It was probably hard to tell on Saturday night that when Conor McGregor walked out for his fight against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 26 that he was neither in the main event nor even from the city of Boston, where the event was being held.
Judging …
It was probably hard to tell on Saturday night that when Conor McGregor walked out for his fight against Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 26 that he was neither in the main event nor even from the city of Boston, where the event was being held.
Judging by the ovation he received from the crowd, McGregor was treated like a headliner who had the entire city behind him with every punch he threw and takedown he landed.
It doesn’t hurt of course that Boston boasts the largest percentage of Irish population in the country, so when Ireland’s own McGregor hit the Octagon, he was received like it was his homecoming.
Three rounds and 15 minutes later, McGregor stood proud as the winner with an Irish flag draped over his shoulders and an entire city living and breathing with his every word.
After the fights were over, as McGregor sat with sunglasses and a hat on while wearing a stylish bow tie at the post-fight press conference, he once again became the center of attention with his brash and candid responses to every question asked.
The hype and attention surrounding McGregor is only growing, and with his UFC record now sitting at 2-0 it’s onward and upward to even bigger and better things.
One place McGregor will assuredly land in 2014 is for a home show when the UFC finally returns to Ireland next year. UFC president Dana White confirmed on Saturday night that the promotion would return to Ireland in the third quarter of 2014, which would mark the first UFC show there since UFC 93 landed there in January 2009.
With a new TV deal in place to broadcast in Ireland, the UFC has been talking about returning to the Emerald Isle for some time now, and it seems the Irish fans will finally get a show next year.
McGregor’s place on the card is as close to a guarantee as anything the UFC could promise this far in advance, but how far up the card could he be promoted?
While the hype around McGregor is at a fevered pitch right now, he’s still only 2-0 in the UFC with both of his fights taking place on the preliminary portion of the card. Those factors don’t matter when it comes to McGregor’s popularity in Ireland, but they do make a difference in other parts of the world where they have to broadcast the show.
“He could headline, are you kidding me? If he headlined a card in Dublin it would be insane,” White said about McGregor. “He’s not ready to headline. He’s 2-0 he’s headlining the card! It would be great in Ireland, it wouldn’t be so great everywhere else. He could headline in Ireland.”
Before McGregor tries to prove White wrong by winning his next couple of fights before returning to a UFC card in Ireland, he first has to get his knee checked out after suffering an injury to it on Saturday night.
McGregor stated that during the bout against Holloway he heard a pop in his knee, and it forced him to abandon his striking game and work for the takedown instead.
White said after the fights that they would fly McGregor out to Las Vegas to visit with their doctor to have him checked out, and hopefully the injuries are nothing too severe.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
With this weekend’s Fox Sports 1 launch, the UFC wanted to kick things off in a major way, and the table is set for the promotion to do just that. For their first stop in Boston in nearly three years, the UFC put together a loaded card that features several pivotal matchups in multiple divisional […]
With this weekend’s Fox Sports 1 launch, the UFC wanted to kick things off in a major way, and the table is set for the promotion to do just that. For their first stop in Boston in nearly three years, the UFC put together a loaded card that features several pivotal matchups in multiple divisional […]
Everyone who follows the UFC either knows about Conor McGregor or at least has heard his name floating around a few websites. At UFC on Fuel TV 9 earlier this year, McGregor scored a first-round knockout win over Marcus Brimage and immediately declared…
Everyone who follows the UFC either knows about ConorMcGregor or at least has heard his name floating around a few websites. At UFC on Fuel TV 9 earlier this year, McGregor scored a first-round knockout win over Marcus Brimage and immediately declared his desire to fight more and potentially fight at lightweight.
In fact, the UFC already sees a high amount of stock in McGregor, seeing as how his name already appears on the UFC’s return to Boston, which comes on Aug. 17 at UFC Fight Night 26. On that card, McGregor fights touted prospect Max Holloway.
