Video: Watch Jose Aldo’s Miserable UFC Q&A Session With Drunk Bostonians

(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

Fresh off the most embarrassing UFC Q&A ever involving CM Punk earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV., at UFC 182, the UFC thought it would be a great idea to call upon its featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo, to answer some hard-hitting questions in Boston a day before UFC Fight Night 59 (which takes place tonight, if you haven’t heard already).

It was sort of like a fair exchange, seeing how tonight’s headliner, Conor McGregor, goofed around with the Brazilian fans at his Q&A during UFC 179 weekend in Brazil, teasing the country and calling out some “mamacitas.”

If you predicted this installment was going to be as cringeworthy as the last few, then you deserve the Medal of Honor. Then again, would you rather watch these types of train wrecks, or a respectful and intelligent session with the likes of Cain Velasquez (UFC 180) or T.J. Dillashaw (UFC 181)?

It’s a tough call, really.


(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

Fresh off the most embarrassing UFC Q&A ever involving CM Punk earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV., at UFC 182, the UFC thought it would be a great idea to call upon its featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo, to answer some hard-hitting questions in Boston a day before UFC Fight Night 59 (which takes place tonight, if you haven’t heard already).

It was sort of like a fair exchange, seeing how tonight’s headliner, Conor McGregor, goofed around with the Brazilian fans at his Q&A during UFC 179 weekend in Brazil, teasing the country and calling out some “mamacitas.”

If you predicted this installment was going to be as cringeworthy as the last few, then you deserve the Medal of Honor. Then again, would you rather watch these types of train wrecks, or a respectful and intelligent session with the likes of Cain Velasquez (UFC 180) or T.J. Dillashaw (UFC 181)?

It’s a tough call, really.

But at the end of the day, the brass is already thinking ahead and promoting a contest between Aldo and McGregor for the UFC featherweight championship, considering the Irishman will crush the living hell out of that guy he’s fighting tonight.

Here are some low-points worth noting:

1:19 – Host Megan Olivi introduces Aldo to the Boston crowd, who gets booed like a classic pro wrestling heel with a smile on his face. The crowd is already chanting.

3:50 – Olivi asks “Are they serving beer here?” Gosh, she’s so naive in a really cute way.

5:20 – Co-host and translator Jorge Gurgel pleads with the audience to keep it down so he can hear the questions.

6:10 – Aldo sneaks in a gem, and says he has his mind on Dennis Siver after being asked a question of who would you rather, Anthony Pettis or T.J. Dillashaw. Either that, or Gurgel got it wrong. We don’t speak Portuguese.

6:30 – A kid who looks like a retired child actor asks Aldo if he would take McGregor seriously after he’s wearing his belt. Look, it’s kind of witty and all, but these trolling sessions are becoming excruciating.

7:34 – A guy asks what Aldo’s thoughts are on Jon Jones and the cocaine scandal, and if he’s “ever been in love with the coco himself.”

10:46 – A nine-year-old child asks what Aldo would think about fighting in Ireland once McGregor beats Siver. We’ll applaud this young hopeful for having the best question out of his peers. A future Helwani in the making.

11:43 – They take a small pause to let the fans chant. It’s getting exhaustive now, and it’s just over 10 minutes in.

12:08 – Some dude who looks like prime Kevin Smith comes up to the mic to laud McGregor, and impersonates his idol, without asking a question.

16:49 – Another young kid asks if Aldo has already started cleaning the belt for McGregor. The balls on this one.

17:45 – Olivi gets booed for saying they shouldn’t serve beer during these ordeals. A drunken buffoon immediately thanks her for “wearing those pants.” He then asks Gurgel for an Aldo vs. McGregor prediction fight, and despite initially refusing, the MMA veteran claims Aldo will beat him.

22:39 – Another wizard with a beer in hand asks roughly the same Pettis or Dillashaw question, thinking he just cracked the Da Vinci code.

24:46 – A guy asks Aldo if he will be rooting for the New England Patriots in their championship game. Sigh.

26:25 – No idea what this bonehead said.

