Tag: Conor McGregor vs Floyd mayweather

Khabib’s Management Refuses To Fight For ‘Fake’ Interim Belt

Following his three-round destruction of Edson Barboza at UFC 219, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father recently said they were willing to take on former champion Eddie Alvarez if the UFC decided to book Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson to unify the 155-pound belt. However, his manager is singing an entirely different tune. Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting that […]

The post Khabib’s Management Refuses To Fight For ‘Fake’ Interim Belt appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Following his three-round destruction of Edson Barboza at UFC 219, Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father recently said they were willing to take on former champion Eddie Alvarez if the UFC decided to book Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson to unify the 155-pound belt.

However, his manager is singing an entirely different tune.

Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Fighting that they are not interested in fighting for Ferguson’s interim title, a ‘fake’ belt that no one wants:

“Khabib’s next fight, we’re not fighting for no damn interim belt,” Abdelaziz said. “We want the real belt, or we don’t want nothing. We appreciate everything the UFC has done for us, but it’s time for a real belt. Nobody is interested in fighting for a fake belt. Tony Ferguson has a fake belt. Nobody wants this.”

The UFC lightweight title picture is beyond a mess right now, with Dana White stating champion Conor McGregor must make his intentions known so they can book Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov for the interim title sometime around March with the winner taking on “The Notorious” later in the year.

But Abdelaziz’s insistence throws yet another wrench into the plans, which are haphazard at best while McGregor negotiates a potential promoter’s stake in his next fight and Ferguson recovers from elbow surgery. Adding to that mess is Nurmagomedov’s long track record of injuries and weight-cutting issues, making any fight involving him a dangerous prospect in a division that needs him – and McGregor – active to truly move on.

“The Eagle” set his sights on three bouts in 2018 – one in the spring, one around September after Ramadan is over, and a final fight in December. To do so, the UFC will have to get to work booking the dominant grappler soon, and that may not be easy with both McGregor and Ferguson out of action.

There’s little chance Khabib would leapfrog Ferguson and fight for the official belt, and it seems we’re perhaps several months away from McGregor actually defending his title if he ever does, so the logjam at lightweight may have just had a fresh load of logs thrown on top of it.

Welcome to 2018, fight fans.

The post Khabib’s Management Refuses To Fight For ‘Fake’ Interim Belt appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Jeremy Stephens Won’t Stop Talking About Conor McGregor’s Mom

Longtime veteran Jeremy Stephens may have his hands full with rising contender Dooho Choi in the main event of this weekend’s (Sun. January 14, 2017) UFC Fight Night 124 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, but it appears he’s still trying to rustle up a rivalry with Conor McGregor. After becoming one of MMA’s […]

The post Jeremy Stephens Won’t Stop Talking About Conor McGregor’s Mom appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Longtime veteran Jeremy Stephens may have his hands full with rising contender Dooho Choi in the main event of this weekend’s (Sun. January 14, 2017) UFC Fight Night 124 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, but it appears he’s still trying to rustle up a rivalry with Conor McGregor.

After becoming one of MMA’s most quoted punchlines when McGregor famously said “who da fook is that guy” to Stephens’ trash talk at a press conference, Stephens took to Twitter a few months back to suggest that it was McGregor’s own mother who “knows who da fook” he was:

With the spotlight on him for the week, Stephens isn’t letting up on making his name by way of McGregor’s sport-redefining star power. During an interview with TMZ Sports, “Lil’ Heathen” said he would take McGregor’s mother Margaret on a date where his father would pick them up in a cab:

”His mom’s pretty hot too, she’s great,” Stephens said. “Maybe his dad can pick us up with the cab he used to drive and then take me and his mom out on a date. Hey bro, look at her. She’s not bad looking, right? She’s a lady right there … she’s always got the invite to be snugged up here under this right arm.”

McGregor may have been out of action for nearly 14 months, yet it doesn’t seem like a single conversation about mixed martial arts can arise without his name somehow becoming involved, evident by the fact just that has transpired concerning a Midwest-U.S. event that has nothing to do with him despite Stephens’ continued trash talk towards the absentee lightweight champion.

If he’s trying to make more of a name for himself on social media, it may be working, but at some point, his jabs grow may grow weary considering he’s light years away from ever getting an actual fight with “The Notorious.”

The post Jeremy Stephens Won’t Stop Talking About Conor McGregor’s Mom appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Darren Till Insists He’s ‘Much Better’ Than Conor McGregor

Surging UFC welterweight Darren Till was one of the hottest rising contenders in the deeply talented 170-pound division throughout 2017. The Liverpool, England-based fighter truly blasted onto the scene by knocking out longtime veteran Donald Cerrone in the main event of October’s UFC Gdansk, a fight after which he deservedly began entertaining some potential big-name bouts. […]

The post Darren Till Insists He’s ‘Much Better’ Than Conor McGregor appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Surging UFC welterweight Darren Till was one of the hottest rising contenders in the deeply talented 170-pound division throughout 2017.

