#mcgregor vs siver

[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.

[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).

[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.

[torentialtribute]

Conor McGregor claims he’d broken his foot just THREE weeks before losing to Khabib

February 17, 2007 : Conor McGregor makes his MMA debut against Ciaran Campbell and wins in the first round by knockout

March 9, 2008 : McGregor makes his professional debut and beats Gary Morris in the second round

June 28 , 2008 : The Irishman's eagerness to build up his record sees him run before he can walk as he suffers his first defeat at the hands of Lithuanian submission expert Artemij Sitenkov

2009 : In a surprise move, McGregor elects to take the entire year off professional competition as he looks to focus on his technique

October 9, 2010 : After almost two years out of the sport, McGregor makes a winning return against Connor Dillon in Chaos Fighting Championships

March 12, 2011 : It takes McGregor just 16 seconds to knockout opponent Mike Wood and the referee steps to the non-contest

April 6 , 2013 : He makes UFC debut against Marcus Brimage in Sweden on a preliminary card for Gegard Mousasi vs Ilir Latifi. The bout was stopped in the first round and McGregor won by knockout

August 17, 2013 : McGregor backs up Brimage victory by beating Max Holloway his anterior crucial ligament during the bout and he needed surgery, keeping him out of action for up to 10 months

January 18, 2015 : After beating Dennis Siver, McGregor jumps out of the cage to confront Jose Aldo as the pair were to go head-to-head in Las Vegas in the Irishman's first world title shot

July 11, 2015 : Aldo pulled out through injury and so McGregor went to beat for the interim featherweight belt

December 12, 2015 : Finally he had the title shot he wanted and given Aldo had not lost in years, McGregor's victory after 13 seconds set a new record for the fastest UFC knockout in a title bout. The bout generated 1.2m pay per view sales placing it as second highest in UFC history at the time

March 5, 2016 : Having reached the peak with the world title, McGregor was brought back down to earth with a submission defeat to Nate Diaz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

August 20, 2016 : Reeling from the loss, the Irishman swiftly agrees a rematch with Diaz and this time wins the contest by majority decision to become the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes at the same time

August 26, 2017: After taking time out of UFC – seeing him stripped of his featherweight title in the process due to inactivity – for the birth of his first child, McGrego r's notoriety saw him land a boxing contest with Floyd Mayweather. The Irishman lost but secured a $ 100m payday

October 6, 2018 : Further inactivity saw him stripped of his lightweight title but he made his UFC return in Las Vegas for an eagerly anticipated clash against Khabib Nurmagomedov which he lost. The fight descended into chaos with a post-bout brawl and both fighters were handed suspensions

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[gyrlversion]

Connor McGregor is slammed over ‘racist’ tweet

February 17, 2007: Conor McGregor makes his MMA debut against Ciaran Campbell and wins in the first round by knockout 

March 9, 2008: McGregor makes his professional debut and beats Gary Morris in the second round

June 28, 2008: The Irishman’s eagerness to build up his record sees him run before he can walk as he suffers his first defeat at the hands of Lithuanian submission expert Artemij Sitenkov 

2009: In a surprise move, McGregor elects to take the entire year off from professional competition as he looks to focus on his technique 

October 9, 2010: After almost two years out of the sport, McGregor makes a winning return against Connor Dillon in Chaos Fighting Championships 

March 12, 2011: It takes McGregor just 16 seconds to knockout opponent Mike Wood and the referee steps in to end the non-contest  

April 6, 2013: He makes UFC debut against Marcus Brimage in Sweden on preliminary card for Gegard Mousasi vs Ilir Latifi. The bout was stopped in the first round and McGregor won by knockout 

August 17, 2013: McGregor backs up victory over Brimage by beating Max Holloway, only to tear his anterior cruciate ligament during the bout and he needed surgery, keeping him out of action for up to 10 months  

January 18, 2015: After beating Dennis Siver, McGregor jumps out of the cage to confront Jose Aldo as the pair were to go head-to-head in Las Vegas in the Irishman’s first world title shot 

July 11, 2015: Aldo pulled out through injury and so McGregor went on to beat for the interim featherweight belt 

December 12, 2015: Finally he had the title shot he desired and given Aldo had not lost in years, McGregor’s victory after 13 seconds set a new record for the fastest UFC knockout in a title bout. The bout generated 1.2m pay-per-view sales placing it as second highest in UFC history at the time

March 5, 2016: Having reached the peak with the world title, McGregor was brought back down to earth with a submission defeat to Nate Diaz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas 

August 20, 2016: Reeling from the loss, the Irishman swiftly agrees a rematch with Diaz and this time wins the contest by majority decision 

November 12, 2016: Holding off from a trilogy bout so soon after gaining revenge on Diaz, McGregor takes on Eddie Alvarez and wins the UFC Lightweight Championship to become the first UFC fighter to hold titles in two different weight classes at the same time

August 26, 2017: After taking time out of UFC – seeing him stripped of his featherweight title in the process due to inactivity – for the birth of his first child, McGregor’s notoriety saw him land a boxing contest with Floyd Mayweather. The Irishman lost but secured a $100m payday

October 6, 2018: Further inactivity saw him stripped of his lightweight title but he made his UFC return in Las Vegas for an eagerly-anticipated clash against Khabib Nurmagomedov which he lost. The fight descended into chaos with a post-bout brawl and both fighters were handed suspensions 

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[duaneodavila]

Seaton: No NSAC Nannies Needed

Trash talk is a time-honored part of combat sports. From Muhammad Ali’s verbal jabs at his opponents to Dwayne Johnson threatening to send jabronis to the “Smackdown Hotel,”* it’s generally considered a pre-fight ritual. Two guys poised to fight don’t like each other, they say a bunch of nasty stuff about their opponent, and then fans delight as the two slug it out in a ring or a cage.

