#mcgregor vs mendes

[drip-2-hard]

Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes — July 11,2015

[ilovejevsjeans]

Daniel Ricciardo on his passion for combat sports, a walkout song and the time he asked Lewis Hamilton to ‘fight’

McLaren Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo, who currently sits seventh in the driver standings heading into this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, is among the world’s best behind a steering wheel. But how would he fare if he swapped his racing gloves for boxing or MMA gloves?

“I’d love to do a charity boxing match or something just to feel that adrenaline of walking to a ring,” Ricciardo said. “It’s on my to-do list for sure. At school I had a few little fights but nothing crazy. Nothing I’d brag about here.”

Ricciardo says he learned the sport of boxing from a friend who fought as an amateur growing up. However in recent years his love of combat shifted more toward mixed martial arts, a sport that is “quite beautiful. It’s an art form and I was just taken by it.”

The Australian — who boasts 4.6 million followers on Instagram — rarely misses a fight night, whether that’s a small card or pay-per-view. Every Monday he gears up for multiple MMA podcasts to hear analysis on what just took place in the cage.

In an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Ricciardo opened up about his love for fighting, which driver would make the best opponent and why Lewis Hamilton turned down an opportunity to get in the ring against him.

You’re an avid fight fan. How did this passion for the sport start?

One of my best friends growing up, when he was growing up, he was doing amateur boxing and got very good at it. I was then doing my racing and he was doing his boxing. We were both on a bit of an unconventional path — both individual sports, not really the typical sports the kids at school were doing. We had that in common. Once I started taking my racing more seriously I began taking my fitness more seriously. So I started going to his gym to just train. I really enjoyed doing it. But the truth is — I don’t want to lie to anyone. I’m not a fighter. As much as I would picture beating the bully up at school, it’s not me. But I just fell in love with not only doing it but also watching it.

I enjoyed watching boxing but it was really when I got exposed to MMA … It just had me. It was back in 2011 when I started properly getting into it. It was the quickest sport I had ever been absorbed by. I was all in.

My whole YouTube feed is just all MMA shows, whether it’s press conferences, interviews, podcasts. It’s just full of MMA stuff. I’m a full nerd now.

Being in Australia and traveling a lot, are you forced to get up at weird times for fights?

The beauty was I was in LA when (Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 2) was on so it was prime time and I was happy. But normally in Europe, it’s 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., which isn’t as good. Any kind of sporting event that you look forward to, it’s always cool when it’s in the evening because you have all day to get ready and talk about it. If you wake up at 4 a.m. it’s like “ugh,” and then you’re straight into it so there’s not as much of a build-up. But it’s all good.

So do you still train at all?

No. To races, my trainer carries some pads and gloves just to stay a little sharp and change it up. If I’m getting my reflexes with some tennis balls, maybe I throw in a bit of a boxing combination or something. Again, I’m not saying I’m good or anything. But I just enjoy the whole movement part of it.

Boxing was cool and I enjoyed watching it growing up. But there was something with MMA where there’s just so many different disciplines and the matchups … as a contest it was so much more open and for that, exciting. I feel — I know it’s not always the case — you can kind of tell in boxing if someone is getting momentum, the advantage. It’s like “this guy is going to win the fight.” But in MMA, it’s like “this guy is winning standing but if this goes to the ground, it’s back to square one.” So I just loved it. I was really immersed by it all.

Did you have a particular fighter or fight that got you hooked early on?

One of the first events I watched was UFC 116. Chris Leben was on the card and I think he was losing the fight. And then he got a triangle with probably 20 seconds to go in the third round, so that was really exciting. Stephan Bonnar was also on that card and he got a really cool finish on “The Polish Experiment” Krzysztof Soszynski. That was a card for me where I was very taken from that. Then I discovered “The Ultimate Fighter.” I just binge-watched all of those (seasons).

In terms of fighters, Leben was a character, I liked him. Carlos Condit. I’d say Condit and Cub Swanson were two guys I got behind early on. Condit, I love his style and the way he carries himself.

Have you been to a lot of cards in person?

The very first one I did was the best for me personally. To this day, it’s my favorite sporting event I’ve ever been to: (Conor) McGregor-(Chad) Mendes. Vegas in July 2015. Obviously McGregor, but he wasn’t yet a champion and still kind of on the rise. It was the energy and atmosphere. It was just wild.

The whole event too. (Robbie) Lawler-(Rory) MacDonald, which had the fight of the year. Every fight on the main card I think was a finish, so I got very lucky at my first event.

I’ve done (Michael) Bisping-(Anderson) Silva in the UK. That was a great contest as well.

There are a lot of great fighters from Australia and New Zealand like Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski and Robert Whittaker. Have you had a chance to meet any of them?

I haven’t met them. A couple of them I’ve had interactions with on social media. But I love Whittaker, obviously Volkanovski is killing it. I’m fairly patriotic to the Aussie fighters. If they are fighting, 99 percent of the time I��ll be supporting them. But one of my good buddies is roommates with Luke Rockhold, so I got to know Luke the last couple of years. I was trying to do some training over Christmas with him but it didn’t end up working out.

I know you’re a big shoey guy. What do you think of Tai Tuivasa doing it after wins?

I’ve had a bit of contact with Tuivasa as well. It’s obviously great. But one thing I can’t get behind is spitting. That’s a little extra.

Plus he’ll grab some random fan’s shoe.

He definitely takes it to the next level. It’s cool that — as disgusting as it is — we have some traditions like this.

Shifting a bit to F1, have you ever gotten into any big fights on the track? What was the worst fight you’ve gotten in?

Earlier in go-karting there was a bit more. Unfortunately in F1, I guess because you’re on the world’s stage, even if you push someone you probably are going to get a fine or get penalized. At times it’s a little too clean. But I’m still waiting for the day that someone confronts me and I just lay them out (laughs).

You also just seem a lot more laid back than a lot of other drivers, so you’d probably not be my first choice of someone getting into a fight soon.

I’m all talk, it would be nice obviously to not have to fight anyone. But no one would expect it from me. Even when I tell people I’m a fight fan, people are like “oh really? You’re into that? You seem too nice to like that.”

But to get where I have in the sport, you need a bit of a killer streak in you. I do have it, but don’t always show it.

What other driver would make the best fighter?

I know some guys have done — for fitness — hit some pads. Randomly, he doesn’t have a seat this year, but Daniil Kvyat started doing quite a lot of boxing last year for his training. I saw a few clips and it started to look like he knew what he was doing. I would say he would be the guy who has the most idea. I’d put him and myself up there. The rest I don’t think stand a chance.

So if you had a charity event, you don’t have anyone in particular you’d want to go against?

To be honest, I actually asked Lewis Hamilton. At the beginning of 2016, he posted a video on his Instagram hitting pads. I was as well at the time, so I was like “hey, let’s do a charity fight.” I asked him in person. But he didn’t bite on that one so I was a little sad.

I might re-ask the question.

What about Max Verstappen? For people who watched the first season of the F1 show “Drive to Survive” on Netflix, I’m sure they would love to see you guys throw down at some point.

That would have been cool as well (laughs). Max would be a good competitor in the ring. The way he drives, he’s quite stubborn. He’d be a hard guy to put away. He’s probably the guy that you’d choke him and he’s going to sleep and not tapping. That would make an interesting one.

In contrast, is there an MMA fighter you’d like to race on the track?

An obvious one would be Conor McGregor. To hear in his Irish accent all kinds of things, that would make pretty good television. And he loves his cars. It’s obvious, but that would probably be the best.

How often would you say you watch fights now? Not just PPVs, right?

Unless I have something like work or another commitment, I’m watching it every week. Mondays I’m getting ready for every podcast. I sound like a real nerd but it’s just an addiction. I love it. Anyone doing that for Formula 1, I’d be like “you’re such a nerd,” but here I am doing it with MMA.

Is it hard to follow everything during the race season?

If I can’t see it live, then 100 percent I’m going to watch the replay or buy it later. But it’s also a good escape. If I’m traveling and I’m in between races, to get my mind away from my competition, I like to watch it. I also try to pick up things as well. Whether it’s from a mental point of view … I’ll look at the walkouts and how they are behaving. I try to figure out if they are really as calm and collected as they are portraying or if it’s a bit of a facade. I’m trying to work out what I can use in my events.

Do you have a walkout song prepared if you were to fight?

I’ve thought about it. The short answer is no. You typically have to have something heavy and fast, but I fell in love with Chris Weidman’s “Won’t Back Down.” It’s not typically a song that will pump you up but it’s so iconic and now it’s his, it’s very fitting.

I’d go for something more lyrically powerful as opposed to instrumental. I loved Max Holloway’s, I think it’s called Mount Everest (by Labrinth). (X)

[bcthetruth]

Mythical Matchup: Conor vs Khabib

Originally written in August 3, 2018 for Combat Docket

It has been a long time coming but the UFC lightweight championship bout between newly crowned champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor is finally upon us. The highly anticipated contest was expected to happen on multiple occasions while McGregor held the title, but for one reason or another, it never came to fruition. Now the two once in a lifetime athletes are set to fight at UFC 229 in Las Vegas. It is rare we get a title matchup with so many different variables that can lead to victory or defeat for both competitors. Here I will explore what both incredibly gifted lightweight fighters will need to do and avoid to emerge victorious on October 6.

