According to reports stateside UFC chiefs have refused to change their stance regarding the unexpected cancellation of Conor McGregor’s highly anticipated rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 200 on July 9th.
The news comes as ‘The Notorious’ McGregor released via Facebook on Thursday stating that he did not in fact retire despite his earlier claims that he did. The brief statement by McGregor explained that he had a strong desire to focus on training in the lead-up to the fight which in turn inspired him to refuse attending certain promotional events that were scheduled in a number of U.S cities over the coming day.
The Notorious further explained, that he was willing to travel to New York for an upcoming press conference and revealed that he still hoped to fight Diaz on July 9th.
However UFC president Dana White pulled McGregor from the scheduled fight, but later with revealed to Colin Cowherd that the opportunity was there for the Irishman to still fight but he had to pick up the phone and agree to fulfill his obligations.
Although a short time later the UFC chief White told U.S sports programme UFC tonight that McGregor’s opportunity has now since passed, stating “The window is pretty much closed.“