Last year, Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor reshaped the MMA landscape. When Diaz submitted McGregor at UFC 196, most people assumed McGregor would return to the division in which he was champion, to defend his belt as years of precedent had unfolded before him. But instead, McGregor opted to rematch Diaz in a non-title fight and shirk what some would call his “championship responsibilities” in favor of a “money fight.” While this wasn’t the actual birth of the “money fight” it was the first time in the UFC someone had opted to go that route instead of a championship bout and McGregor’s seeming disinterest in fighting anyone that wouldn’t “move the needle” is an ethos that has rippled across all divisions since.
UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn blasted fighters for the recent trend of asking for ‘money fights.’