Nevada, home to many Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, apparently thinks it’s time to play nanny to MMA fighters and regulate what can be said before an event.

“I think it’s gotten to the point with certain unarmed combatants to where it’s become totally unacceptable,” said Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) Executive Director Bob Bennett. “I definitely think, unequivocally, that’s something we need to take a more active role in and hold fighters accountable for their language.”

The unarmed combatant Bob’s thinking about is Conor McGregor, a man who takes as much pride in his ability to verbally dress down opponents as he does in actually fighting. He wore a custom suit with the words “Fuck you” printed in stripes to promote a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. He called Nate Diaz a “broke bitch” who could be bought and sold “a hundred times over.” And Dennis Siver, according to McGregor, is a “midget German steroid-head.”

But none of those can top the war of words between McGregor and his opponent back in November of last year, Khabib Nurmagomendov. During pre-fight exchanges, McGregor called Khabib a “smelly Dagestani rat” and a “backwards cunt.” Conor accused Khabib’s manager, Ali Abedelaziz, of being “a fucking snitch terrorist rat…I don’t even know how that man is in this fucking country.”

McGregor’s verbal jabs had an effect, but not the one Conor intended. After Khabib beat McGregor in their fight, Nurmagomendov jumped the cage and attacked members of McGregor’s team. After security stopped the brawl, Khabib justified his actions by saying Conor “talked about my religion, he talked about my country, he talked about my father.”

The Nevada State Athletic Commission apparently isn’t satisfied with the six figure fines levied against both fighters for their post-fight antics. Now they’re ready to pursue regulations on what combatants can say to each other before they square off for battle.

The commission members agreed to pursue rule changes to punish this type of fighter speech or what they called “inciting comments,” but realized they weren’t prepared to draft the actual regulations and placed the topic on a list of “items for future agendas.” “[It] would break a lot of precedent and without notice that we’re going to start fining and/or suspending for what you say vs. what you do,” [NSAC Chairman Anthony] Marnell said.

Commission members would be well advised to tread lightly on this issue. It might be best if they just let the matter go. It’s bad enough a state regulatory body is considering policing what athletes can and cannot say. What makes these proposed regulations untenable is the Commission’s arguable attempt to punish the speech of one fighter.

In a sport with countless athletes fully prepared to give pre-packaged statements at press conferences, Conor McGregor stands out in his ability to entertain by roasting his opponents. He’s built a career on getting under his opponents’ skin before the cage door shuts. Punishing McGregor for his pre-fight antics by placing restrictions on what he can and cannot say is the combat sports equivalent of censoring Lenny Bruce.

Plus, if fighters get hurt feels over an opponent’s inflammatory comments, they have the easy recourse of beating the ever-loving hell out of that person come fight night. They get paid to do it and have a license allowing them to commit state-sanctioned assault. Why does the Nevada State Athletic Commission need to play nanny in this scenario?

UFC President Dana White isn’t a fan of the tabled NSAC speech regulations.

“These guys get into a cage and they punch each other in the face. They can knock each other unconscious, they can choke each other, but they can’t say mean things to each other? It’s pretty ridiculous.”

It is ridiculous. State regulatory bodies have no business telling grown men and women what they can and can’t say before an athletic competition. And if the aggrieved parties don’t like it, they can settle the matter in front of a live audience with their fists.

*Before anyone gets on my case about this, yes, professional wrestling is scripted. Batman isn’t a real life superhero either, but most people don’t act like an ass and spend their waking hours pointing that out to people.

Seaton: No NSAC Nannies Needed republished via Simple Justice

[mmaufcfr]

UFC 229 Free Fight: Conor McGregor vs Dennis Siver #UFC229 #ufc #mma http://goo.gl/IBSXrl

[themmazealot-blog]

