3.22 to see why McGregor is in trouble. First time I've seen this footage.
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- Thread starter Fortitude
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Look mate you have every right to believe whatever you want you don't seem to like the guy fair enough, but i don't buy for a second that McGregor or any of these top fighters are afraid of any other fighter.
To say McGregor would look like a chicken is nonsense and all. To say any fighter who gets into a cage and gets punched and kicked in the head is a chicken is ridiculous. McGregor has always seemed the type looking for the next challenge as opposed to someone like DJ who wanted to cement a legacy in a particular division. I would have liked to have seen McGregor defend the lightweight title by now as it's the only one he's really been in a position to defend. But Conor seems to care more about the next big pay day instead of defending titles. It's sad but it is what it is, Khabib will have the title tomorrow and everyone should be happy. He seems to have got over his weight cut issues so hopefully he will be active and fight the no1 contender. And not look for money fights against the likes of GSP.
And Kevin Lee, Max Holloway, Pettis, Felder and Iaquinta tomorrow if he had weighed 0.2lbs less. GSP got a title fight at MW, DC is getting a HW title shot and TJ a title shot at 125 without being active in those divisions. But thats the UFC these days mate, the rankings mean nothing.
He's a good wrestler tbf and he has a decent ground game too (learned under Matt Serra) but nowhere near good enough to stuff Khabib's takedowns.
Why is that last bit so haunting“tell me.. where”
Also the 155lb division has pretty much become a joke. Tony Ferguson wins a title against the 7th ranked guy in the division, Kahbib might win a title against a guy who isn’t even in the top 10. I mean they obviously tried to clean it up with Tony and Kahbib but really until they fight, or one just loses or even Connor fights it just a complete farce.
I don't know whether it's his accent but Khabib is absolutely terrifying, he strikes me as a guy with a screw loose.
It's the calmness. The psychotic calmness....
Breaks in to the building and drives down in a beer truck and starts spraying Dana and Kahbib in Guinness .
Funny enough, I do like Conor and I don't actually mind his recent bout of hooliganism. As a fan I am frustrated at the hold up of this division and wanted some closure which he seems to keep obstructing, one way of another. Chicken is an extreme word but people said the same about Floyd for years, that he avoided certain guys through fear of tarnishing their legacies. Floyd at least defended titles for 20 years. McGregor seems like he wants to walk around and call himself the champ but not fulfil champ duties. He will be suspended, most like 6-12 months and then that's probably 700 days not defending his title and of course he would've been stripped by then as well
. he will somehow call himself "the champ" despite this and claim "you never beat me" or "I never lost the title". It seems a bit of an act to me. Its like he is begging to get stripped.Regarding Khabib, I fully expect him to claim the lightweight and then jump up to Welterweight. I feel he could dominate that division. He walks around over 185 and cutting would be much easier. Seeing how well Rafael is doing up there, makes me feel Khabib would be right at home.
Conor has retired, he's not a chicken. He's taken on too many challenges to be a considered a chicken.
BTW if you're not hoping Khabib loses so we can see what happens next then we can't be friends.
Al v Pettis for the title?
BTW if you're not hoping Khabib loses so we can see what happens next then we can't be friends.
Al v Pettis for the title?
Well that won't make the division any more confused.
Pretty good. Kevin Lee only landed 1 out of 8 attempted takedowns against him, and he has a way above average takedown defence %. I rate Raging Al quite highly personally and I think he's got a far better chance of making this competitive than Pettis did, so I'm weirdly excited for this fight.
So Felder gets the night off?
Sadly yes.
Too many challenges? like title fights that everyone wants? What are these challenges you speak of. Nate Diaz? a mid level fighter who has been defeated by 11 different opponents. Conor sold the idea that Nate is this giant beast of a man but really hes just a mid level lightweight who couldn't cut weight in time. Then he gets a title shot in his more natural weight class (remember he won titles at feather and lightweight in Ireland) what are all these challenges? Guys have had to fight him with no camp on occasions.