The Liverpool, England-based fighter truly blasted onto the scene by knocking out longtime veteran Donald Cerrone in the main event of October’s UFC Gdansk, a fight after which he deservedly began entertaining some potential big-name bouts.

A match-up with former title challenger Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson made the rounds, but the No. 1-ranked Karate wiz eventually said it wasn’t in his best interest to fight a lower-ranked, up-and-coming opponent. On the other hand, it would obviously give Till another sizable shot right up the ranks, something he told MMA Junkie wasn’t necessarily his goal.

For him, he knows he has a long way to go, so it was more of a challenge against one of the UFC’s best strikers in ‘Wonderboy’:

“I don’t feel like I’ve earned a title shot and, to be totally honest, I don’t even feel like I’ve earned a top-three spot. The only reason why I asked for ‘Wonderboy’ is because I think it would decipher who the best striker is (in welterweight division). But I don’t really care if it’s No. 1 or No. 10.

“He’s an excellent fighter, one of the best, and I don’t want to fight him for an easy route to the title, but because I want to test myself against the best. If he’s the guy to beat me and take all my momentum, then fair play to him. But I don’t believe he could do it.”

Even if Thompson is unwilling to face Till, the Liverpudlian striker already had another high-profile match-up in his back pocket, this time a pay-per-view (PPV) bout against fellow rising challenger Rafael dos Anjos in Brazil.

In his eyes, dos Anjos would be easy money despite his spotless track record as of late. Till believes a match-up with dos Anjos would be over in one single round, and that even UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor, who fights a weight class below the massive welterweight Till, would have destroyed dos Anjos.

With that established, Till said he was similar to the notorious Irish megastar, only ‘much better’:

“A pay-per-view against dos Anjos in Brazil would be huge, and I am totally up for it,” Till said.

“The great thing is, I would go there and beat him in a round because he’s designed for me and is just too scrappy on the feet. I think Conor McGregor would have absolutely annihilated him, and I’m twice Conor’s size. I’m also a similar fighter to Conor – just much better. I would kill dos Anjos, and I just don’t know what he’s doing in this division.”

Much of that confidence may lie in Till’s full knowledge that he’s simply much bigger and stronger than his competition. Walking at a reported out-of-fight weight of 210 pounds, Till fully acknowledged he was too big to keep fighting at 170 pounds forever.

Because of his overwhelming stature, Till said he plans on not only eventually moving up to 185 pounds but also to 205 in an effort to become an unprecedented three-weight champion:

“In all honesty, I am too big for the division,” he said. “You could see with Cerrone, and I know he’s a former lightweight, but I am huge at this weight. I’m going to spend some time taking over at welterweight, but then I will move up.

“People think I’m joking, but I’m also planning on going up to light heavyweight because I still have years to go and I’m going to continue to grow. I want to be a three-weight world champion.”

The post Darren Till Insists He’s ‘Much Better’ Than Conor McGregor appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC Champ Says He Won’t Avoid Defending Like ‘Afraid’ Conor McGregor

The MMA world is in a verifiable frenzy concerning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s next move. With just about everyone invested in the sport wanting to know if and when he’ll return, the only one who doesn’t seem to care is “The Notorious” himself as he sits on a mountain of cash earned from his […]

The post UFC Champ Says He Won’t Avoid Defending Like ‘Afraid’ Conor McGregor appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

The MMA world is in a verifiable frenzy concerning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s next move.

With just about everyone invested in the sport wanting to know if and when he’ll return, the only one who doesn’t seem to care is “The Notorious” himself as he sits on a mountain of cash earned from his boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather last August.

Even the most supportive McGregor fans are getting antsy, and the famed Irish slugger has yet to defend either of his titles since first winning the UFC featherweight belt from Jose Aldo in late 2015. A host of guaranteed-to-be-lucrative bouts awaits him if and when he does return, such as a unification bout with Ferguson or maybe his long-rumored trilogy match with Nate Diaz, even though that fight seems to be losing steam rather quickly.

As McGregor drags his heels, however, another UFC champion is wholly interested in getting the biggest fight he can, and he’s not shy letting those intentions be known. That man is UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw, who is currently campaigning for a super fight with dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, a bout “Mighty Mouse” doesn’t seem to be all too enthused about.

Regardless, Dillashaw is still on the hunt for it because he views it as a chance to cement his legacy as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best, a moniker Dillashaw told FloCombat (via MMA Mania) he believes was ripped from him when Dominick Cruz outlasted him with a controversial split decision two years ago:

“This is a way to put a stamp on my legacy. I was a little hurt losing that split decision [to Dominick Cruz] and not being on a 13-fight win streak and being called the pound-for-pound best in the world.

“In my mind, I should be No. 1. So it comes down to beating Demetrious Johnson to prove I’m the best, and it’s a huge thing for my legacy to be the double champ in two weight classes.”

A win over Johnson, who has racked up 11 consecutive title defenses to stand alone with the record, would certainly go a long way in cementing Dillashaw’s potential status as one of MMA’s top pound-for-pound competitors.

