The oft-discussed Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather was finally made a reality yesterday (Wed., June 14, 2017), and as a result, the entire combat sports world has weighed in with their reactions. As expected, McGregor chimed in to get the trash talk started, Dana White revealed the details of the pending mega-bout, and even Nate […]
The oft-discussed Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather was finally made a reality yesterday (Wed., June 14, 2017), and as a result, the entire combat sports world has weighed in with their reactions.
But all hoopla and media hype aside, a reaction of a sort we haven’t seen much of came from professional boxing champion Chris van Heerden, who at one time shared a squared circle with McGregor for a sparring session. Van Heerden was miffed by those apparently telling him Mayweather would have a tough time hitting McGregor, so shortly after the fight was announced yesterday afternoon, he posted a video of the session with the perspective that he was able to land on “The Notorious”
Check it out:
People telling me Mayweather will have his hands full trying to land on McGregor -STOP IT! I respect McGregor BUT i ain't Floyd and i landed pic.twitter.com/gd4dFi3XUU
Based on this video alone, it obviously appears that McGregor has a ton of work to do to be considered a true professional boxer, and that’s not really a surprise considering the fact that his entire combat sports career has been focused on MMA, which ties together all aspects of fighting, making the ability to specialize in only one area like boxers can a luxury UFC competitors simply cannot afford.
This may have been some months ago, and there’s a great chance McGregor’s boxing has improved in recent months as he’s stayed out of the octagon and focused on the sweet science in preparation for what should be the biggest bout of all-time. We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s even close to enough to compete with one of the greatest boxers of all-time.
A year of hype and speculation is apparently over, as news came this afternoon that UFC lightweight champion Conor MCGregor’s oft-discussed boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. had apparently been signed for August 26 in Las Vegas. Mayweather made the bout official on his Instagram account, kicking off the build-up to what should most likely […]
A year of hype and speculation is apparently over, as news came this afternoon that UFC lightweight champion Conor MCGregor’s oft-discussed boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. had apparently been signed for August 26 in Las Vegas.
Mayweather made the bout official on his Instagram account, kicking off the build-up to what should most likely be far and away the most lucrative fight in combat sports history. So with MMA’s biggest star set to face off with arguably the greatest boxer of all-time, it was no surprise to see “The Notorious” react on social media.
McGregor made a hilarious post on Twitter trolling his 40-year-old opponent with a photograph depicting him next to Floyd Mayweather Sr. Check it out:
So all of the contrived speculation and daily updates will finally subside as we look forward to what’s certainly to be an interesting (to say the least buildup) to a fight that will most likely gross billions of dollars.
With that kind of money, it’s fair to wonder if McGregor will ever set foot back in the octagon again, but one thing is clear: “The Notorious” knows how to get himself the biggest fight possible every time he signs on the dotted line.
And if he can somehow beat the massively favored Mayweather, he’d add a bit of boxing history to his already legendary – albeit controversial – list of MMA accomplishments. Are you giving him a chance to beat the unbeaten Mayweather?
If a recent report is true, Floyd Mayweather has apparently signed the contract to face UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor later this year. According to Boxing247.com, Mayweather has apparently canceled a scheduled promotional tour in Africa, where he was supposed to visit Ghana before Accra for two days because he has signed to fight McGregor and […]
If a recent report is true, Floyd Mayweather has apparently signed the contract to face UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor later this year.
According to Boxing247.com, Mayweather has apparently canceled a scheduled promotional tour in Africa, where he was supposed to visit Ghana before Accra for two days because he has signed to fight McGregor and begun a serious camp:
“The Mayweather Tour has been postponed because Mayweather has signed the contract for the McGregor Fight and serious training has started,” said a statement from the organisers in Accra.
“His visit will be after the fight. But the World Title Eliminator between Obodai Sai and Walter Kautondokwa will go ahead as scheduled,” in reference to the clash between WBO rated number 12 middleweight, Sai of Ghana and Namibia’s undefeated WBO rated number 8, Kautondokwa for the WBO Africa Middleweight title as well.
More news about the fight made headlines yesterday when word came that Mayweather was expected to reserve an August 26 date for a professional boxing event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas during this week’s (Wed., June 14, 2017) Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) meeting, but a report from The Los Angeles Times (via Yahoo! Sports) revealed that Mayweather had retracted that date.
