Conor wasn't fired for this bullshit and is walking back into a title shot.
He holds as much sway as ever IMO
He holds as much sway as ever IMO
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After UFC 225's 150,000 PPV buys, I am pretty sure Conor is now more powerful than ever and Dana is itching to get him back in and on any terms
He definitely still has the draw but he's not going to walk back into the UFC with the leverage he previously held. Just look at Jones and all his various legal problems. Each time he's been allowed to come back and fight but he never returned with the same leverage as a stable champion who doesn't get arrested for various things in his personal life. The UFC extended Conor incredible deference by getting behind him to do a boxing fight and he repaid them by getting arrested in public and getting several UFC fighters injured in the process. He will therefore not be welcomed back as a hero, but as someone who is indebted to make good on his indiscretions. If he does that by way of fighting and beating Khabib and going through all the rigors of hyping the card, then he will imo be back in good graces.
He won't be able to save the UFC from its fundamental problem, which is that the PPV model is no longer what it was 3-10 years ago. Having Conor do one off fights here and there before he fecks off to Hollywood or Boxing won't save them.
As great a fighter as Jones is/was, I don't think he was ever as big a draw hype wise as Conor. Conor seemed to transcend the sport. Maybe because he had a whole country behind him I don't know. The amount of fans he took to his fights from Ireland was insane. He seemed to reach out more to the casual fan whereas to the legit UFC fan, watching Jones was seeing a genius at work. He has to fight Khabib, and I think he's always said he wants to. Anything else to me would be short changing the public.
How so? Jones was given a title shot, straight after both suspensions. I think Conor feels he owes them nothing and they need him more than he needs them (50-100m in the bank). Why does Conor need to fight again? who does the UFC have on the roster who can generate 1 million PPV buys?
I honestly can't see this being the case.
You've said yourself how the UFC is struggling to build stars and there is no one there.
Conor is a legitimate huge star, whether we like him or not. He's 100% guaranteed over 1million PPV buys. There's not 1 other fighter in the UFC who can do that. They will do whatever he wants them to do. Nothing to do with him owing them a favour I just can't see that being the case at all. Him returning their favour is him coming to fight again and making them a shit load of money, whether PPV is a dying breed or not.
He was given a title shot but he wasn't allowed to chose he was going to fight, which is what was suggested a few posts up regarding Conor.
Conor may think the UFC need him more than he needs them, but in reality they both need each other. The UFC have bent over backwards to allow him to pick and choose his fights against Diaz and then allow him to fight Mayweather and he rewards them by bringing the sport into disrepute, trashing a bus with a dolley, getting fighters injured and getting himself arrested. The burden therefore is solely on Conor to make good on his humiliating indiscretions by simply returning and going back to being the Conor of 3 years ago of being a great fighter and hype merchant.
No doubt the UFC are in bad shape but they are not going to get behind a criminal as if nothing happened. If Conor winds up doing jail time or not being allowed to return to the US after his legal verdict then they are going to have to deal with that. He will in either case not be welcomed back as hero who can do no wrong, when he clearly can, and has.
They will exactly get behind a criminal, they've done it with Jones, they got into bed with Mayweather and they just did it with Greg Hardy and they will do it with Conor. No moral compass at the UFC, unless of course you throw a punch after the final bell.
They did but after the legal cases were adjudicated. They are obviously not going to gleefully get back on the Conor bandwagon if he's convicted of a felony.
Surely Jones is the proof that they will?
Hit and run
Interim Champion
Failed Drugs Test
Comes back wins the title
Failed Drugs Test
Dana now talking up a massive money fight with Brock Lesnar
At the time of the offence I thought they'd do more than they did. Dana alluded to Conor should of fought on a card recently (I can't remember which one) I imagine that's all his punishment will be, not being allowed on a card that's already happened that he probably never was meant to be on.
I hope you're right and he fights Khabib for what it's worth, it's the fight to make. I just can't see the UFC doing anything other than what Conor wants. If he said he'll only fight Diaz for example then I'm 100% sure we'd get Diaz vs. McGregor 3.
Jones wasn't allowed to fight until his legal issues were resolved iirc.
Maybe not.
Dana has been talking up Jones vs. Brock though the last few weeks whilst Jones is currently suspended for being a drug cheat.
Been how long since Conor fought in UFC?
What are the chances he goes straight back into a title fight? I know if he wants to, he will. But I mean in boxing they tend to have a warm-up fight after a long absence, Fury being a recent example
Would McGregor not want to do this?
What are the chances he goes straight back into a title fight? I know if he wants to, he will. But I mean in boxing they tend to have a warm-up fight after a long absence, Fury being a recent example
Would McGregor not want to do this?
Dana said this weekend that Conor will likely face Khabib next...which makes sense since Khabib holds the belt and Conor is the #1 contender.
Yoel was screwed by himself. You shouldn't count on the commission for a title fight. He tried to play the game but lost. Anyway agreed, was an amazing fight. Respect to both but Robert is a warrior, my favourite fighter after that war.
Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series starting now... not bad to watch some prospects midweek.
Argentinian fighter got slept in 20 seconds. 
