Floyd Mayweather has kept surprisingly quiet following the announcement of his August 26 showdown with UFC superstar Conor McGregor. While the Irishman has tweeted and posted subtle jabs at Mayweather, the boxing legend finally broke his silence this week after releasing video of him training for the McGregor bout. Mayweather brought TMZ Sports along for […]
Mayweather brought TMZ Sports along for a four-hour training session in Los Angeles and gave fight fans their first glimpse of “Money” as he prepares for Conor McGregor:
Mayweather said he’d beat McGregor and make his usual monstrous payday, noting that even if he did get hurt, he wouldn’t have a bad night:
“I’ll beat McGregor, even if he hurts me” Mayweather said. “I could get a black eye, I could get a bloody nose, I may have a bad day at gym, but at the end of the day, I never have a bad payday or a bad night under the lights.”
Mayweather appeared a bit rusty in the video as he slowly hit the heavy bag and sparred lightly with a partner for the cameras. The all-time boxing great retired after compiling a 49-0 record following his victories over Manny Pacquiao and Andre Berto.
When the 40-year-old great steps into the ring with two-time UFC champion Conor McGregor, he will have had a two-year layoff from the sport. Most still give him an overwhelming chance to beat McGregor, who’s never fought a professional boxing bout, so some may consider this training video to be an intended response to the video of McGregor getting worked by former IBO lightweight champion Chris van Heerden in sparring.
McGregor most recently took the lightweight belt from former champ Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. Prior to that, “The Notorious” split victories with Nate Diaz before knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to capture the featherweight belt back at UFC 194, but he’s stepping into “Money’s” world here, and the only clear edge he has is in age.
With the highly-anticipated bout just two months away, Mayweather still has time to get into fighting shape, but if this training video is any indication, his retirement may have set him back a few steps.
What do you think of Mayweather’s training video? Does he look like the same man who bested 49 boxers in a row? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section!
Germaine de Randamie’s title reign as the first women’s featherweight championship will certainly go down as one of the most cotroversial in UFC history. After defeating Holly Holm for the newly-created division at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, “The Iron Lady” made it perfectly clear that she would not fight fellow 145-pounder Cris “Cyborg” Santos, citing […]
Germaine de Randamie’s title reign as the first women’s featherweight championship will certainly go down as one of the most cotroversial in UFC history.
After defeating Holly Holm for the newly-created division at UFC 208 in Brooklyn, “The Iron Lady” made it perfectly clear that she would not fight fellow 145-pounder Cris “Cyborg” Santos, citing the Brazilian’s past and present problems testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Being that the UFC essentially created the division for “Cyborg”, de Randamie’s refusal to defend her belt against the clear-cut number one contender forced the UFC’s hand in stripping her of the belt.
De Randamie spoke about being stripped of the belt for the first time via Instagram this week.
“As many of you will know, the UFC has stripped me from the belt,” de Randamie wrote. “For those of us who do not know what that means; The UFC has unpacked my title because I refuse to fight against their number one challenger. (I have my reasons for that). It’s great to hear this news from the media and I’m sorry that it’s running, but it’s what it is!
“Well, I hear you thinking again ‘She’s scared! What a bad champion! A shame for the sport! She did not deserve to be a champion!”, etc, etc. I’ve seen it all over. But apart from what everyone thinks, I’m walking my own path. And there you can agree or not.”
However, de Randamie did say that the incident will affect her career as a fighter.
“That I’m stripped does not mean I’m going to stop,” de Randamie said. The UFC is not long for me! It’s easy to stand with the crowd. It takes courage to stand alone.”
“Cyborg” will instead face up-and-comer Megan Anderson for the vacated belt at UFC 214. Prior to the creation of the women’s featherweight division, “Cyborg” had fought her first two UFC bouts at a catch weight of 140 pounds.
The combat sports world is in for quite a treat later this year (Sat. August 26, 2017) when UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor steps into the boxing ring against one of the greatest of all time – Floyd Mayweather Jr. Bellator MMA President Scott Coker recently spoke on the bout’s announcement and gave his thoughts […]
The combat sports world is in for quite a treat later this year (Sat. August 26, 2017) when UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor steps into the boxing ring against one of the greatest of all time – Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Bellator MMA President Scott Coker recently spoke on the bout’s announcement and gave his thoughts on the crossings of the MMA and boxing worlds, as he stated that the UFC is putting McGregor ‘in harm’s way’ by allowing him to fight Mayweather (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“Obviously, it’s gonna be a big money maker for everybody and that’s why they’re doing it,” Coker said. “But you’re putting your fighter in harm’s way, so what’s the long term impact on that? I’m not sure. But I’ll tell you this: It’ll be a lot of fun to watch.”
