It appears the missing main event for the UFC's pay-per-view return to New York's Madison Square Garden was in plain sight the entire time. Or was it?

Social media posts from lightweight contenders Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier claimed late Tuesday that the fighters will meet on Nov. 3 at UFC 230 for the promotion's inaugural 165-pound "superfighter" title. 

The only problem with the news, which came just 39 days before the anticipated card, is that it's completely false. That's according to UFC president Dana White, who denied it during a phone call with ESPN's Brett Okamoto. Diaz later reiterated his stance that his scheduled bout with Poirier would be for a new title.

Injuries and extenuating circumstances have made finding a suitable headliner for such an important card difficult for UFC in recent months after Diaz-Poirier, a three-round co-main event at 155 pounds, was first announced in August. 

UFC currently has a 15-pound gap in weight between its lightweight limit (155 pounds) and welterweight (170), despite the fact that the three divisions below lightweight are all separated by 10 pounds. Despite rumors in recent months that an as-of-yet unnamed division at 165 pounds was possible, White never publicly confirmed the addition was imminent. 

Poirier (24-5, 1 NC) enters the Diaz bout on a red-hot streak of 8-1 (1 NC) over his last 10 bouts. The 29-year-old stopped former champion Eddie Alvarez in their July rematch and immediately called for a lightweight title shot. 

With rumors swirling that UFC was having trouble finding a main event for Nov. 3, Poirier pitched his case on social media on Tuesday. 

The often mercurial Diaz (19-11), the younger brother of UFC welterweight Nick Diaz, became a certified star and fan favorite after splitting a pair of 2016 bouts against Conor McGregor at welterweight that either threatened or broke UFC PPV records. The 33-year-old Diaz hasn't fought in more than two years since UFC 202 and stormed out of an August press conference in Los Angeles after White revealed McGregor was also coming back to challenge lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov on Oct. 6.  

ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported Tuesday that UFC is exploring the idea of an interim title bout to fill the main event slot at UFC 230 although White shot down talk of a Jon Jones return last week. The former light heavyweight champion was cleared to return in late October when his USADA suspension for failing a drug test at UFC 214 was reduced to 15 months.

UFC 230 will mark the promotion's third trip back to MSG since the sport was legalized in the state of New York in 2016. The two prior blockbuster PPV events were headlined by McGregor-Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016 and Georges St-Pierre-Michael Bisping at UFC 217 last year.