Tag: Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz Rematch

Quote: Conor McGregor Is Going To Take A Dump

With an absolutely monstrous amount of speculation, hype, and arguing going on over featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s ‘retirement’ and unceremonious removal from his feature rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 200, it’s hard to decipher exactly why ‘The Notorious’ has stirred up the drama he has. The most obvious surface reason would be money, but

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With an absolutely monstrous amount of speculation, hype, and arguing going on over featherweight champion Conor McGregor’s ‘retirement’ and unceremonious removal from his feature rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 200, it’s hard to decipher exactly why ‘The Notorious’ has stirred up the drama he has.

The most obvious surface reason would be money, but UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta recently begged the question as to why a fighter making $10 million for his next bout would cause problems. McGregor has insisted that he needs to get back to the roots of his once-arduous training after getting mercilessly submitted by Diaz at March’s UFC 196, and he cited that as the reason he couldn’t attend the initial round of promotional press conferences for UFC 200.

However, regardless of the validity of his stance or not, many believe that McGregor was exposed against Diaz and is headed for a big fall, so he’s looking to make as big a payday as possible for a fight he most likely won’t win. One such believer in that theory is top-ranked lightweight Eddie Alvarez, who will take on champion Rafael dos Anjos in the first card of the UFC’s jam-packed weekend that will cap off July’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.

Alvarez revealed a simple gameplan to beat McGregor prior to Diaz’ win over McGregor, and it involved taking the Irishman to the mat and submitting him as his opponents had done in his prior two losses. Speaking up to MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Alvarez reiterated the step-to-step focus of his plan:

“The secret I was talking about is just taking the guy down, dumping him on his head, and then submitting him.”

eddie alvarez 1

As for Diaz’ prior win over McGregor, Alvarez insisted McGregor wasn’t ready for the bigger, rangier boxer after facing much smaller competition at his usual home of featherweight:

“Nate has a reach, and I think everybody was so up on Conor, and Nate just has this, he has a weirdly long, long reach, and it’s difficult to deal with,” Alvarez said. “Unless you have guys in front of you who are 6’, 6’2″ boxers throwing punches at you, it’s hard to prepare in that way. He’s sort of an awkward opponent to deal with, and you need the right guys in front of you to deal with that. Conor just couldn’t adjust.”

And while McGregor may have been submitted in his perceived area of weakness on the ground, he also appeared to gas in the second round to open up the way for Diaz to lock on a fight-ending choke. After witnessing the outspoken superstar fade, Alvarez doesn’t believe McGregor will be a championship fighter because he doesn’t have the stamina for more than two rounds:

“And to be honest with you, Conor’s a one-or-two-round fighter,” Alvarez said. “He’s not a championship fighter, you know what I mean? He’s a one-or-two-round guy. He’ll be a lifer, I think, in three-rounders. If he ever decides to do five-rounders or go past to five, I think most of his fights are going to look like that. He’s going to take a dump.”

Finally, even though Diaz vs. McGregor II is off UFC 200 (for now at least), McGregor insisted earlier today that ‘no one gives a f*ck about these other fights’ as he prompted the UFC to ‘run it back,’ so a rematch could go down sometime shortly thereafter; perhaps either at UFC 201 or 202 later this year. If and when that does happen, Alvarez is picking Diaz to win once again as many have already predicted him to do:

“Oh, yeah [I’m expecting Diaz to win again],” Alvarez said. “Look, Conor couldn’t even win for two rounds. If he has to deal with any amount of adversity, how’s he going to end up winning? He was beating the sh*t out of Nate. If you can’t win for two rounds, how are you going to be in a fight with Nate Diaz? He was winning. He was beating the sh*t out of him. And he couldn’t keep up with his own winning. That was odd to me.”

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UFC Owner ‘Never Thought’ Conor McGregor Would Give Him Problems

In all of the recent chaos of featherweight champ Conor McGregor’s ‘retirement’ and UFC-imposed withdrawal from his scheduled rematch with ate Diaz in the main event of July 9’s UFC 200, UFC President Dana White has largely kept things professional by insisting the promotion’s relationship with ‘The Notorious’ is still strong. While that may not

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In all of the recent chaos of featherweight champ Conor McGregor’s ‘retirement’ and UFC-imposed withdrawal from his scheduled rematch with ate Diaz in the main event of July 9’s UFC 200, UFC President Dana White has largely kept things professional by insisting the promotion’s relationship with ‘The Notorious’ is still strong.

While that may not be what we’re accustomed to from the normally outspoken White, there have been some rumblings in the MMA world that it wasn’t his idea to pull the ultra-popular McGregor from the historic card. Supposedly that call came from UFC co-owner and Las Vegas icon Lorenzo Fertitta, and he apparently revealed a bit of discord with McGregor in a recent conversation with longtime UFC referee ‘Big’ John McCarthy.

McCarthy stated on his “Let’s Get It On” podcast that he spoke with Fertitta backstage at last weekend’s (Sat., April 23, 2015) UFC 197, and the prominent exec was surprised that a fighter making so much money was actually giving him problems:

“I talked to Lorenzo Fertitta at UFC 197, standing in the back, and we started talking. He said, ‘I never thought that when I had a guy who was guaranteed ten million dollars I would have a problem with him.”

It could be a great point from Fertitta, who’s understandably focused on McGregor’s pay, the first fighter to ever receive a flat $1,000,000 purse for his loss to Diaz this March and countless other millions in pay-per-view (PPV) revenue and endorsements.

McGregor has routinely said his decision to skip the UFC 200 press conferences is not about his profits but rather his need to get back to training full-time in order to beat a bigger opponent. However, that’s just part of the game, and he had no problem spouting off at every single presser when he was knocking out smaller fighters in rapid succession.

He rapidly rose to the position of MMA’s biggest drawing star, yet the UFC’s owner is miffed that he is a headache given his already sky-high paydays. This is a situation that’s unlikely to go away anytime soon, but perhaps ‘The Notorious’ would be rise to keep his employer happy.

Do you believe he should, or are you happy a fighter finally stood up to the world’s foremost MMA promotion in a big way?

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UFC 200 Press Conference LIVE From New York At 2 PM EST

After unveiling the new UFC 200 main event on “Good Morning America” today (Wed., April 27, 2016), the UFC will continue their massive promotional blitz for the July blockbuster event from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a press conference from New York starting at 2 p.m. EST. While featherweight champion Conor

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After unveiling the new UFC 200 main event on “Good Morning America” today (Wed., April 27, 2016), the UFC will continue their massive promotional blitz for the July blockbuster event from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a press conference from New York starting at 2 p.m. EST.

While featherweight champion Conor McGregor obviously won’t be at the event after getting pulled from his previously scheduled main event rematch with Nate Diaz, a slate of other elite UFC stars will be on hand to bolster the hype of the historic event and answer questions from the media.

Watch Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, Miesha Tate, Frankie Edgar, Jose Aldo, and more talk about UFC 200 in a few short moments right here:

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Both Sides Of The Conor McGregor Fiasco Are At Fault – And Both Have A Good Point

Following a week of back-and-forth drama, it’s safe to say that the ongoing feud between the UFC and recently ‘un-retired’ UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has reached a fever pitch, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t somehow be taken to an all-new level tomorrow. The drawn-out saga has many twists, turns, and details,

The post Both Sides Of The Conor McGregor Fiasco Are At Fault – And Both Have A Good Point appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Following a week of back-and-forth drama, it’s safe to say that the ongoing feud between the UFC and recently ‘un-retired’ UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has reached a fever pitch, although that doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t somehow be taken to an all-new level tomorrow.

The drawn-out saga has many twists, turns, and details, but in an effort to save you, our faithful readers, some time, let’s break it down in a (short as possible) nutshell: McGregor retired online last Tuesday, Dana White responded that McGregor was pulled off of UFC 200 and his rematch with Nate Diaz after he had refused to fly to Las Vegas for last Friday’s press conference, ‘The Notorious’ then tweeted he had worked it out with his employers yesterday, to which White responded that no such thing had been worked out, and McGregor ultimately remains off the card as it now stands.

He could most certainly end up on the card, as it’s been reported that having McGregor on the massive card would provide an economic boom totaling as much as $45 million according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, but it looks like the UFC is standing their ground on this one in an effort to no longer let ‘The Notorious’ call the shots. He’s certainly done plenty of that to this point, and it could also be argued that his desire and ability to do so is what got him in this sticky situation in the first place, as his move up a weight class to face lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos ultimately resulted in him facing and losing to late replacement Nate Diaz at UFC 196.

We’ll apparently find out if the UFC is truly booting him off of UFC 200 tonight, as MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani tweeted that fans looking to buy tickets for UFC 200 tomorrow (Wed., April 27, 2016) wouldn’t be forced to do so without knowing the main event:

It could be McGregor vs. Diaz back on the card, yet it could just as easily or even more easily be Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones II for the light heavyweight gold. But regardless of what UFC 200’s main event actually ends up being, at the core of the issue, it would seem that both sides have their faults in this bordering-on pointless and contrite rivalry between the world’s biggest MMA promotion and its biggest star. Let’s take a look at both points of view.

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Former UFC Champ: Dana White Is Throwing A ‘Fit’ Over McGregor

Exactly one week after UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor ‘retired’ with a now-infamous tweet, it’s probably safe to say that we haven’t seen a media circus quite like this one in MMA’s entire existence. Dana White responded to McGregor’s supposed stepping down by clarifying that the promotion had pulled ‘The Notorious’ from rematch with Nate

The post Former UFC Champ: Dana White Is Throwing A ‘Fit’ Over McGregor appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Exactly one week after UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor ‘retired’ with a now-infamous tweet, it’s probably safe to say that we haven’t seen a media circus quite like this one in MMA’s entire existence.

Dana White responded to McGregor’s supposed stepping down by clarifying that the promotion had pulled ‘The Notorious’ from rematch with Nate Diaz in the UFC 200 headliner when he refused to leave Iceland to attend last Friday’s press conference, and even though the at-times emotional exec said the fences could be mended if the Irish superstar contacted him, it appears as if the UFC is sticking to their guns.

Never was that more clear than yesterday (Mon., April 25, 2016), when McGregor tweeted that he was back on UFC 200 in addition to his gratitude to his employers. White was quick to rebuff that statement to both TMZ and The Los Angeles Times, and here we stand with the UFC holding steadfast in an effort to not give ‘The Notorious’ any more preferential treatment than he’s already gotten.

However, one former UFC champion thinks that White and Lorenzo Fertitta should do just that. Discussing the scenario in a recent appearance with Submission Radio, revered UFC legend and outspoken personality Don Frye spoke up with his view that McGregor was indeed right because the UFC’s promotional schedule is too much, and they should have given him space to train:

“I think he’s right. He’s spot on. I mean that takes so much god damn time away from you. You’re hired to be a fighter not to be an interview, you know, or interviewee. You’ve got things to do. When you’re training for a fight it’s a 24/7 job, and if they got you doing more interviews and promoting than they do fighting, well then you’re not going to last long. You’re not going to have a long career.”

According to Frye, White is now throwing one of his normal ‘fits’ that began when McGregor attempted to make a power play. Frye noted that fighting is an extremely  demanding sport on one’s body,and McGregor must be prepared:

“How do I say this without being rude? I guess I can’t, so I’ll piss on it. You know, Dana likes everything his way and if he doesn’t get his way he throws a fit, and that’s what’s happening. You know, and Conor’s spot on, man. You can’t spend more time doing interviews than training. This is a dangerous sport, okay? And the thing is, it went from a fight to a sport to a TV show. And it’s still a dangerous thing. And so you gotta prepare yourself for it, because shit, just training – if you’re in one of those fights and you’re not hurt, you don’t get hurt, it still takes two weeks to recover cause of all the hard training. But if you’re not training you’re going to get hurt.”

As far as what Frye said he would do to fix UFC 200’s main event, his plan was to completely give in to McGregor’s demands to save the show, which would certainly lose millions of dollars if he didn’t fight. It may or may not work, but it could be a moot point as the UFC doesn’t appear to be willing to bargain as Frye suggested:

“Ah hell, I would fly Conor in and take him out, wine him and dine him, tell him, ‘Okay, what do I gotta do to get you on the fight card and how many promos can I get from ya?’ You know, ‘We gotta push the show so we’re going to need some interviews. So how many are you willing to do?’”

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Nate Diaz Says He’s On Vacation With Conor McGregor Off UFC 200

It seems Nate Diaz has had enough of Conor McGregor’s ‘retirement’ talk and all the drama that goes along with it. McGregor infamously tweeted out his early retirement on Tuesday last week (April 19, 2016), and the ensuing windfall consumed the entire MMA universe in a week of back-and-forth tension between ‘Notorious’ and the UFC

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It seems Nate Diaz has had enough of Conor McGregor’s ‘retirement’ talk and all the drama that goes along with it.

McGregor infamously tweeted out his early retirement on Tuesday last week (April 19, 2016), and the ensuing windfall consumed the entire MMA universe in a week of back-and-forth tension between ‘Notorious’ and the UFC that continues to this day.

UFC President Dana White stood firm that the promotion removed the brash Irish wordsmith from his anticipated (at least by him) rematch with Diaz at the blockbuster UFC 200 this summer due to McGregor’s refusal to show up for a press conference for the event last Friday as he stayed in Iceland to continue training.

McGregor, who un-retired last Thursday with a seething, scintillating statement that focused on his own belief that he had earned certain exceptions due to his massive drawing pay-per-view (PPV) performances. But the UFC didn’t agree. And when Diaz showed up to the press conference in question, the Stockton vet said he wouldn’t fight anyone but McGregor at UFC, instead choosing to go on vacation after stopping McGregor at UFC 196.

Tonight, he’s apparently made good on that promise, posting the following message on Twitter:

He apparently remains off of UFC 200, too, as the ‘Notorious’ tweeted that he had thankfully made his way back to the card early this morning, only to be rebuffed by White, who said he hadn’t talked with McGregor or his management.

While varied viewpoints could hold at least some weight on both sides of the tale here, one thing is fully certain: McGregor being off the biggest card of 2016 is a massively financial hit to the UFC, rumored to be in the $45 million range. Diaz on vacation and off the card doesn’t help, either, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the two sides work things out to get both high-profile competitors back on UFC 200.

It also wouldn’t be a surprise to see the UFC stick to their guns and leave Diaz on vacation.

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