Bantamweight fighter Michael McDonald has been released from his UFC contract, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com.
Damon Martin of Fox Sports confirmed the news, noting McDonald asked for a release due to “dishonest” business practices by the compa…
Bantamweight fighter Michael McDonald has been released from his UFC contract, according to Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com.
Damon Martin of Fox Sports confirmed the news, noting McDonald asked for a release due to “dishonest” business practices by the company.
McDonald has a 17-4 career record in mixed martial arts.
“The UFC was dishonest in the way they tried to do business with me and it’s resulted in a complete waste of my time,” McDonald said, per Okamoto. “I want to feel like my employer isn’t out trying to cut my head off. I’m looking to enter a mutually respectful business contract with another fight organization.”
The 26-year-old last competed in a July loss to John Lineker. The match ended with a first-round knockout. Prior to that, he earned a win over Masanori Kanehara at UFC 195, his first bout in over two years.
McDonald lost to Renan Barao in 2013 in his only title fight.
The potential fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. still hasn’t been confirmed, but it has Dana White’s blessing.
The UFC president discussed the high-profile bout with TMZ Sports on Wednesday, saying it is still a possibility.
“It doe…
The potential fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. still hasn’t been confirmed, but it has Dana White‘s blessing.
The UFC president discussed the high-profile bout with TMZ Sports on Wednesday, saying it is still a possibility.
“It doesn’t make a lot of sense for my business,” White said. “But I would never keep Conor from making that kind of money.”
Per the Daily Mail‘s Jeff Powell, recent rumors suggested the superstars booked the T-Mobile Arena for June 10, but White said it “has nothing to do with us.”
Mayweather retired on top of the boxing world in 2015 with a 49-0 record, although the 40-year-old recently told FightHype he has come out of retirement for a bout against the Irishman:
McGregor is still active in the UFC and is the reigning lightweight champion, holding a 21-3 record in his career. While his experience has exclusively been in mixed martial arts, he is known for his punching ability and believes he could succeed as a boxer against one of the best ever.
The challenge has been finding common ground for the two to enter the ring. White offered the pair $25 million each plus a share of the pay-per-view profits, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports, although Mayweather laughed it off.
There seems to be enough momentum for a megafight to take place eventually; fans will just be left wondering when it will happen.
Conor McGregor is never shy about saying what’s on his mind, and that continued in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.
The 28-year-old UFC champion discussed a variety of topics Saturday, but perhaps the most intriguing were his thoughts o…
ConorMcGregor is never shy about saying what’s on his mind, and that continued in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting.
The 28-year-old UFC champion discussed a variety of topics Saturday, but perhaps the most intriguing were his thoughts on a potential bout against boxing champion Floyd Mayweather.
“I have my eyes on one thing right now, and that’s Floyd Mayweather,” McGregor said. “That fight is more than just being explored. There’s a lot of steps, but it’s the fight to make. It’s the fight I want. I believe this is the first billion fight, so people have to pay for a billion dollar fight. I believe it will happen at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.”
Not only did he say his next fight will be in a boxing ring, McGregor went on to explain that a bout against Mayweather “would be the easiest fight ever.”
Although the Irish star is a great striker, he is planning to face a boxer who was 49-0 in his career before retiring.
Beyond the potential struggles that could come from transitioning between sports, getting Mayweather to agree to a fight of this nature likely won’t be too easy.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old boxer isn’t the only enemy McGregor has discussed as of late. He also questioned the lack of popularity of his own league.
“There’s more people here than currently at the UFC event right now,” he said. “That should tell you everything you need to know. Right now there’s something humongous that needs to be done, and it doesn’t really involve them, even though they think it does.”
With one star in Ronda Rousey fading and another one considering a move to boxing, it doesn‘t bode well for the fast-growing league. What we do know is he has left the door open for a possible move to WWE, notably saying “never say never.”
At the very least, fans should follow McGregor news in 2017 because there are a lot of possibilities for the young fighter.
Jon Jones is one of the most talented MMA fighters in history, but his actions outside the Octagon have held him back.
He discussed some of his past actions Thursday on The Joe Rogan Experience (h/t Evan Bell of BJPenn.com):
I had this crazy thing tha…
Jon Jones is one of the most talented MMA fighters in history, but his actions outside the Octagon have held him back.
I had this crazy thing that I would do where I would party one week before every fight. And I did it throughout my whole career. And it was stupid, but it was this mental crutch that I had.
I literally would, one week before every fight, I would go out and I would get blacked out wasted. And my logic was, if this guy were to beat me somehow, I can look myself in the mirror and say, the reason I lost is because I got hammered the week before the fight.
His partying hasn’t seemed to affect his fighting as he’s accumulated a 22-1 career record, with his only loss coming via disqualification. He held the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship for four-plus years.
On the other hand, his actions have created issues in his life.
In 2015, Jones tested positive for cocaine before checking himself into a rehab center. Later that year, he was stripped of his title and suspended because of his involvement in a hit-and-run, losing multiple endorsement deals in the process.
After returning to the Octagon and winning an interim title, he was then suspended for one year because of a failed drug test in July. He was again stripped of his championship belt in November.
The 29-year-old has not competed since an April win against Ovince Saint Preux.
