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UFC 25th Anniversary Series Press Conference Video

Heading into this weekend’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will begin to celebrate their twenty-fifth year of existence with a live press event this afternoon. While the anniversary certainly marks a great achievement for the promotion, today’s press event has gained more hype for reportedly […]

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While the anniversary certainly marks a great achievement for the promotion, today’s press event has gained more hype for reportedly being the place where UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will finally be stripped of his 155-pound championship after over 14 months without any title defenses. Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was rumored to be a done deal for April 7’s UFC 223, and UFC president Dana White confirmed that on a Boston radio show the following day.

But the status of just which belt – the interim or McGregor’s soon-to-be-vacated undisputed title – would be contested in the fight remains a mystery. We could find out in the press conference today, but as we’ve seen throughout McGregor one-of-a-kind UFC run, anything is far from certain when the unpredictable superstar is involved.

Regardless, the fight is expected to be officially announced at the 25th Anniversary Series press conference shortly. Watch the anticipated event live right here:

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Coach: Conor McGregor Will Still Be Real Lightweight Champ After UFC 223

Accused of being held hostage by Conor’s McGregor 14-month inactivity, the UFC lightweight division got at least some degree of clarity when this week UFC president Dana White revealed interim champion Tony Ferguson would face top-ranked contender Khabib Nurmagomedov at April 7’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn, New York. Not surprisingly, White wouldn’t say if the […]

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Not surprisingly, White wouldn’t say if the bout would be for the undisputed 155-pound title after the UFC stripped ‘The Notorious’ as had been rumored the night before.

So even though the UFC said they would ‘absolutely’ strip their biggest name of the belt, it’s probably not in their best financial interest to do so. They can have an unprecedented fourth attempt at booking Ferguson vs. Khabib, and perhaps it will finally happen to deliver a nice pay-per-view haul that would set up a truly monstrous unification bout with McGregor.

As we’ve seen, there’s far from anything close to a guarantee that it will, however, and McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh is well aware of that fact. During a recent Facebook live interview (via MMA Fighting), the Straight Blast Gym coach said he wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t happen because Nurmagomedov’s grinding top-control style comes with a high price:

“I do think there is a really high risk of it not happening. It’s been scheduled twice and it has not happened twice.

“It’s very impressive what Khabib can do when he is fighting, just that pace he has and the relentless pressure, but it does require you to train in a certain way that brings on injuries. There is a reason why he is averaging one fight or less over the last couple of years because of multiple surgeries and so on. He’s got a lot of miles on the athletic clock. I would almost see as there being a high likelihood of one pulling out before the fight happens.”

Kavanagh went on to assume both fighters did make it and predicted Nurmagomedov would get through some adversity to wear down ‘El Cucuy,’ but wouldn’t have the stopping power to finish the fight just as he didn’t in his dominant unanimous decision win over Edson Barboza at December 30’s UFC 219:

“Let’s assume both get through their training camps, they’re both healthy, it happens and it’s five rounds. I think Tony will have some moments in the first round or two where he gets close with some guillotines or triangles, but I think Khabib powers out of them and wears him down as he does.

“I don’t think he really has the stopping power to finish him. His victory over Barboza was very impressive and so one sided, but he didn’t really break him up. His face wasn’t bashed up and rearranged, it was more just the volume of shots and guard passing and so on. I think that would start to wear on Tony and he’d start to steal rounds with takedowns. Yeah, Khabib by unanimous decision.”

The specter of the popular Irishman would always loom large over the division even if the UFC does decide to strip the title from him according to Kavanagh. That dynamic, he said, will loom large no matter how UFC 223 is sold.

And with the “Notorious’” shadow hanging overhead, his coach claimed the winner of Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov would always have to face the Irish star to be called the true champion:

“I think regardless of what way it’s sold, I think it’s still going to be known who the champion is. I know that’s going to upset a lot of people, but there you go, that’s my opinion on it.

“If it happens that those guys fight each other, and if it happens for the belt, they’re both going to think to themselves, ‘I’ve got to beat Conor to be really seen as the champion.’”