Paded Record of Khabib Nurmagomedov 10-0

While 10-0 is a huge accomplishment, especially when they are all in the UFC, it is not nearly as impressive as 26-0. I was scrolling through YouTube comments and I saw someone break down Khabib's 'paded' record by the name of Jeremy M. "1-0 Nurmagomedov made his professional debut in 2008 against Vusal Bayramov, an Azerbaijani who was 0-0 at the time and eventually amassed a record of 2-5. All the losses that Bayramov suffered during a short two-year career came inside the distance. 2-0 Next up for Khabib was a man so bad they named him twice, Magomed Magomedov. It was a fight in itself just to find a database on this Russian with no age or height even known. Magomedov was four fights into his career when he fought Khabib. He was on a four-fight losing streak and all of those defeats came inside the distance. Magomedov finished his career with a negative record of 4-6. 3-0 Khabib’s third fight was against fellow Russian, Ramazan Kurbanismailov. Another inexperienced competitor with only one fight to his name. Nurmagomedov won by unanimous decision and his opponent is currently 5-3-2, which more closely resembles a defensive-minded formation on FIFA than a decent fighter’s record. 4-0 In his fourth bout, Nurmagomedov took a considerable step-up in competition considering his previous opponents, fighting a man who was 2-0. Shamil Abdulkerimov was defeated by Khabib via unanimous decision and only fought four more times thereafter, finishing up with a mediocre record of 4-3. His only claim to fame being that he once featured on an Emelianenko undercard. Unfortunately for Abdulkerimov it wasn’t the legendary Fedor, it was his lesser known brother, Aleksander. 5-0 His fifth fight is laughable. Nurmagomedov faced Said Akhmed, who was making his debut at the time. Akhmed lost by first round TKO and has not fought since. He ended his ‘career’ 0-1, which begs the question; was this guy even a legitimate fighter or just someone they literally dragged in off the street? 6-0 The Dagestani continued to be matched up against newcomers in his sixth fight where he fought Eldar Eldarov, who was 1-0 at the time. Eldarov has earned some credibility though, winning seven straight fights since losing to Nurmagomedov, taking his record to 8-1. 7-0 The recurring theme of favourable match-ups was evident once again in Nurmagomedov’s seventh outing as he faced Shahbulat Shamhalaev, who only had two fights under his belt at the time. Khabib dispatched of his inexperienced opponent in the first round via kimura. 8-0 Nurmagomedov went 8-0 after beating another unproven opponent in Ali Bagov, who was 2-1 at the time and coming off a submission loss. One must question why a seven-fight streaking Khabib was paired against such a green opponent coming off a loss. Bagov can best be described as a journeyman fighter, as he went on to accumulate a lacklustre record of 23-10 with an 80 per cent TKO loss rate. 9-0 Khabib extended his winning streak to nine by beating another subpar opponent in Vitaliy Ostrovskiy. The Belarussian came into the fight 3-3, with two of his victories coming against an opponent with 28 losses (20 by submission) and the other against a fighter with a 1-2 record. Top class opposition indeed. Ostrovskiy didn’t fare much better after losing to Khabib as he lost six of his next seven fights and seven of eleven overall before retiring with an 8-11 record. 10-0 Given Nurmagomedov’s record at this stage, you’d expect him to be lined up against adversaries with similar records but this was not the case. For his tenth fight, Khabib dispatched of Alexander Agafonov, a Ukrainian who had competed in half the number of fights that the ‘Eagle’ had. Agafonov retired shortly after his defeat to Nurmagomedov, with an undesirable record of 5-3 having competed for barely two years. 11-0 Khabib scored a submission victory over Said Khalilov to extend his unbeaten run to eleven in April 2011. The defeat to Nurmagomedov was the second of the five-fight losing streak that ended Khalilov’s career. He finished up with an unattractive record of 12-13, with defeats to Dennis Siver and Albert Tumenov along the way. 12-0 Astonishingly, an undefeated, eleven-fight streaking Khabib was somehow matched with a fighter 0-2 for his twelfth contest. Ashot Shahinyan was the fighter in question and he faced the multiple time sambo world champion in the middle of a five-fight losing streak. The Armenian went 0-2 in his next two contests before picking up the first win of his career. He subsequently retired with a record of 1-5. 13-0 Unlucky for some, 13, was the complete opposite for Nurmagomedov as he was gifted yet another untested opponent with just two previous fights. Khabib defeated fellow Russian Kadzhik Abadzhyan in the first round. It was the second defeat of what turned out to be a six-fight losing streak for Abadzhyan, who eventually finished with a 3-6 overall record. 14-0 Victory number 14 came against Hamiz Mamedov. The Azerbaijan native went 0-3 at the beginning of his career before putting together a decent four-fight winning streak that was eventually snapped by Nurmagomedov. Mamedov was hit and miss and retired in 2014 with a mediocre 8-4 record. 15-0 Obviously, by this point of Khabib’s career, overseas MMA organisations would have been scouting the Dagestani with a view to signing him up. Usually, a fight against a noteworthy name is what management seeks to speed up the process but for Nurmagomedov it couldn’t have been more opposite. Bewilderingly, in his 15th professional fight Khabib fought an opponent making his debut. Yes, you read that correctly. At 0-0, Vadim Sandulitsky was the next opponent for the 14-0 Nurmagomedov and needless to say it ended in the first round. Cherry picking at its finest. 16-0 Nurmagomedov’s last fight before joining the UFC’s ranks was against Arymarcel Santos, a Brazilian with 72 fights to his name. At the relatively young age of 33, ‘Chocolate’ Santos has a crazy record of 38 wins and 34 losses and is still actively competing. Khabib was the Brazilian’s 51st fight and he was 28-22 at the time. Khabib got the stoppage and is just one of 14 KO/TKO losses for Santos." This is very interesting to me, simply because there is a different level of pressure on the opponent of Conor McGregor than there is on any other fighter. Mostly due to mind games of Conor on top of the media obligations, weight cut, etc. the week of the fight. I never thought to look into his past opponents because I've watched his fights and I've seen great grappling technique and a slowly developing stand up game. But as time goes on, especially after the Iaquinta fight, Khabib seems more and more beatable by the day. Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor takes places in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile arena on October 6th, 2018; headlining UFC 229. The anticipation is palpable.

