Mark Henry (not that one) was a guest on Newstalk's 'Off The Ball' on Thursday night as he was invited on to discuss the news that Conor McGregor will fight Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 200 at 170 lbs, while Frankie Edgar will take on Jose Aldo for the interim featherweight title.

The news has bemused many, as creating an interim belt while the current champion is not only healthy, but even fighting on the same card, is a very strange call, but as Dana White explained before, Conor has eared some pulling power when it comes to arranging his fights.

Edgar's coach gave a cracking interview and explained that he thinks McGregor is an incredible striker who he genuinely enjoys watching, but he was highly critical over his thought process and accused him of running from a title fight with Frankie.

He also likened the Conor McGregor/Dana White relationship to a 5-year-old who wants to play at the park longer and a parent who can't say no, in what was perhaps a preview of the incredible UFC 200 press conference that will precede the night of fighting.

It's like a parent, you know, some are more lenient than others. It's like a 5-year-old kid who wants to keep going on the ride at the park. Some parents let them keep going for another ride, and some say 'Listen son, it's time to go home'. But you know Conor, he keeps whining and crying and he gets his way, no matter how bizarre things may seem. It's ridiculous. I'm not upset with the UFC, it's a great organisation, they've always treated Frankie well, but I wish they'd do it a little different.

Henry then explained that he felt that most MMA fans were against this decision, based on what he had seen in terms of feedback to the announcement:


I'm not one to really look on Instagram or whatnot, but I looked on the comments on the picture Dana White posted of Conor, and you can see there about 80-90% of the people are upset. I think it's the most I've ever seen people upset about one of the decisions the UFC made, because it's just so blatant. My question is, my biggest question is, why are you so afraid? Why do you have to clutch onto this 45 pound belt to grim death? Like if you're as great as you say you are, go fight Nate, go fight Dos Anjos, when you want to come back down I'm sure the UFC will let you snap your fingers and fight for the title, so why do you need to hold this title so bad?

This is not the last we will hear from the Edgar camp before UFC 200, but Conor McGregor is not Frankie Edgar's next opponent and it will be interesting to see if the narrative shifts to Jose Aldo at any stage before July, or if we are heading into an event where three of the four fighters on the main and co-main event are going to be talking trash about the same man.

Either way, it's going to be exciting.

You can listen back to Mark Henry on Off The Ball over on Newstalk.ie