27:17 – Lastly (for us, at least), a guy asks for Conor’s sister’s hand, and then starts chanting, “There’s Only One Conor’s Sister.” Olivi reminds this idiot McGregor has two sisters.

At least Aldo stayed strong and stood his ground with his answers, stating on multiple occasions that he’s going to beat McGregor, and had no problem playing the bad guy. After multiple questions from people reading them on their mobiles and asking for pictures, loud chanting, and a segment that went way too long, the hosts seemed completely exhausted by the end of it all.

Now, we all know the UFC will never garner the mainstream attention it truly desires, but this doesn’t help. It’s hard enough to convince a friend that MMA is really special at times, considering we have to put up with this nonsense more often than not. It also proves that UFC fans (not all of them) really fit the stereotypes of lifeless and bloodthirsty ignoramuses.

Maybe (and this is just an idea) the company should consider cleaning up these types of shindigs. When someone neat and accomplished came through our high school for a Q&A, a teacher normally stood by the mic and asked a student to tell them their question first, before spewing saliva all over the place. It wouldn’t be bad for UFC to send someone down to control the questions, or better yet, control the beer sales.

Until then, these Q&A’s will just be a big drunken party where aspiring journalists will ruin their credibility in six seconds.

Alex G.

Video: UFC Fight Night 59 Weigh-In Replay, Watch Conor McGregor Just Because

(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

The UFC Fight Night 59: “McGregor vs. Siver” weigh-in took place earlier today from Boston, MA., with all fighters on point in their respective weight classes. Check out the full video replay above, or storm to 25:10 to see what you really want.

With the Irish flag hovered around his body, Conor McGregor hit the stage, and upon making weight, bragged about hitting it right on the noggin and wrapped an imaginary title around his waist.


(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

The UFC Fight Night 59: “McGregor vs. Siver” weigh-in took place earlier today from Boston, MA., with all fighters on point in their respective weight classes. Check out the full video replay above, or storm to 25:10 to see what you really want.

With the Irish flag hovered around his body, Conor McGregor hit the stage, and upon making weight, bragged about hitting it right on the noggin and wrapped an imaginary title around his waist.

In his short interview with Mike Goldberg, after trying to swipe away Dennis Siver‘s fist:

That’s 1-4-5 … that’s championship weight. Tell Jose I’m coming.”

Other highlights include Benson Henderson and Donald Cerrone being really great friends, Ron Stallings trying to get into Uriah Hall‘s head, and Sean O’Connell tapping Matt Van Buren’s nose in a flirty kind of way. Apart from that, composure was more or less maintained, and things didn’t get all that testy (no pun intended).

Join us tomorrow night for our habitual liveblog and post-fight recaps.

Alex G. 

Five Reasons Dennis Siver Is Fighting Conor McGregor at UFC Fight Night 59


(Dennis is the guy on the right. Poster-‘shop via Jeremy Botter)

By Mike Fagan

The UFC hasn’t been subtle about fast-tracking Conor McGregor for a shot at Jose Aldo’s featherweight title, so it surprised many people when they booked the young Irishman to fight Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59, this Sunday in Boston. Why not a highly-ranked wrestler like Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, or Ricardo Lamas? The crack research team at Cage Potato dug into the data and may have figured out how the UFC came to its decision…

1. Siver is familiar with Brazilian jiu-jitsu


(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Dennis Siver made his UFC debut at UFC 70, and Mike Goldberg noted that Siver was “a German kickboxing champ” who had “defeated ten of thirteen opponents.” That’s a great record! The UFC matched him with Jess Liaudin, who was also making his promotional debut and had accumulated a 12-8 pro MMA record. Above .500! Also pretty good! Siver took down Liaudin early on, and Goldberg remarked that Siver had a lot of jiu-jitsu training. That training came in handy when he was cognizant enough to tap out to Liaudin’s armbar from guard at 1:21 of the first. People can criticize McGregor for not having fought a wrestler, but they won’t be able to say the same of a jiu-jitsu player after Sunday.