In the clip above you see Khabib getting blasted with a straight left from Michael Johnson as he moves in. Like McGregor, Johnson is a southpaw fighter so this is the same situation Khabib will find himself in when he shares a cage with the brash Irishman at UFC 229. Khabib’s nonstop pressure breaks his opponents more often than not. With that said, McGregor is great fighting off the back foot and countering fighters who move forward, which could work against Khabib aswell. The power, accuracy, and killer instinct of Conor McGregor gives him a better chance to finish Khabib than Michael Johnson had should he land a strike like the one in the gif below:

Every fight starts on the feet and It would be an understatement to say that this heavily favors former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor. While current undisputed lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov possesses a highly underrated striking attack, trying to kickbox with McGregor would be a fatal mistake. Offensively Khabib is known as a grappler, but he can be very unpredictable. He has a solid uppercut that he landed numerous times against Michael Johnson at UFC 205. Defensively Khabib uses a stance similar to that of Floyd Mayweather with his left typically protecting the lower body and his right protecting the head. While this works for him sometimes, he is no Floyd Mayweather and shots get through often enough to leave him in trouble against superior strikers.

This straight left by Conor McGregor started a sequence that would end tough Philadelphia native Eddie Alvarez in the second round. This fight is a great example for the contest with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Like Alvarez, the Russian powerhouse has a tendency to rush in with his strikes and rarely move backward as he looks to eventually get a takedown off of any little mistake made. However, this isn’t all bad news for the undefeated champion. While moving forward and looking for big punches didn’t bode well for former lightweight king Eddie Alvarez, it did help him initiate the clinch, where Khabib Nurmagomedov is absolutely dominant.

The clip above shows Alvarez rushing in and getting clipped by a punch, however, he ended up with a clinch up against the octagon cage. While Conor was able to effectively defend against anything Alvarez wanted to do in the clinch, he faces a whole new animal when he steps into the cage with Khabib Nurmagomedov. Sure, Khabib can get traditional takedowns by shooting from the outside. However, the clinch game is really his bread and butter and if Khabib can successfully initiate a clinch the way Alvarez did it is safe to say McGregor will be unable to stop him from getting the fight to the mat and negating any chance for McGregor to land one of his devastating knockout punches.

As you see above when Khabib gets Michael Johnson against the fence he ties Johnson’s right leg up with his left leg and launches him to his left side before securing the top position with a trip. This is just one of the many tricks that Nurmagomedov can use to get an opponent down while inside the clinch. The sambo and wrestling specialist possesses a multitude of trips and slams that form a very technical clinch game that has been nearly impossible to stop in his 26-fight career. It is safe to assume that Michael Johnson is a better wrestler than Conor McGregor and he had absolutely nothing for Khabib in that department.

If this fight ends up on the mat then the general consensus is that Conor McGregor will be done. While this isn’t necessarily true for the Irishman, Nurmagomedov is a special talent on the ground. Contrary to popular belief, Conor McGregor isn’t terrible on the mat like some would suggest. When fresh he was able to sweep a very talented BJJ black belt in Nate Diaz. In some ways, Khabib’s advantage on the ground is similar to Conor’s advantage on the feet. Khabib Nurmagomedov is not a bad striker despite what you may hear, but if he strikes with Conor McGregor he is likely to end the fight sleeping on the mat. Similarly, if Conor McGregor ends up on his back, he is in all likelihood going to end up catching a severe beating and losing either by TKO or submission.

A smaller, less powerful wrestler in Chad Mendes was able to take McGregor down and pound on him for the better part of five minutes whilst on short notice. To his credit, McGregor was able to survive that beating and end a tired Chad Mendes in the second round with accurate and powerful punches and kicks. This fight showed that on his back Conor McGregor can not only be controlled but he can also be thoroughly pounded at the same time. Unfortunately for Chad, his inability to keep that pace saw him too tired to repeat that performance in the next round and allowed McGregor to secure what was at the time his biggest career win. Khabib Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, has a phenomenal cardiovascular ability.

The impeccable ground attack of Nurmagomedov is relentless. He put a nonstop, hellacious beating on Johnson at UFC 200 by easily outwrestling him and smashing him from dominant positions. It is difficult to believe that Conor McGregor will be able to accomplish on the mat or in the clinch what Rafael Dos Anjos and Michael Johnson couldn’t. Khabib was able to thoroughly out grapple accomplished grapplers and he did so with relative ease barely breaking a sweat and talking to UFC president Dana White in between rounds as well as his opponents during rounds.

This fight is the classic striker vs. grappler matchup taken to a whole new level. Conor has shown an uncanny ability to out strike great strikers and end his fights in incredible fashion. Khabib has been able to dominate wrestlers in wrestling and jiu-jitsu practitioners on the mat. Whats makes this fight so interesting is the fact that these two are the absolute best at what they do making for what is truly one of the most intriguing fights ever made. When these two finally do share the cage at UFC 229 it will come down to execution. Both men have shown a great ability to implement their game against every opponent they have faced, and now they will have to do it once again, but this time against each other.

X-Factor

Both of these men have something that make them special. Aside from being able to outstrike his opponents, Conor McGregor has devastating knockout power in his hands. This is his clear X-Factor when he fights. His confidence comes from knowing that even when he is losing he doesn’t need much more than a few carefully chosen shots to win a fight. You can see it after his tough first round with Chad Mendes. Instead of being frustrated, McGregor laughs in his face and smiles all the way back to his stool. It speaks to his confidence in his fight finishing ability, and so does his 86% knockout ratio.

The X-Factor for Khabib Nurmagomedov has to be his strength. It is all anybody seems to talk about when they train with him. Current light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier even marvels at the sheer strength of Nurmagomedov. I guess wrestling bear cubs as a child really does have its perks. When he fights his otherworldly strength is apparent, as you see him manhandling fighters who are generally difficult to bully. His ability to throw around high-level wrestlers and hold down high-level grapplers shows an uncanny level of dominance that is has thus far been proven difficult to overcome for anybody who stands across from him.

Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov is easily one of the most intriguing fights in MMA history. Two guys who are so dominant in one aspect of the game creates a true 50/50 gamble. If Conor can successfully use his footwork, speed, timing, and accuracy to find the mark with his devastating left hand then he will leave with another dramatic, career-defining win. If Khabib manages to secure the clinch position he will take this fight to the mat, and if Khabib gets the fight down his relentless attack, outstanding cardio, and unparalleled grappling will see him walk away from UFC 229 the victor. On October 6 the Irish Lion and Russian Bear will enter the UFC octagon for their long-awaited battle in Las Vegas in a fight that could be the biggest fight the UFC has ever put together.

[tabloidtoc]

OK, April 6

Cover: Royal Wives Tell All -- Princess Kate Middleton, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess Fergie 

Page 1: Contents 

Page 2: Contents 

Page 4: Inside Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen’s decision to leave the New England Patriots and start over in a warmer city -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Page 6: Miley Cyrus’ racy twerking performance at the 2013 MTV VMAs had a serious effect on her well-being when she was compared to a turkey and she didn’t wear shorts or a bikini for two years because of the backlash 

Page 7: As Katherine Schwarzenegger made her way through the press circuit to promote her fourth book she’s discovered she enjoys being in front of the camera and she’s a natural and really comfortable talking to an audience so she entertaining the idea of cohosting a talk show, ever since Kylie Jenner cut ties with former BFF Jordyn Woods she’s grown inseparable from pal Stassie Karanikolaou and Kylie’s on-again beau Travis Scott feels like a third wheel 

Page 8: After just one season Gwyneth Paltrow’s The Goop Lab is on the verge of getting the ax so she’s asking everyone she knows to stream the show and crank up its viewership even if they just leave their TVs on and don’t actually watch the show, Jamie Foxx’s wandering eye spurred ex Katie Holmes to pull the plug on their six-year romance last May but he’s come to find that the single life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Chris Evans is ready to settle down and he’s entrusting his younger brother Scott to help him find The One 

Page 10: Red Hot on the Red Carpet -- Louis Vuitton -- Samara Weaving, Florence Pugh, Laura Harrier 

Page 11: Alicia Vikander, Angelica Ross 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better? Larsen Thompson vs. Shailene Woodley, Brooke Shields vs. Tammin Sursok, Joan Smalls vs. Camila Morrone 

Page 14: News in Photos -- Rita Ora 

Page 15: Sophia Bush wore gloves while grocery shopping in LA, Kevin Hart and wife Eniko Parrish and kids Hendrix and Kenzo and Heaven 

Page 16: Stars Get the Job Done from Their Own Humble Abodes -- Carrie Ann Inaba films a live segment for The Talk, Andy Cohen hit the airwaves for his radio show, Cindy Crawford at her desk, Today’s Al Roker reported the weather live from his studio kitchen 

Page 17: Dax Shepard doing his podcast 

Page 18: Emily Ratajkowski, Rod Stewart and wife Penny Lancaster hold hands while shopping in LA, Ashley Benson 

Page 20: Gerard Butler, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Andrew Garfield, Sofia Vergara 

