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UFC: Does Conor McGregor Deserve a Title Shot with Win?

UFC President Dana White made it pretty clear on what his intentions are for Conor McGregor should the Irishman win his next bout inside of the Octagon.

Venture off into the Twittersphere or any dungeon stockpiled with viral comments and you’ll find t…

UFC President Dana White made it pretty clear on what his intentions are for Conor McGregor should the Irishman win his next bout inside of the Octagon.

Venture off into the Twittersphere or any dungeon stockpiled with viral comments and you’ll find two parties: One in favor of McGregor and his meteoric rise to the top of the 145-pound division and one in opposition of any and everything the man does.

Eyes—no matter whether they reside in a person hoping to see him fail or succeed—will be glued on that television set when McGregor steps into the Octagon this Sunday against Dennis Siver in Boston.

He’s an intriguing fighter; few can doubt that. But what many can doubt is whether or not a victory over the division’s 10th-ranked fighter merits a shot at the best 145 pounder the planet has ever seen.

So, does McGregor deserve a shot at the title with a win over Siver? In short: Yes. Absolutely, positively yes.

Many of the adversarial arguments rest upon the idea that the champion has another viable challenger in his wake—former 155-pound titleholder and former 145-pound title contender Frankie Edgar. It’s a fair argument, really. Ranked three spots higher in the UFC’s hierarchy, Edgar capped off victories over now No. 9-ranked Charles Oliveira and a first-time featherweight B.J. Penn before dominating the now-fourth-ranked Cub Swanson for nearly five full rounds.

But Edgar already had his shot at the champion; and it came off of back-to-back losses to Benson Henderson. Keep in mind that Edgar’s title shot came after Ricardo Lamas had extended his winning streak to four.

So, yeah. There’s that.

Plenty of others standing in opposition of the Irishman’s title hopes point toward the notion that the UFC’s head honchos have been hand picking McGregor‘s opponents, claiming they wouldn’t dare contractually obligate him to face a wrestler for fear of losing out on the ridiculous profits they’d likely earn with about 82,000 of his countrymen cheering him on.

But coloring McGregor‘s resume hand-picked for his success is a bit unfair, especially when you take the time to analyze it a bit. His first two fights in the UFC, against Marcus Brimage and Max Holloway, can hardly be contested in this sense. McGregror was a UFC newcomer looking to earn some much needed victories in the eyes of the mainstream MMA fans.

Where the argument can truly begin is in McGregor‘s third fight, which was originally scheduled against Cole Miller, who no, isn’t considered a wrestler. What Miller, a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu with 15 submission wins, could’ve tested is McGregor‘s grappling skills.

An injury to Miller would force the UFC to find a replacement in Diego Brandao, who like McGregor at the time, was unranked. Long known for his strike-now worry-about-cardio-later approach to fighting, Brandao couldn’t have been a better opponent for the always calm McGregor.

Then came the naturally intriguing storyline between McGregor and Dustin Poirier. Again, it wouldn’t be an opportunity to showcase the Irishman’s wrestling defense (or offense, for that matter). So, no, McGregor hasn’t faced a top wrestler just yet. And, no, he still won’t have faced an elite wrestler even after fighting Siver this Sunday.

But with McGregor healthy and ready to fight in early 2015, the UFC could ill afford to have one of their biggest draws sitting on the sideline while a proven wrestler was ready to go. The promotion needed a viable top-10 opponent for its prized fighter; Siver was their guy.

Realistically, if the UFC had any intention on appeasing the critics, Nik Lentz would have been their guy.

But he wasn’t and you’d be hard pressed to blame them. Lentz isn’t widely considered a head-turner. His name doesn’t move the needle. His style does less to convince average fans to tune into the main event of UFC Fight Night 59 on Fox Sports 1. Compromising the excitement of the main event to satisfy the needs of a unconvinced minority—especially when it could be competing with the NFL’s AFC Championship Game—would be unwise. It isn’t a complete compromise, either, with Siver and Lentz only separated by two spots on the rankings.