2. Siver is a model of German efficiency


(Dennis is the guy on the right. Poster-’shop via Jeremy Botter)

By Mike Fagan

The UFC hasn’t been subtle about fast-tracking Conor McGregor for a shot at Jose Aldo’s featherweight title, so it surprised many people when they booked the young Irishman to fight Dennis Siver at UFC Fight Night 59, this Sunday in Boston. Why not a highly-ranked wrestler like Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, or Ricardo Lamas? The crack research team at Cage Potato dug into the data and may have figured out how the UFC came to its decision…

1. Siver is familiar with Brazilian jiu-jitsu


(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Dennis Siver made his UFC debut at UFC 70, and Mike Goldberg noted that Siver was “a German kickboxing champ” who had “defeated ten of thirteen opponents.” That’s a great record! The UFC matched him with Jess Liaudin, who was also making his promotional debut and had accumulated a 12-8 pro MMA record. Above .500! Also pretty good! Siver took down Liaudin early on, and Goldberg remarked that Siver had a lot of jiu-jitsu training. That training came in handy when he was cognizant enough to tap out to Liaudin’s armbar from guard at 1:21 of the first. People can criticize McGregor for not having fought a wrestler, but they won’t be able to say the same of a jiu-jitsu player after Sunday.

2. Siver is a model of German efficiency


(Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

After the Liaudin fight, Siver dropped down to lightweight and split a pair of fights. He then fought Melvin Guillard, who was returning to the UFC after one fight outside the organization. Guillard knocked Siver down right off the bat with two overhand rights. Siver attempted an armbar — he had a lot of jiu-jitsu training, remember — but Guillard snuck out. Siver bravely got back to his feet before Guillard landed a right hand that stiffened his legs and another right hand that put him back on the mat. Herb Dean officially stepped in at 36 seconds of the first round. Siver went 0 for 1 in strikes, and it doesn’t get any more efficient than that.

3. Siver is an artist in the cage


(Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Siver came into this bout on a four-fight winning streak, the longest of his UFC career. As he entered the arena to Papa Roach’s “Last Resort,” Goldberg mentioned that Siver “is truly the possessor of the most dangerous spinning back kick in the UFC today, but Dennis Siver is a lot more than a spinning back kick.” Cerrone must have known this too, because he didn’t allow Siver to unleash even one. Cerrone followed up an inside leg kick with a high kick that caught Siver flush, sending him Fedor-Fujita fish-flopping. (Fedor’s a great comparison for Siver, because they were both born in Russia and they’re both great fighters.) Siver clinched and recovered, but a Cerrone right hand sent him rolling around on the mat like Lesnar-Overeem. (Brock Lesnar’s another great comparison for Siver since Siver looks like a miniature Lesnar and, of course, they’re both great fighters.) Cerrone locked up a rear-naked choke, and even Goethe would have admired Siver’s irony. Suffocation, no breathing.

4. Siver raised his stock against Manny Gamburyan


(Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Siver needed a bounceback after being finished by Cub Swanson, and he got it against Manny Gamburyan at UFC 168. Unfortunately, the Nevada commission found hCG in Siver’s system. This hormone is often naturally produced during pregnancy or by some cancerous tumors. The NSAC decided the Gamburyan fight never happened (though I assure you it did), fined him nearly $20,000, and suspended him for nine months, despite never following up on whether was pregnant and/or had cancer. The silver lining, though, is that these events helped raise Siver’s profile higher than ever before, putting him in position for the McGregor fight.

5. Siver is comfortable under pressure


(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Sunday will mark Siver’s first time in a main event, and he’s even stated that it’s the biggest fight of his career. You might worry that the heavy promotion and stature of the fight will play a role in Siver’s psyche, but you needn’t worry. Siver is coming off a victory over undefeated American wrecking machine Charles Rosa (Wikipedia page under construction) that saw him overcome the pressure of fighting on the prelim portion of a Fight Pass event in Sweden. A man who has dealt with the hostile politeness of a nonpartisan Swedish mob will not be phased by the six-degrees-of-Irish-heritage Boston crowd.

Quote of the Day: Dennis Siver Thinks Conor McGregor Should “Stick His Predictions in His Ass”


(Siver finishes Paul Kelly with a brutal spinning back kick at UFC 105. Unfortunately, all footage of this fight was lost in the Great Zuffa Fire of 2010.)