Page 22: David Beckham, Nikki Reed and Rachel Zoe, Jimmy Kimmel 

Page 24: Inside My Home -- Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita’s decorative digs 

Page 26: Eva Mendes has gone to great lengths to maintain her privacy but after years of encouraging Eva to come out of her shell Ryan Gosling is starting to feel he wants more out of life

Page 28: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have grown closer than ever as they’ve been quarantined since testing positive for coronavirus, after years of traveling back and forth across the pond Robert Pattinson and Suki Waterhouse are looking to take up permanent residence in LA and are thinking of getting dual citizenship, Love Bites -- Brittany Snow and Tyler Stanaland wed, Hannah Brown and Tyler Cameron back on, Amanda Bynes and Paul Michael pregnant 

Page 30: Cover Story -- Royal Wives Behind Palace Walls -- Kate Middleton slams Meghan Markle 

Page 31: Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson’s handling of Prince Andrew’s fall from grace has impressed Queen Elizabeth 

Page 32: Duchess Camilla comes clean, Princess Diana’s diary 

Page 34: Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt prepare to dish about their undeniable chemistry in a no-holds-barred TV interview 

Page 36: Kids Say the Darndest Things -- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on daughter Jasmine, Catherine Lowe on son Samuel, Hilaria Baldwin on daughter Carmen, Tia Mowry on son Cree 

Page 40: Abs of Steel -- Jennifer Lopez, Julianne Hough, Kate Hudson, Kendall Jenner 

Page 41: Jada Pinkett Smith, Gigi Hadid, Elsa Pataky 

Page 42: Luke Bryan gets candid about American Idol’s new season 

Page 46: Style Week -- Sara Foster on headlining Joe’s Jeans’ Spring 2020 campaign 

Page 48: Beauty -- the hottest launches of 2020 -- Saoirse Ronan 

Page 50: Cara Delevingne 

Page 52: Hailee Steinfeld 

Page 54: Entertainment 

Page 55: Q&A -- Tarek El Moussa 

Page 58: Don’t Stop the Music -- as the country self-quarantines amid the coronavirus pandemic musicians are livestreaming home performances to keep people’s spirits up -- Keith Urban, Pink, Katharine McPhee, Chris Martin, Rob Thomas 

Page 60: Sound Bites -- Daniel Radcliffe, Joshua Jackson, Emily Blunt, Brandi Glanville, Orlando Bloom, Gigi Hadid 

Page 62: Horoscope -- Aries Ewan McGregor 

Page 64: By the Numbers -- Ashley Benson

[walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart]

UCL and UEL Watch Thread 26/02/2020 via /r/LiverpoolFC

UCL and UEL Watch Thread 26/02/2020

After yesterday’s eggy bread I’ve gone for a sun-dried tomato and olive bread today. 🍅 🍞

Tonight there are two UCL ties and one UEL match, with the latter starting at 17:00 GMT and the remaining last 16 UCL games at 20:00 GMT.

Results so far in the UEFA Champions League last 16 1st legs:

Atlético de Madrid 1-0 Liverpool FC

Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain

Atalanta B.C. 4-1 Valencia CF

Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 RB Leipzig

Chelsea 0-3 Bayern Munich

S.S.C. Napoli 1-1 FC Barcelona

Tonight’s UCL last 16 1st leg results:

Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 Juventus

Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City

Tonight’s UEL last 32 2nd leg results:

SC Braga 0-1 Rangers (Agg: 2-4)

OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS vs JUVENTUS

Parc Olympique Lyonnais | KO 20:00 GMT

Officials:

Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP) Assistants: Diego Barbero (ESP) and Ángel Nevado (ESP) Fourth official: Guillermo Cuadra Fernandez (ESP) VAR: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP) Assistant VAR: Ricardo de Burgos (ESP)

Olympique Lyonnais

Manager: Rudi Garcia

XI: 3-5-2 Lopes, Marcelo, Denayer, Marçal, Dubois, Guimarães, Tousart, Cornet, Toko Ekambi, Aouar, Dembele

Subs: Tatarusanu, Andersen, Terrier, Traoré, Mendes Ribeiro, Tete, Caqueret

Juventus

Manager: Maurizio Sarri

XI: 4-3-3 Szczesny, Danilo, de Ligt, Bonucci, Lobo Silva, Bentancur, Pjanić, Rabiot, Cuadrado, Dybala, Ronaldo

Subs: Buffon, De Sciglio, Ramsey, Matuidi, Higuaín, Rugani, Bernardeschi

RESULT

Olympique Lyonnais 1-0 Juventus FT

⏱ 1’ We're under way in Lyon

❕ 21' Toko Ekambi (Lyon) heads over from a corner

🟨 28’ Marcelo booked (Lyon)

⚽️ 31' 1-0 Tousart gives Lyon the lead

❕ 38' Looks like handball in the box by Cuadrado, ref says no penalty

❕ 41' Toko Ekambi (Lyon) shoots over

⏱ 45’ Three added minutes

⏱ 45+4’ HT Lyon 1-0 Juventus

⏱ 46' Second half kicks off

🟨 61’ Cornet booked (Lyon)

🔁 62’ Pjanić off, Ramsey on (Juventus)

🔁 66’ Toko Ekambi off, Terrier on (Lyon)

🔁 70’ Cuadrado off, Higuaín on (Juventus)

🔁 78’ Dubois (injured) off, Tete on (Lyon)

🔁 78’ Rabiot off, Bernardeschi on (Juventus)

🔁 81’ Cornet (injured) off, Andersen on (Lyon)

❕ 89' Dybala (Juventus) goes down in the box, ref says no penalty

⏱ 90' Five added minutes

⏱ 90+6’ FT Lyon 1-0 Juventus

REAL MADRID vs MANCHESTER CITY

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu | KO 20:00 GMT

Officials:

Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA) Assistants: Lorenzo Manganelli (ITA) and Alessandro Giallatini (ITA) Fourth official: Daniele Doveri (ITA) VAR: Massimiliano Irrati (ITA) Assistant VAR: Ciro Carbone (ITA)

Real Madrid

Manager: Zinedine Zidane

XI: 4-3-3 Courtois, Carvajal, Varane, fuck Ramos, Mendy, Casemiro, Modric, Valverde, Vinicius Jr, Benzema, Isco

Subs: Areola, Militao, Kroos, Bale, Marcelo, Lucas, Jovic

Oil Barons

Manager: Bald Fraud

XI: 4-3-3 Ederson, Walker, Laporte, Otamendi, Mendy, Rodrigo, Gündoğan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus

Subs: Bravo, Cancelo, Agüero, Foden, Fernandinho, Stones, David Silva, Sterling 🐍

RESULT

Real Madrid 1-2 Oil Barons FT

⏱ 1’ We're under way in Madrid

❕ 21' Courtois saves from a Gabriel Jesus shot

❕ 28' KDB shoots high and wide over the crossbar

🟨 29’ Mendy booked (Oil Barons) he will miss the second leg

❕ 30' Ederson makes a great save to deny Benzema's header

🔁 33’ Laporte (injured) off, Fernandinho on (Oil Barons)

⏱ 45' Two added minutes

⏱ 45+3’ HT Real Madrid 0-0 Oil Barons

⏱ 46' Second half kicks off

🟨 48’ Valverde booked (Real)

❕ 50' KDB and Mahrez link up, the latter shoots wide

🟨 54’ Modric booked (Real)

❕ 55' Vinicius Jr (Real) goes down in the box, ref says no penalty

❕ 57' Courtois makes a great save from Mahrez's shot

⚽️ 60' 1-0 Isco puts Real ahead

🔁 73’ Bernardo Silva off, Sterling 🐍 on (Oil Barons)

🔁 75’ Vinicius Jr off, Bale on (Real)

⚽️ 78' 1-1 Gabriel Jesus gets the equaliser for the Oil Barons

❗️ 82' Penalty to the Oil Barons after a foul by Carvajal

⚽️ 83' 1-2 KDB scores the penalty

🔁 75’ Modric Jr off, Lucas on (Real)

🔁 75’ Isco off, Jovic on (Real)

�� 86’ fuck Ramos sent off

⏱ 90' Three added minutes

⏱ 90+3’ FT Real Madrid 1-2 Oil Barons

UEFA Europa League last 32 second legs

SC BRAGA vs RANGERS (Agg: 2-3)

Estádio Municipal de Braga | KO 17:00 GMT

Mildly interesting tidbit about this stadium, it has no goal end stands as it is built next to a cliff face.