Just noticed that Valentina Shevchenko's sister Antonina is fighting on next week's show. Very good Muay Thai credentials herself and a bit of a looker too
Just noticed that Valentina Shevchenko's sister Antonina is fighting on next week's show. Very good Muay Thai credentials herself and a bit of a looker too
Yeah noticed that. Can't wait to see more.
100%
It's too risky unless he fights a bum (I'm sure there's a long queue of people who would happily take a massive payday to get knocked out in the first round - myself included!). If he fights anyone of note he could get beaten, game has moved on in the last couple of years and he hasn't had a fight since 2016 iirc.
If he loses his stock goes down. If he wins, meh who cares.
If he goes into a title fight and loses (unless it's comprehensive) he can say he's been out of the game and got ring-rust but will come back blah blah.
If he wins he's the king of the world.
I hate his guts.
Last I heard he said it was absolutely not happening. But he's full of shit, so who knows?
Brock isn't in the USADA pool and would have to enter into it and be clean for 6 months before he gets a fight.
Jones is a dumbass and god knows how his situation will pan out.
He would absolutely smash the life out of Brock as well. Brock didn't look too hot in his last couple of fights, and is about 5 years older now.
Hell yes!
Nice fight. Got Gegard for sure.
Yeah I think he'll win comfortably to be honest. Probably most interesting fight Bellator could book though.
Rory wins IMO.
Should be a great fight.
Should be a great fight.
That's a hell of a fight for Bellator to hold at this point - two UFC stars who are still at peak UFC fight quality.
I was watching this video and if you jump to around 7:20 Ben Askren is talking about weight cutting for another organisation. They also use a hydration test. So if you are dehydrated but technically hit your weight you still miss weight. Sounds like a decent enough idea, would stop people trying to shed dangerous amounts of water. People will have to come in at the proper weight without relying on dropping 10lbs of water or whatever in the final few days.
That UFC 226 card looks really good. Hall vs Costa on it, i’d Imagine someone is going to get knocked out there. Saki vs Roundtree,Chiesa vs Petis and then Nganou vs Lewis, then you have the 2 main events.
That UFC 226 card looks really good. Hall vs Costa on it, i’d Imagine someone is going to get knocked out there. Saki vs Roundtree,Chiesa vs Petis and then Nganou vs Lewis, then you have the 2 main events.
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OSP nice submission finish.
Good round from Edwards
Edwards shaded it for me. Could go either way though. Cowboy the aggressor in the last 3 rounds.
On paper 226 sounds like one of the best cards of the year. Holloway v Ortega & Ngannou v Lewis are going to be ingredible fights imo.
Heavyweight Stipe Miocic (c) vs. Daniel Cormier (c-LHW) [a]
Featherweight Max Holloway (c) vs. Brian Ortega
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis
Lightweight Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis
Light Heavyweight Gökhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Middleweight Uriah Hall vs. Paulo Costa
Welterweight Yancy Medeiros vs. Mike Perry
Bantamweight Raphael Assunção vs. Rob Font
Welterweight Curtis Millender vs. Max Griffin
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight Dan Hooker vs. Gilbert Burns
Heavyweight Stipe Miocic (c) vs. Daniel Cormier (c-LHW) [a]
Featherweight Max Holloway (c) vs. Brian Ortega
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis
Lightweight Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis
Light Heavyweight Gökhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)
Middleweight Uriah Hall vs. Paulo Costa
Welterweight Yancy Medeiros vs. Mike Perry
Bantamweight Raphael Assunção vs. Rob Font
Welterweight Curtis Millender vs. Max Griffin
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Lightweight Dan Hooker vs. Gilbert Burns
man i love this guy. the whole podcast was brilliant.
Brendan Schaub is currently arguing with Eddie Hearn about the behind the scene details of the AJ v Wilder fight.
He cites sources and everything, he has no idea who Eddie is.
He's such a black eye on the mma community, its criminal that so many casuals listen to this fraud
He cites sources and everything, he has no idea who Eddie is.
He's such a black eye on the mma community, its criminal that so many casuals listen to this fraud
Slob is a turd.
He's only where he is because he somehow made friends with Rogan and Callen. I've still got no idea how he snuck his way into that network.
Schaub is basically Big Head from silicon valley, without the self-awareness that he is an enormous feck up. Instead, he's one of the worlds largest douche canoes.
Schaub is occasionally interesting but most of the time he is a bit of a drama queen who is obviously ratcheting up some narrative he's currently fixated on.
I give Schaub a pass due to him introducing me to candy floss grapes. If you’re lucky you’ll get them in M&S but they sell out instantly.
Other than that he does love a rant which can be based on no actual facts or just a severe lack of understanding but he does have a bit of charisma so can be entertaining.
6 days to go, nobody better miss weight or get injured this week. Kinda want DC to pull it off but I’ve doubted Stipe too many times and somehow he’s gotten the win with ease. The Dan Hardy pre fight breakdown things are always great and he has made a pretty compelling argument as to DC might get knocked the F out.
Other than that he does love a rant which can be based on no actual facts or just a severe lack of understanding but he does have a bit of charisma so can be entertaining.
6 days to go, nobody better miss weight or get injured this week. Kinda want DC to pull it off but I’ve doubted Stipe too many times and somehow he’s gotten the win with ease. The Dan Hardy pre fight breakdown things are always great and he has made a pretty compelling argument as to DC might get knocked the F out.