It's been a long, strange path to UFC 196, which takes place tonight (Sat., March 5, 2016) inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The pay-per-view (PPV) show was originally supposed to go down in Brazil, but those plans were eventually scrapped. In fact, UFC 196 was supposed to be UFC 197, but injuries to Heavyweight studs Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez flipped that script. To compensate, company officials booked Featherweight champion Conor McGregor to battle Lightweight kingpin Rafael dos Anjos in a "Champion vs. Champion" clash. But, an injury to the Brazilian (see it here) forced a last-minute shuffle, pushing foul-mouthed Nate Diaz into the spotlight to battle the Irishman in a non-title Welterweight scrap.
UFC 196 fight card and lineup for Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz PPV tonight
