Georges St-Pierre wants to return to the Octagon, but his comeback could be brief if it doesn’t go the way he wants.
“One thing I can tell you for sure is that I’m at one fight for retiring for good,” St-Pierre said on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helw…
Georges St-Pierre wants to return to the Octagon, but his comeback could be brief if it doesn’t go the way he wants.
“One thing I can tell you for sure is that I’m at one fight for retiring for good,” St-Pierre said on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, via Mike Heck of Fansided. “If I come back and I lose, this is it for me. If I come back and I lose, it’s finished.”
St-Pierre hasn’t competed in a UFC match since 2013.
The 36-year-old has discussed a comeback for more than a year and was set to face Michael Bisping until the bout was called off earlier this month, per Fox Sports Australia. The fight was set for July, but St-Pierre wanted to wait until after October.
UFC President Dana White was unwilling to wait for the veteran, instead moving forward with another fight for Bisping to defend his middleweight title.
“Georges St-Pierre is saying he will not be ready to compete now until November,” White said. “Who knows if that’s even the case. It could be next year.”
Prior to his leave of absence, St-Pierre was the UFC welterweight champion with a 25-2 record. His nine consecutive title defenses were the most in the league’s history until he vacated the belt in 2013.
Add UFC women’s bantamweight Cat Zingano to the list of fighters unhappy with this past week’s UFC fighter retreat. Zingano recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to talk about her experience at the Vegas event, and it wasn’t a good one. In the midst of the event Zingano was left wondering the same […]
Add UFC women’s bantamweight Cat Zingano to the list of fighters unhappy with this past week’s UFC fighter retreat.
Zingano recently joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour to talk about her experience at the Vegas event, and it wasn’t a good one. In the midst of the event Zingano was left wondering the same thing her fellow combatants were – why are they still broke when the company is spending money bringing in people such as Kobe Bryant, Michael Strahan, and Snoop Dogg? (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“If this retreat was meant to tell us about all the newness that is happening, not only the millions of dollars that they probably spent on this event, and the carpets at the event that will be used once, and wall fixture that will be used once, and how much money went into bringing Snoop in and Michael Strahan in, and Kobe Bryant — what did these guys get paid to come do this?” she said. “When we’re sitting here broke, or struggling. Or the people that are still on top in the world are wondering what they’re going to do next in their career.
“It was really hard for me personally seeing how they’re throwing out all these companies making all this money, and we should be honored to be considered on the same level of popularity of these companies.”
“Alpha” went on to state that she doesn’t think the UFC is considering everyone’s positions when speakers are telling them how to invest their money, and they don’t have any money to actually invest:
“That was more insulting than anything, and I don’t know if they considered that when they were creating the content, when they were like look, we get this many viewers, we sell this many fights to this many homes a year, blah blah blah, and all of us are still sitting there knowing exactly what we get f*cking paid,” Zingano said.
“How much is Kobe getting to be there? And I love the man. Don’t get me wrong, I love Michael Strahan. Michael Strahan is actually one of the producers that did my documentary [Religion of Sports], so I have an invested emotion in actually liking this guy because he was delicate with my situation and my story. I do care about these guys, but it’s like, how much did it cost to get them there? How much did it cost for Snoop to be there for a private concert? And every carpet in this hotel saying ‘Fighter Retreat?’ Why not spread that money out over us? Or get us health insurance? We’re getting welcomed to a family, this professional athlete family, a world family. Kobe’s telling us how to invest our money. Tell me how do I invest and intelligently get a return on f*cking five thousand dollars?
“I don’t feel they were considering at all our positions.”
The former 135-pound title challenger also stated that one speaker, who was being ‘extremely condescending’ to the fighters, told them they wouldn’t be ‘sh*t’ if they lost and that they should ‘be Conor McGregor’:
“There was a guy on stage, being extremely condescending to us, and I thought that was product placement,” Zingano said. “I thought it was. And no, he’s out there representing us, promoting ourselves and our brand, telling us if we lose we aren’t sh*t and they don’t care about us, and to be ourselves.