That would be a hilarious outcome. Conor gets sacked, Khabib gets beat and lightweight division is contested by Al, Pettis, Holloway. lets throw Cerrone in there too. Goodbye UFC
Just because a challenge has rewards doesn't mean it isn't a challenge. He has faced monsters in his career and keeps moving forward. That's the one aspect of the not defending nonsense that is actually admirable IMO.
Mendes in short notice when he had a title shit already wrapped up, facing Nate at 170 after signing up to face prime RDA. He could have waited until RDA was fit bit allowed Eddie to swoop In.
He even turned down a title match for 155 to have another crack at Nate when a potential defeat was a career ender in the eyes of the public.
He's a lot of things but a coward is stretching it a bit too far IMO.
I hear ya but I feel he has lost some of that initial hunger as he was trying to prove himself then.
Did McGregor decide to fight Mendes or was it put on him by Dana? I can't recall a fighter recently pulling out of a main card, because his opponent gets injured. Its just standard procedure nowadays. Look at the lightweight fights arranged for this weekend! Mendes was the one who took the chance as he had zero camp and no fitness (gassed in 2 rounds).
With the Diaz fight, again should he be able to pull out, after being put on the card? He was offered other fighters but Diaz bravely stepped up on short notice. I always give the benefit to the unfit man. Like when Bisping stepped in to fight Rockhold. Rockhold put it on the line (as expected) but lost his title to a stand in. Its common practice.
Part of me feels Dana would let him fight for the 155lb regardless of the Nate fight because you could sell it on the basis that he doesn't compete at 170lb. I know I sound like a hater (he is actually in my top 5) but I just feel him and Dana sell this image a lot more than it actually is "he'll fight anyone anywhere!"
C/P'd from the UG?!
It's not fear of fighting imo. It's fear of losing what you have. It's why so many guys become champ, and then suddenly they want to take the easiest possible fights and the biggest payday fights.
Look at Bisping. He wins and he basically evades the murderers row of dudes at MW until GSP comes along. Look at Woodley, he's been trying to pick his own fights but Dana won't let him. Look at Conor. Since he became champ, he only takes fights for belts, or against guys who are "bigger" than him but are not really world beaters. Fighting Diaz for Mcgregor is win win, so long as he can sell the narrative that Diaz is a 170 pounder.
You don't see many guys like BJ Penn or GSP, who just fought whoever was in front of them, number 1 contender after number 1 contender. Look at Jose Aldo during his run. He cleaned out his division 2x. GSP did it 2 or 3x. BJ Penn tried to fight heavy weights, that dude gave no fecks. Conor cares too much about what he has to lose. It's why he has a carefully constructed PR image, but also has refused to defend his title(s). The Mayweather thing was obviously something he had to take advantage of, but the fact he's had a belt for 2 and a half years now and hasn't defended it tells me one thing. The guy would rather not fight, and keep his marketability, than risk losing. It isn't fear of fighting someone so much, it is is fear of potentially losing his marketability. No matter how good you think, or don't think Mcgregor is, the guy can sell some serious wolf tickets and make serious bank. However, if he gets in there and gets donkey kong smashed by Khabib, is he still going to carry that aura for the general public? I don't think he's afraid to fight Khabib, but he is certainly afraid of what might happen to his ability to make money if he gets smashed by anyone.
Exactly, people acting like Mcgregor was risking everything and at a disadvantage vs Diaz and Mendes are silly people. Mendes and Diaz both took that fight on like 10 days and 2 weeks respectively. Mcgregors opponents changed, big deal, he was in camp training, sharpening. The other guys were sitting around, not in fighting shape. Also, Diaz isn't a 170 pounder, he's a 155'r. Ya Diaz fought at 170, but he was never a 170'r, he was just a puffy 155'r who got rag dolled at 170.
GTFO.
Good post. What's that, Conorology?
When a fighter builds up his image and runs his mouth about being 'notorious' and a bad man putting the world to rights, he cannot afford to go out there and look bad or ever risk getting humiliated - the aura is gone in a flash then, and for playing the heel and then losing, the potential to be a laughing stock is there, too, which is a dramatic turnaround in a single fight; far more than the normal fighters have to worry about.