At the end of the day, Coker is still a fight fan and knows that fans are going to be tuning in for the unorthodox match-up, but admits that he believes McGregor has his hands full against “Money”:
“How could it be?” Coker said. “I think the people that are gonna watch it, the people that are gonna buy it, they know what it is. It’s gonna be a great spectacle and a lot of great promotion going back and forth. I think Mayweather is a fighter that even Canelo couldn’t even hit or event Pacquiao couldn’t even hit. So, I think Conor has his hands full. But you never know in a fight, right? Who knows? Sometimes someone can get lucky.”
After the announcement of McGregor vs. Mayweather was made many fellow mixed martial artists began throwing their name in the hat for a potential switch over to the boxing world, in hopes of landing a spot on the same card as the Irishman. Coker doesn’t believe any other fighters have the draw power to pull of a crossover to boxing the way “The Notorious One” does:
“This fight is happening because everybody on the business side knows that it makes sense,” said Coker. “There are other fighters in MMA that feel like they might have that kind of drawing power, but maybe they really don’t. I think it’ll be quickly unmasked. Either people care or they don’t and that’s what it really comes down to for me when it comes to fights.”
Despite being on the outside looking in of this deal, Coker is excited for the event and stated that he will be attempting to go to Las Vegas to watch the fight live and in person:
“Any time Mayweather fights, the circus is in town, man,” Coker said. “It’s gonna be a big, big promotion. And Conor he can carry his own on the mic. The whole campaign leading up to the event is gonna be more entertaining than the fight.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Coker said. “I want to see it. I’m gonna fly there and watch it live.”
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ mother, Camille Jones, has passed away after losing her battle with diabetes. Mrs. Jones raised three supremely athletic sons; Chandler and Arthur Jones who both play in the NFL and have been starters on Super Bowl winning teams, as well as Jon Jones – who is considered by […]
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones’ mother, Camille Jones, has passed away after losing her battle with diabetes.
Mrs. Jones raised three supremely athletic sons; Chandler and Arthur Jones who both play in the NFL and have been starters on Super Bowl winning teams, as well as Jon Jones – who is considered by many to be the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. Arthur Jones took to Instagram to confirm his mother’s unfortunate passing:
“Mom, I love you so much! It’s hard to except the fact that my mother is not with me anymore she went to be with my sister in heaven. No more pain & suffering. Thank you for making me the man I am today! This Friday and Saturday will be the toughest weekend of my life. Please keep my family in your prayers”
Jon Jones has noted last year that his mother was losing her battle with diabetes, and also needed to have her leg amputated due to her diabetic condition (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“In my last fight, I had a lot of stuff stacked up against me,” Jones said. “A lot of you guys don’t really realize what’s been going on in my personal life. My mom is in a real bad position. She’s really losing a fight to diabetes right now. She got her leg cut off the same week of my fight, so that really messed with me a lot.
“I was in jail the same month of my fight. Just going through a lot of stuff, man. I hadn’t fought in over 15 months, and everybody is talking about my performance being so bad. I got punched twice. I won by unanimous decision. So if that’s a bad performance with the level that people expect from me, it’s really not a bad problem to have. I went out there and I didn’t feel comfortable in the Octagon and I still absolutely dominated that fight.”
Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports – RTR3MRK2
Jon Jones is currently set to challenge Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 214 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on July 29, 2017.
We here at LowKickMMA offer our sincere thoughts and prayers to the Jones family during this difficult time.
Former Bellator middleweight champions Alexander Schlemenko and Brandon Halsey fought for a second time under the M-1 banner in Russia on Thursday, and the fight ended just as quick and decisive as their first match-up. While Halsey took the belt from “Storm” at Bellator 126 in September 2014 with a 35-second submission, Shlemenko returned the favor […]
Former Bellator middleweight champions Alexander Schlemenko and Brandon Halsey fought for a second time under the M-1 banner in Russia on Thursday, and the fight ended just as quick and decisive as their first match-up.
While Halsey took the belt from “Storm” at Bellator 126 in September 2014 with a 35-second submission, Shlemenko returned the favor in the rematch, leveling the American with a nasty body kick just second into the first round.
“Storm” finished Halsey off in 25 seconds, forcing Halsey to tap to strikes before the referee stopped the fight. Between their two fights, the two former champions have fought a combined 60 seconds together,with each man taking home a victory.
Halsey was cut from Bellator’s middleweight roster after suffering back-to-back defeats to Rafael Carvalho, the current Bellator middleweight champ, and John Salter.
Without a truly bankable star having fought in 2017, the MMA world was waiting with great anticipating for the return of longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre when it was announced “Rush” would meet middleweight champion Michael Bisping at a later-to-be-determined date sometime this year. That is, until the saga of St-Pierre, who appeared alongside […]
Without a truly bankable star having fought in 2017, the MMA world was waiting with great anticipating for the return of longtime former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre when it was announced “Rush” would meet middleweight champion Michael Bisping at a later-to-be-determined date sometime this year.
That is, until the saga of St-Pierre, who appeared alongside “the Count” at a highly-publicized press conference the day before March’s UFC 209, took a strange turn after he released a video revealing he wouldn’t be able to fight until November. UFC President Dana White then revealed that Bisping would fight number one contender Yoel Romero instead, a fight that ultimately couldn’t be book on accord of “The Count” having a nagging knee injury he had surgery on earlier this year.
Romero was booked to face surging contender Robert Whittaker at UFC 213 in July, and St-Pierre then revealed the real reason why he needed a long-off date for his rumored match with Bisping. An eye injury that will keep him out of sparring until September is to blame, and during an interview on today’s The MMA Hour, he discussed why he didn’t want to reveal that to the public at the impromptu presser earlier this year:
“When the fight got announced with the press conference, we knew that we couldn’t fight in the summer. UFC knew as well that I couldn’t fight in the summer. They knew that I had an eye injury, but we still did the press conference, and I felt very uncomfortable during this whole time.
“Everybody has advisors, and I was advised to not talk about it, not talk about my eye injury. As an athlete, you don’t want to talk about these things. If you know about it now, it’s because this whole thing became out of proportion, it turned into a very negative thing. As athletes, we all have injuries and don’t want to talk about this, because it gives you weaknesses, something that your opponent can exploit.
“It’s an eye injury, and it’s a long healing process. I had surgery done and everything is OK. It’s just, there’s a lapse of time, minimum time, that I need to wait before I go back and train, especially if I take a risk to get hit on my eyes, because it can damage (my eye permanently), because my vision has not recovered 100 percent yet. It will be fine, everything is fine. It’s just, I need to wait for the lapse of time that the doctor asked me to wait for, and it’s in September that I can start sparring again.”
Photo: Joe Camporeale – USA TODAY Sports
St-Pierre also said he hadn’t been informed that his fight with Bisping was officially off yet – signifying it could still happen – and he attributed White’s announcement to his emotional attitude before praising the successful promoter:
Just what I’ve heard in the news. But Dana, he’s a very emotional person. He’s a very emotional person, and I understand that. You need to be emotional in this game. The way he is, Dana is the best. Like I said, he’s the best promoter, pound-for-pound, of all-time, and he can sell you every fight. It’s crazy. He’s the best. He can sell you anything, like, he’s so good at it. And I’m sure if he still wants to make this fight, we can make it. It’s up to him.
“Things with Dana are hard. I have people that their job is public relations and they deal with the UFC people, and sometimes all the stuff that I hear from Dana is from the reporters. Stuff that I hear, all the time, are [from] the reporters. It explodes like a bomb that I didn’t know. So I guess it’s the same thing for him on this fight.”
So while the fight may be off for now, St-Pierre reaffirmed his desire to face Bisping at some point because he simply wants to hurt the brash veteran ‘real bad’:
“I want to fight Michael Bisping. For me, personally, that’s the man I want to fight. As much as I respect him as an athlete — even though he’s been very arrogant and cocky with me, I respect him as an athlete — but if I fight him, I’m going to hurt him real bad. That, I can promise you.”
Finally, St-Pierre revealed that when he does finally come back to the sport he dominated after four years off, he’s going to try to make more history. However, “Rush” closed by saying that if he loses at any point during his comeback, he will retire for good:
“I’m at one fight for retiring for good, this I can tell you for sure. If I come back and I lose, this is it for me. Yes, his is it for me. If I come back and I lose, it’s finished; this I can tell you for sure. Because it’s over, I don’t wanna hang there and become a punching bag for younger people. I do not believe I’m gonna lose, I think I’m at my best, my trainer believe I’m at my best.
“I put a lot on the line, and I know that if I come back, it’s because I believe I’m a much better person that what I was and I wanna go back to another shot and rewrite history, but if down the road, if I lose, I pass the torch, it’s over, it’s finished. It’s a lot of pressure, and that’s why I will be fighting at my best because I will be fighting like there’s no tomorrow.”
After the announcement of McGregor vs. Mayweather was made many fellow mixed martial artists began throwing their name in the hat for a potential switch over to the boxing world, in hopes of landing a spot on the same card as the Irishman. Coker doesn’t believe any other fighters have the draw power to pull of a crossover to boxing the way “The Notorious One” does:
