Author: Adam Wells

Ariel Helwani Banned from 1st Leg of Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather World Tour

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 
Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be…

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 

Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be removed from the pool of journalists to receive credentials for Tuesday’s press conference:

The relationship between Helwani and UFC President Dana White has been well-documented, with White trying to limit Helwani’s ability to cover mixed martial arts for MMAFighting. 

At UFC 199 on June 4, 2016, Helwani tweeted he was escorted out of the Forum arena in Inglewood, California, prior to the main event between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. 

Per TMZ Sports, White banned Helwani from covering UFC events due to being angry Helwani reported Brock Lesnar’s return to mixed martial arts at UFC 200 and the contract for McGregor and Nate Diaz’s second fight was done. 

Two days later, UFC lifted Helwani’s lifetime ban and allowed him to once again cover the sport. 

Helwani is one of the most prominent journalists in mixed martial arts. He has covered the sport since 2006 and will often have post-fight interviews with many of the biggest stars after an event has concluded. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Ariel Helwani Banned from 1st Leg of Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather World Tour

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 
Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be…

As Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor prepare to start the hype for their Aug. 26 showdown on Tuesday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani will not be part of the proceedings. 

Helwani tweeted out UFC requested he be removed from the pool of journalists to receive credentials for Tuesday’s press conference:

The relationship between Helwani and UFC President Dana White has been well-documented, with White trying to limit Helwani’s ability to cover mixed martial arts for MMAFighting. 

At UFC 199 on June 4, 2016, Helwani tweeted he was escorted out of the Forum arena in Inglewood, California, prior to the main event between Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold. 

Per TMZ Sports, White banned Helwani from covering UFC events due to being angry Helwani reported Brock Lesnar’s return to mixed martial arts at UFC 200 and the contract for McGregor and Nate Diaz’s second fight was done. 

Two days later, UFC lifted Helwani’s lifetime ban and allowed him to once again cover the sport. 

Helwani is one of the most prominent journalists in mixed martial arts. He has covered the sport since 2006 and will often have post-fight interviews with many of the biggest stars after an event has concluded. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Conor McGregor Receiving Majority of Sportsbook Bets to Beat Floyd Mayweather

Since Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. officially agreed to a boxing match on Aug. 26, bettors have been putting their money on the UFC lightweight champion.
Per ESPN.com’s David Purdum, odds for Mayweather have dropped from minus-1,100 to minus…

Since Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. officially agreed to a boxing match on Aug. 26, bettors have been putting their money on the UFC lightweight champion.

Per ESPN.com’s David Purdum, odds for Mayweather have dropped from minus-1,100 to minus-600 because “books were flooded by small bets on McGregor” since the bout was announced Wednesday. 

While McGregor is drawing more of the betting action by volume, Purdum did note the biggest bets were coming in for Mayweather.

“The bets on Mayweather, however few and far between, have typically been larger than the bets on McGregor,” he wrote. “The Westgate SuperBook took a $50,000 bet on Mayweather on May 30, two weeks before the fight was made official, and CG Technology took a $45,000 bet on Mayweather on Thursday.”

OddsShark lists McGregor as the underdog with 4-1 odds. This will mark his first-ever boxing match after spending his entire professional career, dating back to 2008, in mixed martial arts

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Floyd Mayweather Approved to Promote August Date for Rumored Conor McGregor Bout

A potential Aug. 26 date for the long-rumored Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is back on the table. 
Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Anthony Marnell announced Wednesday that Mayweather Prom…

A potential Aug. 26 date for the long-rumored Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is back on the table. 

Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Anthony Marnell announced Wednesday that Mayweather Promotions received approval to promote a boxing event Aug. 26, per ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. 

Per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe called the Nevada Athletic Commission on Tuesday night “to get Aug. 26…back on agenda and date approved.”

This comes one day after Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Mayweather’s camp verbally retracted the Aug. 26 date request prior to a commission meeting, per Pugmire.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported Tuesday that Mayweather Promotions planned to ask the commission for an Aug. 26 date to promote a boxing match that was expected to be the showdown between Mayweather and McGregor. 

Last month, UFC President Dana White announced McGregor signed his half of the contract for the proposed superfight and that negotiations with Mayweather could begin. 

Mayweather still hasn’t signed his side of the deal that would make the fight official. The 40-year-old undefeated multi-division champion hasn’t fought since beating Andre Berto in September 2015.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

TJ Dillashaw Skeptical About Cody Garbrandt’s Back Injury

Three weeks after a back injury forced Cody Garbrandt to withdraw from his UFC bantamweight title defense against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 213, Dillashaw is skeptical about how hurt the champion really is. 
Dillashaw made his comments about Garbrandt’s…

Three weeks after a back injury forced Cody Garbrandt to withdraw from his UFC bantamweight title defense against TJ Dillashaw at UFC 213, Dillashaw is skeptical about how hurt the champion really is. 

Dillashaw made his comments about Garbrandt’s injury during an appearance on the Fight Society podcast, via Fox Sports’ Damon Martin:

“Trust me, I want the Cody fight as well but he’s injured—I guess you can say. … It’s just the fact that I’ve seen him drunk and wrestling around with his buddies while his back is supposedly hurt doing rehab

“There’s some posts that I got tagged in or got sent to me when I woke up one morning, him getting all drunk with his buddies and him getting into a full blown wrestling match on the ground with Danny Castillo.

“If it was hurting you to walk and you couldn’t take the title fight then you should probably be doing some rehab.”

On May 12, Garbrandt said on Twitter in a since-deleted post he was flying to Germany for a “second back procedure in three months,” via Dan Hiergesell of MMA Mania. 

UFC President Dana White told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on May 23 the Dillashaw-Garbrandt bout set for July 8 was called off, and UFC was seeking to book Dillashaw against UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson in August. 

Dillashaw and Garbrandt have had a rivalry brewing for the last two years when Dillashaw was banned from Team Alpha Male after he decided to train with Elevation Fight Team.

In his last seven fights, Dillashaw has racked up a 6-1 record with his lone loss coming via split decision against Dominick Cruz that cost him the UFC bantamweight title. Garbrandt has yet to lose in his mixed martial arts career, going 11-0 with nine wins by knockout.  

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Floyd Mayweather Retracts August Fight Date for Potential Conor McGregor Bout

The potential Aug. 26 date for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight could be off the table due to a request by Mayweather Promotions.
Per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commissio…

The potential Aug. 26 date for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight could be off the table due to a request by Mayweather Promotions.

Per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, Bob Bennett, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said Mayweather’s camp verbally retracted the Aug. 26 date request prior to a commission meeting.

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported late Monday night the plan for Mayweather Promotions was to request Aug. 26 to promote “an unspecified boxing event,” which according to a source was the Mayweather-McGregor fight.

“The source said the date is still the one Mayweather and McGregor plan to have their welterweight fight on, likely at T-Mobile Arena,” Rafael wrote. “Once they have a deal, Mayweather Promotions can ask the commission to add the date request—typically a formality—to a future agenda.”

Pugmire noted Bennett said Mayweather Promotions could again change its mind and request the date to promote a fight before the meeting gets underway, but for now it’s not on the agenda.

Mayweather has yet to agree to terms on a contract for the proposed superfight. McGregor, who is the current UFC lightweight champion, signed his side of the contract in May.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com