UFC 196 took a huge hit with Rafael dos Anjos pulling out of his main event bout against Conor McGregor due to a broken foot.
With the main event taking a dive, we decided to look at some potential substitute opponents to take on Conor McGregor at the Las Vegas event.
Donald Cerrone
This one is the most likely to happen in my opinion. Cerrone is coming off a first round submission victory against Alex Oliveira this past weekend and took little to no damage. The automatic 14-day suspension will obviously put his training in a precarious spot, but this is a bout Cowboy has wanted for some time.
The two have had a feud going back and forth for quite a few months now and the potential of the match-up happening was almost upon us when Cerrone fought Rafael dos Anjos.
Cerrone has contacted the UFC about taking a stab at McGregor at UFC 196 to save the show.
Frankie Edgar
Edgar has been waiting in the wings to get his shot at the 145-pound title for over a year now. However, that would still be waiting and if he were to step in for RDA, it would be at 155-pounds.
“The Answer” was the former kingpin at lightweight until he lost back-to-back fights against Benson Henderson in 2012. Since moving down to featherweight, Edgar has gone 5-1, with his lone loss to Jose Aldo in his debut.
Edgar has beaten perennial contenders B.J. Penn, Cub Swanson, Urijah Faber and, most recently, Chad Mendes.
Robbie Lawler
With a victory over dos Anjos, it has been said that McGregor would like to take a crack at welterweight champion Robbie Lawler.
One could only hope this bout would save UFC 196, but if it were to occur, it would likely be at the big show — UFC 200. Lawler would not be able to make it down to 155-pounds and, McGregor is probably not going to be anywhere close to 170-pounds.
Even if McGregor is close to the welterweight limit, Lawler will be way heavier come fight day.
Nate Diaz
Diaz has called for a fight with “The Notorious” for as long as I can remember.
Personally, I would like a fight between Diaz and McGregor to have more of a lead up, as the trash talking could be otherworldly.
Diaz returned to the Octagon in December where he dismantled Michael Johnson at UFC on FOX 17, earning Fight of the Night honors.
Despite many wanting Diaz to be, “that guy,” he took to Twitter and said McGregor would need to beg.
He's going to have to get on his knees and beg…
— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) February 23, 2016
Jose Aldo
While Aldo is a possibility, it’s not the most appealing one. With McGregor finishing the former champ in just 13 seconds, no one wants to see the automatic rematch.
Prior to Aldo losing to McGregor, he was the only featherweight champion in UFC history and had gone undefeated in 18-fights.
If this bout does happen, it will be the first time Aldo makes the jump to 155-pounds.
According to MMAFighting.com, Aldo has already turned down the fight, but there is always a shot in the dark.
