Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh, said on Wednesday that the UFC lightweight champion probably won’t return until “April or mid-next year,” according to Farah Hannoun of Sports Journal.
Kavanagh added that McGregor’s camp still has to go thro…
Conor McGregor‘s coach, John Kavanagh, said on Wednesday that the UFC lightweight champion probably won’t return until “April or mid-next year,” according to Farah Hannoun of Sports Journal.
Kavanagh added that McGregor’s camp still has to go through negotiations with UFC regarding his next fight.
McGregor’s last UFC fight came at UFC 205 in November 2016, when he defeated Eddie Alvarez by technical knockout in the second round.
The Irishman has stayed busy since then, however, as he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by 10th-round TKO in his professional boxing debut in August.
Most recently, McGregor made an appearance at Bellator 187 on Nov. 10, when he entered the cage to celebrate with SBG teammate Charlie Ward following his win over John Redmond.
Chaos ensued, though, and McGregor ended up pushing referee Marc Goddard when Goddard attempted to restore order and check on Redmond’s status.
It was previously expected McGregor would face Tony Ferguson at UFC 219 on Dec. 30, but Kavanagh’s timeline suggests that won’t be the case.
Referee Marc Goddard commented Tuesday on the incident that occurred involving Conor McGregor at the conclusion of the Bellator 187 fight between Charlie Ward and John Redmond on Friday.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Goddard discussed the circumsta…
Referee Marc Goddard commented Tuesday on the incident that occurred involving Conor McGregor at the conclusion of the Bellator 187 fight between Charlie Ward and John Redmond on Friday.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Goddard discussed the circumstances surrounding McGregor entering the cage to celebrate with Ward before the bout was technically over.
Bellator MMA tweeted video of the incident, which showed McGregor pushing Goddard in the back at one point:
Goddard said he had stepped between Ward and a grounded Redmond when he thought the first round came to an end, however, there was still one second remaining, which led Ward, his team and McGregor to believe Ward had won.
Amid the chaos, Goddard was trying to determine whether Redmond could continue, and he said in the explanation that is why he addressed Ward and McGregor before McGregor pushed him.
With regard to McGregor, Goddard said he doesn’t want any additional actions to be taken against him for his involvement in the situation:
“I do not wish for any further action to be taken against any party, in particular Conor McGregor, but ultimately that is entirely out of my hands. I hope that the situation can be reviewed, learned from on how we could prevent a repeat instance and then case closed, we move on for the good of the sport.”
Goddard also commented on his relationship with McGregor and suggested the UFC Lightweight champion’s fame changed the way “Notorious” treated him:
“I have known, witnessed and refereed Conor on many previous occasions over the years and watched, even in support of his meteoric rise, speaking publically to commend him and offer an insight when others had turned against him. I have known Conor before he was the mega star that he is now, long before he amassed his fame and fortune—the difference being I respected him the same and treated him no different back then.”
No punishment has been made public for McGregor thus far, but Mohegan Tribe Department of Athletic Regulation Director Mike Mazzulli told MMAFighting.com (h/tBrian Campbellof CBSSports.com) Tuesday that UFC has pulled McGregor from the UFC 219 card on Dec. 30:
“After the event, I had some executives from UFC contact me within two hours after what occurred. They basically said to me that it was completely unacceptable in their eyes and that they will be doing something. They did inform me that he was set to be on the Dec. 30 card and he will not be on it. So I do commend UFC to some extent for doing that.”
McGregor is the biggest draw in UFC, and he was set to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 219 in his return to the Octagon for the first time since UFC 205 in November 2016.
He took a hiatus from MMA to pursue a boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August, which he lost by 10th-round technical knockout.
UFC announced Friday that Anderson Silva has been removed from his scheduled fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night on Nov. 25 in Shanghai, China, due to a potential anti-doping policy violation.
UFC said in a statement that it was notif…
UFC announced Friday that Anderson Silva has been removed from his scheduled fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night on Nov. 25 in Shanghai, China, due to a potential anti-doping policy violation.
UFC said in a statement that it was notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that Silva may have violated the policy based on an out-of-competition sample collected on Oct. 26, resulting in his being provisionally suspended by USADA.
In 2015, Silvafailed a pair of drug testsrelated to UFC 183, resulting in his unanimous-decision win over Nick Diaz getting changed to a no contest.
Silva was originally scheduled to fight Gastelum at UFC 212 in June, but the fight was postponed after Gastelumtested positive for marijuana.
The 42-year-old Silva is one of the most successful fighters in UFC history with a career professional record of 34-8.