[nbacolletion]

Skip breaks down why LeBron James could pick the Knicks over the Lakers in the future

Skip Bayless says the only way for LeBron James to catch Michael Jordan is if he stays in the Eastern Conference. UFC Fight Night - UFC: McGregor vs. Siver REPLAY Today 12:00p ET The Herd with Colin Cowherd Today 1:00p ET UFC Reloaded - UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor

[thesportssoundoff]

Relating the WWE’s current business model to the UFC’s current business model---and how we may be seeing the end of the “star” era

Joey

November 13th

It's just another incident in a sea of incidents. Just another rock sized piece of hail in a storm that seems to have no immediate end in sight.

Just another case of Conor McGregor acting like a big star who has nobody to tell him no.

There will never be another Conor McGregor but not for the reasons you expect.

Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer once had a discussion about the way the WWE developed and "built" stars. Alvarez asked what the thought process was behind the 50/50 booking they used and Meltzer said that at some point, you just don't want to deal with the problems of a major star. When the WWE was going through a pronounced exodus of talents they were grooming, there was a rumor that they were just determined to ensure that nobody got too big should they leave. No one person could hurt the brand, no one person could control it. The brand won out over all. It was their way of taking less money to protect themselves over the long term.

The UFC has Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor has the UFC. The two for better or worse are tied to one another for however long this MMA endeavor lasts for McGregor. There's a lot of money at stake for both parties here and that can't be understated. Having said that, let's briefly lay out some of the "incidents" we've gotten since about July of 2015 which IMO is arguably the peak of the UFC-McGregor friendship/partnership:

-McGregor's continued lateness to UFC press conferences irritates the UFC and the media.

-Conor talks more and more about wanting to be essentially a co-promoter alongside the UFC. He gets his own dais at UFC 194 with no Dana White in sight.

-McGregor compares himself to El Chapo and bitches about the UFC's promotional department  at a UFC presser.

-McGregor loses to Nate, saving a UFC event by even taking a fight, and then refuses to do media for UFC 200 which in turn gets him pulled from UFC 200.

-Engages in a bottle throwing fiasco that he winds up getting fined for with some pseudo community service thrown onto the back end.

-UFC 202 he faces Nate Diaz again and wins, McGregor ultimately saying after the fight that he wants to fight for the 155 title and won't return to the UFC unless he gets a pay raise.

-McGregor after objecting to the UFC making an interim 145 lb championship hems and haws on a return to the division while chasing 155 lb gold. He wins the belt, is a dual champion and then makes it clear he's not returning to MMA unless he gets equity into the org. Dana White tells him he can buy in but Conor either doesn't or refuses or who knows.

-Since November of 2016, Conor McGregor has made 0 title defenses across two weight classes. He's had one fight against Floyd Mayweather in boxing which made a lot of money and ripped off a bunch of marks. He still has no return date announced and the rumors of him trying to fight Paulie Malignaggi in boxing suggest a return date might not be coming anytime soon. There's a very good chance his next fight is at 170 vs Georges St. Pierre in a fight that would probably piss off the boxing populace.

-Since his last UFC fight, Conor has had to battle accusations that he's a racist, a sexist and homophobic. His press tour antics vs Floyd IMO helped prevent this event from hitting the higher marks it should've due to his comments in New York which left just about everybody at least momentarily turned off on the fight. His comments to Artem Lobov after the Andre Fili fight were gross and his pseudo apology of "It was blown out of proportion but I'm sorry"  didn't really help matters either. His non-apology for calling Floyd Mayweather a boy didn't help either.

-He's TWICE NOW had incidents with Marc Goddard including charging the cage and shoving him.. HE also punched at (or connected) a Bellator employee in a fit of "McGregor fans will defend anything." Bellator's security was trying to keep a non-licensed person (essentially a fan) from jumping the cage and was swung at. Whether you argue that it was dangerous or not to push Conor off the cage, and I mean it pretty much was, the guy is doing his job to the letter and got swung on. Did I mention that Bellator by the way is technically a rival organization?

And this doesn't even include the rumors of drugs or rumors of him cherry picking opponents or holding the company up for more money or w/e w/e etc etc etc. It doesn't even include him running some kind of a Q&A BEHIND  a paywall during an actual UFC event and then claiming they drew more viewers. The actual things Conor's done showcase the perils of having stars. It is the very example of Mo Money, Mo Problems. Conor brings in tremendous revenue and comes with tremendous headaches along the way. All of that paints a picture  of a WWE-esque future.

Hell it's NOT just Conor either so don't think I'm picking on him. He's just the best example of what happens when stars get a little bit of power and pull in a very young goof-ish sport. Jon Jones? I mean we could be here all day. The UFC was prepping to build around Jones as a superstar before a DUI, a hit and run, coke, steroids* (TWICE!) and turning down a date with Chael Sonnen at UFC 151. Jones, while away from the sport due to a HIT and RUN, was complaining about how much power the UFC had at the time. He came back and continually fucked up and continues to do so to this day. Rousey? She really was a star among stars but we all heard the stories about how she treated people from UFC staffers to media. She lost once and never recovered both in the eyes of the public and in her professional career. Think of all the money they left on the table with a second Holm fight, a Cyborg fight, a third Tate fight and even a Carano fight could they have pulled it off. The UFC was prepared to build around Chris Weidman but they couldn't figure out how and injuries betrayed him. Cain Velasquez not only continues to get hurt but every time the UFC wants to do something with him, he's either hurt or just not available. Oh and dare we be remiss, he also joined up with Bjorn Rebney's failed (I believe at this point we can say that) bid for a CAA backed fighter's org. CAA and Endeavor are not exactly on the best of terms, y'all. Stipe Miocic? The UFC's probably going to give him a bigger deal for PPV numbers that are barely above functioning level Aldo/Holloway type fights. PVZ? Well she's a headache on her own entirely. It's worth remembering she was complaining about how much she was getting paid before the losses to Rose and the Waterson fight. Now she's turning down fights and announcing title fights we're not even sure about anymore. And Waterson? They tried to build her up too and she got crunched vs Namajunas as well.