Officials:

Referee: Andreas Ekberg (SWE) Assistants: Mehmet Culum (SWE) and Stefan Hallberg (SWE) Fourth official: Glenn Nyberg (SWE)

There is no VAR Yes there is, VAR: Danny Makkelie (NED)

SC Braga

Manager: Rúben Amorim

XI: 4-4-2 Matheus, Nuno Sequeira, Raul Silva, Carmo, Bruno Viana; Trincao, Palhinha, Fransergio, Ricardo Esgaio; Ricardo Horta, Paulinho

Subs: Tiago Sa, Tormena, Ruiz, Andre Horta, Rui Fonte, Norvais, Galeno

Rangers

Manager: Steven Gerrard

XI: 4-3-3 McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Edmundson, Barisic; Jack, Davis, Arfield; Hagi, Kent, Kamberi

Subs: Foderingham, Katic, Halliday, Aribo, Kamara, Ojo, Stewart

Morelos is suspended after picking up a yellow in the first leg

RESULT

SC Braga 0-1 Rangers (Agg: 2-4) FT

⏱ 1’ We're under way in Braga

❕ 9' Kamberi (Rangers) shoots and forces Matheus to make a save

❕ 19' Ryan Kent fires just wide

❕ 26' McGregor makes a great save to deny Paulinho's (Braga) header

❕ 30' Paulinho (Braga) heads just wide

❕ 38' Ryan Kent goes down in the box, ref says no penalty

❗️ 44' Penalty to Rangers after a handball by Raul Silva

🖥 45' VAR confirms penalty

❌ 45+1' Matheus pulls off a great save to deny Hagi and Rangers (Additional link)

⏱ 45+2’ HT Braga 0-0 Rangers

⏱ 46’ We're back under way in Portugal

🔁 46’ Palhinha off, Norvais on (Braga)

🟨 47’ Carmo booked (Braga)

🔁 53’ Raul Silva off, Galeno on (Braga)

⚽️ 61' 0-1 Ryan Kent puts Rangers into the lead on the night

🔁 64’ Carmo Silva off, Ruiz on (Braga)

🔁 72’ Carmo Hagi off, Aribo on (Rangers)

🟨 73’ Kamberi booked (Rangers)

❌ 77' Arfield (Rangers) has the ball in the net but is disallowed for offside

🔁 78’ Kamberi Hagi off, Ojo on (Rangers)

❕ 83' Paulinho (Braga) gets on the end of a free-kick but heads just over the bar

🟨 89’ Ricardo Esgaio booked (Braga)

⏱ 90’ Four added minutes

⏱ 90+4’ FT Braga 0-1 Rangers - Stevie G's side win 4-2 on aggregate

Elsewhere in England

Championship

Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Stoke City FT

Fulham 1-0 Swansea City FT

Hull City 0-1 Barnsley FT

Middlesbrough 0-1 Leeds United FT

Millwall 0-0 Birmingham City FT

Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Charlton Athletic FT

Reading 0-3 Wigan Athletic FT

Submitted February 26, 2020 at 04:07PM by eurfryn via reddit https://ift.tt/2wb7QQY

[the-software-club-blog]

Ido Portal on Conor McGregor Before UFC 194 vs Jose Aldo | London Real

Ido Portal on Conor McGregor Before UFC 194 vs Jose Aldo | London Real

Ido Portal on Conor McGregor Before UFC 194 vs Jose Aldo. FULL EPISODE: http://LondonRealAcademy.com/episodes/ido-portal-move-or-die Ido Portal RETURNS to London Real. LONDON REAL ACADEMY: http://www.LondonRealAcademy.com SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE: http://bit.ly/SubscribeToLondonReal http://www.londonreal.tv…

[thesportssoundoff]

“Future Glory For Former Champions?” Two Guys Opine

Slight opening first: This was done in late November and @theanticool​  had his done first. With so many shows and news, I Wanted to wait to post it because so much has gone down and I didn’t want it getting buried. It was completed a few days before Anderson Silva vs Israel Adesanya was confirmed as not just being a fight but being a #1 contender fight. Just a heads up on that.

Two Dudes Opine!

As most of you know by listening to any sort of DojoTalkPodcast cameo I’ve done, @theanticool and I don’t agree on much of anything. That said, it’s an absolute joy to bounce ideas around, especially in the idea vacuum that is MMA, and have some good old fashioned debate on things. Conversation creates smarter people in my estimation and I obviously need all the help I can get!

I wanted to take this concept and sort of test how often we truly agree and disagree. As such, I figured he and I might want to dabble a bit to see just HOW often we agree or disagree. Once he agreed after many meetings and contractual negotiations, we agreed on a concept: I’m going to come up with a topic and present him with a list of names inside that topic. Independently we’ll each go through the names provided and see just how we match up at the end of this grabbag assignment. Our first project focused on prospects coming off a loss and I think it’s worth pointing out that Yair, Arjan Bhullar and Cynthia Calvillo were all featured in the discussion and all have gone on to win.  This month we have:

In the UFC, it's very hard to regain titles after you lose them. In the modern era, only TJ Dillashaw has flat out won back a title he lost (Daniel Cormier was given it back due to Jon Jones' drug test failure while Jose Aldo won an interim title before getting elevated up to championship status). Fighters such as Aldo, Rashad Evans, Junior Dos Santos and countless others have all come up short in quests to either regain gold or find new gold in other weight classes. With that as the set up, which of the following fighters can either regain their title in their current weight class or find championship success either up or down a weight class: 

 Conor McGregor 

 Cody Garbrandt 

 Robbie Lawler 

 Holly Holm 

 Chris Weidman 

 Anderson Silva

I’m in the bold and @theanticool is in italics!

Conor McGregor- I mean if you want to manipulate it just right, Conor McGregor can absolutely find his way back to the title scene! Conor's a weird one for me---and I'm beginning to wonder if the Conor McGregor we saw at 145 lbs was more about right time, right place and perhaps even right matchmaking than anything else. Conor's wins at 145 lbs are amazing from Chad Mendes to Jose Aldo to Dustin Poirier to even a quality mid level gatekeeper type like Dennis Siver. Even Max Holloway was a case of maybe two guys facing off before they're ready to do so. Since going up in weight, Conor's 2-2. The Eddie Alvarez fight was an absolute demolition job and one of the best wins of his career given the opponent BUT I'm a bit less high up on Alvarez after seeing him struggle with Poirier twice. The Diaz fights revealed problems with Conor's pacing but also his ability to deal with the same stylistic challenges he gives others. Lengthy opponents who won't allow him to just walk them down, put them against the cage and tee off. That and to be honest? I'm really not that high up on Nate Diaz either. The Khabib performance was really good given the circumstances (long layoff from MMA, stylistic nightmare, hurt early in the fight) but THIS is what lurks at the top at 155 lbs. Khabib, Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, a rejuvenated (yet still flawed) Dustin Poirier, Al Iaquinta plus other really great fighters who don't get their due because of the weight class depth. This is not to say that Conor McGregor loses to all of those guys or even that he's not a great fighter---he's just a great fighter as opposed to the meteoric supernova who ran through 145 lbs with such ease. Guys like Justin Gaethje are conditioned to wins wars of attrition, something Conor struggled with vs Nate. Guys like Kevin Lee and Al Iaquinta present enough of a well rounded overall game to where you could sort of see them finding ways to get Conor in enough bad spots to steal a decision. Tony Ferguson, Dustin Poirier and Khabib are elite and while Poirier's rise to the top hasn't changed the fighter he is, I think his chances in a rematch are waaaay better now that he's not completely sunken in. This doesn't even account for Ortega or Holloway coming up eventually as well.

But this isn't about Conor entirely; it's about his chances to get back in the title picture. Conor is basically a long frustrating Khabib suspension away from being in a title fight, even if it's just an interim at 155 lbs. If the UFC opens up 165 lbs, they are absolutely going to hand him a shot to fight for the belt because that's business. Shit, Conor is one win away from facing Colby Covington (Oh lord have mercy) or even opening up the doors for something with Tyron Woodley. Conor McGregor is a star and stars can get away with doing things like that. It also helps that he's a great enough fighter that the public can absolutely buy him potentially beating a guy like Tony Ferguson or Colby Covington or Woodley or whomever pops up at 165 lbs. What Conor does well at, he's one of the best at and that will always give him a shot. Again the people he's ACTUALLY beaten are among some of the best in the sports history----so who am I to say he can't get back into the title picture?

Conor McGregor

I can see Conor politicking himself back into title contention. Let’s be real, he’s never going to be far from a title shot. With Khabib Nurmagomedov’s future kind of up in the air with the pending investigation of the NSAC and his father stating that he doesn’t want his son fighting past 30, the lightweight title could be up for grabs soon. Not to mention Khabib and Tony Ferguson are injury prone individuals. If one or both of them get hurt, McGregor is right back in the title picture. And should Ferguson and Khabib fall out of the picture, I’d like McGregor’s chances against the likes of Dustin Poirier, Kevin Lee (maybe less so him but still), Justin Gaethje, Anthony Pettis, and Nate Diaz. Heck, if the UFC ever decides to make that 165lb division you know McGregor going for his 3rd belt would be too much for the UFC to pass up. If McGregor continues fighting, he will eventually get another shot because of his popularity. By that virtue alone, he’s got a better shot than most former champions of getting a UFC  title.

Cody Garbrandt- I still like Cody but there be some issues here. For starters, backs, necks and knees don't get better. That's especially true for fighters who rely on their reflexes and quick twitch ability to enter into exchanges and for their defense. Garbrandt having back problems at the scant age of 27 is rather worrisome. That's more worrisome than the fact that he now has two losses to the champ TJ Dillashaw. Bantamweight is a bit like heavyweight and so like JDS vs Cain, Cody could realistically always just be a title change away from being back in the picture. I'm sure when I read Anticool's retort, he's not going to agree here but I DO think Cody can beat TJ. They've fought twice and he's hurt TJ and both fights. The difference is that Dillashaw is a way better finisher (If TJ knocks Cruz down the way Cody does then the fight's over) and Dillashaw instinct wise just seems better. He seems more capable of surviving bad exchanges, smarter with adjustments and more willing to not be prideful (Garbrant absolutely stands with Lineker and nobody can convince me otherwise). For Cody to get back to the top, he needs to beat somebody in the top 5 but outside of Jimmie Rivera, I don't see a lot of willing matchups. I'm on the fence here.