The Spider was victorious in his most recent fight against Derek Brunson at UFC 208 in February, but in the five fights before that, he lost four times and had one no contest.
UFC has yet to announce if a replacement fighter will step in for Silva in order to keep Gastelum on the card.
HBO boxing announcer Jim Lampley expressed his belief Tuesday that Floyd Mayweather Jr. intentionally threw rounds during his Aug. 26 win over Conor McGregor.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Lampley said Mayweather “obviously” gave McGregor some round…
HBO boxing announcer Jim Lampley expressed his belief Tuesday that Floyd Mayweather Jr. intentionally threw rounds during his Aug. 26 win over Conor McGregor.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Lampley said Mayweather “obviously” gave McGregor some rounds early in the fight in an effort to goad the public into buying another fight down the line: “He allowed Conor to quote ‘win’ three rounds so that the whole global MMA wish community could have something to latch on to. I think there’s a decent chance there’s enough suckers out there Floyd could maybe make another $150 million, why not?”
Lampley called the fight a “marvelous scam” and a “setup” before making it clear he thinks a rematch between Mayweather and McGregor could be in the works due to the money at stake.
Per ESPN.com’sDan Rafael, Mayweather earned a guaranteed purse of $100 million, while McGregor reeled in at least $30 million.
Mayweather said after the bout that he was retired for good, but the 40-year-old has stepped away from boxing on multiple occasions only to return.
While Mayweather overwhelmed McGregor in the latter stages of their fight and beat him by technical knockout in the 10th round, the early rounds were a feeling-out process that saw the UFC Lightweight champion hold his own.
Mayweather left little doubt that he is the superior boxer despite McGregor hanging in there, which raises the question of whether there is truly a market in support of a rematch between them.
On Thursday, UFC President Dana White shot down rumors that Conor McGregor was in negotiations to appear at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans.
Appearing on Good Day New York (h/t Corey Jacobs of WrestlingNews.co), White said he texted WWE Chairm…
On Thursday, UFC President Dana White shot down rumors that Conor McGregor was in negotiations to appear at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans.
Appearing on Good Day New York (h/t Corey Jacobs of WrestlingNews.co), White said he texted WWE Chairman Vince McMahon before the show, and McMahon responded, “News to me,” regarding the rumors.
White said McMahon also texted, “It might be good someday but not now,” in reference to McGregor making a WWE appearance.
On Wednesday, Adam Higgins of the UK Sun reported that McGregor was “close” to a deal with WWE to appear and potentially wrestle at WrestleMania 34.
Higgins cited a source close to McGregor who said the following:
“Conor is a huge wrestling fan. His entire persona on stage he has developed from watching performers like Ric Flair and The Rock. … These are the top dogs at self-promotion and trash talk. He watched these guys when he was younger. … This is something he’s always wanted to do. … The WWE guys have asked him to do shows before with them but the timing was never really right. …But this time it looks like a deal is going to be locked into place.”
The 29-year-old McGregor is the current UFC lightweight champion, and his star is arguably brighter than ever before after he lasted 10 rounds in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August before losing by technical knockout.
He is among the most charismatic figures in sports or entertainment, which would make him an ideal fit in the world of WWE.
There is already a history of crossover between UFC and WWE, as Ronda Rousey appeared at WrestleMania 31 and got physical as she and The Rock took out Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
That has led to speculation about Rousey joining WWE, especially now that her UFC career is in question.
Also, Brock Lesnar competed for UFC last year at UFC 200 despite being under contract with WWE at the time.
The fact that there appears to be some type of working relationship between WWE and UFC bodes well for a potential McGregor appearance in WWE down the road, but UFC needs its biggest draw back in the Octagon after his decision to dabble in boxing.
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UFC lightweight Kevin Lee divulged Wednesday that his weight-cutting efforts prior to UFC 216 took a significant toll on him.
Speaking on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome podcast (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting), Lee said he was out of it while …
UFC lightweight Kevin Lee divulged Wednesday that his weight-cutting efforts prior to UFC 216 took a significant toll on him.
Speaking on Chael Sonnen’s You’re Welcome podcast (h/t Jed Meshew of MMA Fighting), Lee said he was out of it while trying to get under the limit:
“That last hour that I had to cut that extra pound, I don’t even know how I got it off. I don’t know where I was. Your mind just doesn’t want to work when you’re in those kind of states. … Like I said, I don’t even remember much. I don’t really know. I was kind of out of it and I just left it up to my coaches and they got the job done.”
Lee went on to lose to Tony Ferguson by submission in the third round via triangle choke.
This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.
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Referee Marc Goddard commented Tuesday on the incident that occurred involving