Tag: Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz II

Conor McGregor Could Reportedly Still Fight At UFC 200

With the collective mixed martial arts (MMA) world still trying to make sense of Conor McGregor’s cryptic retirement tweet and subsequent removal from July’s massive UFC 200 card yesterday, UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN’s ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd today (Wed., April 20, 2016) to give his side of what transpired and what

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With the collective mixed martial arts (MMA) world still trying to make sense of Conor McGregor’s cryptic retirement tweet and subsequent removal from July’s massive UFC 200 card yesterday, UFC President Dana White appeared on ESPN’s ‘The Herd’ with Colin Cowherd today (Wed., April 20, 2016) to give his side of what transpired and what direction the UFC would now head:

The strange proceedings of the past few days would definitely suggest that McGregor and the UFC are at odds in a big way, but White insisted to Cowherd that simply wasn’t the case, insisting that things never got combative (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“It never got combative, and I was talking to his manager,” White said. “They were asking to move all this stuff to May, and you can’t move this. This stuff is in motion. All fans care about is the fights, and that’s all they should care about. Any fan of the UFC [knows] that this happened once before when I pulled Nick Diaz from the fight.

“Everyone likes to talk about how I coddle Conor, and I baby Conor, and Conor can do whatever he wants and all this stuff. No, no you can’t. We do give Conor a lot of leeway because Conor delivers. He wasn’t planning on delivering this weekend and I had to pull him. That’s what had to be done.”

As for the wide-held rumor that McGregor was merely making a power play for more money in his previously scheduled welterweight rematch with Nate Diaz at the midsummer spectacle, White said that again was not true, instead blasting online outlets who had suggested that was the case:
“[It’s] not a money issue. That’s false,” White said. “That’s the problem with the Internet. You have all these hacks out there who just make stuff up for clicks. Never, ever was this about money. It was never about money. Conor makes a lot of money, and Conor’s very happy about the money he makes. Conor for the most part is a stand-up guy. He’s never come back after agreeing on a deal, and the fight is announced, and he comes back for more money. Conor is not that type of person.”
And in terms of the UFC’s relationship with their Irish featherweight champion, White insisted that their business relationship had not been damaged at all:

“Our relationship isn’t damaged at all,” White said. “…I’m not even mad a little bit. I had pretty smooth day…. When Conor went out, 10 other people called asking to go in. It’s going to be a massive event. It’s still a big fight. No, I’m not mad at all.”

Finally, White admitted that if McGregor were to contact him today and clarify the situation, then all might be forgiven and he could still fight at UFC 200, even if he already said that Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar could fight for McGregor’s vacant featherweight belt on the card if ‘Notorious’ doesn’t give them a solid idea of his plans very soon.

The promotional machine for UFC 200 must roll on with millions having been spent, and White insisted McGregor is obviously an integral part of that, which makes his refusal to show up for the media event a non-negotiable obligation:

“Yeah, if he called me after this interview, we would probably still do it,” White said. “The problem with this whole thing is you have to be here to promote your fight and you have to shoot this commercial. We’re spending $10 million in promotion for UFC 200, and all that money is motion. You can’t do this. I don’t care who you are, or how big you are, you can’t do this.”

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Nate Diaz Reacts To Conor McGregor’s Shocking Retirement

With the MMA universe scrambling to make sense of featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s supposed retirement on Twitter less than three months before his pivotal rematch with rival Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 200, it looks like the younger Diaz has decided to follow suit. After catching word of McGregor’s apparent decision to call

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With the MMA universe scrambling to make sense of featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s supposed retirement on Twitter less than three months before his pivotal rematch with rival Nate Diaz in the main event of UFC 200, it looks like the younger Diaz has decided to follow suit.

After catching word of McGregor’s apparent decision to call it a career, Diaz just took to his own Twitter account to post that he had had enough and was retiring as well. Check it out:

Now the word is still obviously out as to whether or not McGregor will actually retire, but his longtime head coach John Kavanagh has reported that it is true, and Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting has also reported that sources have told him it could be legitimate.

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Still, it could also be a power play at more money for UFC 200, because he’s scheduled for a fight he could easily lose to Diaz, which would obviously be another blow to his still powerful-but-waning star power. Regardless, it looks like Tuesday just got a lot weirder for MMA fans everywhere.

As for Diaz, it’s most likely more improbable that he actually calls it quits, but he may have sent McGregor into an early one.

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Conor McGregor Teases Retirement On Twitter

Current UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has apparently called it a career. The 27-year-old Irish star is set to take on Nate Diaz in the main event of this summer’s UFC 200 to avenge his first UFC loss suffered against the Stockton native at March’s UFC 196, but apparently he’s made enough ‘cheese,’ as he likes

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Current UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has apparently called it a career.