Of course, there’s always the issue of tying up two divisions to make it, which could especially become a problem in Dillashaw’s 135-pound roost, where a plethora of talented challengers awaits him. Dillashaw attempted to cool those concerns by stating if he was to win the 125-pound title, he wouldn’t be like McGregor and would instead remain active by defending:

“I’m not a Conor McGregor. I’m going to be active defending my belts. I’m not afraid to fight.”

He’ll have to procure the fight first, however, and with word arriving that “Mighty Mouse” underwent successful shoulder surgery today, it could be quite some time on the sidelines before he ever gets it – if he does.

Either way, the 135-pound king is looking to do what’s necessary to build his own exposure in an era of MMA where that’s absolutely necessary, and playing off the growing discontent with McGregor’s inactivity is one way to do it.

The post UFC Champ Says He Won’t Avoid Defending Like ‘Afraid’ Conor McGregor appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Nate Diaz Confirms He’s ‘Back In Action’ On Social Media

It’s been almost 17 months since we’ve seen fan favorite Nate Diaz in the octagon, and that seems like a lifetime considering the pace the MMA world moves at. After losing a closely-fought decision to archrival Conor McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202, Diaz immediately campaigned for a lucrative trilogy match but was rebuffed by […]

The post Nate Diaz Confirms He’s ‘Back In Action’ On Social Media appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

It’s been almost 17 months since we’ve seen fan favorite Nate Diaz in the octagon, and that seems like a lifetime considering the pace the MMA world moves at.

After losing a closely-fought decision to archrival Conor McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202, Diaz immediately campaigned for a lucrative trilogy match but was rebuffed by the UFC. That set off another long period of inactivity for the Stockton, Calif.-based brawler, who called for $15 million to fight “The Notorious” a third time.

But with that number obviously not going to be met, Diaz appeared to be pricing himself out of what would rate as the most high-profile bout of his up-and-down mixed martial arts career, and with McGregor now uncertain to return and facing potential fights with Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov if and when he does, Diaz’ chances of another monstrous payday are fading fast.

So he may be forced to step into other avenues if he wants to continue his fighting career, and today, it appears he’s open to just that. Diaz posted a photo on his Instagram of a recent training session with a caption that declared he was ‘back in action.’

Check it out:

Good work wit my boy @luke_1er Back in action #beast ??

A post shared by natediaz209 (@natediaz209) on

Based on this picture, Diaz is training for his rumored foray into the boxing ring, something that has been thrown about for a few months now.

After McGregor made a high-profile shift to the sweet science for his massive boxing match with Floyd Mayweather last summer, it’s hardly a surprise to see other MMA stars looking to get paid more for a competition that only focuses on one avenue of combat sports, and Diaz has always been regarded as one of the finest boxers in MMA.

There’s little doubt his debut in the sweet science would turn heads and inspire viewers, but with his asking price at an astronomical level, could he really approach the levels he was demanding for the trilogy match opposite McGregor?

He may need the Irishman to get paid like that, but in any case, fans will be excited to see their beloved Diaz back in at least some form.

The post Nate Diaz Confirms He’s ‘Back In Action’ On Social Media appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor Joins Dana White In Blasting ‘Weasel’ Showtime Exec

Conor McGregor has joined in on the drama between Dana White and Showtime Sports. White called out Showtime this week for supposedly releasing the numbers incorrectly for McGregor’s August boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, apparently wanting them to release the worldwide figures of approximately 6.7 million buys rather than the 4.3 million North American buys […]

The post Conor McGregor Joins Dana White In Blasting ‘Weasel’ Showtime Exec appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor has joined in on the drama between Dana White and Showtime Sports.

White called out Showtime this week for supposedly releasing the numbers incorrectly for McGregor’s August boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, apparently wanting them to release the worldwide figures of approximately 6.7 million buys rather than the 4.3 million North American buys released by Showtime.

The UFC frontman revealed he no longer trusted the network, and would never work with them again.

Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza insisted earlier today on social media that Showtime only revealed the facts, and White despised them for telling the truth:

However, one major part of the equation is not surprisingly siding with White and rapidly fired back at Espinoza.

McGregor, who’s currently mulling an anticipated UFC return and had a previous beef with Espinoza when Showtime was rumored to have cut his microphone off on the first leg of the Mayweather vs. McGregor world tour, called him a ‘weasel’ again and said the fight’s released numbers should have had a more global focus:

White and McGregor obviously want the biggest number possible to flaunt the bout as the biggest combat sports event of all-time, yet all numbers point to Mayweather vs. Pacquiao holding that actual title.

It appears a sore subject for both of the UFC’s most famous faces, but Mayweather vs. McGregor is long over with, and perhaps they’d be best served to shifting their focus to rebounding from a brutally down year for MMA in 2017.

Something tells me they may not, however.

The post Conor McGregor Joins Dana White In Blasting ‘Weasel’ Showtime Exec appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.