I'm not saying there was an intentional message to Conor here, but adding the biggest PPV draw in UFC history to a card that Conor was removed from has to make him realize that the show can go on just fine without him. First Cormier vs Jones 2 and now Brock.
Conor is going to make plenty of cash at 202 against Diaz, but I think his ego may have to taken a slight hit here, and if he loses to Diaz he may never mentally be the same again. 
I was thinking the same thing. There's a bigger fish in the pond now, and he's stuck on the sidelines for a bit. 
As a fan I would rather see Conor vs Nate 1000x more than Brock Lesnar vs Hunt. I just think the Conor vs Nate has so much more riding on that fight outcome. Who really cares if Brock loses to Hunt...or visa versa? The excitement was how Conor would come back and possibly avenge his loss to Nate and to build that hype train. Brock is just a big behemoth and has lost several times to HW who are not even champions any longer.
Now if it was Brock vs Fedor that would be MUCH better swap to "blow minds".
This puts Conor in his place in terms of negotiating. Lets be honest Conor was the biggest star and was using his position to get the biggest pay days and run the show. He was allowed because he was Golden, he was winning in dynamic fashion and even in loss he was absolutely polarizing. He had the UFC by the balls for a bit so UFC made a brilliant move and brought back the original PPV megastar. Now Conors position while still strong is very much leveled out as he now has to contend with another (and truly in terms of pure star power) superstar with a following even bigger than his coming back for a monster card that he is no longer on.
If 200 tops them all he loses even more because he is no longer the biggest draw especially if Brock wins.
Will he have to come back "crawling"? No not at all he is still a star but the UFC can push Brock and his brand big which will remind Conor that he isn't the only top attraction.
The big fish in the pond now has to share said pond with a whale. Advantage Zuffa, well played by them
But Brock is a one off appearance.
I think it shows the only reason they were willing to let conor walk is they had Brock waiting in the wings. This doesn't do anything to conor at all. He'll still do one million plus buys at 202 regardless. Card numbers mean nothing when you're the top draw.
The whole thing was well played by the UFC and they needed to do it.
Conor was quickly becoming a problem child that forgot who brought him to the dance.
I am amazed that the UFC put such a solid card together without Conor, Ronda, GSP or Silva....a few months ago it looked kind of lame and now it will be a spectacle.
Connor's gone from thinking he is in the drivers seat to sitting in back.
I still want very much to see the Diaz rematch and they will all make millions so I really don't feel sorry for Connor at all.
FFTF_stuffadamdoes - But Brock is a one off appearance.Right, and I get the previous comment about Conor vs Nate being a better fight as well. I agree with that. All that I am stating is that Brock is gonna rake in some serious loot and put asses in seats, kinda showing Conor how much he fucked up and how he isn't needed quite as much as he thinks he is. He's a hell of a draw, but he isn't the whole damn show.
So if Brock helps break PPV records with a Conor-less card, and then Conor loses to Nate, wouldn't that be a motherfucker of a 1-2 combo to Conor's ego? I honestly hope it doesn't happen, as I think he is great for MMA when he plays ball.
If I'm on that card getting a PPV %, I'm pretty pumped Brock is now on that card.
It doesn't hurt his bargaining posture unless UFC 200 takes a dump as far as ratings go. His fan base is different. Brock has UFC and wwe fans to pull from. Conor has Ireland and UFC fans. Who do you think brings in more money? If they low ball Brock's pay day there is no reason for Brock to do a one off fight. The UFC is too smart to think they can cap Conor's pay based off of how much Brock is making and how well UFC 200 does. My bet is that they had this in the wings all along. They had already mentioned a yet to be unannounced fight before Conor was booted in the first place. Personally I have no interest in seeing cock lesnar fight in the UFC. I was hoping we all had put that behind us.
Ufc needs some fights ready to go. Nate Conor at 202 is a good one for future. Obviously, this would be top fight on any card.
I don't think Conor will have any big negotiaton fights for a while after Nate again. I expect Nate again cleans Conor's clock.