Even without facing a true wrestler, let us be reminded that Chad Mendes stringed together five-straight victories against much lesser opponents before earning his second title shot against Aldo. The kicker that nobody seems to talk about? He didn’t really face any elite strikers in that span before jumping back into the cage with the champion who knocked him out two years before his second crack.

Say what you will, but we’re one more first-round TKO away from watching the silver-tongued phenom challenge for UFC gold.

Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.

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Flyweight bout between Chris Cariaso, Henry Cejudo targeted for UFC 185

Henry Cejudo will apparently get his wish of returning to flyweight.

A bout between the top prospect and Chris Cariaso is targeted for UFC 185 in Dallas on March 14, sources confirmed with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani. Mexican outlet Indiscutido was the first to report the booking.

Cejudo (7-0), a former Olympic gold medalist in wrestling, moved up to bantamweight last year after repeatedly failing to make 125 in both the UFC and Legacy FC. Cejudo, 27, defeated Dustin Kimura by dominant unanimous decision at UFC on FOX: Dos Santos vs. Miocic in December in his UFC debut. The California native asked UFC president Dana White in the post-fight press conference if he could move back down to flyweight and White agreed.

Cariaso (17-6) will be the toughest test of Cejudo’s MMA career by far. The 33-year-old is coming off a loss to Demetrious Johnson in a flyweight title fight at UFC 178 in September. Before that, the California native had won three straight and was ranked in the top 10 among 125-pounders in the UFC.

UFC 185 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos. Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson has also been announced for the card, which takes place at American Airlines Center.

Henry Cejudo will apparently get his wish of returning to flyweight.

Jake Shields admits using diuretics to cut weight before fight at UFC 150

Jake Shields has remained private about what substance he tested positive for three years ago. Until Monday.
Shields admitted to using diuretics to help him cut weight before fighting Ed Herman at UFC 150 in August 2012 during a Nevada Athle…

Jake Shields has remained private about what substance he tested positive for three years ago. Until Monday.

Shields admitted to using diuretics to help him cut weight before fighting Ed Herman at UFC 150 in August 2012 during a Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) hearing. Shields was attempting to get licensed for his main-event bout with Brian Foster at World Series of Fighting 17 on Saturday in Las Vegas. Any fighter who is 35 years old or older must appear before the commission to have their license renewed.

The NAC gave Shields a conditional license to compete pending the receipt of his medical records, which had not come in as of Monday.

Shields, the former UFC and Strikeforce star, was suspended six months after the Herman fight and the bout, a Shields victory, was overturned into a no-contest by the Colorado Office of Boxing. The state is not required to release the substance Shields tested positive for by law and Shields has not spoken about it until now.

The commission inquired about the banned substance and asked Shields how it could be assured he would not use any drugs in advance of this fight against Foster. Shields said he had not looked over the list of prohibited substances, but he would immediately.

Shields said he was given the diuretics in 2012 by someone he knew from fighting, but not a fellow fighter. He said it was someone he didn’t know very well and called it a “mistake.”

“I learn from my mistakes,” Shields said. “I’d like to think that, at least. I’m not one to go through what I went through before.”

Shields said he was not aware diuretics were banned in Colorado.

“I didn’t know it was banned, but it was my fault,” he said. “It was my responsibility.”

Shields was also asked about his 2010 suspension and fine for his part in the infamous in-cage brawl following a Strikeforce fight that also included Nick and Nate Diaz and Jason “Mayhem” Miller. He told the commission that nothing like that would happen again.

“I’m not a dirty fighter,” Shields said. “I was completely caught up in it.”

Donald Cerrone Is Rewriting the Playbook on What It Means to Be a UFC Fighter

Third-ranked UFC lightweight Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is pegged to make the quickest turnaround of his mixed martial arts career when he faces former lightweight champion, and adversary, Benson Henderson at UFC Fight Night: Boston.
Cowboy, who’s n…

Cowboy, who’s no stranger to taking a fight on short notice, does it one more time when he fills in for an ill Eddie Alvarez. The 31-year-old went against UFC President Dana White‘s wishes and accepted the proposal for his second fight in 15 days.