Hell think of all the NON-stars who operate like McGregors; dictating opponents, trying to push their "brand" and arguing when and where. Fans want to see Wonderboy vs Till but that's not happening. Fans want to see Rivera vs Lineker or vs Assuncao and chances are that won't happen either. Imagine how much fun it would be to see Kamaru Usman fight somebody really good and known---and realize why it's not happening. Dana White once said "this isn't how it used to be" when talking about how fighters act and approach taking UFC fights and he's right. When fighters start earning MORE money, it becomes a hell of a lot harder to get them to go on board with what's best for the company. DC has talked about champions earning way more than they did before they earned the title so why wouldn't they exercise that power? Why wouldn't Woodley try to stomp his feet for a GSP or Nick Diaz fight, rankings or common sense be damned?  

So where am I going with this? Well it's worth remembering that Zuffa took the WWE model, molded it in a few ways and ran with it as their own. WME-IMG has worked with both the WWE and now own the ZUFFA product as a whole. What's to stop them from just going even further with the WWE model? Imagine if instead of doing Dennis Siver vs Conor McGregor on a Fight Night weekend based entirely around McGregor, they gave him someone like Darren Elkins or Clay Guida as the second prelim fight on the card. Imagine if instead of doing big promotional pushes or putting dudes in fights in their home market, they just buried them on Fight Pass. What if they made everybody on the same level, save 2-3 guys they could trust, and then just went with it? They're not going to lose money because TV revenue is the ultimate bandaid. A guaranteed x amount of dollars every year from x amount of markets will cover up any weaknesses in the product. The UFC likely starts every year with a tremendous amount of immediate cash flow from TV deals and that's not going to change going forward EVEN if the TV money market crashes. The best way to prevent a star from taking over your product is to just have no stars or just rob said stars of any sort of strength within your organization. If this debt situation gets too much, an IPO is always an option It's worth noting that even in a bad year in terms of buyrates and ratings, the UFC's value went UP as an organization and Endeavor's stock has also risen after the purchase of the UFC.  That's very much on the stars who help m ake the product---but if the product is made then when do you need stars? At what point is there no advil strong enough for the headaches?

It's not like the UFC has competition breathing down its neck either. People love to espouse Bellator but their numbers are down and until you can prove to me how social media metrics equal millions, I ain't about to hear about twitter buzz. WSOF is  now the PFL is now graveyard programming on youtube. Combates Americas is getting a chance on NBCSsports but if the UFC leaves Fox to head there (and there's a chance) then what the hell is their future? Overseas is great and all but what Rizin does once month out of six is irrelevant to the UFC's business. Same for KSW.

We all agree that McGregor and Rousey and company have changed the way the UFC is seen and operates. We may learn that there's a chance it may not have been for the better.

[writingsubmissions]

Fights to Make: Oklahoma City

Kevin Lee (beat Michael Chiesa) vs. Michael Johnson/Justin Gaethje (Jul. 7) winner: Mario Yamasaki’s too-early stoppage may have actually hurt Kevin Lee more than it hurt Michael Chiesa; Chiesa was probably going to either tap out or pass out shortly after the fight got called anyway, and this only serves to overshadow what would’ve been a huge win for Lee - things were going poorly against an excellent submission specialist like Chiesa, but Lee turned things around and wound up beating “The Maverick” at his own game. I still think Lee has a few more fits and starts left in his rise up the ladder - his defense is still sorely lacking, particularly on the feet - but I’d be fine basically giving him whoever at this point. Lee called out Khabib Nurmagomedov after the fight, which is probably a bit crazy, but I’d still be fine with it, if only to give Lee an idea of where he stands and what he needs to work on. But instead I’ll go with the winner of Johnson/Gaethje, which headlines the TUF finale in a few weeks. Either guy would test that porous striking defense, and Lee got in one of the best burns of the year on Johnson at the big pre-UFC 211 press conference, so if Lee/Johnson winds up being the fight, you even have a bit of an angle.

Michael Chiesa (lost to Kevin Lee) vs. Leonardo Santos: As for Chiesa, this fight was sort of a worst-case, even taking out the unlucky stoppage. Chiesa’s pretty much been an automatic sub machine, and this was really the first time someone was able to beat Chiesa at his own game. And Chiesa can’t really strike, so this was pretty much a reminder that Chiesa probably can’t ride his one-dimensional style to a title shot or anything, and will probably wind up sticking as a Jim Miller-esque fun divisional stalwart and quasi-viable TV headliner. There are worse fates. Anyway, as far as a next fight, I like the idea of using Chiesa as sort of a gatekeeper for a guy looking to break into the top fifteen; even though Chiesa would weirdly be more of a prospect in this fight, I’m going with Leonardo Santos, another guy with an elite submission game. In fact, Santos might strangely be a more difficult fight for Chiesa than Lee was, since he might be able to neutralize Chiesa’s grappling and is probably a better striker than Lee.