Cody Garbrandt

MMA is not like boxing. Getting knocked out back to back doesn’t spell immediate doom and gloom for your career. It’s still not a good look though. I really hated the immediate rematch between Garbrandt and Dillashaw because I saw it as potentially burning out a young prospect’s career in a chase for quick money. And I honestly don’t know how Garbrandt will turn out till we see him fight someone in the top 10 at bantamweight who isn’t TJ Dillashaw or Dominick Cruz. This division is currently brimming with young talented fighters who are improving dramatically between fights, while Garbrandt seemingly hasn’t. We need to see him build on his current boxing game. Maybe use more of his wrestling. Add some tools to his kickboxing arsenal that aren’t reliant on the fact that he has a lot of power in his hands. I will reserve judgement on him till we see him fight again. We just don’t know where he’s at after coming up short twice to someone he hates. That has to be mentally exhausting.

Robbie Lawler- Oh what Robbie Lawler has brought to us. Nobody should forget 2013 to 2015 when Lawler fought Johnny Hendricks twice, Jake Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald twice and Matt Brown off the top of my head. Since then? I think Robbie might be broken, dudes. Lawler is 2-2 but should really be 1-3 (fight me about it, guys) and all of those fights seemed less about the skill he had and more about the heart he still possesses. You don't have the fight of year in back to back to back years without losing a piece of you in the process and it's perhaps made all the more remarkable when you consider Robbie fought four times in 2014 and has seen the number decline from 4 to 1 in 2015 to 2 in 2016 to 2 in 2017 to nada in 2018. The matter was made worse by an ACL injury sustained in a fight vs RDA where he was pretty much wiped out even if he didn't ever seem to be in danger of being finished. I like Robbie a lot and I think a serious convo will be had about him as a hall of fame talent AND I remember when the UFC made him one of the first big signings BACK from Strikeforce when everybody had mailed it in on Lawler. A return to WW made him great again but now? I think the time has come and gone. Robbie's 36 years old coming off knee surgery in a division that's ripe to get younger real quick. Of course I can't ignore the shades of Koscheck vs Lawler with this Askren booking but Ben's a lot better than Josh was at that point in his career. I think the Lawler days are done.

Robbie Lawler

Hindsight is 20/20. It looks like Lawler’s fight with Condit was his last real hurrah. The Lawler that went toe-to-toe with Johny Hendricks twice and had one of the greatest fights of all time with Rory MacDonald is gone. And fair enough. That MacDonald fight honestly would have been the end of most other guys’ careers. If his fight with Rafael Dos Anjos is any indication, I do think Lawler has something left in the tank if his body can stay together for 15-25 minutes. He’s still got a lot of technical savvy and he’s still tough as hell, but I can see his upcoming fight with Ben Askren going south if the man can’t generate the volume we’ve seen from him in the past. I don’t foresee another title reign in Lawler’s future, as sad as that makes me. But he’s proved us wrong before.

Holly Holm- Chances are Holly Holm will absolutely fight for a title and pretty soon. Can she win it? Yeah, I actually kinda sorta think she can. Holm's title losses can be summed as getting taken out of her game by a very gutsy Meisha Tate, some sketchy borderline late work from Germaine De Randamie and getting outphysical'd by Cris Cyborg. Holly Holm is still a good yet flawed fighter who will probably be able to out athlete most of the fighters she faces AND if we're being 100% fair? She and Mike Winkeljohn feel like one of those pairings that just click. That on its own could be enough to get her not just back in the title picture but win her title especialyl if Nunes is broken vs Cyborg. I still think there’s SOME paper lion in Amanda Nunes�� game and I could see Holm giving her all she can handle.

Holly Holm

Of the 6 fighters considered for this article, Holly Holm is my pick for best chance to regain her former title. At least by doing it the “right” way. Of the 6, I think she’s in the best place mentally and physically. She has not shown she’s falling apart yet like Lawler and Weidman. She hasn’t shown she has slowed down yet like Silva. We haven’t seen her succumb to her own hubris yet like Garbrandt has twice. And women’s bantamweight isn’t the shark tank division that lightweight is. She can and most likely will get another shot at the women’s bantamweight title. Plus Holm presents a whole slew of challenges for Amanda Nunes that we have yet to see Nunes face. She’s a range kicker who can fight hard for 5 rounds, set a solid pace, and will have a good sized reach advantage on the outside. And unlike Shevchenko, Holm will throw volume. That of course means she’s going to leave herself more open to counters from arguably the hardest hitting woman in the sport but Nunes is fighting on a short timer. If Holm can survive the first round, you know she’s going to be the fresher of the two from rounds 2-5.

Chris Weidman- This is the one I'm most on the fence about. If Chris Weidman cuts less weight, goes up to 205 lbs and manages to stay relatively break free? I don't see why he couldn't do something really good at the top of the division. We're seeing worse fighters step in against top 10/top 15 LHWs and have zero issue being not just competitive but thrust into title contention. I know their respective styles are different but Weidman can absolutely pull an Anthony Smith; feast on being the more athletic guy with more tools in his arsenal vs bigger guys who may not even be all THAT bigger. I'm just beginning to wonder if Chris Weidman might be for a lack of a better term broken. Perhaps broken beyond repair. Weidman's kind of in that Gray Maynard stage for me now and I think that's worse than it sounds to some people. Gray Maynard after the Edgar fights was still competitive AND improving in some capacities---but his chin was cooked, his wrestling suddenly seemed either outdated or ill equipped to deal with the rising talent levels and even when he was doing good, you just felt a sense of inevitability. I never once felt like Jacare was in danger of losing vs Weidman but I spend every second of that fight believing we were just one something away from it falling apart for Chris Weidman. It's one of those weird feelings to see a fighter doing really well and just feel almost resigned to an inevitable bad thing happening. Chris Weidman fights in a much easier division at 185 lbs than Gray Maynard and could move up to an even EASIER division at 205 lbs. The problem is I just wonder how many times we can see Weidman with a bloodied up face saying "I'll be back from this" before we just have to accept that Chris Weidman hit the point of no return on his career? It's entirely possible that his win over Gastelum (another fight where he got hurt really badly) was a brief last gasp for his career as a whole. Weidman's ability to will himself through wars of attrition hasn't diminished but his body's ability to hold up in those fights has.

Chris Weidman is the ultimate boom or bust guy; the boom says that he could possibly be the champ at 205 lbs if Jon Jones vacates the premises while the bust is that Weidman takes unneeded additional damage against bigger guys who hit him really hard. I'd like to see Chris Weidman TRY at 205 lbs, maybe against a relatively easy touch. It's often times been said that the UFC doesn't just start giving guys easier opponents when they're earning bank so Weidman has a really good shot to walk into 205 lbs and be greeted by an OSP or a Shogun or someone who has name value and is probably good enough to test him. If it doesn't work then we can call it a day but if it does, I think Weidman has a sizable chance to find a way to the title.

Chris Weidman

Weidman will never be champion again at 185lbs. You can’t get stopped in 4 of your last 5 fights and expect my confidence in your chances at the belt. I am not sold on the idea though that Chris Weidman is a chinny fighter so there’s no way he could cut it at 205. Most of his stoppage losses have seemed to have come from exhaustion as much as they’ve come from eating a big shot. Weidman needs to control the pace to win fights. He can’t rely on his wrestling because it’s too draining on his stamina, except against Gastelum who basically did nothing to stop the grappling game of Weidman. It’s why we’ve seen him change from a come forward pressure fighter to an out fighter. I think his team thought it would be easier on Weidman to control his output and range if he didn’t constantly have to move forward. Problem is that being an out fighter requires a lot of movement, pivoting, and things that also require a lot of energy and precision. Weidman can’t afford to let the flow of fights get away from his because it drains his gas tank too quickly. It’s how Jacare eventually wore him down. That’s why we see him win the first round of fights where he ultimately gets stopped. When other fighters do not concede, Weidman fades. I think a move to 205 could help with a lot of these issues. No more weight cut, no more energy dump after 6-7 minutes of fighting. I am afraid though that all the injuries and the big cuts to make 185lbs are cutting short his career. The first 5 minutes of his fight with Jacare, however, was some of the best we’ve seen Weidman look technically. There could be hope for him yet at 205. I don’t know if he has what it takes to beat an Alexander Gustafsson or Jon Jones. When you consider those guys are just as likely to get either hurt (Gus) or suspended on some dumb (Jones) though, the division could be wide open for Weidman to come through and make a title run.

Anderson Silva-  Silva will not will a title. Will he fight for one? He shouldn't but he will, right? Remember Anderson Silva could have an argument to having beat Michael Bisping and he owns a win over Derek Brunson who is a top 10 gatekeeper. Silva could even go as far back as to point out that there was SOME talk that if he beat Nick Diaz, he would've gotten a title fight. My best guess is that when Silva's back, he is just one fight away. After all who isn't in MMA these days?