The 27-year-old Irish star is set to take on Nate Diaz in the main event of this summer’s UFC 200 to avenge his first UFC loss suffered against the Stockton native at March’s UFC 196, but apparently he’s made enough ‘cheese,’ as he likes to call it, and is ready to cash out early. Check out what he had to say online:

McGregor was originally set to face Rafael dos Anjos for the lightweight title at UFC 196; however, an injury forced the Brazilian to pull out of the bout less than two weeks out from fight time. Diaz took the fight with “The Notorious” at welterweight, and would go on to defeat the Irishman with a shocking second-round submission.

Despite the loss, McGregor still enjoyed a lofty position as arguably the promotion’s biggest star with the featherweight title still being held onto by his iron grip, and he received a great amount of praise even in defeat for supposedly facing an opponent two weight classes up (even though Diaz is a lightweight).

Because of that attention, McGregor reportedly harassed UFC president Dana White for the welterweight rematch in the days following the bout, and was ultimately granted his shot at redemption in July.

McGregor’s head coach John Kavanagh also threw fuel to the fire with a tweet of his own:

MMAFighting.com‘s Ariel Helwani has also reported that multiple sources are claiming this isn’t a joke:

And apparently, McGregor isn’t caving. Helwani updated the situation by clarifying that four hours later,”The Notorious” is still planning on hanging it up and the UFC has now reportedly moved on to other options:

The UFC has not made any official statement at this time, but it’s going to be tough to believe that a fighter with more drawing power than any other UFC athlete not named Ronda Rousey would retire at the height of his popularity.

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Manager: Conor McGregor Will Definitely Defend Featherweight Belt

With Conor McGregor currently booked in a rematch with Nate Diaz in the main event of July’s UFC 200, many MMA fans are wondering if and when the ‘Notorious’ Irishman will defend the featherweight title he won from longtime champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194 last December. It’s not the strap has been on the

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With Conor McGregor currently booked in a rematch with Nate Diaz in the main event of July’s UFC 200, many MMA fans are wondering if and when the ‘Notorious’ Irishman will defend the featherweight title he won from longtime champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194 last December.

It’s not the strap has been on the shelf for that long, as it was last contested just under four months ago, but when McGregor shockingly lost a short-notice bout to in the main event of March’s UFC 196, the fighting future of the UFC’s biggest star got a bit muddied. He’s apparently hell-bent on avenging the loss, and while that’s understandable, it’s also impossible to wonder if he’ll ever be able to make the draining weight cut down to 145 again.

McGregor’s manager Audie Attar is here to tell us that that won’t be a concern, however, as he spoke up to Submission Radio that the champion will not vacate the145-pound belt and will most definitely defend it at some point:

“No, that would have happened. That would have already happened. Cause you know, that’s something that Conor was adamant about. He wants to keep his belt, he’s gonna defend it, and at the end of the day, if he was gonna vacate, it would have already happened.”

Going into detail about McGregor’s highly discussed weight cut, Attar affirmed that it was not as bad as many have made it out to be despite the fact that he often looks like a drawn out skeletal version of himself at weigh-ins:

“I’ve never seen him, per se, pass out and do some things that are unhealthy. Even in terms of how he gets down, right? He does it all natural and just by a lot of hard work and a lot of discipline. So at the end of the day, I want him to feel comfortable. It seems like he liked not cutting weight, right?

“At the end of the day, I’ve never seen it [Conor’s weight cut] to be that extreme as you were kind of making it out to be. I do know that per his reaction for not cutting weight, I’d rather him do what he’s more happier to do as an athlete.”

We never have seen McGregor pass out from a weight cut, no, but again, it’s tough to envision him putting his body through the absolute rollercoaster of fighting at 168 pounds for his welterweight rematch and then cutting all the way down to 145 for his next fight.

And even if he does, the likely target for his next 145-pound defense would be the UFC’s blockbuster Madison Square Garden debut tentatively slated for late this year, meaning that the real featherweight strap will have been on the shelf for close to a year.

Aldo will meet Franke Edgar for the interim title at UFC 200 to decide McGregor’s next rightful challenger. Are you buying McGregor’s manager statement that he will definitely be there to face either one in his next fight?

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Quote: Conor McGregor Will Not Come Back Down To 145 Pounds

In the days following last week’s official announcement that Conor McGregor would rematch Nate Diaz at welterweight in the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 card from Las Vegas, the MMA community has continued their backlash at a fight they consider to be unnecessary after Diaz already beat the Irish trash talker who

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In the days following last week’s official announcement that Conor McGregor would rematch Nate Diaz at welterweight in the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 card from Las Vegas, the MMA community has continued their backlash at a fight they consider to be unnecessary after Diaz already beat the Irish trash talker who is leaving his featherweight belt on the sidelines once again.

