Conor McGregor faces no medical suspension, cleared to return ASAP
All four fighters in the main and co-main events put on a show at UFC 196, but after nearly seven rounds of action with a lot of blood, sweat and tears being shed, no one will face a lengthy medical suspension from the card on Saturday night.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission confirmed the medical suspensions with FOX Sports on Tuesday and out of the four main event fighters only Nate Diaz will face any kind of time off.
Diaz was suspended until 4/20 -- yes, seriously April 20 -- due to a facial laceration suffered in the fight with McGregor. Diaz also got a no-contact order until April 5 as a result of the fight.
Despite a hard-fought two rounds with Diaz, McGregor will actually face no medical suspension at all after losing by submission in the second round due to a rear naked choke.
Since McGregor faces no mandated time off, he would be cleared to return to action as soon as he wanted to book his next fight, with UFC 200 being the most likely landing spot.
McGregor stated after his loss that he planned to move back down to the featherweight division to defend his title with either Jose Aldo or Frankie Edgar as the most likely candidate for an opponent.
As for Miesha Tate and Holly Holm, they went to war during their fight over nearly five rounds, but thankfully neither fighter suffered any significant damage. Neither Tate or Holm was issued any kind of medical suspension, which clears the way for a return to action sooner rather than later.
The full list of medical suspensions for UFC 196 listed below:
Nate Diaz suspended until 4/20/16, no contact until 4/5/16 due to a laceration over his right eye.
Ilir Latifi must have an x-ray on left second toe and if positive he must get clearance from a physician or suspended until 9/5/16
Valentina Shevchenko suspended until 4/5/16, no contact until 3/27/16 due to left eye laceration.
Siyar Bahadurzada must have jaw cleared by doctor or suspended until 9/5/16. Minimum suspension until 3/27/16 with no contact until 3/20/16.
Brandon Thatch must have left foot x-rayed, if positive needs clearance by doctor or suspended until 9/5/16. Minimum suspension until 4/20/16, no contact until 4/5/16.
Nordine Taleb must have left knee x-rayed or an MRI and must be cleared by a doctor or suspended until 9/5/16.
Erick Silva suspended until 4/20/16, no contact until 4/5/16
Marcelo Guimaraes must have left knee x-rayed or an MRI and must be cleared by doctor or suspended until 9/5/16. Minimum suspension until 4/20/16, no contact until 4/5/16.
Chas Skelly suspended until 4/20/16, no contact until 4/5/16
Justin Salas suspended until 4/5/16, no contact until 3/27/16 due to laceration under right eye.
Julian Erosa suspended until 4/20/16, no contact until 4/5/16