Anderson Silva

No. In terms of fighters that are past it, I actually think Silva is on the upper end of guys who are still functioning. If Tito Ortiz would be a sizeable favorite over 95% of fighters on the regional scene, Anderson Silva is a favorite over most middleweights not in the top 20 and probably a lot of mid-tier 205ers. His super close fights with Derek Brunson and future champion Michael Bisping attest to his ability to stick around the upper end of the division. Problem for him is the high end of middleweight has become a shark tank of athletes with well rounded technical games. He would no longer be fighting the Chael Sonnens and Yushin Okamis of the world. And honestly I don’t need to see Yoel Romero flying knee Silva’s head through the fence. I’m good. I’m content with his upcoming fight with Israel Adesanya. Of all the fights he could have gotten against the top of the division, with the exception of maybe Kelvin Gastelum, Israel Adesanya is probably the most kind. I do expect Silva to picked apart here. I don’t expect to see Silva bum rush his way into something crazy like Derek Brunson did and I don’t expect Adesanya to push a crazy pace in search of the stoppage. Maybe we’ll get some fun spinning stuff but I think the fight ends up looking similar to the Adesanya-Tavares fight - Silva being unable to pull the trigger while Adesanya casually styles on him.

[themmablog]

The cloud looming over the fallout of UFC 229

After Khabib Nurmagomedov’s huge victory over the Notorious one, he stands at the top of the division; 27-0. No other fighter has held such a perfect record like Khabib has. People will look at this fight and bring up the post fight antics. Taking away the Eagle’s flawless performance against the biggest superstar the world of MMA has ever seen.

The weight of this fight was resting heavily on Khabib’s shoulders. Conor McGregor will go to extreme lengths to get inside his opponent’s heads. The lead up to this one was no different. Considering the history between these two, It’s no wonder we witnessed such a poor choice in the heat of the moment by Khabib.

Two wrongs does not make a right. Khabib had the opportunity to bury the hatchet. Show that there is a legitimate respect between the two fighters. (edit) There was a moment at the end of round 3 where Conor tells Khabib “it’s only business”, as it always is with him. We’ve seen Conor after his fights, embrace his opponent. Win or lose. It was definitely a reach to think otherwise for this fight to be the same. Once the lines were crossed with family and religion, Khabib knew after defeating McGregor. It would not be the end of their rivalry.

I want to shed light of what Conor has said in the past about the opponent’s he has faced. He detailed that it was always just business to build up fights. They are all trying to achieve the same thing, he respects everyone that lives the rough lifestyle that MMA brings. He understands it’s all hard work. The game is unforgiving but they all take that chance once they step into the cage. With Khabib, I feel it’s no different. He saw Khabib as the next biggest obstacle in his career. And there’s one thing about Conor that people overlook, the man takes chances. He fights the toughest match ups. Aldo pulls out, in steps Chad Mendes; powerful wrestler with heavy hands. Aldo; the reigning featherweight champion that has gone undefeated in 10 years. Dos Anjos pulls out, in steps Diaz; durable, lengthy boxer, black belt in BJJ, with a bulletproof mindset. Alvarez; pressure wrestler with heavy hands. Mayweather; P4P #1 boxer in the world. Nurmagomedov; the most dominant fighter the sport of MMA has ever seen. You can throw Conor under the bus for the things he says but he’ll always have that huge following of people that look to him as inspiration. He faces adversity with a smug look on his face and marches forward, hands up.

What’s next for Khabib and Conor, lies on the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Khabib and the winner in the co-main makes the most sense in my opinion.

Everybody is talking about the main event (including myself) but what we got from the co-main event was nothing short of spectacular. Tony Ferguson v Anthony Pettis was action packed as expected. Ferguson has become the most unorthodox striker in the UFC in my opinion. His techniques are unconventional but work phenomenally in his favor. We already know Showtime is ready to put on a show whenever he steps into that octagon. El Cucuy was game. We witnessed a solid back and forth round one with Tony edging it out with his pressure. He holds such a relentless pace that he makes his opponents feel like they are drowning. No room to rest or breath or reset. He’s in your face, jabbing or kicking.

Round 2 comes to a start, we see Ferguson take the center of the octagon. Pushing Pettis against the fence. After Tony’s throws his combo’s, we see his lead hand drop for a split moment every time. Sure enough, I was not the only one that noticed. Pettis timed a right hand flush on the chin of Ferguson that stunned him and dropped him. Pettis, on the cusp of victory goes for the kill. Chasing Ferguson down only to end up in his guard. One thing is for sure, Tony Ferguson recovers quickly from being stunned and dropped. Ferguson is able to get back to his feet and once again, pushing Pettis back and pressuring him to the end of the round as Pettis tries to get off a cartwheel kick. In between round 2 and 3, Pettis’ corner has to call the fight due to an injury to his right hand. Which previously has gone through surgeries.

With an unsatisfying end to quite possibly the fight of the night, we understand fighter safety comes before anything else. There’s no denying Pettis would meet Ferguson right in the middle of that octagon for 5 more minutes to see the end bell. We hope to see that closure while both of these men are still at the top.

One man who stole the show and the hearts of everyone around the world, Derek “The Black Beast” Lewis. I started following Lewis’ career when he fought on the Houston card for Cormier vs Gus in 2015. He got the knock out that night on the UFC Fight pass prelims. I was impressed by his devastating power. After going on a solid run, he came face to face with a man who had devastating KO power as well in the likes of Mark Hunt. A solid test for Lewis but he did not prevail. We’ve become aware that Lewis does have back issues which showed during that fight. Lewis was able to bounce back and get a ferocious knockout against then opponent, Marcin Tybura. In a fight he was down once again but got the come from behind KO to seal the deal. Much like Tybura, Volkov met the lunch box that Lewis packs in that right hand before being finished with 11 seconds left in a fight Lewis was down 2 rounds to none. An amazing comeback from an exciting fighter. He also delivered the greatest post fight octagon interview ever outside of Diaz and McGregor. Removing his shorts and laying in the center of the octagon. Joe asks him “why’d you take off your pants?” and Lewis, with no hesitation “cause my balls was hot.”

There’s much more things to say about an unforgettable night of fights, but UFC 229 is without a doubt the biggest night in MMA history.

(by Christian Lopez)

[ajks10]

In Depth: Conor McGregor vs. Chad Mendes at @ufc 189 🤜🤛 #UFC264

[ufc264]

UFC 264: McGregor vs Poirier 3 Fight Tickets On Sale Friday, April 16

UFC welcomes fans back into the fight capital of the planet at full capability as T-Mobile Arena opens its doors Saturday, July 10 for a few of the biggest fights in UFC history. Headlining the event is going to be the rubber match of this trilogy between former interim UFC lightweight champion and current No. 1 ranked competitor Dustin Poirier and former two-division UFC winner and No. 6 Conor McGregor.

UFC 264: POIRIER vs. McGREGOR 3 will occur Saturday, July 10 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. All spells will be simulcast on ESPN+ in English and Spanish starting at 6:15 p.m. ET/3:15 p.m. PT with the UFC Fight Pass prelims. The prelims will last entirely on ESPN & ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and the ESPN+ Pay-Per-View main card may kick off at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

UFC 264 Live Stream - Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3 tickets may go on sale Friday, April 16 at 12 p.m. PT and therefore are offered at axs.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club associates will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Thursday, April 15 in 10 a.m. PT via the site www.ufcfightclub.com. A particular Internet ticket pre-sale will soon be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, April 15 beginning at 2 p.m. PT. To get this presale, users need to enroll for the UFC newsletter via UFC.com.

No. 6 rated men's pound-for-pound fighter Poirier (27-6, 1 NC, combating from Coconut Creek, Fla.) plans to repeat his performance over McGregor out of UFC 257 before this year and leave no doubt that the better fighter is. A member of this UFC roster for over ten decades, he has proven himself as one of the best on earth with wins over former UFC champions Max Holloway (twice), Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis. Poirier now looks to retain his spot at the top of the lightweight ranks and cement himself as the second in line to its belt.

No. 15 ranked men's pound-for-pound fighter McGregor (22-5, fighting out of Dublin, Ireland) has his sights set on avenging his loss before this season by revealing he is still among the best in the world. Potentially the most popular UFC star ever, he rose to prominence with legendary knockouts of Jose Aldo, Eddie Alvarez and Chad Mendes. McGregor now aims to make an impression by providing a classic performance against Poirier.

[theanticool]

Cub Swanson vs Dennis Siver

I really feel for Cub Swanson (25-7). The man got so close to a title shot only to get shot down by things he couldn’t control: the meteoric rise of Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, Frankie Edgar dropping down to featherweight after getting robbed of the lightweight title, Aldo’s frequent bouts with injuries, Mendes finding out he could knock another man’s block off with his strikes, and the consistency of Ricardo Lamas. In any other division except maybe lightweight, Swanson would have gotten a title shot for his crazy 6 fight winning streak back between 2012 and 2014. Sadly though, it never came to fruition. And now with Max Holloway as champion, it looks like Swanson’s chances are dimming despite riding another 4 fight win streak. While he’s no longer the dynamo KO artist he once was, Swanson is still one of the most entertaining fighters in MMA as evidenced by his barn-burner with Doo Ho Choi last year.