According to the advertisements that punctuated yesterday’s Packers-Cowboys game, Conor McGregor will be headlining Fight Night 59 in Boston this weekend. His opponent is something of a mystery man — a UFC newcomer hailing from parts unknown — hence the promotion’s inability to secure any footage of his previous fights. Which seems odd to me, because this mystery gentleman (Dennis Si-ver, am I saying that right?) is apparently of a high-enough caliber to earn McGregor a featherweight title shot should he emerge victorious.

Sarcasm aside, it’s safe to say that the 18-fight UFC veteran (and current +750 underdog. Can you say #1 CONTENDER MATCH!!) has been largely overlooked by the press heading into his fight with McGregor. Maybe the language barrier is to blame, or maybe it’s because Siver is not so easily wowed by the opulence of a drop-top Ferrari tour around Vegas. In any case, it’d be nice to actually hear how the #10 ranked featherweight feels about his “notorious” opponent, fighting in a main event, and being completely counted out in said main event, right?

Well thanks to the always reliable (Deutschland) MMA media, we finally can. In a recent interview with GroundandPound.de, the Russian-born, German-raised fighter took full advantage of his one-stop media tour, pulling a GSP when assessing McGregor’s skillset and laughing off the idea that he wouldn’t last more than two minutes against the Irishman. It was undeniably awesome.

Siver’s strong words are after the jump. 


(Siver finishes Paul Kelly with a brutal spinning back kick at UFC 105. Unfortunately, all footage of this fight was lost in the Great Zuffa Fire of 2010.)

According to the advertisements that punctuated yesterday’s Packers-Cowboys game, Conor McGregor will be headlining Fight Night 59 in Boston this weekend. His opponent is something of a mystery man — a UFC newcomer hailing from parts unknown — hence the promotion’s inability to secure any footage of his previous fights. Which seems odd to me, because this mystery gentleman (Dennis Si-ver, am I saying that right?) is apparently of a high-enough caliber to earn McGregor a featherweight title shot should he emerge victorious.

Sarcasm aside, it’s safe to say that the 18-fight UFC veteran (and current +750 underdog. Can you say #1 CONTENDER MATCH!!) has been largely overlooked by the press heading into his fight with McGregor. Maybe the language barrier is to blame, or maybe it’s because Siver is not so easily wowed by the opulence of a drop-top Ferrari tour around Vegas. In any case, it’d be nice to actually hear how the #10 ranked featherweight feels about his “notorious” opponent, fighting in a main event, and being completely counted out in said main event, right?

Well thanks to the always reliable (Deutschland) MMA media, we finally can. In a recent interview with GroundandPound.de, the Russian-born, German-raised fighter took full advantage of his one-stop media tour, pulling a GSP when assessing McGregor’s skillset and laughing off the idea that he wouldn’t last more than two minutes against the Irishman. It was undeniably awesome.

Everyone thinks I’ve already lost the fight. You can’t hype someone after four fights. In his last fight he has looked good, but the battle was only two minutes or so. For me he landed a fluke punch [against Dustin Poirier], because until then, the whole thing was even. And his fights before that were also nothing special. I’m not impressed at all. He promised to beat me in two minutes, but he can stick that prediction in his ass.

When I finish him on Sunday, I’ll laugh. I can understand all that shit talking in front of the camera, but when he does it privately, behind the scenes, that proves to me he is an asshole.

You hear that, Conor? MY BOY DENNY SEEVES IS NOT IMPRESSED!!!

Truthfully, I’m at something an impasse when it comes to the McGregor-Siver matchup. While I know that McGregor is the kind of brash, marketable personality that the UFC is in increasingly dire need of these days, I would literally give 2 liters of my own blood for the chance to see Dana White’s immediate reaction following a Siver upset (which would hopefully include the angry application of some lip balm). I would bathe in his rage, and it would be glorious.

It’s good to know that fate is on my side, at least. The MMA Gods are nothing if not a vengeful group of bitter misanthropes who get off on our sadness, and throwing a wrench into the hype-machine that is McGregor seems like the perfect opportunity to remind us (and the UFC) not to count our chickens before they hatch. Either that, or they’ll tear CM Punk’s ACL a week out from his first scheduled UFC fight…

I’m onto you, MMA Gods.

