Midnight Mania! UFC 229 Presser ‘Darkest Ever’, McGregor Better Than Ali

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Dana White said that the press conference featuring Conor McGregor and undefeated lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov was the “darkest press conference I’ve ever been a part of.” He also had high praise for McGregor’s trash talk, saying it surpassed even that of the great Muhammad Ali. Transcript via MMAJunkie.com:

“It was dark, man,” White told reporters, including MMAjunkie, during a post-press conference scrum. “It was the darkest press conference I’ve ever been a part of. But Conor McGregor is the master of mental warfare. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: He’s better than anybody. Even (Muhammad) Ali. You don’t want to say anybody’s better than Ali, but I think when it comes to the mental war game in this sport, or any other sport, Conor McGregor is the best ever.”

The effusive respect for Conor McGregor’s trash talk was well-deserved, as the Irishman was making deep cuts in regards to Khabib’s shady associates. Dana White said that has been a hallmark of McGregor’s trash talk all through his historic rise to stardom in the sport.

“Here’s the thing about McGregor, too: He’s so good at it – he studies,” White said. “He studies every little thing. He talks to people. He finds out stories inside of a guy’s camp. Look at the whole thing he did on ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ with Urijah Faber, with T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt and all those guys. At one point he had Cody Garbrandt jumping up trying to fight him. He is the master. He is the best ever to do it. Nobody does it better than Conor does.”

Khabib seemed stoic throughout, despite the savage verbal assault — one of his few defensive moments was a result of McGregor calling him a “pullout merchant” — but Dana White said there is no way he was unaffected by McGregor’s barbs.

“You’re not human if that doesn’t affect you,” White said. “It’s not possible for that not to affect you. Conor knows that. Conor came in, and Conor did what Conor does. That’s why I say it: He’s the best ever. There’s never been anybody better at the mental warfare game than Conor McGregor. He’s the absolute best of all-time.”

UFC 229 goes down October 6 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Insomnia

I’ll call this a happy ending, but sometimes you aren’t sure with Derrick Lewis’ videos

Tyron Woodley will no longer be an option to headline UFC 230.

McGregor pulling out a line of Gaelic was a superb moment in the press conference.

There was also this:

Khabib can slip Luke Rockhold’s left straight… can he slip McGregor’s?

McGregor is selling the sex appeal of his whiskey

Israel Adesanya lands his spinning elbow in training

Killshot- did McGregor land it in his press conference?

Bag work by Lando Vannata

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Good Reads

• Karim Zidan explains the background of three shady figures McGregor called out in his press conference with Khabib Nurmagomedov- Khabib’s criminal oligarch former sponsor, the Chechen murderous dictator, and his manager Ali Abdelaziz.
• Dustin Poirier is the latest lightweight to begin calling for a 165-lb. title fight, and it’s a good idea- is the timing right?
• Gegard Mousasi has criticism for the UFC– he says they are declining because they put on bad cards

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Podcasts and Video

Breaking down Thiago Santos

Eryk Anders has a mean left hook

The MMA Ratings podcast

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Slips, Rips, and KO Clips

Roger Huerta looked disoriented before this finish

Get out of here with that kneebar

Slept

SUMO

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