Author: Scott Polacek

Floyd Mayweather Applies for 5 Trademarks for 50-0 Record

While boxing and MMA fans anticipate the mega-showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, the 49-0 boxer is already looking ahead. 
On Wednesday, Darren Rovell of ESPN reported Mayweather has already filed for five trademarks for a 50-0 …

While boxing and MMA fans anticipate the mega-showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, the 49-0 boxer is already looking ahead. 

On Wednesday, Darren Rovell of ESPN reported Mayweather has already filed for five trademarks for a 50-0 record.

This comes after Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports initially reported the much-anticipated battle between Mayweather and MMA star McGregor will be on Aug. 26. Mayweather confirmed the bout on his Instagram page.

Iole noted the fight, which will take place in Las Vegas, could pay each fighter more than $100 million.

The major payday surely helped Mayweather’s decision-making process even though he retired in Sept. 2015 after defeating Andre Berto and improving his record to 49-0. What’s more, another victory would give Mayweather the round number of 50 wins in 50 tries and move him past the great 49-0 Rocky Marciano record-wise.

The opportunity to move to 50-0 and beat a notable name like McGregor in the process clearly resonated with Mayweather considering he’s already applied to trademark the record.

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Jon ‘War Machine’ Koppenhaver Sentenced to Life in Prison, Eligible for Parole

Former MMA fighter Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver was reportedly sentenced to life in prison Monday. 
Yasmeen Hassan of KTNV in Las Vegas reported the news and noted there is the possibility of parole in 36 years. The sentencing was for the sexual …

Former MMA fighter Jon “War Machine” Koppenhaver was reportedly sentenced to life in prison Monday. 

Yasmeen Hassan of KTNV in Las Vegas reported the news and noted there is the possibility of parole in 36 years. The sentencing was for the sexual assault and battery of his ex-girlfriend, Christy Mack, per KTNV.

           

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

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Conor McGregor Turned Down Role in New Movie ‘King Arthur,’ Says Guy Ritchie

If director Guy Ritchie had his way, UFC star Conor McGregor would have been in his new King Arthur movie.
On Sunday, Aoife Bannon of the Irish Sun reported Ritchie offered McGregor a role in the film, but the fighter couldn’t take it because he w…

If director Guy Ritchie had his way, UFC star Conor McGregor would have been in his new King Arthur movie.

On Sunday, Aoife Bannon of the Irish Sun reported Ritchie offered McGregor a role in the film, but the fighter couldn’t take it because he was training.

McGregor wasn’t in the recently released film, but he still had an influence.

“Preparing for the action scenes [in King Arthur], we watched a lot of McGregor, fight footage because his style was what we were after,” Ritchie said, per Bannon. “That very intense, singular, lightning-fast, juggernaut trademark technique was perfect, and we modeled Arthur’s physicality on that.”

Ritchie even compared McGregor to actor Jason Statham and said the fighter “could clean up in Hollywood.”

According to TMZ Sports, McGregor was training for his UFC 194 fight against Jose Aldo when asked about the potential role. TMZ Sports noted McGregor has been asked a number of times to take movie roles but said he will only do so for the right payday.

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Nate Diaz Could Be Done Fighting in UFC, Dana White Says

UFC President Dana White isn’t sure if Nate Diaz will ever fight again.
“If they want to fight next week or if they never want to fight again, that’s up to them,” he said when talking about Diaz and his brother, Nick, per TMZ Sports. “It’s not up to me…

UFC President Dana White isn’t sure if Nate Diaz will ever fight again.

“If they want to fight next week or if they never want to fight again, that’s up to them,” he said when talking about Diaz and his brother, Nick, per TMZ Sports. “It’s not up to me.”

“They don’t seem like they wanna fight…either one of them,” he continued.

White said the UFC offered multiple fights to both brothers.

According to Nate Diaz’s UFC profile, he sports a 20-11 career record. He last appeared at UFC 202 when he lost to Conor McGregor by majority decision in a rematch of his UFC 196 victory over McGregor.