Holloway suffered a controversial split-decision loss to Dennis Bermudez at UFC 160, which halted a three-fight winning streak, and replaces McGregor‘s original foe, Andy Ogle. The bout should provide its share of early fireworks, given their respective striking games, but with all eyes on the “Notorious” one, how high should expectations stand?
Overlook Holloway, and it will cost somebody everything. Remember, the 21-year-old Hawaiian brings an active ground game from off his back and brings a crisp, diverse striking game that not only incorporates body shots, but also a number of moves inspired by some of the best strikers in the game. In other words, he threatens McGregor more than people think.
Still, expectations will remain high for McGregor, and they should. The former two-division Cage Warriors champion subscribes to the belief that he carries more hype than any other Zuffa-contracted athlete. Plus, he knows beating Holloway not only keeps him on track toward earning an eventual UFC featherweight title bout, but it also sets him closer to justifying his hype to where the MMA world views him in a similar light to former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Now with that said, don’t call McGregor “the next Anderson Silva” because no one can or will emulate the head movement, precision, accuracy or clinch work that kept Silva on top of the MMA world for close to seven years. Instead, get excited about what will happen when McGregor enters “Little Ireland” to steal the show alongside Holloway in the sleeper bout of UFC Fight Night 26.
The kid knows the exact waves he wants to make, as well as the way he wants to make them. Now, the pressure falls more on his shoulders to put that plan in motion than it does on him to justify any sort of hype surrounding him.
UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston didn’t come without a lot of headaches for the promotion, including a new showdown with the culinary union, based out of Las Vegas, that continued their vendetta against the company’s owners. When the card was first announced, the UFC encountered a new issue that they didn’t experience in 2010 […]
UFC Fight Night 26 in Boston didn’t come without a lot of headaches for the promotion, including a new showdown with the culinary union, based out of Las Vegas, that continued their vendetta against the company’s owners. When the card was first announced, the UFC encountered a new issue that they didn’t experience in 2010 […]
As first reported by MMAJunkie, the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission will hold a closed-door meeting today to determine whether Sonnen should be licensed for the August 17th FOX Sports 1 event. The special session was organized after a complaint was filed by Unite Here, the union lobbying group with interests in food service and gaming. (Yes, thoseguysagain.) As if trying to keep minors out of UFC events wasn’t chickenshit enough, Unite Here is now trying to block a UFC headliner’s performance based on “moral turpitude.” Here’s an excerpt from their complaint:
Chael Patrick Sonnen is scheduled to compete in a professional mixed martial art event put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) at the TD Garden on August 17, 2013. We anticipate that Sonnen will apply for a professional unarmed combat license in accordance with 523 CMR § 6.01. We urge that the license be denied because Mr. Sonnen has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.
The Commission has the authority to deny an application for a license “if it finds that the applicant has performed any act which would, if performed by a licensee, subject the licensee to discipline pursuant to 523 CMR 20.00 and 21.00.” 523 CMR § 6.13(1). “A license issued by the Commission may be suspended if the holder is arrested or convicted on a charge involving moral turpitude.” 523 CMR § 20.15.
As first reported by MMAJunkie, the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission will hold a closed-door meeting today to determine whether Sonnen should be licensed for the August 17th FOX Sports 1 event. The special session was organized after a complaint was filed by Unite Here, the union lobbying group with interests in food service and gaming. (Yes, thoseguysagain.) As if trying to keep minors out of UFC events wasn’t chickenshit enough, Unite Here is now trying to block a UFC headliner’s performance based on “moral turpitude.” Here’s an excerpt from their complaint:
Chael Patrick Sonnen is scheduled to compete in a professional mixed martial art event put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) at the TD Garden on August 17, 2013. We anticipate that Sonnen will apply for a professional unarmed combat license in accordance with 523 CMR § 6.01. We urge that the license be denied because Mr. Sonnen has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude.
The Commission has the authority to deny an application for a license “if it finds that the applicant has performed any act which would, if performed by a licensee, subject the licensee to discipline pursuant to 523 CMR 20.00 and 21.00.” 523 CMR § 6.13(1). “A license issued by the Commission may be suspended if the holder is arrested or convicted on a charge involving moral turpitude.” 523 CMR § 20.15.