“That was the best quote of the whole seminar, was ‘be yourself, be Conor McGregor.’ I was like, done.”
One thing that really set Zingano over the top was the 50 percent off coupon that Reebok gave fighters. Zingano is frustrated that the ‘the company that took all my money’ now wants more:
“They gave us these boxes, these UFC boxes, which had shoes and sweatpants or something in it,” she said. “On the bottom of the box, it had this coupon, and I pick up the coupon when I got home. Someone had said while we were there, dude, f*ck all of this, how are they sitting here educating us about Reebok when Reebok is already taking all of our money? Everyone’s upset about it, that we lost so much money, lost any credit with any sponsors ever.
“So I get home and I find that thing on the bottom of the box, and I was like — so, this is really what I’ve worked this hard for? This is me, I’ve made it, I’m one of the best in the world at something, I’ve f*cking made it — and this is what I get from the company that took all my money, is they want more?”
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira is getting ready for his upcoming fight against fellow UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 109. Although the two fighters are known for their knockout power, Teixeira expects this fight to go the distance and has been working hard on his cardio […]
Former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira is getting ready for his upcoming fight against fellow UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson at UFC Fight Night 109. Although the two fighters are known for their knockout power, Teixeira expects this fight to go the distance and has been working hard on his cardio for the upcoming bout.
The reasoning behind Teixeira’s extra push for his condition is due to Gustafson’s history of pushing his opponents to their limits. His fights with Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier are a perfecting example of that. Teixeira put a ton of work into his upcoming fight as he spent three months preparing for it and is expecting to be in the octagon for 25 minutes.
“I think it could go all five rounds,” he told MMA Junkie. “Of course, I always look to finish as quickly as possible, by submission or knockout. But Gustafsson is tough, and he’s difficult put away. So I’m thinking it will probably last all rounds.”
Gustafsson is headlining his third UFC event and hoping to build on his winning streak after coming off a win over Jan B?achowicz after going 1-3 that includes losses to Jones, Cormier, and Anthony Johnson.
Sep 4, 2013; Belo Horizonte, BRAZIL; Glover Teixeira enters for his fight against Ryan Bader (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night at Mineirinho Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jason Silva-USA TODAY Sports
Teixeira anticipates using all of his skills in this upcoming fight and is ready for a grueling fight against Gustafsson.
“Gustafsson is extremely tough, and has very good physical conditioning,” Teixeira said. “He’s been a top fighter for several years. I’ve faced other opponents like him, so I know he’s difficult to fight. He walks and sometimes even runs around the octagon. So I have to be patient and make use of my agility. I’ll beat him. I don’t know how, but I’ll beat him. Either I’ll connect with a fist, or I’ll take him down and put my jiu-jitsu to work.”
On paper, the two fighters are similar. The only difference between them is that Gustafsson has had two shots at the light heavyweight title while Teixeira has only had one. Although Teixeira would like to have another fight for the title, his focus is on this upcoming fight, and then he will think about the future.
“My plan right now is to beat Gustafsson,” Teixeira said. “Then I’ll think about the future. Sometimes the UFC can be controversial. I try not to get involved in that. I try to just worry about what’s within my reach. I’ll worry about Gustafsson now, then we’ll decide what’s next.”
UFC Fight Night 109 takes place on Sunday, May 28, 2017, at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The prelims will air on UFC Fight Pass with two bouts at 10 a.m. ET while four bouts will air on FOX Sports 1 at 11 a.m. ET. The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 1 p.m. ET with six bouts.
Conor McGregor could possibly be stepping into the the boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year and the combat sports world has mixed reviews on the subject. One man who thinks McGregor not only should take on Mayweather inside the ring, but also pursue a career in the sport, is mixed martial arts […]
Conor McGregor could possibly be stepping into the the boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year and the combat sports world has mixed reviews on the subject.