Tim Boetsch (beat Johny Hendricks) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior: Most of the focus on this fight will rightfully be on Hendricks missing weight and generally looking done as a fighter, but good on Boetsch for getting a win here, as this was another reminder that he’s still a pretty damn dangerous veteran gatekeeper. Boetsch is just a big, tough dude, which often makes for an interesting test against guys who can either be undersized, like Hendricks, or have trouble dealing with tough opponents, like Carlos Junior. “Shoe Face” has pretty much everything you’d want from a prospect on paper, but he tends to just tire out and start to wilt late in fights if he can’t put his opponent away - Carlos Junior could still wind up tapping out Boetsch with his BJJ game, but if he can’t, I like the idea of Boetsch as a guy who can hang in there and see if Carlos can finally survive a gut check.

Felice Herrig (beat Justine Kish) vs. Michelle Waterson: Herrig continues to impress in the cage since taking a year-plus off to essentially get her head right. While she was able to out-strike Alexa Grasso this time around, Herrig went back to relying on her wrestling here against Kish and looked excellent doing so, even against a bigger, more powerful fighter. After the assumed Rose Namajunas fight, Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s fairly open in terms of next opponents, and it suddenly wouldn’t be shocking if Herrig earned her way there. Anyway, as far as a next fight, let’s give Herrig a bout that was apparently given to her before UFC decided to pivot and give it to Paige VanZant, and that’s against Michelle Waterson. Waterson’s the bigger name at this point, but I think they’re about even in terms of fighting ability, and I could see this being a pretty fun back-and-forth fight wherever it takes place, as well a big opportunity for Herrig.

Carla Esparza (beat Maryna Moroz) vs. Jessica Andrade: I get why people hate Carla Esparza, at least when it comes to how she came off on TUF 20 - I don’t really begrudge her over the now-infamous $1,000 sundae - but she’s still a really damn good fighter; I thought she beat Randa Markos, and she was back to her wrestling-heavy form with a one-sided win over Moroz. Esparza should still be in the thick of things near the top of strawweight - even if her style and the shit-kicking Joanna Jedrzejczyk put on her make me doubt she ever gets another title shot - and I like the idea of putting her against Jessica Andrade. Andrade’s sheer power makes for an interesting test for Esparza’s wrestling, and it’s also an opportunity for Andrade to rebound off her own blowout loss to Joanna Champion.

Johny Hendricks (lost to Tim Boetsch) vs. Sam Alvey/Rashad Evans (Aug. 5) loser: So, Johny Hendricks should probably hang it up. I kind of wondered what Hendricks would be able to do against someone who dwarfed him like Boetsch, and the answer was...not much, as Hendricks missed weight, then lost things on the feet before being put away with a head kick and some follow-up strikes. I mean, Hendricks simultaneously can’t make 185 while being way too undersized for the weight class, so I have no idea what you do with him. Alvey and Evans square off in Mexico City, and the loser of that bout is going to be looking for their own answers, particularly if it’s Evans, who’s also trying to revive his career at 185, albeit after dropping down rather than moving up.

Clay Guida (beat Erik Koch) vs. Tony Martin (beat Johnny Case): Both lightweights had impressive performances here, so I like the idea of matching them up. Guida made his return to 155 and pretty much immediately proved how dumb his cut to featherweight was - back at lightweight, Guida’s speed played much better, and he also saw the power for his relentless wrestling game suddenly come back. Meanwhile, in the best fight of the night, Martin deviated from his own usual power-wrestling game and instead flashed some shockingly solid striking, mostly piecing up Case and even doing some trash talk while doing so. I’m kind of curious to see how each guy would handle the other - Guida might have trouble taking down someone as giant as Martin, particularly since Martin has some skill, but Guida’s ridiculous pace and herky-jerky striking style could also give the improved Martin some fits.

Tim Means (beat Alex Garcia) vs. Thiago Alves/Mike Perry (???) winner: Well, at least Means got a win, I guess. Alex Garcia got out to a fast start, but then faded quickly, but it seems like that early burst was still enough to keep Means from going balls-out, as he just coasted to an uncharacteristically cautious decision win. Still, Means is fairly consistent with his violence, so I like the idea of him against either Alves or Perry, though I’m not sure when their fight is taking place. It was supposed to be at the August pay-per-view, but that date just got scrapped, so we’ll see, though I assume UFC is keeping the pairing intact. And if not, just put Means against Perry for a fun brawl.

Dennis Siver (beat B.J. Penn) vs. Guan Wang: Dennis Siver continues to look like Dennis Siver, though that means increasingly less; he was able to mostly outpace whatever this version of B.J. Penn is, but still managed to get caught and knocked down in the second round, which...isn’t great. At 38, I don’t really know what you do with Siver - Chinese prospect Guan Wang is supposed to debut at some point, so what the hell, do that, and maybe UFC can sell it in China as their top prospect against a man who main evented against Conor McGregor or something.

B.J. Penn (lost to Dennis Siver) vs. Gray Maynard/Teruto Ishihara (Jul. 7) loser: The best I can say about Penn is that some fighters on the Bellator MSG card depressed me more, so, there’s that. Penn is strictly in the Gray Maynard zone of me not wanting to see him get hit; we could just get weird and do Penn against Ryan Hall, like UFC did with Maynard, or hey, we can just put him against Maynard himself for maximum depression. And on the off-chance that Japanese prospect Ishihara manages to lose to this form of Maynard, what the hell, give Ishihara a rehab win.

