All UFC Thread

[OzExorcist]

Well picked

I tend to agree, this is a pretty good situation for McGregor as he gets to stay a champion a little longer, he gets a free shot at erasing his loss to Diaz (whether he's capable of getting that win or not is another question entirely, of course), he gets another huge payday and his two rivals at featherweight are gonna try to knock each other out of contention.

Aldo winning the interim belt would indeed seem to be the best possible outcome for McGregor... but I just have a gut feeling that Frankie could get the job done. Methinks I've got a date with Fight Pass to rewatch their first fight in my near future

Now let's all just touch wood and cross our fingers that all these matches actually happen LOL.

 

[FastOne]

The bit of judging that impressed me the most from that card was what appeared to be a correctly applied 10-10 score from one judge in the third round of the Pearson fight... I've seen media pundits give that score, but I don't recall ever seeing it from an actual judge before.

Yeah, that caught my attention as well... it's the first time I see a judge scoring a round like that in the UFC. And I like it because I've always felt to be unfair when a round is too close to score to just pick one of the fighters as the winner of that round, better make it a tie.

 

[FastOne]

Yeah, the Judges in the Rawlings fight must of been blind. I missed some of the third round. From what I seen it looked to be a close round. Based on that I had a score of 29-28 for either fighter. I thought she lost the 2nd round but might of swayed the Judges with the "knockdown".

I was amazed at the scores, I thought Ham won that fight 29-28.

 

[FastOne]

Well picked

I tend to agree, this is a pretty good situation for McGregor as he gets to stay a champion a little longer, he gets a free shot at erasing his loss to Diaz (whether he's capable of getting that win or not is another question entirely, of course), he gets another huge payday and his two rivals at featherweight are gonna try to knock each other out of contention.

I think Conor will win that fight against Díaz, but he shouldn't remain as the champion at 145. He could fight against who wins between Aldo and Edgar (should be the new champion, not the Interim champion) but not as the champion.

Conor is not injured, he's OK to fight at 145 but chooses not to and remains the champion? It's just sad to see the advantage he has because of the money he generates.

 

[OzExorcist]

It's a weird situation that obviously hasn't come up before - Anderson Silva fought outside his division while he was champion, but only one fight at a time and it was at a point where he'd pretty much cleaned out his own division, there were no pressing fights demanding his attention.

By normal standards though, McGregor hasn't been inactive in his division long enough to warrant stripping him of his title: he only won the belt in December, other champions have gone well over a year without defending and still kept their belts. I know that's almost always been through injury, not through being healthy and choosing to fight in other divisions, but still...

 

[underdog140]

I can't remember Aldo vs Edgar 1 but wasn't it a close fight ? It is very possible Edgar wins the rematch.

I agree that it is too soon to strip Conor. It wasn't all that long ago he defended the belt. Aldo said he wouldn't fight again unless it was for the belt so that probably had something to do with making an interim belt. Plus it keeps the division going with a champion if Conor manages to win vs. Diaz and the UFC / Conor continue on with their previous plans before the loss to Diaz. UFC is actually covering all angles in this match... unlike the first one were they expected Conor to win.

Edit: Rumors are there is still a big fight to be announced for UFC 200.

 

[Carl Trooper]

It's a weird situation that obviously hasn't come up before - Anderson Silva fought outside his division while he was champion, but only one fight at a time and it was at a point where he'd pretty much cleaned out his own division, there were no pressing fights demanding his attention.

By normal standards though, McGregor hasn't been inactive in his division long enough to warrant stripping him of his title: he only won the belt in December, other champions have gone well over a year without defending and still kept their belts. I know that's almost always been through injury, not through being healthy and choosing to fight in other divisions, but still...

That's why the whole CM thing is interesting. It def shows how UFC is a business first, martial arts sport second.

CM from a ranking perspective should 110% be defending his belt at 145, because

1) he is the champ
2) he is not injured
3) and most importantly... 2 other fights are fighting for an interim belt!!! When the champ isn't even gone!!!!

But CM has sold himself and thankfully for his case, did such a good job , that he is able to get a rematch to a fight where he just got worked.

Can't see CM beating Diaz ... And really it's a terrible idea IMO for Conor.