Swanson is on the last fight of his contract and growing frustrations over his title prospects (that is probably limiting his $$$ value to the UFC at this point), it’s tough to see what the future holds. But for now Swanson will go out there and welcome another exciting featherweight to the top of the division when he faces Brian Ortega (12-0) in the main event of UFC Fight Night 123 this Saturday (Dec. 9).

[commentsfromthepeanutgallery1]

Five years ago today, we were treated to one of the greatest fights ever between Robbie and Rory (rematch) and a loaded card headlined by Conor McGregor vs Chad Mendes. #UFC189 (📸 @allelbows) #MMAHistory #History #thisdayinhistory #mma #ufc (at MGM Grand Las Vegas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgWo9qAbXW/?igshid=peiiullg81ty

[tabloidtoc]

OK, March 18

Cover: Wedding Joy and Drama For Taylor Swift, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Lopez

Page 1: Contents, Chris Evans in a blue tux

Page 2: Contents 

Page 4: Insider Access -- Captain Marvel’s U.K. premiere -- Brie Larson, Gemma Chan, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Samuel L. Jackson

Page 6: Lady Gaga sets the record straight about her and Bradley Cooper 

Page 7: Jennifer Aniston and Chelsea Handler are friends again, Victoria Beckham wants to do a reality show about her family but husband David Beckham doesn’t want to do it, Denise Richards’ RHOBH costars are already fed up with her stuck-up attitude 

Page 10: Red Carpet -- Pink at the Oscars -- Julia Roberts, Angela Sarafyan, Angela Bassett 

Page 11: Sarah Paulson, Kacey Musgraves 

Page 12: Who Wore It Better -- Camila Mendes vs. Eva Longoria, Chris Pratt vs. John Krasinski, Bella Hadid vs. Karlie Kloss 

Page 14: Cover Story -- Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn 

Page 15: Sandra Bullock and Bryan Randall 

Page 16: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez -- J.Lo and ARod 

Page 18: Inside My Home -- Kevin Costner’s Aspen retreat 

Page 20: News in Photos -- Angelina Jolie and all 6 of her kids 

Page 22: Jennifer Lawrence shows off her engagement ring 

Page 24: Oscar Night -- Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson, Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey, Constance Wu 

Page 25: Regina King, Elton John and Kristin Chenoweth, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, Adam Lambert and Queen’s Brian May, Bette Midler 

Page 26: Suited-Up Dads with their Mini-Mes -- DJ Khaled and son, Criss Angel and son, Conor McGregor and son, Robin Thicke and son Julian Fuego 

Page 28: Gisele Bunchen, Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chambers, Russell Crowe as Roger Ailes 

Page 30: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hayden Christensen and daughter, Kristen Bell 

Page 31: Salma Hayek and daughter Valentina, Kelly Rowland 

Page 32: Saved By the Bell turns 30 -- Where Are they Now? -- Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, Mario Lopez, Lark Voorhies, Dustin Diamond 

Page 34: Julianne Moore -- Life Lessons 

Page 36: Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell repairing their romance 

Page 38: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson -- how they healed their family 

Page 40: Cindy Crawford -- from model to matriarch 

Page 42: Tone up with Teddi Mellencamp 

Page 44: Cookbook -- Please try a vegan diet 

Page 46: Courteney Cox getting married to Johnny McDaid 

Page 48: Kendall Jenner thinks Ben Simmons is Mr. Right, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ love nest in L.A., inside Orlando Bloom’s proposal to Katy Perry 

Page 49: Sofia Richie is hoping Scott Disick will propose but her sister Nicole Richie thinks he’s bad news, Rami Malek wants to marry Lucy Boynton and start a family but she thinks they’re moving too fast, Love Bites -- Danielle Staub dating Oliver Maier, Krysten Ritter and Adam Granduciel expecting their first child, Gretchen Rossi and Slade Smiley expecting a baby daughter 

Page 50: Style -- Charlize Theron 

Page 52: Kendall Jenner, Hollywood hunks like Adam Driver and Justin Hartley and Mahershala Ali use Skyn Iceland’s age-defying eye gels 

Page 53: Emma Stone’s Oscar dress 

Page 54: It Girl -- KiKi Layne

Page 55: Rita Ora 

Page 56: Tie-Dye -- Kate Bosworth 

Page 58: Beauty -- Statement Lip Color -- Laura Harrier, Saoirse Ronan, Emmy Rossum, Lady Gaga 

Page 59: Julia Garner, Lupita Nyong’o, Violett Beane 

Page 60: Entertainment 

Page 64: Man of the Week -- Chris Evans looks really nice in blue 

Page 66: Sound Bites -- Olivia Colman on her Oscar, Stassi Schroeder on men not knowing what the natural look really is, Miley Cyrus on Dolly Parton, John Stamos on his son’s first birthday party, Mark Harmon on the best advice his father gave him 

Page 68: Royal Roundup -- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in Morocco, Kate Middleton and Prince William in Northern Ireland 

Page 72: By the Numbers -- Samuel L. Jackson

[conanaltatis]

Conor McGregor

Donald Cerrone

Conor “The Notorious” McGregor, 31, and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, 36, will headline “UFC 246” at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on January 18, 2020, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed. They will compete in the welterweight division.

“UFC 246” marks McGregor’s 12th UFC bout. He has been competing in the UFC since 2013.

Born in Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland on July 14, 1988, McGregor played football for Lourdes Celtic Football Club when he was young. He was 12 years old when he started boxing at the Crumlin Boxing Club.

When McGregor was 18, he made his mixed martial arts debut as an amateur fighter. He turned professional in 2008.

Training out of Straight Blast Gym Ireland in Dublin, McGregor was undefeated in the UFC from 2013 to 2015. He defeated Marcus Brimage, Max Holloway, Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier, Dennis Siver, Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo.

By beating Mendes, McGregor became the interim UFC Featherweight Champion. The Dublin native became the UFC Featherweight Champion by beating Aldo.

In 2016, Nate Diaz became the first ever MMA fighter to defeat McGregor in the UFC but five months later, the Irish MMA fighter won when they had their rematch. In the same year, the Dublin native became the UFC Lightweight Champion by beating Eddie Alvarez, who is now signed with ONE Championship.

In 2018, reigning UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib “Eagle” Nurmagomedov became the second fighter to defeat McGregor in the UFC. The Dagestani champion submitted the Irish challenger via neck crank.

Losing to Nurmagomedov downgraded McGregor’s professional MMA record to 21 wins and 4 losses. On the other hand, Cerrone currently has 36 wins and 13 losses.

Cerrone joined the UFC in 2011. “UFC 246” will be his 34th bout in the promotion.

  Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone at ‘UFC 246’ in Las Vegas, Nevada in January 2020 Conor "The Notorious" McGregor, 31, and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone, 36, will headline "UFC 246" at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on January 18, 2020, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has confirmed.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Do I need to even?” UFC 229 Preview

Joey

September 30th

Oh boy oh boy. We've somehow someway made it here and I feel like we deserve some credit here. If you've survived 90% of 2018 then you've earned this one. If you survived UFC 228, UFC 224, the messy FS1 cards ravaged by injury and waking up early for Asian FP cards? You've earned this one. We've got a very solid card with matching lightweight fights of the highest quality. The co-main event pits Anthony Pettis vs the returning Tony Ferguson in one of the best LW fights you could put together for action quality while the main event is the best fight. Period. Conor McGregor is truly underrated at this point in his career; a dominant fighter who has one blemish on his record which he avenged. He is a genuine two weight class champion (lack of defenses be damned) with wins over the likes of Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Max Holloway, Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier. Khabib Nurmagomedov's resume speaks for itself; undefeated in the UFC expanding beyond six years now with wins over some really good competition in Michael Johnson, Al Iaquinta and Edson Barboza. It's the striker vs grappler match up and the man with the one hitter quitter vs an endless torrent of takedowns and ground and pound. There's very few fights ever I'm as excited about as this one.  Those two fights on their own? Pretty good. The rest of the card? Pretty decent actually! The UFC absolutely took perhaps a step too many in loading up this show. Being honest, the sixth best fight on this card (Michelle Waterson vs Felice Herrig) could've headlined the Moncton FS1 show. Let's just have a damn good time here and enjoy THIS one for once.

Debuts:  Jalin Turner

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 0

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 13 (Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Anthony Pettis, Felice Herrig, Michelle Waterson, Ovince St. Preux, Alexander Volkov, Gray Maynard, Derrick Lewis,  Sergio Pettis, Yana Kunitskaya, Ryan LaFlare)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: (Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Derrick Lewis, Sean O'Malley, Alexander Volkov, Vicente Luque, Jussier Formiga, Jose Quinonez, Scott Holtzman, Alan Patrick)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC):  37-13

Conor McGregor- 2-1 Khabib Nurmagomedov- 4-0 Tony Ferguson- 3-0 Anthony Pettis- 3-4 Ovince St. Preux- 5-4 Dominick Reyes- 3-0 Derrick Lewis- 7-1 (!) Alexander Volkov- 4-0 Michelle Waterson- 2-2 Felice Herrig- 4-1

Divisional Breakdown:

Lightweight- 4 Women's bantamweight- 2 Welterweight- 2 Bantamweight- 1 (?) Women's strawweight- 1 Flyweight- 1 Heavyweight-1 Light Heavyweight- 1

Too Low- Vicente Luque vs Jalin Turner

Most of this card is honestly fine and I get why Michelle Waterson is on the main card. Having said that, I think that fight is a bit too....blegh (on paper) for a show like this. I'd use Waterson vs Herrig to try and draw some eyeballs to this FS1 slate and instead push a guaranteed burner in Turner vs Luque. Vicente Luque has finished every one of his wins and he's taken decision losses vs stalling wrestler types. At the same time, Jalin Turner had some of the freakiest striking chops on the second DWTCS run. This should be a superb striking battle.