For Cerrone, his will to fight is all natural. Diagnosed with attention deficit disorder when he was a child, Cowboy got into fights often. Since his debut in the UFC in February 2011, he has fought 16 times.

“There’s no name that comes across the table that I’m like, ‘oh damn, I’m can’t take that.’ No, let’s go. Let’s fight. It’s what we do. It’s what I’m paid to do. It’s my job,” Cerrone told MMA Fighting.

Some might say he’s redefining what it means to be a mixed martial artist. You’ll never find Cerrone filming a season of The Ultimate Fighter or waiting in line for a title shot. Like the Budweiser brand he sponsors, Cowboy is simply down for whatever.

Life is never at a standstill for the Jackson/Winkeljohn MMA product. The known extreme-sport junkie is always pushing boundaries in and out of the Octagon. So when it came time to assess his win over Myles Jury at UFC 182, Cerrone remained critical of his performance.

Cerrone, who at first had hopes of fighting on the upcoming UFC card in his hometown of Denver, Colorado, now will take aim at a man he is very familiar with. Henderson, the former 155-pound champ who tied B.J. Penn for most title defenses in the division’s history, bested Cowboy in two previous burgeoning meetings in the WEC.

But you would be mistaken if you thought that the man, who collects performance bonuses as fast as White changes his mind, hasn’t changed in the five years since the two fought. Cerrone has only lost three times in the UFC and is the owner of a six-fight win streak. He can ill-afford to lose at this juncture if he wants a crack at the belt, and no one knows what he’s risking more than Cowboy.

“I wouldn’t take this fight on short notice, one, if I wasn’t sh-t bat loony, and two, if I didn’t think I could beat Ben,” he told MMA Junkie. “I’m excited and confident and trying to go out there Sunday night and whip the sh-t out of him.”

He’s honed all of his tools in this winning streak that has spanned over 14 months. One of the division’s most electrifying fighters, Cerrone is accomplished anywhere the fight goes and will undoubtedly make life difficult for Henderson.

Both men are incredibly difficult to submit, hard to take down and are known for their nasty kicks. Each of them are hungry to get back in the hunt for gold.

When the Cowboy has lost it has been when he has lost control of his emotions, or had been controlled on the ground. Losing does not just erase his streak but it will force him to contemplate whether he is truly part of the lightweight division’s elite.

Two of Cerrone‘s three UFC losses have come against the current champion, Anthony Pettis, and the current top contender, Rafael dos Anjos. Henderson also knows both well, having lost to both Pettis and, most recently, Dos Anjos at UFC Fight Night back on August 23.

It’s hard not to like Cowboy. His persona—one of a blue-collar, beer-drinking, action-sports fanatic—transcends various age groups. He’s a company guy— a “yes” man—who will take on whoever, whenever. Will that be what ultimately leads to his downfall?

There are benefits to fighting as often as Cerrone does; the pay is great. He’s racked up $500,000 in performance bonuses, inside the UFC, and typically earns in the range of $125,000-$150,000 per fight.

And could it also have just a little bit to do with the fact that he loves fighting, so much that preparation isn’t a concern in his bout with Henderson?

“Prepare? S–t, I don’t even have enough time to prepare a cake,” Cerrone remarked during the conference call for UFC Boston. “What are you talking about, prepare? I’m just going in there fighting. I’ve got enough time to cut weight and get to Boston.”

He also doesn’t think that his second weight cut in the span of a couple of weeks will hinder him much.

“[That’s] probably damaging, for sure. But so is cocaine and alcohol, so I think this is a little less,” said Cowboy.

In an era where injuries are plentiful, events are canceled and fighters wither away waiting for shots at UFC gold, Cerrone bank and trust is always open for business.

He’s rewriting the playbook of how to be an MMA fighter. He’s also as durable as they come, having never pulled out of a bout yet in his career. On a January 18 fight night card, that includes a headliner featuring Conor McGregor, Cerrone will look to steal the show against Smooth in Boston.