He is risking HUGE here. Another loss to Diaz tarnishes his name BIG.
He looks like he's dying to make 145 and he won't be making it much longer.

I can't see him being a top 2 fighter at 155, which is where he will end up.

He better soak up the $$ now because I think his reign day's end after another loss to Diaz.

But glad for Nate. He's been around so long and seems to get 0 respect from Dana. Boy did he hit the lotto with the injuries and pull outs of other fighters and crazy path CM took that somehow landed them together.

 

[OzExorcist]

That's why the whole CM thing is interesting. It def shows how UFC is a business first, martial arts sport second.

Yep. That's true of basically all combat sports though - they don't call it the fight "business" for nothing.

And when you look at attempts to go the other way and structure things more like a "normal" sport, you see failures like Bellator's tournament structure... which performed so badly they went the complete opposite direction, fired its architect and started booking freakshows instead.

As for McGregor taking a risk by fighting Diaz again, I'm not so sure that he is. I mean he's already lost to him once - if there was gonna be some huge damage to his reputation, that was when it was gonna happen. The way it happened I think most people expect him to lose the second time around too. So if he somehow gets the win it's big news and it goes some way to "erasing" the previous loss. If he doesn't win, it's back to business as usual.

 

[underdog140]

The betting odds show that people think it is an even fight. Conor will take a hit with another loss. But losing to Diaz again at 170lbs is a loss that does the least damage to his persona. There is a good chance Conor is going to be 0-3.

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

"After the fight, Lorenzo and I went up to Conor's house that he was renting here in Las Vegas and started talking about, ‘what are you thinking, what's next?' And he was obsessed with fighting Nate Diaz again.
Obviously Lorenzo and I tried to argue with him and say let's go back down to 145 and defend your title, or if you really want the Diaz fight that bad, do it at 155. And he wants to fight at 170. Even his coach, Coach Kavanagh, tried to get him to get off this rematch and off the 170-pound fight, but it's what he wanted."
DANA WHITE


So the owner and the president of UFC asked an employee "what are you thinking, what's next?'"

It's like parents who ask their children what they wanna eat. WTF.

They are Conor's b1tches and they are OK with that.
What a bunch of p*ssies.

A feel very bad for Frankie.
What a ****ing circus UFC has turned into.

 

[WVHillbilly]

Sucks that DC is out of 197.
http://www.mmamania.com/2016/4/1/11...-forced-out-of-ufc-197-rematch-with-jon-jones
and sad that Rumble wasn't the replacement.

 

[OzExorcist]

So the owner and the president of UFC asked an employee "what are you thinking, what's next?'"

It's like parents who ask their children what they wanna eat. WTF.

Again though, this isn't an ordinary sport - it's the fight business. And while it may seem like a pointless legal distinction, I believe technically UFC fighters are independent contractors, not actual employees.

Fighters get a say in who they fight next, it's always been that way. After all this is no ordinary sport. They're putting their bodies and their brains on the line. There may be business consequences to them turning down fights (being passed over for other big money fights, etc), but at the end of the day it's still their prerogative whether they want to sign a fight agreement or not.

And all that aside, running roughshod over your employees/contractors just isn't a good way to run a business - especially when you're talking about an "employee" as important to the success of the business as McGregor.

You can argue over exactly how big of a draw he is and whether GSP would be bigger or whatever - I don't care - but it's stone cold fact that McGregor is one of the top two or three draws they have on the active roster right now and there's multi-millions in PPV revenue at stake for the company here.

The UFC is invested up to the eyeballs in McGregor. For better or worse, that's the reality. So suggesting they should treat him like a child that doesn't like what he's been given to eat is short sighted at best...

 

[underdog140]

Fighters are independent contractors but make no mistake about it. UFC still has the last say on who fights who. If UFC / Dana didn't want to make the Conor vs Diaz rematch, then they wouldn't have. They still believe Conor can beat Diaz and get back to the original plan they had set for him. If not they set themselves up for a champ vs (interim) champ match at 145lbs.

 

[OzExorcist]

Exactly - if the UFC was dead-set against this fight happening then it wouldn't be happening. Diaz may or may not have been their first choice in terms of who McGregor would fight, but what does seem pretty clear is that having McGregor headline UFC200 against someone was their first choice, and they've bent some conventions to make that happen.