Too High Up- Aspen Ladd vs Tanya Evinger

Ehhh......I don't know if this is going to be a fight worthy of having on FS1. Ladd still seems really raw and we haven't seen Evinger in over a year in a lopsided loss vs Cyborg. This is Fight Pass quality. Waterson vs Herrig on the PPV isn't great shakes BUT both have fan bases that will probably-ish tune in. Probably. Not that this card should NEED any of that.

Stat Monitor for 2018:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 27-32-1):  Jalin Turner

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 26-19):  

Second Fight (Current number: 34-27): Aspen Ladd, Tonya Evinger, Yanit Kunitskaya

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 19-28):  Conor McGregor, Gray Maynard, Tonya Evinger (If this show happens a day later, Tony Ferguson)

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 26-21-1): Khabib Nurmagomedov Aspen Ladd, Dominick Reyes

Keeping An Eye On But Not Really:

The UFC Win Check Test The records of fighters who have 4 or more UFC fights (or three full calendar years in the organization) but 0 wins against people still in the UFC:  

Twenty Precarious Ponderings

(We're doing TWENTY for a show like this, y'all. In truth, I just wanted to talk more and more about Khabib and Conor)

1- I just don't have enough time or energy to detail ALL of the intricacies of this lightweight title fight. The simplistic view is "wrestler vs striker" but that belittles the things both guys do so so so so well that in turn makes them special. Has Khabib Nurmagomedov ever faced a guy with Conor's length and timing? Even if we acknowledge that Conor McGregor is basically a one armed fighter (Conor's left hand is the best singular weapon in MMA), he has not just insane timing on it but the ability to throw it whenever he wants. One of the concepts of baseball is that "He throws hard!" eventually isn't enough and you need something off-speed to shake it off. Conor's different in that he can probably throw his left from any angle with any sort of heat and any sort of pacing offset by his kicks and his jab. Conversely Khabib "as a wrestler" is just a really unfair attempt to simplify a very good all around fighter. His control is A+, he threatens with submissions enough to keep fighters honest on the ground and he has a tremendous understanding of chaining attempts together with different techniques. How often do you see Khabib Nurmagomedov get stuck (look at Eryk Anders vs Thiago Santos) or forced to make a bad shot (look at some of Josh Koscheck's prime for desperation TDs)? On the feet, Khabib doesn't have a wealth of weaponry but he has a good jab and dude just seems to hit hard.

2- One of the things AntiCool speaks of so much that I truly believe in is fighters being unwilling to concede a single measure in fights where they need to pull off the upset. He uses Alexander Gustafsson vs Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier as good examples of a fighter who doesn't give up any avenue of the fight where they felt they couldn't win. The reason I bring this up is because I genuinely believe Conor McGregor is ballsy enough to believe he can absolutely if he has to compete with Khabib on the ground. I bet he believes that even if it's not the gameplan.

3- Jose Aldo and Khabib have some similarities in their dominance. Both were so neutralizing that they completely shut down fighters at the base of their respective games and forced them to adapt, often times doing that while basically sleepwalking through fights. That said, they also are similar in their relative levels of inactivity heading into the Conor fights. Conor McGregor and Khabib fought on the same card in 2016 and since that point? Khabib's fought just twice. Not exactly blazing a track of activity probably compounded by Khabib taking time off for Ramadan. Also both Aldo and Khabib were known as cold calculated fighters who were surgical but never emotional. That changed vs McGregor for Aldo----soooo is Khabib going to come out emotional?

4- What are the odds of a double retirement after this fight?

5- Does this PPV find a way to crack the 2 million buy mark?

6- One of the weirder thing is how assured we are of Khabib's dominance while also acknowledging how so-so his resume is overall. We've seen Conor's resume at 145 lbs and while his resume at 155 lbs is thin, it IS worth noting that he dominated Eddie Alvarez in his one foray there. Conversely Khabib's resume is really just two guys unless you take a ton out of the Al Iaquinta fight (it didn't show me anything about him from a skills POV but it showed me everything I need to know about his mental toughness as an athlete). There's a lot more we need to know about Khabib than there is to figure out about Conor.

7- Tony Ferguson is one of my favorite fighters and in a lot of ways, the El Cucuy stuff writes itself. Tony Ferguson (like Yoel Romero and the Diaz Brothers) has this unique borderline inhuman ability to outweird the world's weirdest spot. He lives the weirdest life, chases the weirdest thrills and could only exist in a sport like this one. Ferguson's 2017 was a mess; a complete collapse of a fight with Khabib, an eventual interim title win vs Kevin Lee leading to a 2018 where a blown out knee seemed set to rob him of his 2018. Because he's Tony Ferguson, he's out here fighting Anthony Pettis in October. Whether Ferguson can still do the things that made him special (be funky, awkward, outhustle dudes in key positions, challenge with submissions from any situation, throw a variety of kicks from any situation) after a bad knee injury and another year on the wrong side of 30 remains to be seen. I'm left to hope so since a winning Tony Ferguson is a fun Tony Ferguson.

8- Anthony Pettis has been pretty bad for the majority of the last three years but perhaps things are going to turn around now. Pettis' second round win over Michael Chiesa felt like a combination of some of the best of Anthony Pettis (quick counter striking, aggressive and opportunistic grappling) with some of his worst of Anthony Pettis. The road has been rough for Showtime but we're talking about a Tony Ferguson who is coming off a knee surgery and pushing 35. If there was EVER a chance for Anthony Pettis to figure this out, THIS is the guy to do it against.

9- Could Pettis beating Ferguson jump him over the winner of Nate/Poirier?

10- I know some of my fellas on here might disagree with the idea of OSP vs Dominick Reyes but at this point, I'm with it. There's not a long list of guys at 205 lbs who can act as the buffer between "proven to be good" and "ready to be great" so it falls on OSP. Reyes is arguably the most unique prospect at 205 lbs and this is without question an aggressive step up. It is worth pointing out that OSP was losing before he won vs Tyson Pedro and so they might be gambling on a decline. For me, I'm mostly concerned that Reyes is going to be shellshocked by the difference in strength between he and OSP.

11- Speaking of too soon, allow me to present to you Aspen Ladd vs Tonya Evinger!

12- I feel as though a big problem with Michelle Waterson is her inability to handle strength at the POA vs bigger fighters, a natural issue since everyone at 115 lbs is bigger tha her. Not sure why the idea of her vs Felice Herrig seemed appealing to the UFC. I could not think of a WORSE match up for her.

13- Dude let's talk right quick about Anthony Pettis' last ten fights including T-Ferg:

Tony Ferguson Michael Chiesa Dustin Poirier Jim Miller Max Holloway Charles Oliveira Edson Barboza Eddie Alvarez Rafael Dos Anjos Gilbert Melendez

I mean the WORST fighter in that grouping is who? Gil Melendez? I think we could argue Gil is at least average right? Oliveira and Chiesa are solid fighters and Barboza is a great kickboxer at least. Jim Miller?

14- Kudos to Gray Maynard still out here being relevant after being written off as cooked back in 2013. Your fav could never.

15- Even if it's just an exciting throw together brawl? Vicente Luque vs Jalin Turner is going to be exceptionally violent.

16- Is Aspen Ladd our best chance at finding a relevant exciting new 135 lber?

17- Very few divisions ever truly need an interim title---but this Volkov vs Lewis fight COULD have been an interim title fight. Put it this way, DC vs Brock is scheduled tentatively for post February 2019, right? What's the likelihood that the winner of that fight fights again? Brock probably dips out, DC probably retires and so then you're left with....anybody? This card doesn't need a second card BUT if the UFC title picture is in a messy state of being in 2019, we could just go and look back at this fight.

18- Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formiga was a title contender fight then Cejudo went and ruined everything for them. It's still a fantastic fight at a division that's got some juice in it and I for one am excited to see if Pettis can put together what he did well against a prolific spoiler in Formiga.

19- You can't tell me this is the first time Nik Lentz and Gray Maynard have fought one another. I refuse to buy into such a lie.

20- It's been a long time since we've had a fight like THIS. Not since July of 2017 if you wanna stretch it that far with DC vs Jones II. Enjoy this. These are special moments.

[domwankenobi]

Alex Volkanovski talks path to a title fight vs. Max Holloway | ESPN MMA

Alex Volkanovski talks path to a title fight vs. Max Holloway | ESPN MMA

UFC featherweight Alex Volkanovski speaks with the media during UFC 234 fight week about where he stands in the division and his aspirations to fight Max …