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Dana White Confirms Ferguson vs. Khabib Will Happen At UFC 223

Yesterday, a report surfaced that interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov would face off for the unified title at April 7’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn. Today, it appears that has been confirmed by UFC president Dana White. In Boston for this weekend’s UFC 220 pay-per-view event from TD Garden, White told the […]

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Yesterday, a report surfaced that interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov would face off for the unified title at April 7’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn.

Today, it appears that has been confirmed by UFC president Dana White. In Boston for this weekend’s UFC 220 pay-per-view event from TD Garden, White told the Toucher & Rich morning show that the fight was on for UFC 223:

“That fight is going to happen. It will happen.”

Sources also confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani that the fight would take place at UFC 223; however, nothing was confirmed in regards to what version of the lightweight title would be on the line, as the previous report stated it would be for the unified title after the UFC stripped current champion Conor McGregor due to inactivity.

For what it’s worth, White did not address that situation on Toucher & Rich.

If and when Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov is confirmed, it will mark an incredible fourth time the two have been scheduled to fight each other without it actually happening. The first two fell apart due to an injury from each fighter, then the most anticipated iteration of the bout was canceled when Nurmagomedov infamously missed weight and was hospitalized prior to the most recent scheduling at 2017’s UFC 209.

Both fighters have continued to maintain success at the highest levels since, with Ferguson winning the interim belt against Kevin Lee at UFC 216, while Khabib recently returned to the octagon with a dominant destruction of Edson Barboza at December 30’s UFC 219.

Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov is expected to be announced during UFC 220 this weekend, and a women’s strawweight title rematch between Rose Namajunas and Joanna Jedrzejczyk is expected to serve as the co-headliner, although it has not been officially confirmed yet.

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Report: Ferguson vs. Khabib Set For April After UFC Strips McGregor

If a recent report proves true, the UFC lightweight title picture could be getting some extremely much-needed clarity very soon. Earlier today a report surfaced from Russian site Tass.ru that interim 155-pound champion Tony Ferguson will take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov for the official title at April 7’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn, New York. The […]

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If a recent report proves true, the UFC lightweight title picture could be getting some extremely much-needed clarity very soon.

Earlier today a report surfaced from Russian site Tass.ru that interim 155-pound champion Tony Ferguson will take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov for the official title at April 7’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn, New York. The news was later confirmed from reported sources by BJPenn.com, who backed up the initial report.

Apparently the contract for the highly-anticipated bout – which has fallen apart several times already – has been signed, and the fight will be officially announced at this weekend’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The biggest news about the fight, of course, is that the fight will be for the undisputed title after the promotion strips current champion Conor McGregor for his 14-month inactivity.

UFC president Dana White has made several headlines about potentially stripping McGregor, who has not fought in MMA since defeating Eddie Alvarez for the title at UFC 205 in November 2016, most recently saying the UFC would “absolutely” strip the Irish champion if he didn’t want to return to the octagon until the fall.

Now, it appears the UFC has made that call, and the lightweight affair between Ferguson and Nurmagomedov, a fight fans have been anticipating for years, will now take place with the highest possible stakes on the line. That is, if and when it’s officially confirmed by the UFC.

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Dana White Says UFC Could ‘Absolutely’ Strip Conor McGregor Of Title

UFC president Dana White broke down his reaction to last night’s (Sun., January 14, 2017) UFC Fight Night 124 from St. Louis during the post-fight show on FOX Sports 1, but the discussion not surprisingly shifted to the messy lightweight title landscape as champion Conor McGregor sits on the bench with no return in view. As interim champion […]

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As interim champion Tony Ferguson heals from elbow surgery, the future of the storied 155-pound class was only made more confusing when Khabib Nurmagomedov ran over Edson Barboza at December 30, 2017’s UFC 219. The performance was so dominant it reminded fights fan everywhere just why “The Eagle” was considered quite possibly the toughest out in the class, with only his only injuries and weight-cutting issues preventing him from hoisting the belt.