A new one could be decided upon according to NAC executive director Bob Bennett, who revealed neither fighter had been licensed to fight in the state of Nevada yet:
“Is anything done? No,” Bennett said. “Do I believe the fight will probably come to fruition? Yes,” Bennett said.
So it’s more speculation from the combat sports world on a fight that would almost assuredly be one of if not the most lucrative bouts in history, with projections set to be in the billions for overall revenue as both Mayweather and McGregor aim for paydays over $100 million.
The fight has gone through a rollercoaster of foreshadowing and unclear string of news reports, including one that said UFC President Dana White was no longer negotiating the bout, a report he not surprisingly shot down rapidly. The fact that Mayweather was supposedly set to request an August 6 date at the MGM grand before canceling it only casts further doubt on the official future of the fight, yet McGregor did recently post that a big announcement would be coming this week on Instagram.
While it’s impossible to know what’s really going on until one or both of the fighters officially confirm it, along with Mayweather Promotions and the UFC, the fact thaT Mayweather recently stepped back into the ring for six rounds of sparring with lightweight boxer Devin Haney, in conjunction with the cancelation of his African tour, do suggest “Money” may be taking the fight more seriously, and that could be because he has indeed signed the contract.
That would put the fight on for a potential September/October date, and if and when it does happen, the ramifications for a struggling UFC could be extremely heavy. On one hand, McGregor facing an opponent whom many feel is the best boxer of all-time will most certainly boost the overall scope and exposure of the UFC and MMA as a whole, but if he gets embarrassed as most are predicting him to, the sport will suffer a crushing loss if McGregor does decide to retire after making a monstrous payday he never would in the octagon.
In any case, the stage is set for one of combat sports’ most polarizing and controversial crossover matches, and it will draw some absolutely huge numbers despite the tentative opinion it’s received among hardcore fight fans.
All it needs is an official date to end the speculation.
With yesterday’s (Mon. June 12, 2017) news that Floyd Mayweather’s Mayweather productions had reserved an August 226 date at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for a professional boxing event, the seeming never-ending hype and speculation of “Money’s” rumored bout with Conor McGregor suggested the fight may actually be close to having a date. McGregor […]
With yesterday’s (Mon. June 12, 2017) news that Floyd Mayweather’s Mayweather productions had reserved an August 226 date at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for a professional boxing event, the seeming never-ending hype and speculation of “Money’s” rumored bout with Conor McGregor suggested the fight may actually be close to having a date.
McGregor was reported to have finalized his side of the deal according to UFC President Dana White (so we can take that for what it’s worth), but the ongoing negotiations with Mayweather, which will almost certainly prove much more difficult, are ongoing and uncertain to say the least.
In true “Notorious” form, McGregor has attempted to goad Mayweather into signing on for the bout on numerous occasions with prodding social media posts, and this week is no different. The Irish champion made light of Mayweather’s recent training session by suggesting it was actually his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. who had put the gloves.
A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on
A brutal burn from McGregor to be sure, but the collective combat sports world will still be forced to hold its breath waiting on Mayweather’s decision to fight him as MMA suffers in the meantime, devoid of its biggest star by far and struggling to put together a meaningful pay-per-view in terms of overall numbers regardless of how strong the action is in the cage.
Money is what motivates “Money,” obviously, so the UFC is going to have to pony up nine figures to get the aging Mayweather out of retirement. McGregor would most likely receive slightly less; however, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where he resumes fighting in the octagon three times a year for a fraction of the cost.
The drama and build-up would be memorable for this one. But would it be a fight that kills mixed martial arts?
It’s no secret that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is the biggest star in MMA these days. Even though he’s currently chasing his long-rumored boxing super fight with Floyd Mayweather, “The Notorious” has undoubtedly changed the face of MMA since debuting with the promotion. After all, the Irish megastar is the only UFC competitor to […]
It’s no secret that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is the biggest star in MMA these days. Even though he’s currently chasing his long-rumored boxing super fight with Floyd Mayweather, “The Notorious” has undoubtedly changed the face of MMA since debuting with the promotion.
After all, the Irish megastar is the only UFC competitor to hold two titles in two weight classes simultaneously, a feat he accomplished by dominating former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez via second-round TKO in the main event of last November’s UFC 205. McGregor has won nine of his 10 fights in the octagon, finishing his opponent in eight of those, with his only decision win coming against Nate Diaz in a record-setting rematch to avenge his only UFC loss at last August’s UFC 202.