On January 3, 2011, Mr. Sonnen was convicted of money laundering in violation of 18U.S.C. § 1956. See United States v. Chael Sonnen, Case No. 10-CR-00502 (D. Oregon). Money laundering is a crime of moral turpitude. Smalley v. Ashcroft, 354 F.3d 332, 339 (5th Cir.2003) (holding that money laundering is a crime involving moral turpitude)…the Court held that money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1956(a)(3)(B) is a crime of moral turpitude because it involves intentional concealment of the proceeds of unlawful activity (in that case illegal drug money). 354 F.3d at 339. Mr. Sonnenwas convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i), which also requires intentional concealment of the proceeds of unlawful activity…
Mr. Sonnen admitted that he knew about and attempted to conceal the illegal source of money he used in a mortgage transaction. The plea agreement states that Mr. Sonnen “plead guilty to the enclosed Information, which charges the crime of Money Laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956.” (Exh. __). The Information alleges:
On or about June 20, 2006, in the District of Oregon, CHAEL PATRICK SONNEN, defendant herein, did knowingly conduct and attempt to conduct a financial transaction affecting interstate commerce, to wit, he caused a check in the amount of $69,091.53 to be issued and negotiated from a bank account at U.S. Bank, which involved the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity, that is wire fraud. Defendant further knew that the financial transaction was designed in whole or in part to conceal or disguise the source and nature of the proceeds of wirefraud, to wit, defendant and others devised and intended to devise a material scheme and artifice to defraud Decision One Mortgage, and to obtain money and property from Decision One Mortgage by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, and that while conducting and attempting to conduct such financial transaction, defendant knew that the property involved in the financial transaction represented the proceeds of the unlawful activity, wire fraud. All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i).(Exh. __).
Mr. Sonnen’s conviction for money laundering should disqualify him from receiving a professional unarmed combat license in Massachusetts.
Just to make it perfectly clear, Unite Here doesn’t give a damn that Chael Sonnen was convicted of being a liar and a thief, but they’re using his conviction as a political tool to put pressure on the Massachusetts State Boxing Commission. Why? Because the Fertitta brothers’ Station Casinos are non-union. And because of that, Unite Here and the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 have waged war against the UFC for years, trying to paint the fight promotion in the most unflattering light possible.
According to a press release forwarded to MMAJunkie, ”A dozen UNITE HERE activists will voice their objection to the issuance of a license to Mr. Sonnen at a public meeting Thursday of the State Athletic Commission, and will hand-deliver the complaint to Public Safety Secretary Andrea Cabral, who oversees the Athletic Commission. The union activists will deliver the same information to the Boston offices of Eaton Vance Management, an investment management firm that has invested in the debt of Zuffa, LLC, the Las Vegas-based parent of the UFC.”
Wait, it gets worse. As MMAJunkie’s Steven Marroccoadded on twitter: “about 30 minutes ago, I also got a letter from Mass. NOW, which has also filed a complaint against Chael, adding to Unite Here. Lowlight: “Mr. Sonnen has repeatedly made shockingly derogatory statements about women, people of color, homosexuals, immigrants, and other minorities. He has tested positive for a banned substance, made public remarks promoting criminal violence, and has been convicted of money laundering.”
Well sure, that’s why we love him so much.
Clearly, Unite Here’s full-court press in Boston was carefully considered. With UFC Fight Night 26 marking the UFC’s debut on FOX Sports 1 — and being hosted in UFC president Dana White’s hometown — it’s a very special event that needs to go off smoothly. But so far, media attention has been more focused on the various manufactured controversies than any of the fights themselves. That’s a problem — and it’ll become a major problem if the card loses a headliner with less than 10 days to go before showtime.
We’ll update you when we know more about Sonnen’s licensing status. Stay tuned.