Conor McGregor is arguably the biggest star in the UFC, but he will continue looking for other ways to spend his time.
According to his agent, Audie Attar, McGregor will consider joining WWE if he is given an offer.
“I think it’s all about busines…
ConorMcGregor is arguably the biggest star in the UFC, but he will continue looking for other ways to spend his time.
According to his agent, Audie Attar, McGregor will consider joining WWE if he is given an offer.
“I think it’s all about business, man,” Attar said on the Five Roundspodcast, via Brian Campbell of ESPN.com. “If [WWE] is going to come with an offer, we are willing to entertain it. We are here. Have their people call his people—which is me. We can have a conversation.”
Paul “Triple H” Levesque recently noted McGregor could make the transition to WWE because he has “the personality, the skills, the talk” to make it work, per Gareth A. Davies of the Telegraph.
On the other hand, the UFC fighter has already made some enemies(warning: NSFW language) with the organization. He compounded his words with more discussion about his prowess in August:
If he doesn’t start a career in WWE, McGregor could also continue trying to set up a fight against boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr., who recently retired with a 49-0 career record. The Irish star told TMZ Sports (h/t CBSSports.com’s Robby Kalland) he would need “$100 million cash” before agreeing to a bout under boxing rules.
In the meantime, McGregor can focus on dominating in his current sport. The 28-year-old has a 21-3 career record and is currently the champion in both the featherweight and lightweight divisions. He is considered the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by UFC.com, behind only Demetrious Johnson.
After his win at UFC 205, UFC President Dana White noted McGregor will not have another MMA bout until May, according to ESPN.com.
UFC 188 will feature a highly anticipated battle for the heavyweight title, although fans will have plenty to watch throughout Saturday night with a total of 11 intriguing matchups leading up to the main event.
Besides the big story of how well Cain Ve…
UFC 188 will feature a highly anticipated battle for the heavyweight title, although fans will have plenty to watch throughout Saturday night with a total of 11 intriguing matchups leading up to the main event.
Besides the big story of how well Cain Velasquez will fight in his return to the Octagon against Fabricio Werdum, fans will get to see what should be a close battle between Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez as well as a look at an up-and-coming fighter, Kelvin Gastelum.
In the preliminary matches, guys like Henry Cejudo, Johnny Case and Albert Tumenov can showcase their talent even if their battles are one-sided. No matter what style of competition you like, there will be enough of it on Saturday.
Here is a look at what you need to know before the start of the event to help you follow along.
There is a big difference in this match when it comes to experience, as noted by Bleacher Report’s Scott Harris:
Despite just being 23 years old, though, Gastelum has a lot of promise as a fighter. He won his first 10 matches before falling to Tyron Woodley in a split decision. He also knows how to finish opponents, as seven of his wins have been by submission or TKO.
Nate Marquardt has the size advantage as well as the overwhelming gap in experience, as the 36-year-old veteran has a 33-14 record in his career. Unfortunately, the last few years haven’t been great with four losses in his last five bouts.
Marquardt still knows how to beat good fighters, but at his age he doesn’t have the quickness he once did.
This will be a good chance for Gastelum to take advantage and get back on the right track after his previous loss.
Prediction: Gastelum wins by submission.
Gilbert Melendez vs. Eddie Alvarez
Two veteran fighters who can still get it done could create the most intriguing match of the pay-per-view.
Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez have discussed a match against each other for some time, with both men calling each other out on occasion. After years of bickering, they will finally get together at UFC 188.
It’s put up or shut up time. It’s time for both of us to put up and get this done. There are just some guys you are destined to scrap with and I knew he was one of them. I look forward to it. I’ll do my talking in the cage. I might do a little more talking in the cage than I’ve done in a while.
Both men are coming off losses in their last bouts, but Melendez has faced tougher competition in recent years. We can excuse defeats to Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis as he has plenty of quality wins to make up for it.
On the other hand, Alvarez is 0-1 in his UFC career after dominating Bellator for years. He could not beat Donald Cerrone and could end up struggling against the man he has wanted to face for so long.
This should be an entertaining battle, but Melendez has what it takes to win a close one.
Prediction: Melendez wins by unanimous decision.
Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum
It’s been almost two years since Velasquez last defended his title against Junior dos Santos. Since October 2013, injuries have kept the heavyweight out of the Octagon and out of the minds of many fans.
“The main thing was to recover 100 percent and not come back too early,” Velasquez said of his long recovery, per Damon Calhoun of the Orange County Register. “The way we train gets us ready for a fight. Injuries happen in this sport.”
In that time, Werdum has risen through the ranks and earned the interim heavyweight title with a victory over Mark Hunt at UFC 180.
Still, Patrick Wyman of Sherdog wants people to remember just how good Velasquez is when healthy:
At his best, the 32-year-old fighter showed he was one of the best heavyweights ever in the sport. He twice avenged his only career loss to Dos Santos and has the ability to have an extended title run, a rare feat in this division.
Werdum has a wide skill set that allows him to be a dangerous striker while also earning plenty of submissions. If he can extend this match to the later rounds, he might gain an advantage against a potentially out-of-shape opponent.
The problem is Velasquez is too strong and talented. He should end this match before his conditioning might become a problem.
Prediction: Velasquez wins by TKO.
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The potential fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. still hasn’t been confirmed, but it has 