So as McGregor mulls his next move that will reportedly require a promoter’s share of the profit, White said that if McGregor waits until this fall to step into the octagon, the weight class would have to move on, so they’re working on Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov, and it may be for the real championship:

“Conor has said he’s thinking about coming back in September, if he comes back in September, that’s almost two years. That can’t happen, it’s just, it’s not fair to everybody else. Love Conor, respect Conor, love everything that he’s done for this company, everybody knows that; I say it all the time. The belt would have to move on. You do Khabib vs. Tony; we’re working on that fight now, and if and when Conor comes back, he would get the first crack at the title.”

Previously saying that McGregor would have until March to make a decision, White then confirmed that the promotion was ready to strip by far their biggest star as a matter of principle:

“Absolutely.”

As the UFC is bombarded with a stream of hate that only grows much bigger with each day, the world leader in mixed martial arts seems to be being lenient with their only real superstar, but with a limit to how long they are willing to wait.

Many thought UFC titles were devalued at an alarming rate during a strange transitionary period for the UFC and new owners Endeavor last year, so it should be refreshing for many hardcore fans of the sport to see them put out a concrete plan of where lightweight will go.

Now, they’ll just have to act on it.

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Joe Rogan Reveals Real Reason UFC Will Strip Conor McGregor’s Title

Without anything close to a clear return date confirmed, the talk about the UFC stripping lightweight champion Conor McGregor is reaching a fever pitch in most MMA circles. There’ve been multiple discussions about “The Notorious” coming back to finally unify the lightweight titles with interim champ Tony Ferguson, another about him fighting former two-division champ […]

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Without anything close to a clear return date confirmed, the talk about the UFC stripping lightweight champion Conor McGregor is reaching a fever pitch in most MMA circles.

There’ve been multiple discussions about “The Notorious” coming back to finally unify the lightweight titles with interim champ Tony Ferguson, another about him fighting former two-division champ Georges St-Pierre, more still about him meeting multiple past-prime boxers in the squared circle, and of course, his long-rumored trilogy match with rival Nate Diaz.

But none of it has come even close to fruition, and with McGregor demanding some sort of promoter’s or ownership stake for his next bout, his return could be many months off if it ever comes.

That, unfortunately, has the MMA world in a restless state of influx as fans await any news whatsoever from the sport’s biggest star – a star who was greatly missed throughout an up-and-down 2017 for the world’s biggest MMA outfit. And if you ask octagon commentator Joe Rogan, it’s going to stay that way for awhile.

Speaking to UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley on his “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast (via MMA Mania), Rogan revealed his opinion why the UFC will have to eventually strip McGregor of the title, opening up the path for a huge Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight in Russia:

“Here’s my prediction: My prediction (is) Conor doesn’t fight for a while. They strip Conor. Tony and Khabib fight for the world title. I think they’re going to strip him, because Conor’s got $100 million in the bank, and he’s having fun and talking (expletive), and he’s going to keep training,” Rogan said.

“And he’s going to make a big fight in the future, but I think Khabib and Tony is the big fight and (expletive), they might even do that one in Russia. They’re talking about doing a big fight in Russia.”

Indeed the UFC has long discussed a foray into the fight-crazed Russian market, but logistical concerns have kept them out of the country until now, where it simply can no longer be denied with Nurmagomedov rapidly becoming one of their most dominant and fastest-rising stars.

The promotion plans to put on their first-ever card on Russian soil this fall, and Nurmagomedov insists he wants to fight three times this year, with the first bout coming in the spring and the second coming in the fall after Ramadan has passed. That timeline could work out with the UFC’s first event in Russia, and it could also be when the UFC has finally had enough with McGregor and strips him if he has not at least clarified when he plans to return.

Rogan’s suggestion that the champ is more interested in enjoying the $100 million he earned from his circus-like boxing match against Floyd Mayweather certainly appears true on the surface, and there is a good chance he never returns to the octagon.

With each passing day, Rogan’s point of view could become more and more likely – and that’s a call you can bet the UFC is hoping they don’t have to make.

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