Diaz recently appeared on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and said McGregor only won by decision because the company wanted him to, and White responded by calling the notion “crazy talk,” per TMZ.

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Dana White Says Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor Fight Not Close to Being Done

Don’t get fired up about a potential Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor bout just yet. 
On Monday, UFC president Dana White said the fight is “not even close to being done,” per TMZ Sports, although he granted there has been some progression towa…

Don’t get fired up about a potential Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor bout just yet. 

On Monday, UFC president Dana White said the fight is “not even close to being done,” per TMZ Sports, although he granted there has been some progression toward an eventual showdown:

White told MMAjunkie’s Mike Bohn on April 9 preliminary discussions were already underway for the potential fight. “I see this fight happening,” he added. “Conor wants it, and Floyd wants it.”

McGregor previously said he was looking for a September fight date well after the birth of his first child, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. McGregor also noted he will be boxing against Mayweather and said, “I’m going to stop Floyd and you’re all going to eat your words.”

The idea of McGregor and Mayweather ultimately boxing each other isn’t nearly as far-fetched as it used to be, especially with the UFC’s McGregor saying he will box and expressing plenty of confidence in his own abilities.

Still, White’s words on Monday should serve to temper expectations of a fight announcement anytime in the immediate future.

        

For more news, rumors and related stories about Floyd Mayweather, Conor McGregor, boxing and the UFC, check out the boxing and UFC streams on Bleacher Report’s app.

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Georges St-Pierre Returns to UFC on New Contract After over 2-Year Absence

UFC fans have wondered if and when Georges St-Pierre would return to the sport since he left more than two years ago. They reportedly have their answer. 
According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, UFC President Dana White revealed F…

UFC fans have wondered if and when Georges St-Pierre would return to the sport since he left more than two years ago. They reportedly have their answer. 

According to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times, UFC President Dana White revealed Friday that St-Pierre signed a deal to return to the promotion.

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported Wednesday that it is expected to be a multi-fight deal, and while his return fight is uncertain, the third quarter of 2017 is the current target.

The 35-year-old veteran boasts a 25-2 MMA record and last appeared in the Octagon during UFC 167 in November 2013, when he registered a controversial split-decision victory over Johny Hendricks.

This follows news in January that St-Pierre was considering a comeback. Mookie Alexander of BloodyElbow.com passed along a report from Quebec’s FM93 (that was in French) saying the former champion was expected to announce his return.

However, Helwani shared a response from St-Pierre following that update: “I can tell you with certainty that their sources are not reliable.”

St-Pierre’s manager, Rodolphe Beaulieu, also denied any potential imminent comeback in Helwani’s report.

St-Pierre defended his title against Hendricks but relinquished it and took a break from the sport a few weeks later. Since then, there have been rumors that he would return, and Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com shared a report in October from Montreal’s Reseau de sports (RDS) that was in French that included this quote from the fighter:

I’m starting to get the feeling, more and more, to come back. I watch the fights to see what’s going on in my division, and I’m staying in shape. It’s like a knife that I have to keep sharp just in case I ever decide to jump back in the mix. It’s not for sure that it won’t happen in 2015, but I’m not sure yet.

Anton Tabuena of BloodyElbow.com also passed along word in November that St-Pierre and trainer Freddie Roach had a six-week plan to get him into fighting shape to see if he wanted to return.

The Raimondi piece alluded to St-Pierre’s vocal stance against performance-enhancing drugs in the sport:

Many of my regrets in life have nothing to do with things I have done, but rather things I didn’t do. And if I have one regret, it’s that I didn’t speak up sooner. In fact, I’ve been talking for a while, but they ignored it. At the end, I wanted to make the drug tests public. I should have insisted on that well before.

Since then, the UFC received help operating drug testing from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

With the drug testing in place and St-Pierre’s training program likely a success given this decision, the fighter is set to return to the sport he once dominated.

St-Pierre is one of the greatest competitors in UFC history. He defended his title nine straight times and was a popular figure among many fans. Now he has the opportunity to expand on his legacy with a return.

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