Things are obviously beyond great for “The Notorious” right now, as he holds the balance of the MMA world in his hands. But it wasn’t always like that, however, as the former plumber was once on welfare and considering whether or not he should even continue his MMA career at one point. That all changed when he made what turned out to be a historic UFC debut at UFC on Fuel 9 against TUF veteran Marcus Brimage back in April 2013.
History – although it wasn’t known at the time – would be made when McGregor finished off Brimage with shocking ease, using his pinpoint power striking to send “The Bama Beast” packing only 1:07 into the first round. It would turn out to be one of if not the most pivotal debuts in MMA history. Relive his historic debut knockout here:
“The Notorious” would go on to face current UFC interim featherweight champion Max Holloway, who will face champion Jose Aldo in the main event of this weekend’s UFC 212 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in his next bout, winning a one-sided unanimous decision but tearing his ACL in the process.
When he returned almost a year later, history was about to made when McGregor reeled off consecutive KO wins over Diego Brandao, Dustin Poirier, and Dennis Siver to lock up a title shot versus then-champion Jose Aldo at July 2015’s UFC 189. Aldo was forced out with a rib injury following an exhausting 10-city world tour to promote the fight, but McGregor secured his first UFC belt nonetheless when he met former title challenger Chad Mendes on the massive card.
From there, McGregor finally faced rival Aldo at UFC 194, knocking out the dominant longtime champion with a jaw-dropping shot in 13 seconds. The win cemented his status as MMA’s biggest star (perhaps alongside then-women’s bantamweight queen Ronda Rousey), and he attempted to make more history when he was booked against former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos in his next bout.
When “RDA” pulled out with a foot injury, even more history was made when McGregor faced late replacement Nate Diaz at March 2016’s UFC 196, losing his first UFC bout by submission in a massive upset. But the loss re-motivated McGregor to avenge the defeat, which he did at the aforementioned UFC 202 last summer.
The rest is history, they say, as McGregor stopped Alvarez to win his second title and now stands as the UFC’s most important star – even if his next fight will transpire in a boxing ring.
Although it may not be the first choice among MMA fans for Conor McGregor’s next bout, the infamous Irishman appears to be on a set course for his long-rumored boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. Word recently arrived from UFC President Dana White that McGregor had signed off on his end of the deal and talks […]
Although it may not be the first choice among MMA fans for Conor McGregor’s next bout, the infamous Irishman appears to be on a set course for his long-rumored boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.
Word recently arrived from UFC President Dana White that McGregor had signed off on his end of the deal and talks were progressing towards negotiating with Mayweather and his management, something that we may not be exactly sure what truly entails and could certainly take a ton more time to officially get sorted out.
The legendary Mayweather is notoriously tough to negotiate with, as his oft-discussed bout with Manny Pacquiao was bickered over for years before it finally happened in 2015 when both fighters were out of their true athletic primes and the resulting product left much to be desired. Indeed Mayweather always wants all of the specifics to be in his favor whenever he signs on for a high-profile bout, but at this point in time, McGregor may actually be the bigger star than the 40-year-old “Money.”
So things could still move at a snail’s pace, so McGregor challenged Mayweather to get moving and sign his end of the bargain in a post to his official Instagram account today:
A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on
It’s a hardline stance from McGregor, who understandably wants the rumored nine-figure payday that comes with boxing arguably the greatest boxer of all-time in the undefeated Mayweather. For the UFC and MMA as a whole, it may not be as great, however, if the sport’s biggest star was thoroughly demolished by a boxing great who is out of his prime as most are predicting will happen.
There’s also the issue of the talented lightweight division currently being on hold and being held up for much longer if McGregor doesn’t defend his championship inside the octagon this year. Those issues probably don’t matter to McGregor, but they certainly could become detrimental to the promotion as a whole in the coming months.
The UFC is kind of hamstrung by their need for big-name fights, so they have to roll with McGregor vs. Mayweather as it’s clearly their best chance for a huge payday during a down year in 2017. If that’s a good thing for MMA remains to be seen.
First things first, though, and Mayweather obviously has to maneuver his way through the negotiations in order to actually make it to the fight, something that could realistically be many months away if it ever happens. Do you believe the always-choosy Mayweather is close to signing on to fight McGregor, or is the build-up simply reaching an all-time high without much to show for it?