One man who thinks McGregor not only should take on Mayweather inside the ring, but also pursue a career in the sport, is mixed martial arts (MMA) coach Mark Henry. Henry knows first-hand what McGregor is capable of, as he dispatched his star pupil Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden to win the UFC lightweight title.
Henry recently spoke to MMA Junkie regarding McGregor’s pursuit of Mayweather inside the squared circle, and stated that he believes the Irishman could make way more money in one boxing fight than he would in ’10 or 11 with the UFC’ (quotes via MMA Mania):
“Look, if I was Conor, I would definitely pursue the boxing, because he can make more in one fight than in 10 or 11 with the UFC,” Henry said. “But, while he’s doing it, they should definitely make another 155-pound belt, because it would be ridiculous if they didn’t.”
In addition to that, Henry also claimed that McGregor is one of the best boxers he has ever laid his eyes on, and believes “The Notorious One” has a shot against Mayweather in the first two rounds of the fight. After that, however, it’s going to be a rough night for the UFC lightweight champ:
“Conor is one of the best boxers I’ve ever seen – ever. From his precision to his power to his speed, and I think he has a shot in the first two rounds,” Henry added. “Because Mayweather, like a lot of boxers do when they’re sparring MMA guys, he may not think he’s that good.
“He might not realize how fast Conor is, and you’ve got to remember that Conor is going to be taller, longer, 13 years younger, and a southpaw. Early on, I’d give him a chance of doing some damage. But after that, it’s not going to be too good (for McGregor).”
No agreement for a bout is in place quite yet, as of this writing. Recently, however, it was announced by UFC President Dana White that McGregor’s side of the negotiations have been completed and all that remains is to sit down and negotiate with Mayweather and manager Al Haymon.
Mayweather is know for being difficult to come to an agreement with at the negotiation table, but he did recently state that he believes the fight between him and the MMA star would happen eventually.
Instagram
McGregor has already begun training for the potential contest and took to Twitter to call “Money” out and and tell him to ‘sign his end.’ Although some significant progress has been made to making the superfight happen, this is still only the beginning of the potential fight’s journey.
On Monday night, UFC president Dana White and his promotion’s lightweight champion Conor McGregor announced that they’d struck a deal on the sharing of their side of a fight purse generated by a boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather. Normally, …
On Monday night, UFC president Dana White and his promotion’s lightweight champion Conor McGregor announced that they’d struck a deal on the sharing of their side of a fight purse generated by a boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather. Normally, that would be the easy part of any negotiation—after all, McGregor is under contract with the UFC—but the stakes involved and the co-promotion ensured it was not easy.
The match promises to be one of the richest in combat sports history, and confident in that knowledge and his role in such a mega-event, McGregor played hardball with the UFC, sidelining himself for several months with the understanding that the UFC needed his services as a cash-generator.
It worked, and in doing so, he has changed the game.
With Monday’s announcement, he has accomplished the seemingly impossible by getting UFC brass to co-promote a bout with another entity, something that Randy Couture and others tried several times over the years with no success.
Whether McGregor gets the fight now—still no sure thing with a hard negotiation with The Money Team looming—he’s already fundamentally altered the fighter/promoter dynamic to bend in his direction. He’s also become the most powerful fighter MMA has seen.
Should both sides reach terms, a fight with Mayweather will only increase McGregor’s stardom, leverage and strength.
Joining me to discuss this ongoing saga and developing story is Bleacher Report Lead MMA Writer Chad Dundas.
Mike Chiapppetta: Chad, it’s starting to actually seem like we might be seeing this. This crazy long shot of a co-promotion. This bizarre spectacle of capitalism. This circus of the century.
I will admit to being one who had extreme doubtsabout the ability of all parties involved to pull this off. I thought egos and purse splits would get in the way. And I have to also admit that I thought getting Dana White & Co. to sign off on it would be the harder negotiation of the two.
With that out of the way, there is a real path to this fight happening.