Justine Kish (lost to Felice Herrig) vs. Maryna Moroz (lost to Carla Esparza): Things pretty much went the same for both women, as they were the superior athletes, but just got out-wrestled by their veteran foes. So I like the idea of pitting them against each other; both are more athleticism and aggression than anything else, so just let them charge at each other for an all-offense bout and let things sort themselves out.

Marvin Vettori (beat Vitor Miranda) vs. Andrew Sanchez: This was a solid win for the newly minted “Italian Dream” - it wasn’t super-memorable, as Vettori mostly relied on his wrestling as needed, but Miranda can be a tough out, and the main concern with Vettori has been that he’s too raw to rack up wins in the UFC just yet. He has time to grow, so I wouldn’t mind rushing him into a fight with Sanchez, who I consider a top prospect, but is coming off an upset loss to Anthony Smith; it’s both a solid opportunity at a bounce-back win for Sanchez, and a chance for Vettori to get his biggest win to date.

Dominick Reyes (beat Joachim Christensen) vs. Jeremy Kimball (beat Josh Stansbury): Well, Dominick Reyes is at least somewhat legit - he’s been riding a string of first-round knockouts, and continued that in his UFC debut, becoming the first man to knock out Joachim Christensen, and doing so in just 29 seconds. Reyes’s potential is tantalizing, but he’s still raw, so I’d bring him along slowly and put him against Kimball, who kicked off the card with a quick win over Josh Stansbury. Kimball’s a funky, essentially self-taught fighter who’s probably at his best sparking a weird brawl, so if nothing else, it’d be a fun fight against Reyes, who’s still at the point where pretty much anyone on the roster is a solid test.

Alex Garcia (lost to Tim Means) vs. Vicente Luque: Well, it looked like Garcia had finally turned the corner for...two or three minutes? Garcia had some early success against Means, but then was back to his old, ineffective self by the second round, as Garcia seemed more concerned with conserving his energy rather than hunting for a finish. Let’s put him against Luque, who’s similarly built for early dynamism rather than a strong gas tank - Luque’s had more success, but against inferior competition, while Garcia’s been more middling against a stronger slate.

Erik Koch (lost to Clay Guida) vs. Jason Saggo: Well, that wasn’t great, as Koch pretty much had no answers for Guida’s straight-ahead wrestling game. I’d be fine just putting Koch against grapplers and seeing if he sticks; let’s go with Canadian submission expert Saggo.

Jared Gordon (beat Michel Quinones) vs. Gavin Tucker/Rick Glenn (Sep. 9) winner: This was an impressive debut for New York’s Gordon, as he pretty much just laid a beating on Quinones for two rounds before eventually stopping it with ground and pound. Gavin Tucker had a similarly impressive debut in his native Halifax this past February, and faces Rick Glenn in Edmonton - a Gordon/Tucker fight would be a fun prospect scrap, and hell, even Glenn would make for a fun test for “Flash.”

Darrell Horcher (beat Devin Powell) vs. Jon Tuck: Horcher came off well here - he looked very much like a guy shaking off the rust after a near-fatal motorcycle accident and a year-plus layoff, but he got the win, and gave a pretty great post-fight interview detailing the struggle he had been through. Horcher’s probably going to settle in a fairly fun low-to-mid level fighter, a space Tuck occupies at the moment, so let’s go with that.

Vitor Miranda (lost to Marvin Vettori) vs. Alex Nicholson: This was a bit of a disheartening loss for Miranda, as it appears his fun run at middleweight has hit a clear ceiling. He’s probably close to the cut line, if only due to age, but if he sticks, I’d like putting him against Nicholson in what could turn into a pretty interesting kickboxing match.

Johnny Case (lost to Tony Martin) vs. Alvaro Herrera/Jordan Rinaldi (Aug. 5) winner: Tony Martin looked shockingly good here, and Case has suddenly gone from under-the-radar surging lightweight to two straight losses. I’m hoping UFC keeps Case around and sets him up for a win, since he’s fairly fun and well-rounded, and, at worst, can be a solid gatekeeper. Herrera/Rinaldi is probably the lowest-tier lightweight bout on the books, so to that end, let’s put Case against the winner, since the loser is probably getting cut.

Devin Powell (lost to Darrell Horcher) vs. Alex White: I can see what there is to like about Powell - he’s big, tough as hell, and aggressive - but he really doesn’t seem to be powerful or defensively skilled enough to stick at a UFC level. If Alex White hasn’t gotten the axe, I could see Powell/White as a fun loser-leaves-town bout between two guys who are somewhat similar.

Michel Quinones (lost to Jared Gordon) vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov: Quinones didn’t really show a ton here, as Gordon just sort of overpowered him. Quinones feels like a guy who might quickly go two and out in the UFC, so I’m not really making his matchmaking a priority; let’s put him against top prospect Magomedsharipov, a Russian who has yet to make his UFC debut.

