleka (4-1-0) via Submission in ? of round 1

Last 3 Fights: Curtis Blaydes (3-0-0)
2016-02-19: W vs. [#270HW+] Luis Cortez (3-2-0) via in of round 3
2015-04-10: W vs. [#329HW+] Allen Crowder (5-2-0) via TKO (Punches) in ? of round 2
2014-11-15: W vs. [NA] Brad Faylor (5-4-0) via TKO in 0:45 of round 2

Days Since Last Pro Fight: Francis Ngannou 113, Curtis Blaydes 51
Previous Match-up Record: No previous match-ups.
Wins Against Common Opposition: No common opposition or both are winless against common opposition.
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