Let’s be honest. There is no other way Mayweather can make this kind of money again. He’s 40 years old and he’s been out of the game for nearly two years. His last fight, against Andre Berto, sold about a half-million pay-per-views, according to ESPN.com.
But we’re less interested in Mayweather than we are in McGregor, only because of what this will mean going forward, both for him and for the UFC.
In its efforts at a cash-grab, the UFC might have ceded power that it can never recover. The promotion has always emphasized the brand first, so what happens when McGregor goes outside the brand, outside the sport and draws a bigger audience than anything the UFC has ever produced?
What happens when he proves that at least right now, he is bigger than the brand? Because that’s what he’s on the way to doing.
Will he be content to go back to the UFC and live within their current arrangement? Remember, this is a man who has openly and repeatedly spoken of co-promoting with the UFC, and pretty soon, he may be doing just that. Pretty soon, he may come to the realization that he doesn’t need them at all, that he—like Mayweather—can do his own thing and collect the lion’s share of the cash haul he creates.
I don’t even think it matters whether he wins or loses. The vast majority of the combat sports world takes it as a given that he will lose, yet we want to see it anyway. Why? Because of the star power and spectacle. And that’s not something that will dim now, not this early in his career.
Which makes me wonder: Is the UFC making a mistake by bucking its own system here? For years, it has resisted this very thing for a reason. Chad, do you think this will have reverberations past McGregor and through the roster, or is this just one hell of a headache it’ll have on its hands for as long as McGregor remains signed with the UFC?
Chad Dundas: It’s a marvel, Mike, to consider what McGregor has pulled off here. He’s singlehandedly convinced the UFC to throw away more than 15 years of complete autonomy—once arguably its cardinal value—to secure this fight. Even if Mayweather and his Money Team never agree to terms, McGregor has already triumphed in yet another big battle against his own fight company bosses.
And this one is a doozy.
If he can get the UFC to agree to let him compete outside the Octagon, in a boxing ring, in a fight he will surely lose, he can get it to agree to anything.
It’s remarkable when you consider that for the last decade and a half, White and former UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta ruled the MMA world with such utter impunity. Their near-monopoly over the industry and iron-fisted management style succeeded in keeping nearly the entire roster of fighters in check for much of this sport’s modern history.
Then McGregor came along and smashed that mold beyond all recognition.
That’s a credit to him and him alone. I’m not sure any other MMA fighter will ever have the savvy, skills and hutzpah to take the UFC to the negotiating woodshed so regularly. So, in that way, I think McGegor is an entirely isolated example.
I do think, however, that UFC fighters will try to emulate him, to varying degrees of success. In the last few years, we’ve already started to see more and more fighterstake their grievances with the company public. We’re also nearly continuously hearing rumblings about unionization, though so far those efforts have been miserable failures.
McGregor merely adds fuel to that fire. While I’m not sure his continued victories over the UFC mean a full-scale rebellion is coming, I do think the days of the fight company being able to move unchecked over an entirely servile population of athletes are coming to and end.
And I think McGregor deserves some credit for playing a role in that shift.
Drifting so close to actually getting the Mayweather fight signed is another reminder that since he arrived in the UFC in 2013, McGregor has been making good on impossible promises. Each time the so-called experts laugh at his plans or shrug him off, he goes out and makes us all look like fools.
So, Mike, at the risk of looking foolish once more, if McGregor lands this fight, how on earth could he top it? Could he return to the UFC as a mere fighter again? Or might we see the rise of McGregor Promotions, another of McGregor’s wild ideas that at first drew laughs but might ultimately turn out to be more legitimate than anyone would’ve thought?
Chiappetta: How can he top it? This is the multi-million dollar question, isn’t it? Because all of what we’ve seen over the four years since McGregor showed up in the Octagon hasn’t been some accident or fate. He’s legitimately called every shot he’s taken, then gone out and accomplished it.