J. Jones

Is Conor McGregor Worthy of a Featherweight Title Shot? CagePotato Explains Why It Makes Sense [VIDEO]

Earlier this week, BG chewed the fat with the TYT Sports gang about Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier. (We also shot a segment wondering what might be next for Jon Jones, but it looks like we already have an answer to that.)

Here’s a bonus clip from our conversation, about the UFC’s reported plan to award Conor McGregor a title shot against Jose Aldo if he can get past Dennis Siver later this month at UFC Fight Night 59. Is this the right move by the UFC? And will McGregor blow through Siver as quickly as he claims? The answers await you in the video above. Thanks for watching, and follow TYT Sports on twitter if you like sports-things.

Earlier this week, BG chewed the fat with the TYT Sports gang about Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier. (We also shot a segment wondering what might be next for Jon Jones, but it looks like we already have an answer to that.)

Here’s a bonus clip from our conversation, about the UFC’s reported plan to award Conor McGregor a title shot against Jose Aldo if he can get past Dennis Siver later this month at UFC Fight Night 59. Is this the right move by the UFC? And will McGregor blow through Siver as quickly as he claims? The answers await you in the video above. Thanks for watching, and follow TYT Sports on twitter if you like sports-things.

Conor McGregor’s Financial Advice: Blow All Your Money, Stay Hungry [VIDEO]

Leading up to UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Whoever, the UFC is going full speed ahead on the Conor McGregor hype-train. (Count the number of times that Dennis Siver appears in this “McGregor Era” promo. Zero. The answer is zero.) And in all of their promotion, McGregor is made out to be a phenom, an uncrowned king, one of the biggest stars in the world — potentially, at least.

But this UFC Ultimate Insider segment on McGregor uses a different tactic: Presenting McGregor as a real human being. He has a sister who he used to scrap with as a child, and parents who were worried about their son giving up a stable life as a plumber to pursue cage-fighting. His mom maybe still doesn’t know what MMA is. (“Da boxin’ kind of gave him a complete different outlook,” she says.) At the 1:54 mark, Conor’s father Tony describes one of his son’s early fights against “an Eastern European guy…ex-Special Forces from Russia.” Tony can barely get through the story before he gets choked up. “That was a defining moment for me,” Tony says. “Boy become man.”

It’s a powerful moment, and it makes McGregor so much more relatable than all of his usual bluster. I also enjoyed this charming — and so utterly Irish — monologue that McGregor makes on the topic of money:

Leading up to UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Whoever, the UFC is going full speed ahead on the Conor McGregor hype-train. (Count the number of times that Dennis Siver appears in this “McGregor Era” promo. Zero. The answer is zero.) And in all of their promotion, McGregor is made out to be a phenom, an uncrowned king, one of the biggest stars in the world — potentially, at least.

But this UFC Ultimate Insider segment on McGregor uses a different tactic: Presenting McGregor as a real human being. He has a sister who he used to scrap with as a child, and parents who were worried about their son giving up a stable life as a plumber to pursue cage-fighting. His mom maybe still doesn’t know what MMA is. (“Da boxin’ kind of gave him a complete different outlook,” she says.) At the 1:54 mark, Conor’s father Tony describes one of his son’s early fights against “an Eastern European guy…ex-Special Forces from Russia.” Tony can barely get through the story before he gets choked up. “That was a defining moment for me,” Tony says. “Boy become man.”

It’s a powerful moment, and it makes McGregor so much more relatable than all of his usual bluster. I also enjoyed this charming — and so utterly Irish — monologue that McGregor makes on the topic of money:

You ever hear the saying, ‘It’s hard to get up and run when you’re wearing silk underwear’? As if to say, like, I made some money, it’s hard to actually get up and motivate. But I’ve got a foolproof plan: When you get your money, spend every penny of it. Blow it all, until you’re actually broke come the next fight. So you’re just as hungry as you were before the first one. So I’m in the process of blowing every penny of that. Every f*ckin’ penny of it, yeah?

Then, he goes suit shopping. Please, somebody make me a Vine of 5:44-5:46. Thanks.