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Dan Henderson: Daniel Cormier should have wrestled more against Jon Jones

Dan Henderson saw firsthand how good Daniel Cormier’s MMA wrestling game was when the two fought at UFC 173 back in May. So he was surprised Cormier didn’t use his greatest strength more frequently against Jon Jones over the weekend at UFC 1…

“That was probably the biggest surprise of it,” Henderson told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “He didn’t really attempt too many [takedowns]. The ones he did, I don’t know. It seemed like he got in the clinch a couple of times and just kind of pushed off and backed out instead of keeping him there and working on that takedown. I don’t know. I think part of that was he ran out of gas at the end of the fight, but he should have been taking him down earlier, I thought. Jones is long and has some good balance. I’m sure it wasn’t easy to take him down.”

Cormier was relentless with takedowns against Henderson during their fight. At one point, he picked Henderson up over his head and slammed him. Right after, he used a crafty trip to take Henderson off his feet. It isn’t like Henderson is a slouch in that department, either — he, like Cormier, is a former Olympian in wrestling.

Jones ended up taking Cormier down three times in his UFC light heavyweight title-retaining victory Saturday in Las Vegas. Cormier slammed Jones once, but Jones popped right back up. Other than that, Jones seemed very difficult to get to the floor, in both the clinch and from shots. Jones used his height and reach advantages beautifully. Henderson felt Cormier just didn’t impose that part of his game enough.

“I thought DC’s wrestling would make a difference in that fight and he didn’t really utilize it the way he’s capable of,” Henderson said. “Jones did a great job defending it and putting DC on his back a couple of times.”

After falling to Cormier, Henderson decided to drop back down to middleweight. He’ll meet Gegard Mousasi at UFC on FOX: Gustafsson vs. Johnson on Jan. 24 in Sweden.

The 44-year-old MMA legend weighed in at just 199 pounds for the Cormier bout and, with a new healthier diet, a cut to 185 would not be that difficult. Of course, getting thrown around by Cormier also played into the decision.

“I was upset at my performance, obviously,” Henderson said. “I felt that I’m capable of doing better than that. DC just fought exactly how I would have fought me if I was him. And he was able to do his gameplan perfectly and I didn’t stop it.”

Perhaps Cormier didn’t adhere to his gameplan perfectly against Jones, as Cormier’s American Kickboxing Academy teammate Luke Rockhold said Saturday night. But when he did, Jones sure did stop it.

Henderson had Cormier ahead after three rounds, taking the second and third. But he had little doubt that Jones took the fourth and fifth. That’s what decided the fight.

“DC just kind of ran out of gas,” Henderson said.

Louis Taylor injured, Uriah Hall without an opponent for Boston card again

Uriah Hall has been left without an opponent. Again.

Louis Taylor has injured his back and will have to pull out of his fight with Hall at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Siver on Jan. 18 in Boston, UFC officials confirmed with MMAFighting.com on Sunday. The news was initially broken by Karyn Bryant of FOX Sports.

Hall (9-4) was supposed to face Costas Philippou on the big FOX Sports 1 main card until Philippou sustained a rib injury. Taylor, the former Strikeforce and Bellator journeyman, stepped in on short notice until he pulled a muscle in his back, per Bryant. The UFC is currently looking for a replacement to fight Hall on just eight days notice. Bryant also reported that the UFC has pulled Taylor’s contract.

Hall, a 30-year-old Ultimate Fighter 17 alum, gained notoriety on the show by finishing several opponents with devastating knockouts. He fell to Kelvin Gastelum in the finals. Hall, who still has a ton of promise in the middleweight division, has won two straight, most recently defeating Thiago Santos via unanimous decision despite a badly broken big toe.

UFC Fight Night 59 is headlined by a featherweight contender bout between Conor McGregor and Dennis Siver. Lightweight star Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone is coming back on two weeks notice to take on former champion Benson Henderson in the co-main event. It will be the UFC’s first trip to Boston since the first-ever FOX Sports 1 card in August 2013.

Uriah Hall has been left without an opponent. Again.