Author: Joseph Zucker

Conor McGregor Pokes Fun at Floyd Mayweather with Instagram Announcement

UFC star Conor McGregor trolled Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Instagram as their proposed Aug. 26 superfight inches closer.      
With the caption, “THE FIGHT IS ON,” McGregor posted a photo of himself alongside Floyd Mayweather Sr. on Wednesd…

UFC star Conor McGregor trolled Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Instagram as their proposed Aug. 26 superfight inches closer.      

With the caption, “THE FIGHT IS ON,” McGregor posted a photo of himself alongside Floyd Mayweather Sr. on Wednesday:

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole reported Wednesday that McGregor and Mayweather have agreed to terms on a fight at either MGM Grand Garden or T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto followed up to report the announcement “is imminent.”

McGregor’s post was seemingly one-half of the equation, and Mayweather followed suit on Instagram:

According to Iole, the event will be strictly a boxing card. Even though he’s 12 years older, Mayweather will be at a decided advantage in his element.

Regardless of whether this bout becomes an instant classic, the pre-fight hype alone will be epic. These are two of the best trash-talkers in their respective sports, and they will likely go into overdrive in order to attract fans who may be on the fence.

ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell noted there are 73 days until Aug. 26, which leaves a lot of time for McGregor and Mayweather to exchange verbal jabs before opposing one another in the ring.

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Floyd Mayweather Reportedly to Request August 26 for Fight with Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly eyeing Aug. 26 for his prospective fight with UFC star Conor McGregor.
ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Monday that Mayweather Promotions plans to make a formal request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to final…

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly eyeing Aug. 26 for his prospective fight with UFC star Conor McGregor.

ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported Monday that Mayweather Promotions plans to make a formal request with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to finalize the August date.

According to Rafael, Mayweather Promotions originally wanted to go before the commission Wednesday but shelved the motion for the time being—likely because Mayweather hasn’t finalized a fight date with McGregor.

In a May 17 appearance on TNT during the network’s NBA playoffs coverage, UFC President Dana White said McGregor’s side had completed negotiations for the event, with Mayweather the remaining holdout:

An August fight would make sense, even though promoters would have only two-and-a-half months to hype the bout. Excitement for Mayweather vs. McGregor has arguably been building for more than a year, considering Mayweather first created a mock poster for the fight in May 2016.

All parties involved would also likely prefer to get ahead of the Gennady Golovkin-Saul Alvarez fight, which has been confirmed for Sept. 16. White said he envisioned the same date for Mayweather-McGregor.

Golovkin-Alvarez is easily the biggest matchup in boxing right now, and by scheduling their fight after that highly anticipated pay-per-view, Mayweather and McGregor would risk losing fans who intend to buy only one of the shows.

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Demetrious Johnson Calls for End of Flyweight Division over T.J. Dillashaw Fight

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson would rather see the company do away with the entire division than fight T.J. Dillashaw.
“They said it’s either TJ or we close the flyweight division,” Johnson said Monday on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting…

UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson would rather see the company do away with the entire division than fight T.J. Dillashaw.

“They said it’s either TJ or we close the flyweight division,” Johnson said Monday on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting’s Shaheen Al-Shatti‏). “And I said, ‘Close the motherf—–g division then.'”

     

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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Dana White Rips Oscar De La Hoya After Conor McGregor, Floyd Mayweather Comments

UFC President Dana White had harsh words for boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya after De La Hoya was critical of the proposed superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. 
In an interview with TMZ Sports, White called De La Hoya “two-faced”…

UFC President Dana White had harsh words for boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya after De La Hoya was critical of the proposed superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. 

In an interview with TMZ Sports, White called De La Hoya “two-faced” for previously endorsing a McGregor-Mayweather fight and then reversing his stance more recently. (Warning: video contains NSFW language):

White also called out De La Hoya’s reversal on Twitter:

In a Facebook post from May 25, De La Hoya argued why a McGregor-Mayweather fight would potentially offer little benefit to the sport of boxing.

“Floyd’s and Conor’s motivation is clear. It’s money. In fact, they don’t even pretend it’s not,” he wrote. “But it’s also a lack of consequences for when the fight ends up being the disaster that is predicted. After this fight, neither of them will need us anymore. Floyd will go back to retirement—presumably for good this time with another nine-figure paycheck—and Conor will go back to the UFC.”

White wondered whether De La Hoya was going on the offensive since McGregor-Mayweather would likely come around the same time as Canelo Alvarez’s highly anticipated clash with Gennady Golovkin.

The two are set to fight Sept. 16. It’s the same month McGregor mentioned as a possible option for his bout with Mayweather. While Canelo-Golovkin and McGregor-Mayweather almost certainly wouldn’t happen the same weekend, fans may face a choice of only paying to watch one of the fights.

In that sense, De La Hoya, who has Canelo under the Golden Boy Promotions umbrella, would have a vested interest in attempting to downplay the significance of a cross-promotional battle between McGregor and Mayweather.

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Cris Cyborg Explains Why She Punched Angela Magana at UFC Athlete Retreat

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino provided a statement on her official Facebook page regarding her physical altercation with Angela Magana at the UFC Athlete Retreat in Las Vegas this past weekend.
Cyborg alluded to disparaging comments directed toward her: “…

Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino provided a statement on her official Facebook page regarding her physical altercation with Angela Magana at the UFC Athlete Retreat in Las Vegas this past weekend.

Cyborg alluded to disparaging comments directed toward her: “When disparaging comments are made at the top, it sets an example that it is acceptable within the company, allowing lower ranking individuals to continuing following examples of leaders, establishing the culture and practices of the company”:

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani reported Cyborg took exception to personal attacks from Magana on Twitter. In one tweet, Magana compared the Brazilian star to Jigsaw from the Saw film franchise (Warning: Tweet contains NSFW language):

FanSided’s Cage Pages obtained video of the incident (Warning: Video contains NSFW language):

Magana tweeted about the brief altercation:

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto authorities cited Cyborg for misdemeanor battery, opting against making an arrest.

Since signing with UFC in March 2015, Cyborg has beaten Leslie Smith and Lina Lansberg.

It looked like her career would be put on hold after the United States Anti-Doping Agency flagged one of her samples for a potential violation in December. However, USADA cleared the 31-year-old in February, granting her a therapeutic-use exemption, immediately making her eligible to return to the Octagon.

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Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier Fight Likely to Happen at UFC 214, Says Dana White

UFC President Dana White said he’s prepared to schedule Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 on July 29 if the suspended Jones is ready to fight on that date, ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto reported Monday. 
Jones is serving his yearlong suspension f…

UFC President Dana White said he’s prepared to schedule Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 on July 29 if the suspended Jones is ready to fight on that date, ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto reported Monday. 

Jones is serving his yearlong suspension for failing a drug test before he was set to take on Cormier at UFC 200 last July. The 29-year-old will be eligible to fight again beginning July 7.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

 

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