Who exactly he fought was obviously less important to them than having his name in the headlining spot.

 

[theRaven68]

Sucks that DC is out of 197.
http://www.mmamania.com/2016/4/1/11...-forced-out-of-ufc-197-rematch-with-jon-jones
and sad that Rumble wasn't the replacement.

Jon Jones returns and DC wont be able to avoid him for a long

 

[OzExorcist]

Jon Jones returns and DC wont be able to avoid him for a long

For what it's worth, I don't for a second buy into the Jones trash talk that DC is somehow trying to dodge this match - it seems like he genuinely wants the fight and it's a legit injury.

I mean really, is there a story in MMA today that's more believable than "fighter gets injured training at AKA"?

 

[WVHillbilly]

For what it's worth, I don't for a second buy into the Jones trash talk that DC is somehow trying to dodge this match - it seems like he genuinely wants the fight and it's a legit injury.

I mean really, is there a story in MMA today that's more believable than "fighter gets injured training at AKA"?

Agreed. I think it's a bit odd that they're doing it for an interim belt but I guess maybe Jones didn't want to fight without a belt on the line and the UFC didn't want a 197 headlined by Mighty Mouse.

 

[Sil3ntness]

If OSP beats Jon Jones that would be really awkward for the LHW division. #6 beating the P4P king of MMA right now.

 

[OzExorcist]

It'd certainly throw a spanner in the works of a few people's plans, yeah... it seems unlikely though. I was listening to an interview with OSP on the MMA Hour the other day and apparently he was going through KFC drive-thru when he got the call that he was getting this fight. Other stuff he said too made it sound like at the very least he's gonna have a tough time just making the weight.

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

Nate was smoking weed in mexico when he got the call to fight Conor. ELEVEN DAYS before the fight.

 

[underdog140]

Looks like GSP is all set to make a return .. only one thing in the way ... The Reebok Deal.
http://vendettafighter.com/georges-st-pierre-confirms-hes-returning-ufc/

B.J. is also set to make his return. He will be facing Dennis Siver at UFC 199.

http://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/dennis-siver/bj-penn-vs-dennis-siver-set-for-ufc-199/

 

[OzExorcist]

Looks like GSP is all set to make a return .. only one thing in the way ... The Reebok Deal.
http://vendettafighter.com/georges-st-pierre-confirms-hes-returning-ufc/

Let's be honest though, saying "GSP would return if the Reebok deal weren't in place" is basically the same as saying "GSP won't return" because the UFC isn't giving up that sweet sweet Reebok cash any time soon

Here's another quote from yesterday where he says they're talking, but there's nothing concrete otherwise: http://mmajunkie.com/2016/04/former...d-terms-with-ufc-talking-about-comeback-fight

That seems to be the same story a few other outlets are reporting too.

 

[underdog140]

Let's be honest though, saying "GSP would return if the Reebok deal weren't in place" is basically the same as saying "GSP won't return" because the UFC isn't giving up that sweet sweet Reebok cash any time soon

Here's another quote from yesterday where he says they're talking, but there's nothing concrete otherwise: http://mmajunkie.com/2016/04/former...d-terms-with-ufc-talking-about-comeback-fight

That seems to be the same story a few other outlets are reporting too.

There are other ways he can be compensated for his loss. Extra PPV points. Extra cash up front.

Lots of media outlets are reporting the same. Here is another:
http://www.lowkickmma.com/UFC/gsp-supposedly-confirms-ufc-return-but-theres-a-catch/

“Georges St-Pierre confirms negotiations with the UFC for his return. The sponsors are a stumbling point.”

 

[OzExorcist]

Yeah - what it's all basically saying is that it comes down to the money. The UFC obviously doesn't want him at whatever price he's currently asking, otherwise he'd be fighting already. He doesn't want to fight at the price they're offering, otherwise he'd be fighting already.

I'm not holding my breath waiting for them to figure it out

 

[Poker Orifice]

How do you think GSP would fare today in that division?
I'd like to see him give it another go.


How about a Connor vs. GSP fight? (lol)