Joachim Christensen (lost to Dominick Reyes) vs. Josh Stansbury (lost to Jeremy Kimball): I kind of hate just putting winner against winner and loser against loser for the two light heavyweight bouts on this card, but both work; I was hopeful Christensen and Stansbury could both hang on as gatekeepers in a division that could use some depth, but it’s looking more and more like both guys are just too slow to really hang at this level. Though, if there’s a last chance fight between the two, it’d at least guarantee one would survive on the roster for a little bit longer.

[birdbraintv]

Fist bump? Fuck that.

[torentialtribute]

Conor McGregor’s net worth: How he has amassed huge £73million fortune

Conor McGregor may have said goodbye to the octagon on tuesday morning but has earned plenty from his time in the fight game.

According to the Irish Examiner in April 2018, McGregor, who used to work as a plumber before joining Mixed Martial Arts, has a net worth of around € 85million (

That comes from his efforts inside the Octagon, with UFC his big money payday when facing off with Floyd Mayweather in a boxing ring and the endorsements he has secured around his career.

Conor McGregor had a just worth of around £ 73million in April 2018, according to reports

He amassed the figure courtesy of his efforts inside the Octagon and his various endorsements

McGregor has also launched his own range of Irish whiskey in the last year, Proper no. 12

CONOR MCGREGOR'S UFC EARNINGS

vs Brimage $ 76,000 (£ 57,000)

vs Holloway $ 24,000 (£ 18,000)

vs Brandao $ 82,000 (£ 62,000)

vs Poirier $ 200,000 (£ 152,000)

vs Siver $ 220,000 (£ 167,000)

vs Mendes $ 580,000 (£ 440,000)

vs Aldo $ 590,000 (£ 447,000)

vs Nate Diaz $ 1,090,000 (£ 826,500)

vs Nate Diaz $ 3,090,000 (£ 2,343,255)

vs Alvarez $ 3,090,000 2,343,255)

vs Nurmagomedov $ 2,980,000 (£ 2,259,838)

Figures according to the MMA Manifesto

McGregor's early days in UFC were a significant step up from his days on the Irish MMA scene

While back in Crumlin, he could expect to earn € 100 from a fight, which meant he also had to be on the dole.

When he arrived at UFC back in April 2013, he earned £ 57,000 from fighting and beating Marcus Brimage on the Fuel TV show organization.

That soon stepped up. By the time he took on Dustin Poirier in September 2014, he picked up a £ 152,000 pay check.

His win against Chad Mendes in July 2015, meanwhile, saw him earn his first figure or over $ 500,000, as he took in £ 440,000 from the fight in Las Vegas.

The Irishman's pair of battles against Nate Diaz were among his most lucrative. The first brought him £ 826,500.

The second saw him clear £ 1m for the first time. That rematch, which centered on bad blood between the pair after the Notorious was beaten for the first time in the Octagon, brought McGregor £ 2,343,255 as his purse from UFC.

Irishman earned £ 2,259,838 from his final fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov

By the time of his last fights in UFC, he was earning nearly £ 3m from every encounter

Eddie Alvarez earned the same figure from Madison Square Garden, a landma rk moment for UFC.

Then McGregor stepped away from the Octagon briefly to pursue a fight with Floyd Mayweather. It was considered as one of the most valuable boxing matches of all time.

It was certainly the 30-year-old who claimed that he brought in $ 100m (£ 75m) from the fight, which he lost.

His defeat against Khabib Nurmagomedov, which was his return to UFC, also netted him £ 2,259,838.

His fight with Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, which he lost, said to have netted him £ 75m

The fight in Las Vegas was considered as one of the most valuable boxing matches of all time

All of his figures from UFC do not factor in endorsements outsi the of the Octagon, which are thought to have him net around £ 10.6m last year, as reported by Forbes .

McGregor is partnered up with the likes of Burger King, Beats by Dre, Monster Energy, David August, BSN, Anheuser-Busch (which produces Budweiser), HiSmile and Betsafe.

The Burger King endorsement was reported to have brought him in around $ 500,000 (£ 379,000).

He has also set up his own whiskey company, Proper no. 12. Despite mixed reviews online, including Bloomberg's titled "If You Thought the (Khabib vs) McGregor Fight Was a Disaster, His Whiskey Is Worse," he claimed it sold six months of stock in 10 days.

McGregor claimed that he had sold six months of stock of his whiskey in the first first 10 days

McGregor left UFC fans stunned as he announced his shock retirement from MMA on Tuesday morning.

The 30-year-old is currently suspended from fighting by the Nevada State Athletic Commission after UFC 229 – a night which saw his defeat overshadowed by a post-fight brawl with victor Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Posting on his Twitter page in the early hours of Tuesday morning, McGregor wrote: "Hey guys quick announcement, I've decided to retire from the sport formally known as" Mixed Martial Art "today.

'I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition.

McGregor left MMA fans stunned as he announced his retirement from the sport on Tuesday

'I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement. Clean Pina Coladas on me fellas! '

UFC President Dana White confirmed the shock news just one hour after McGregor's announcement on Twitter.

"He has the money to retire and his whiskey is KILLIN it," White told ESPN via text message . "It totally makes sense and if I was him I would retire too.

" He's retiring from fighting. Not from working. The whiskey will keep him busy and I'm sure he has other things he's working on. He has been so fun to watch! He has accomplished incredible things in this sport.

"I am so happy for him and I look forward to seeing him as successful outside of the octagon as he was in it."

The Irishman took to Twitter in the early hours of Tuesday to reveal his retirement decision

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