(At first, I chose this image because I couldn’t think of anything appropriate to use for this piece. Now, I’m not sure there’s anything more appropriate. Via The Boston Jam.)
Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy – backed by “Parents Say No to UFC” – has filed a resolution that aims to ban minors from attending MMA fights. Before we go any further, two things are important to point out. Number one, obviously Parents Say No to UFC is run by the Culinary Union. Number two, this bill has no chance of becoming a law before the August 17th fight card, so don’t sell that ticket you bought for your son (or daughter!) yet.
So why is Murphy so opposed to allowing minors to watch MMA? His reasoning is pretty much the same mixture of cognitive dissonance and “Think of the goddamn children!” that you’d expect from a person who is likely being paid to be offended by a combat sport. Via BostonMagazine.com:
According to Murphy, fighters from the UFC, which is the professional level of the mixed-martial arts sport, have joked about rape, used foul and abusive language that’s demeaning to women, and used homophobic slurs, all of which, he said, set a bad example for Boston’s youth. He said the sport uses alcohol sponsors to fund the fights, which adds to the negative image that can be imposed on children.
(At first, I chose this image because I couldn’t think of anything appropriate to use for this piece. Now, I’m not sure there’s anything more appropriate. Via The Boston Jam.)
Boston City Councilor Stephen Murphy – backed by “Parents Say No to UFC” – has filed a resolution that aims to ban minors from attending MMA fights. Before we go any further, two things are important to point out. Number one, obviously Parents Say No to UFC is run by the Culinary Union. Number two, this bill has no chance of becoming a law before the August 17th fight card, so don’t sell that ticket you bought for your son (or daughter!) yet.
So why is Murphy so opposed to allowing minors to watch MMA? His reasoning is pretty much the same mixture of cognitive dissonance and “Think of the goddamn children!” that you’d expect from a person who is likely being paid to be offended by a combat sport. Via BostonMagazine.com:
According to Murphy, fighters from the UFC, which is the professional level of the mixed-martial arts sport, have joked about rape, used foul and abusive language that’s demeaning to women, and used homophobic slurs, all of which, he said, set a bad example for Boston’s youth. He said the sport uses alcohol sponsors to fund the fights, which adds to the negative image that can be imposed on children.
Do I use this space to make a “I guess Boston’s athletic scene has enough realrapists and murderers” comment, point out the fact that all four of the city’s majorprofessionalsportsteams are sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, or do I just point out how ridiculous the concept of expecting a person to automatically be a great children’s role model because he/she is good at a sport is? I’ll pick the second option, because arguing that a professional sports league being sponsored by an alcoholic beverage company corrupts our children in ways that other professional sports leagues sponsored by alcoholic beverage companies aren’t requires such an advanced level of bullshitting that I admire anyone sleazy enough to do it with a straight face.
But Murphy isn’t alone in making generic arguments against letting the children of Boston watch MMA. We also have a plain old vanilla “violent entertainment ruins children’s minds” argument:
Diane Levin, a professor of early childhood education at Wheelock College, backed Murphy’s resolution, and “strongly urged” that the City Council pass it.
“Because of how children think, they are especially vulnerable to learning the harmful lessons that directly witnessing entertainment violence can teach—about how people treat each other, about the role of violence in society, that violence is fun and exciting with few consequences, and that grownups glorify and value it,” Levin said. “Everyone who cares about the wellbeing of children and the wider society should call for a ban on children attending Live Cage Fighting events.”
And an appearance from the Culinary Union themselves:
An advocacy group comprised of parents, doctors, and professors are also supporting Murphy’s efforts, and have started a petition and website sponsored by national movements like the National Organization for Women, the Boston Women’s Fund, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment.
The group, known as “Parents Say No to UFC,” supplemented their campaign message and petition page with a video that shows gruesome shots from various professional fights, including bloody contenders punching each other in the head repeatedly.
How wonderful.
Based on all of these super logical, totally original arguments against MMA, do you think that the sport is in any kind of real danger in Boston? Or is this just another minor inconvenience surrounding a card that has been full of them?