The circumstances we’ll witness at UFC 200 are most definitely a number of strange ones, as Jose Aldo will meet Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title on the same card where the champion will actually be fighting, a scenario that we’ve obviously never seen anything remotely like before.

And a lot of that has to do McGregor’s massive size advantage at featherweight, where he often appears very sucked up and drawn as he struggles to make the division’s 145-pound weight limit. That was a main motivating factor in his move up to lightweight to take on champion Rafael dos Anjos, and he took it a step further when he fought Diaz at welterweight on short notice.

That has left the entire division wondering if he’ll ever venture back down to 145 pounds, and one top-ranked competitor doesn’t believe he will. In a recent talk with MMA Fighting, No. 4 Max Holloway said that he doesn’t envision McGregor ever making it back to 145 because the cut is too draining for him to make any longer:

“At the end of the day, who knows if he comes back to 145? Honestly, my feeling, I don’t think that he does. I think that 155-pound fight (against dos Anjos) was already saying that he just wanted to be at 155, hold the two titles, say that he did it, then just move up full-time. That’s what I thought he was thinking of doing, because he’s a big guy. All you hear of him is struggling to make 145. This guy struggles. You see, all he does is [cut weight] all week long.

“So he was going to go up sooner or later. Then you see him getting bigger every fight. … His last fight, he was a big boy. And he already had a hard time cutting. [With him] going back up to 170, I think he’s going to gain weight and have to cut a little, just trying to compete at that level, at 170. So who knows if he’s coming down?”

As for his own plight, where ‘Blessed’ find himself on the outside of the title picture looking despite an incredible eight straight victories since losing to McGregor of all people back in August of 2013, Holloway believes that he’s being held back because he didn’t finish his last fight against ultra-tough veteran Jeremy Stephens:

“I just feel left out because my last fight wasn’t a finish,” Holloway said. “When I was finishing guys, the media was on me like crazy. Then I have this one decision fight against a guy (Stephens) who, ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, these guys couldn’t finish him. And then [people are] looking at me, asking me how the hell I didn’t finish him. It’s like, look at these guys. These guys are beasts and they had a hard time with the fight too. They couldn’t finish him either. So I’m a true believer in, people only remember you for your last fight. And my last fight, I felt, was great, but I guess some people didn’t think it was so hot. So it is what it is.”

That sounds like quite the mature and patient attitude from Holloway, who at only 24 years old, has nothing but time on his hands as one of the UFC’s brightest potential future champions. Holloway has already fought five of the top 10 at featherweight, and with Aldo and Edgar obviously tied up with each other for the foreseeable future, the only logical choices for the suddenly surging Hawaiian are bouts with former title contender Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas.

As for McGregor, only time will tell if he ever fights Holloway or anyone else at 145 pounds again.

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Nate Diaz Is Completely Irritated At Conor McGregor Rematch

At the true height of his game following his biggest win, Nate Diaz will be headed for another one of the absolutely massive paydays he’s always looked for in the UFC when he takes on Conor McGregor in the recently confirmed main event of UFC 200. A large number of serious MMA fans have taken

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At the true height of his game following his biggest win, Nate Diaz will be headed for another one of the absolutely massive paydays he’s always looked for in the UFC when he takes on Conor McGregor in the recently confirmed main event of UFC 200.

A large number of serious MMA fans have taken umbrage with the UFC’s choice to reschedule Diaz against McGregor, whom he submitted with a masterful choke at March’s UFC 196; nonetheless, it would still provide Diaz with another pay-per-view main event against MMA’s biggest star.

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Knowledge would dictate that he should be at least somewhat happy, but from the sound of Diaz’ words in a recent interview with FOX Sports, quite the opposite is true. The Stockton native said he’s just sick of how McGregor has been treated in the days after the stoppage loss:

“Completely irritated. I’ve lost decisions that I didn’t really lose and if I asked to get a rematch it was out of the question like are you kidding me, don’t even ask. But this guy is getting praised for wanting a rematch. It’s like get the (expletive) out of here, (expletive), this is the fight game.

“Whoever has lost a fight in the UFC and hasn’t wanted to fight that guy the next day shouldn’t be in the sport. All of a sudden he’s getting praised for losing and wanting a rematch? Get the (expletive) out of here, I’m sick of hearing it.”

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A longtime veteran with a highly respected reputation for both toughness and his outspoken values, Diaz had even more to say to his employers.

Read on to the next page to see how Diaz blasted the UFC….

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