Despite the fact that the main event wasn't a title fight, UFC 196 was a major success. The pay-per-view brought in more than 1.5 million paid viewers, which was the third most in the promotions history. Part of the reason was because of the title fight between Holly Holm and Miesha Tate as the co-main event, but the main reason was because of Conor McGregor taking on Nate Diaz.
Diaz won that non-title welterweight fight and may have taken McGregor down a notch in the fans' eyes, but it did not shake his confidence. McGregor has said that he would be very open to a re-match with Diaz in the future, and it seems like he might get his wish, but much sooner than people would have thought.
A McGregor vs. Diaz rematch is being discussed to headline UFC 200. It would be a non-title welterweight fight again, and the hope is that the UFC can announce this very soon. UFC 200 is set to take place on July 9 in Las Vegas.
The first fight between Diaz and McGregor was just two weeks ago, and they will now have four months to prepare for the rematch, if it is announced as expected. Let's not forget that the first fight was only announced 11 days before the fight actually took place. McGregor was initially supposed to fight Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight championship, but dos Anjos pulled out due to a broken foot. After dos Anjos pulled out, the featherweight champion decided to move up another weight class to fight Diaz at welterweight.
With more time to prepare and get his body more acclimated with being 170 pounds, McGregor will likely stand a better chance of beating Diaz. For the UFC, this is a no brainer, as the first fight was an instant success and both guys are open to doing it again. There were circumstances in the last fight that didn't allow it to reach its potential, but now that both will have a full amount of preparation time, the rematch should be a must-see.
If and when this fight gets confirmed, it will likely join the heavyweight fight between Cain Velasquez and Travis Browne. That fight is not confirmed yet, but it is also expected to be confirmed relatively soon. A middleweight fight between Gegard Mousasi and Derek Brunson is also expected to be a part of the UFC 200 card. Dana White has said that he wants this card to be one of the best ever, and it seems to be coming together. Nothing is confirmed just yet, but the reports indicate that this card could be filled with some great fights.