Conor's become an absolutely huge earner, and losing for him risks so much more than what others' have to concern themselves with.
He's public enemy number one amongst his fellow pros now, even moreso knowing only he could get away with all this in the UFC and STILL come back and make even more money for himself and the company than anyone else. The pressure he will be under when he steps back in the octagon is unlike what the vast majority of fighters in UFC will ever experience. If he has a genuine fear of losing his mystique/rep over the actual loss in octagon itself, it'd be 100% understandable.
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If the fight ever happens, and Khabib genuinely wants to punish Conor... with his knowledge of how to mangle the human body, well, it could be a horrific watch, really.
This is a real beef now and the intent the two have them would have going into the octagon would be something else, but there's a difference between simply being KO'd and someone who can take a body apart and not make it work right....
That doesn’t sound so fun...someone who can take a body apart and not make it work right....
Hope he does it though. McClown
I'd look at it like this: he has 25minutes to twist and manipulate limbs and ligaments or snap bones... he doesn't even have to take it all the way until he wants to. Conor cannot tapout on a world stage without looking like, for want of a better word, a pu***, so he would have to endure. Khabib could be like a kid in a candyshop in such a scenario.That doesn’t sound so fun
Hope he does it though. McClown
Of course, there's the other side where if Conor can keep him out, he could turn his face to mush over a few punishing rounds, but that's improbable - it'd either be a KO, as Conor's not known for jabs and solid keep out, or just a brutal rolling session with someone who wants to cause as much pain as possible.
I know which side of the fence I'd rather be on if I were in that octagon, and it ain't Conor's!
Guess which one of these men couldn’t afford an expensive lawyer?
Ariel saying the UFC were planning on announcing McGregor's return at the 25th anniversary press conference. When Ferguson got injured they considered removing Khabib from the card and have him fight McGregor later this year or they were going to have McGregor fight Dos Anjos for the interim welterweight belt in June.
Fight milk.
@Stacks
Tony turned down a replacement after Khabib fell through for the 25th time but the problem I have is the replacements are always favourable to the stranded fighter. Not many turn down easier opponents for show money that you've already budged for.
Conor didn't have to choose Mendes, a killer wrestler was supposed to expose him to the world. Nate wasn't even first choice for their first fight, Aldo said he was in camp just in case so Conor wanted to fight him with one weeks notice!
Tony turned down a replacement after Khabib fell through for the 25th time but the problem I have is the replacements are always favourable to the stranded fighter. Not many turn down easier opponents for show money that you've already budged for.
Conor didn't have to choose Mendes, a killer wrestler was supposed to expose him to the world. Nate wasn't even first choice for their first fight, Aldo said he was in camp just in case so Conor wanted to fight him with one weeks notice!
But think about it.
McGregor wouldn't say no to Mendes. If he said no, he would not get his title shot that match, would have been crazy to say no just as khabib would be crazy to say no to any opponent they put in front of him right now.
Bullshit. Cody did not deserve rematch.
Agree, hope the rematch goes the same way, but alot more brutal.
Are there no other opponents for TJ? Is the division too small?
I think the smart thing to do would be to put Cruz vs Rivera on the undercard with the winner getting a title shot.
EDIT: Just remembered Rivera is already booked to face Moraes in a few months so I guess if he comes through that then he'll be number one contender.
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Dana was never throwing Conor v Aldo in the bin if he turned down Mendes. They had millions invested. Saying that I can't see how Conor gets Aldo if Mendes wins. I could see Aldo saying no out if spite with an excuse like that
They love each other really. Is Cody shill dating Miss Vansexy?
Seems to be that any champion who loses their belt walks into a rematch. Clogs up divisions.
What happneed to Dillishaw vs MM?
Did Cruz retire?
Was hoping that TJ would get rematch vs him at some point, since i think TJ deserved the win in their fight.
Cody had no chance against TJ, and then gets a rematch, but when TJ lost (a very even fight) against Cruz, he doesn't get rematch.
Not really very fair for TJ, he's the only one who has something to lose now.