Conor McGregor insists he will fight at UFC 200

Conor McGregor insists he will now be fighting at UFC 200 after all. McGregor, 27, was initially scheduled to take on Nate Diaz in a highly anticipated rematch on the 9 July card in Las Vegas but shocked the UFC world when he revealed his plans to retire last week.

UFC president Dana White later explained the organisation was now searching for a replacement for the Irishman after removing him from the card. But in another twist, McGregor has said he is now once again fighting that night, although UFC is yet to confirm.

"Happy to announce that I am BACK on UFC 200. Shout out to Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta on getting this one done for the fans. Respect," he tweeted to his 1.65 million followers.

Following McGregor's initial retirement tweet the Dublin-born fighter explained two days later he had reversed his decision to quit UFC, explaining in a statement the reason for the dispute boiled down to unreasonable demands over promotional work that was having an adverse effect on his training.

White however insisted the company could not bend the rules for McGregor. "Anybody who has fought for the UFC over the last 16 years knows that we try to give as much leeway as we can," White said at a press conference in Las Vegas, according to the BBC. "But you have to show up to promote the fight. You have to show up to press conferences and shoot the commercials. It's part of the job. It's what we do here.

"We get criticised a lot for bending too much to Conor – and we do. I respect Conor very much as a fighter and I like him, but you have to show up and do this stuff." White also admitted he does not yet know who will replace McGregor for the event in July. "We're going to figure that out. We gave Conor every opportunity in the world to get here," he said.