He said he’d win the lightweight belt, that he’d become a two-weight world champion, that he’d become MMA’s highest-paid draw. All of those things have come true, but only by way of his hard work, self-promotion skills and political maneuverings.
And as you mentioned, he’s also talked about launching McGregor Promotions. At this point, why would we doubt him? Anyone who doesn’t believe he’s going to work his damnedest to follow through on his declaration hasn’t been paying attention.
McGregor Promotions is coming. He’s already told us his end game, and that’s why I think UFC is playing with fire by agreeing to his demands. Don’t get be wrong, I’m glad they did. This is prizefighting, and I think athletes should be able to chase the fights that pay them the most money, even if those fights aren’t the most meaningful in a sporting sense.
We should all tip our caps to UFC for giving ground. I wouldn’t say this makes them any more fighter-friendly, but it’s a single big step in that direction, albeit in an exceptional circumstance.
Yet, you have to wonder if this is McGregor continuing the, “You give an inch, I’ll take a mile” approach to control his career and future. And if it is, good for him.
For the longest time, fighters who gave pieces of their lives in the Octagon only to ask for a favor in return, have been shot down. Randy Couture desperately wanted to fight Fedor Emelianenko. Anderson Silva wanted to box Roy Jones. For crying out loud, Georges St-Pierre was lambasted by White just because he decided he needed time away from the sport. And these are guys who have actually made the UFC real money.
McGregor? He ain’t going out like that. He’s going to call his shots and follow through, and White is going to have to deal with him, not the other way around. I love it. Sure, this whole thing will probably end up in some lawsuit-filled debacle, but this is MMA, and chaos is part of the product.
So let’s take this all the way to the conclusion, Chad. Let’s say McGregor and Mayweather reach a deal. They fight. McGregor makes an eight-figure payday. He leaves the ring with a whole new perspective on life. What happens next? Where is his first post-Mayweather fight? The UFC? His own cage? The courtroom?
Chad: It depends on a litany of factors, Mike.
Firstly, McGregor’s goal in any fight against Mayweather should be to just not get embarrassed so badly that it ends up dampening his star power. The last thing he wants is to wind up like Ronda Rousey, the sudden butt of a million internet memes.
But if McGregor plays this correctly—and so far he’s played almost everything correctly—I think he’ll be treated as a conquering hero for taking the Mayweather bout. He’ll ace the promotional lead-up to the fight and, let’s be honest, the boxing and mainstream media will line up to guzzle down the Conor McGregor Show like sweet, sweet nectar.
The media will laud him for having the guts to cross the aisle and take on one of the greatest boxers of the modern era and fight fans will understand that he’s not competing at his natural sport. So long as he avoids getting completely smashed and then handles the loss with the same dignity he showed after Nate Diaz beat him at UFC 196, he’ll waltz in and out of this matchup with no damage to his legacy.
And then things will get interesting.
You and I have gone back and forth on this before, Mike.
One thing we’ve never seen McGregor do is take a step backward. To him, it’s always on to bigger and better things once a goal is realized. In that way, it’s tough to imagine him fighting Mayweather and then going back to the UFC to accept a low-profile matchup against someone like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson or even Diaz again, for less exposure and a lot less money.
On the other hand, McGregor is only 28 years old—still just a pup, even by the harsh standards of combat sports. As you once put it to me, Mike, a guy who likes his lavish lifestyle as much as McGregor obviously does ain’t gonna quit the money-making business before he even turns 30.
He set a blistering pace during his most recent UFC run, fought four fights in 11 months, won two titles and smashed MMA pay-per-view records at every turn. On May 6, he and longtime partner Dee Devlin welcomed their first child—a boy named Conor Jr.
So, I suppose I’m going to end this by saying I’ve given up trying to anticipate what Conor McGregor will do. I’ve learned the hard way not to take him at his word, but the only thing I can say with reasonable certainty will be that his next project stands to be bigger, bolder and even more audacious than this one.
