Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White recognizes the severity of Cris Cyborg’s incident at a recent Athlete Retreat. Cyborg and Angela Magana had a heated verbal exchange during the festivities. Cyborg then punched Magana in the mouth. Magana was sent to the hospital and contacted police after being hit. As a result of the […]
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White recognizes the severity of Cris Cyborg’s incident at a recent Athlete Retreat. Cyborg and Angela Magana had a heated verbal exchange during the festivities. Cyborg then punched Magana in the mouth. Magana was sent to the hospital and contacted police after being hit. As a result of the […]
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was set to challenge current titleholder and bitter rival Cody Garbrandt in the main event of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas, Nevada, but a back injury to “No Love” has put the bout in jeopardy. A recent report actually indicated that Garbrandt was no longer fighting on […]
Former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw was set to challenge current titleholder and bitter rival Cody Garbrandt in the main event of July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas, Nevada, but a back injury to “No Love” has put the bout in jeopardy. A recent report actually indicated that Garbrandt was no longer fighting on July 8 and Dillashaw told ESPN.com that he was ’99 percent’ sure the fight was off.
If he doesn’t fight Garbrandt in July, Dillashaw has expressed interest in dropping down in weight to challenge dominant flyweight champion and pound-for-pound king Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. In fact, Dillashaw, who says he’s spoken to UFC President Dana White regarding the idea, says he could meet Johnson in August:
“I was told that if Cody is out of the fight, which I am 99 percent sure he is, I will be fighting [Johnson] in August,” Dillashaw said. “I texted Dana White three days ago to ask what the deal was. He told me Cody had one more day of injections [in Germany] and then we’d find out what was going on.
“Dana was really excited about that. I don’t know if [Johnson] wants to turn down the fight or what. I don’t really know how that works. I’ve never turned down a fight from the UFC before. I don’t know if you’re really allowed to — but Dana was very excited about it.”
White has indeed expressed interest in the idea, although Johnson has remained relatively quiet regarding the potential clash. “Mighty Mouse”, who recently tied Anderson Silva’s all-time consecutive title defenses record at 10, will look to make the 11th defense of his 125-pound strap in his next bout, breaking a record in the process.
Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Dillashaw feels as if Johnson should attempt to break this record in a ‘big’ fight like the one he’s proposed:
“If this fight doesn’t happen, it really comes down to him not wanting to fight me,” Dillashaw said. “I’m cutting in line? Are you kidding? That was the weakest cop-out ever.
“I want to fight the best fighter in the world and I think he does nothing but tarnish his legacy if he doesn’t take it. He can’t call himself the greatest of all time if there are big fights coming to him and he’s turning them down. He wants to break a record fighting someone no one’s ever heard of? Why not make this thing epic and sell it? He’s been talking about getting paid; this is the way to do it.”
The ex-bantamweight champion has never competed at 125 pounds before and although he admits it’d be a tough weight cut, he feels as if it’d be worth it as well. Dillashaw is also working with a new nutritionist and would make the necessary changes in order to make the flyweight limit safely:
“The way I’m going to do it is switch up the way I work out,” Dillashaw said. “I’m still going to eat well, but my diet will be very different. It will almost be an Ironman [triathlon] approach, lot of aerobic workouts. It’s going to be a hell of a change for me. I’m not a big 135-pounder but I’m lean year-round.
“Right now, I’m at like 9 percent body fat. I’m willing to cut myself to a little under 6 percent. We’ve got it all calculated out and it’s going to be a lot of work, but if the juice is worth the squeeze, you do it.”
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?
Conor McGregor’s deal for a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is done, now negotiations with “Money” himself are all that remains for the superfight of this generation to become official. Yesterday (Fri. May 19, 2017) UFC President Dana White spoke to reporters regarding the possible super fight and stated that the UFC’s side of things […]
Conor McGregor’s deal for a fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is done, now negotiations with “Money” himself are all that remains for the superfight of this generation to become official.
Yesterday (Fri. May 19, 2017) UFC President Dana White spoke to reporters regarding the possible super fight and stated that the UFC’s side of things have been handled as it pertains to the boxing bout between McGregor and Mayweather. All that remains is to come to terms on a deal with Mayweather and his manager, Al Haymon (quotes via MMA Junkie):
“The slate is clear on our side to do whatever,” UFC President Dana White said. “I don’t know what obstacles or hurdles they have to jump over.”
White said that he is set to meet with Haymon next week to begin negotiations, however, it should be noted that Mayweather is known for being difficult when it comes to talking dollars and cents at the negotiation table. There have also been conflicting reports as to wether or not White and Haymon have communicated with one another yet.
Dana White told ESPN that he has already been in contact with Haymon, while the LA Times reports that sources close to Mayweather say they have yet to speak with the UFC boss:
“There you go,” White said. “That’s funny. There you go.”
“When you get in and you start negotiating, and you start hearing the things that are on their side, you’ll know real quick whether we can get a deal done.”
When Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao, in a fight that had been hyped up for years, “Money” took home the majority of a 60-40 split between the two legendary fights. When asked if he believes McGregor has the same star-power to demand such a cut if he gets into the ring with Mayweather, White stated that “The Notorious One” is an even bigger star than Macquiao:
“Who doesn’t think that Conor isn’t a global star?” White said. “I think Conor is bigger than Pacquiao (when he fought Mayweather).”
A fight between McGregor and Mayweather has been criticized heavily by both the mixed martial arts (MMA) and boxing worlds, with some threatening to boycott the event if it were to be booked. Regardless, White believes the fight is big enough to go through with simply because it’s all everyone ever talks about:
“You can say it’s not a fight or whatever, but it’s all anybody wants to talk about,” White said. “Everywhere I go, everything I do, that’s all they want to talk about. … People can say it’s ridiculous, it’s not a fight, it should never happen, it’s lopsided, it will be this and that. It is all anybody ever wants to talk about.”
First things first. I am in no way saying that Conor McGregor would beat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, nor am I saying that the UFC lightweight champion would or should be a favorite over “Money” if the fight actually comes to fruition. Many pundits have refused to give McGregor a chance against Mayweather […]
I am in no way saying that Conor McGregor would beat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match, nor am I saying that the UFC lightweight champion would or should be a favorite over “Money” if the fight actually comes to fruition.
Many pundits have refused to give McGregor a chance against Mayweather in a boxing match and for good reason, as the brash and outspoken Irishman has never competed in a professional boxing match. Mayweather, on the other hand, is undefeated as a professional, boasting an incredible 49-0 record.
The fight of course is not official yet, but McGregor recently announced that he had signed a contract with the UFC in order to make the fight a reality. UFC President Dana White also confirmed the news, adding in that he expects to meet with Team Mayweather in the near future.
The fight would sure be a spectacle and millions will tune in with the expectation to see McGregor get outclassed. Anything can happen in a fight, however, and it’s interesting to take a look at the contest from McGregor’s perspective.
Let’s analyze five advantages the “Notorious” one could have over Mayweather:
Height
Throughout his destruction of the UFC’s featherweight division, which was capped off with an emphatic 13 second knockout over all-time great Jose Aldo at UFC 194, McGregor used his height to his advantage.
In a boxing match with Mayweather, the Irishman would enjoy this same advantage, as he stands at 5’9” tall as opposed to “Money”, who comes in at 5’8”.
Although this advantage, only one single inch, seems minute, McGregor will need every advantage he can get against the polished and experienced Mayweather. Also, the “Notorious” one is simply the bigger man, which he has been in the majority of his UFC fights. Being the bigger, longer man could potentially help McGregor avoid some of Mayweather’s shots, while aiding him in landing some big shots of his own.
This height advantage also translates into McGregor’s next advantage…
Throughout Dana White’s many years with the company, he has meticulously worked to make his vision of the UFC a reality.
For the most part, that has been a good thing as the UFC has grown from a barely legal sideshow to a mostly mainstream sports organ…
Throughout Dana White‘s many years with the company, he has meticulously worked to make his vision of the UFC a reality.
For the most part, that has been a good thing as the UFC has grown from a barely legal sideshow to a mostly mainstream sports organization with a consistently strong fan offering. Unfortunately, the path to realizing this hasn’t been a smooth one.
From sports media titans to politicians to random fans on the internet, White has lashed out at any and all who have doubted, stood in the way of or worked against his dreams. And nobody, not even UFC champions, has been exempt from this treatment.
Whether on a micro level (for example, hurting an event’s bottom line by not accepting a short-notice fight) or a macro level (for example, challenging a UFC contract in court), people who haven’t marched to White’s drum beats have been met with some level of friction, with many of those incidents playing out in the public sphere.
That has made it easy to track which fighters have been on White’s “list” over the years and even easier to figure out who is still there today.
So what names are currently on that ledger? Read on to find out.
When Mayweather fought Manny Pacquiao, in a fight that had been hyped up for years, “Money” took home the majority of a 60-40 split between the two legendary fights. When asked if he believes McGregor has the same star-power to demand such a cut if he gets into the ring with Mayweather, White stated that “The Notorious One” is an even bigger star than Macquiao:
