The Nevada State Athletic Commission is set to decide Wednesday whether Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor can use eight-ounce gloves for their Aug. 26 fight. That request has been met opposition from the Association of Ringside Physicians. …
The Nevada State Athletic Commission is set to decide Wednesday whether Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor can use eight-ounce gloves for their Aug. 26 fight. That request has been met opposition from the Association of Ringside Physicians.
MMA journalist Damon Martin passed along the letter sent by Raymond Monsell, chairman of the board for the Association of Ringside Physicians, to the NSAC:
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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Sean O’Malley, a 22-year-old mixed martial arts fighter who was recently awarded a UFC contract, recently had a friendly encounter with Snoop Dogg that resulted in the two men sharing a joint.
Following a knockout victory over Alfred Khashakyan during …
Sean O’Malley, a 22-year-old mixed martial arts fighter who was recently awarded a UFC contract, recently had a friendly encounter with Snoop Dogg that resulted in the two men sharing a joint.
Following a knockout victory over Alfred Khashakyan during Dana White‘s Tuesday Night Conternder Series, O’Malley said on The MMA Hour podcast with Ariel Helwani that Snoop Dogg asked to meet him, via MMA Fighting’s Danny Segura:
“Right when I walked into his trailer, he handed me a joint and I was pumped. It felt like a movie because I walked into his trailer and he’s got his body guards, he’s got a couple of other people in there, and there was like three joints going around.
“I was puffin’ and passin’, trying to keep up, and they had a TV in there playing highlights of my fight, so were watching that and smoking, it was so much fun. It was only like 20 or 30 minutes, but it was a good time and a memory forever.”
Snoop Dogg was in attendance at the event as part of the alternative commentary team with former UFC superstar Urijah Faber.
The legendary rapper told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto in June what attracted him to the opportunity to serve as a commentator for a weekly mixed martial arts broadcast.
“I’m a big fan of UFC and [am] looking forward to joining the team to bring my unique take on all the action,” he said. “Y’all in for a brand-new experience with Dogg on the mic.”
A bantamweight fighter from Montana, O’Malley has an 8-0 career record with six of his victories coming via knockout or TKO.
It turns out Snoop Dogg may have seen the birth of a future UFC superstar. O’Malley immediately earned a UFC contract following the win, according to Segura, though that may end up being the second-most memorable thing to happen to him on that particular night.
One day after Floyd Mayweather got to dazzle the media with a public workout, Conor McGregor took his turn in the spotlight Friday by showing what he could do at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported Thurs…
One day after Floyd Mayweather got to dazzle the media with a public workout, ConorMcGregor took his turn in the spotlight Friday by showing what he could do at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported Thursday that the Nevada State Athletic Commission would hold a vote after Mayweather and McGregor submitted a request to wear eight-ounce gloves for their showdown on Aug. 26.
Nevada rules stipulate 10-ounce gloves be worn in a fight contested at a weight greater than 147 pounds. The Mayweather-McGregor matchup is set to take place at 154 pounds.
McGregor, who previously promised to end the fight within four rounds, said he would be able to stop Mayweather inside of two rounds if the eight-ounce gloves get approved:
Even though this fight didn’t officially come together until June, McGregor said he’s had the boxing superstar on his mind for a long time:
Mayweather has not been particularly kind to mixed martial arts over the years. He had this to say about the sport in a 2015 interview with FightHype (via Bloody Elbow’s Anton Tabuena):
“I’m in the $100 million business, not the $100,000 business. I shouldn’t even be stooping to certain levels, because it doesn’t make any sense.
“People that’s in MMA, I wish them nothing but the best. I don’t have anything negative to say about them. The hand I was dealt in life, I was dealt a royal flush and I just have to be thankful and appreciative of the hand I was dealt. I don’t have anything negative to say about anyone. I wish everyone of them nothing but the best.”
Just as interesting as what McGregor had to say was the way he looked working out in his preparation for a boxing match.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani captured video of McGregor throwing punches at a bag:
It’s impossible to read anything definitive about McGregor‘s boxing skills into that short video, but that has been a key talking point in the lead up to this fight.
Former boxer Paulie Malignaggi was working as McGregor‘s sparring partner before quitting on Aug. 3 after disagreeing with what he felt was UFC doctoring their work to make McGregor appear better at boxing than he actually is.
Here’s what Malignaggitold ESPN’s Brett Okamoto about his decision to walk away from being McGregor‘s sparring partner:
“I wanted to be part of this event, but I didn’t want to become the story, and that’s what this has turned into. I won’t release any information about his game plan or what he’s working on—I wouldn’t do that. But this has become a fiasco. It’s a circus.
“And I do want that sparring video released. The UFC’s PI definitely has that video. I understand it can’t come out now, but Conor, if you have any balls, release what really happened.”
McGregor addressed Malignaggi‘s comments during the press conference after his workout, telling reportersMalignaggi took “head trauma” in sparring and “the soars were not good for him.”
When asked if he was worried Malignaggi would leak any secrets to Mayweather, McGregor simply said, “Let him. He (Mayweather) can’t prepare for me.”
The tone of the two press conferences over the past two days was completely different. Mayweather was often discussing the business side of the fight and tickets still being available, with the actual fight with McGregor being thrown seemingly as a reminder.
McGregor devoted his attention to talking down Mayweather and making sure the world knows he’s not going into his first professional boxing match with any fear or intimidation.
Canelo Alvarez isn’t closing the door on a potential boxing match with Conor McGregor, but it comes with the caveat that the UFC star has to beat Floyd Mayweather.
In an interview with Jack Jorgensen of Fansided, Alvarez laid out the scenario tha…
Canelo Alvarez isn’t closing the door on a potential boxing match with Conor McGregor, but it comes with the caveat that the UFC star has to beat Floyd Mayweather.
In an interview with Jack Jorgensen of Fansided, Alvarez laid out the scenario that would lead him to want a match with McGregor.
“If that miracle was to happen, then we have a conversation,” Alvarez said. “If that miracle were to happen, but I doubt it very much that Conor beats Floyd.”
McGregor and Mayweather are scheduled to fight on Aug. 26, but Canelo is also deep in preparation for his marquee showdown against Gennady Golovkin on Sept. 16.
This will be the first professional boxing match in McGregor’s career. The 29-year-old has a 21-3 career record in mixed martial arts, including a 9-1 mark in UFC. He’s the only fighter in UFC history to hold two championships simultaneously when he won the lightweight title while holding the featherweight title.
If any active boxer knows the difficulty of trying to knock Mayweather from the ranks of the undefeated, it’s Alvarez. The Mexican superstar’s only blemish in 51 career matches was a majority decision loss against Mayweather in Sept. 2013.
Jon Jones’ brother, Arthur Jones, had some choice words for Daniel Cormier’s team following an altercation at the UFC 214 weigh-in on Friday.
Per MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi, Jones explained the situation that led to a verbal shouting match betw…
Jon Jones‘ brother, Arthur Jones, had some choice words for Daniel Cormier’s team following an altercation at the UFC 214 weigh-in on Friday.
Per MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi, Jones explained the situation that led to a verbal shouting match between Cormier’s team and Jones’ team (WARNING: CONTAINS NSFW LANGUAGE).
“They were like, ‘The real champ’ and all this other bullshit,” he said. “After a while, I got annoyed. I was like, ‘Yeah, the paper champ.’ We started jawing back and forth. They just walked away. It really wasn’t nothing. People try to make a big thing out of nothing.”
Jones added he would have “ragdolled” all six members of Cormier’s team, if it came to that.
The rivalry between Jon Jones and Cormier is one of the most heated in mixed martial arts. When these two were supposed to face off at UFC 197 in April 2016, after Cormier won the vacant UFC light heavyweight title, Jones noted that Cormier wasn’t a real champion.
“Daniel is not the champ,” Jones said, via UFC.com’sThomas Gerbasi. “He has the belt, but he’s not the champ. I think we all know that.”
Jones never lost the title to Cormier, but he wasstrippedof it in April 2015 after being arrested on a felony hit-and-run charge.
Saturday’s showdown against Cormier will be Jones’ first match since defeating Ovince Saint Preux, who replaced an injured Cormier, at UFC 197.
Arthur is a 31-year-old NFL player who is currently a free agent. He played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2010-13 and Indianapolis Colts from 2014-16.
UFC star Jon Jones would have no problems working with Floyd Mayweather and The Money Team in the future.
Speaking to TMZ Sports after Wednesday’s UFC 214 media event, Jones said Mayweather is someone “I respect dearly” and calls him “a magnifice…
UFC star Jon Jones would have no problems working with Floyd Mayweather and The Money Team in the future.
Speaking to TMZ Sports after Wednesday’s UFC 214 media event, Jones said Mayweather is someone “I respect dearly” and calls him “a magnificent promoter and fighter.”
Jones has spoken about his desire to work with Mayweather’s promotional team in the past.
Mayweather toldTMZ Sportsin May 2016 he was confident about bringing Jones into the Money Team: “Of course. I mean, there couldn’t be a better team than the Money Team.”
Jones then toldTMZ Sportsin July 2016 he wanted to join the Money Team, but Mayweather wasn’t returning his calls after they had previously spoken about working together.
Mayweather is familiar with negotiating with UFC, as his camp had to iron out details with the mixed martial arts promotion for the Aug. 26 boxing match with Conor McGregor.
Adding Jones to the Money Team would help expand Mayweather’s promotional brand into a new arena, generating more revenue for boxing’s biggest superstar.