If you still haven’t figured out how to say Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s name, it might be time to figure it out. The Polish striker successfully defended her title at UFC 211 with a unanimous-decision win over Jessica Andrade in the evening’s co-main event Sa…
If you still haven’t figured out how to say Joanna Jedrzejczyk‘s name, it might be time to figure it out. The Polish striker successfully defended her title at UFC 211 with a unanimous-decision win over Jessica Andrade in the evening’s co-main event Saturday in Dallas.
UFC on Fox had the scores from the lopsided decision:
The first frame had all the signs of a great fight forming. Both fighters had success doing what they do best. Jedrzejczyk peppered Andrade with jabs and kicks from the outside, but Andrade’s aggressive forward movement allowed her to land heavy hooks to the head.
Andrade’s strength was also evident early on as she picked up and slammed the champion to the mat. The UFC passed along the highlight:
Former Jedrzejczyk opponent and rival Claudia Gadelha provided some insight into what it’s like to fight the champion after the first round:
The difference in movement between the two fighters highlighted the second round. Andrade’s flurries from the first frame started to miss more regularly as she continued to chase Jedrzejczyk, and the champion simply circled away and peppered her with shots from the outside.
Although the round was mostly one-sided for the champ, the UFC provided the highlights from a close end to the round:
Former UFC fighter Brendan Schaub weighed in on the champion’s masterful striking:
As usual, Jedrzejczyk’s use of range and space was just too much for Andrade to handle. RJ Clifford of SiriusXM summed up the difference between the two rather nicely:
As the disparity grew in the later rounds, it became obvious that two things were on display: Joanna Champion’s excellence and Andrade’s toughness. Damon Martin of Fox Sports gave props to Andrade for continuing to go at the champion despite getting countered at every opportunity:
Toughness can only take someone so far, though. Jedrzejczyk’s skill was simply too much to overcome as she showcased why she’s the undisputed champion of her division.
The win marks yet another notch in the belt for the dynamic Jedrzejczyk. After beating inaugural women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza in 2014, she has taken the division and run with it, reeling off five successful title defenses.
For Jedrzejczyk, it’s just the beginning of what she hopes will be a career that puts her among the best female fighters of all time.
“I know what I want from myself and what I can expect from myself. I want to be the first female fighter to hold two belts,” Jedrzejczyk said, per Mike Bohn of Rolling Stone. “First I want to reach the record of Ronda Rousey. She had six successful title defenses, which is a pretty big deal to me. I want to be an undefeated champion and retire undefeated. It’s not going to be easy.”
With title defenses, Jedrzejczyk now has the first part of her plan in reach. Just one more defense and she will match Rousey’s mark.
Given her win over Andrade, it’s hard to envision her not successfully defending the belt at least once more.
In her time in the UFC, the champion has shown little in the way of weaknesses in the cage. However, Gadelha was able to push Jedrzejczyk with her grinding wrestling game and strength. Ostensibly, Andrade was the one who could have taken that to another level.
A former bantamweight, Andrade had the size and strength advantage, but Jedrzejczyk still found a way to get through this challenge.
The second part of Jedrzejczyk‘s plan is much more attainable than it once was now, too.
According to Shaun Al-Shatti of MMA Fighting, The Ultimate Fighter 26 will crown the first women’s flyweight champion.
With a weight class now just 10 pounds up for the Jedrzejczyk, the reality of being a two-division champion isn’t far-fetched. It’s a probability.
Georges St-Pierre wants to return to the Octagon, but his comeback could be brief if it doesn’t go the way he wants.
The former 135-pound title challenger also stated that one speaker, who was being ‘extremely condescending’ to the fighters, told them they wouldn’t be ‘sh*t’ if they lost and that they should ‘be Conor McGregor’:
In addition to that, Henry also claimed that McGregor is one of the best boxers he has ever laid his eyes on, and believes “The Notorious One” has a shot against Mayweather in the first two rounds of the fight. After that, however, it’s going to be a rough night for the UFC lightweight champ: