UFC Champion Calls Out Khabib In Viral Tweet

There has been a never-ending string of opinions in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ill-timed brawl following his UFC 229 main event win over Conor McGregor. The UFC’s biggest-ever pay-per-view event last Saturday (Oct. 6, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, was supposed to be ‘The Eagle’s’ crowning achievement. In one way […]

The post UFC Champion Calls Out Khabib In Viral Tweet appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

There has been a never-ending string of opinions in the wake of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s ill-timed brawl following his UFC 229 main event win over Conor McGregor.

The UFC’s biggest-ever pay-per-view event last Saturday (Oct. 6, 2018) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, was supposed to be ‘The Eagle’s’ crowning achievement. In one way it was, as he submitted former two-division champion McGregor. However, that potentially historic win was marred by his actions shortly thereafter.

Khabib leaped into the crowd to fight McGregor’s training partner Dillon Danis, inciting a wildfire of violence. Three of Khabib’s teammates then scaled the cage and assaulted the Irish superstar. The bad blood definitely stems from McGregor’s infamous Brooklyn bus attack, and that’s understandable.

However, UFC 229 provided the stoic Khabib with the opportunity to shut McGregor up in the Octagon. He did that. But his normally soft-spoken style was uprooted by his actions. One UFC champion believes Khabib should not have allowed McGregor’s disrespect to change his own actions.

That man is middleweight champion Robert Whittaker. “Bobby Knuckles” sent a well-liked tweet Khabib’s way containing a deep quote about respect:

A Good Point

The 185-pound ruler has a good point. Nurmagomedov spent the majority of the build-up to UFC 229 keeping his mouth shut even though he probably wanted to explode inside.

Khabib accomplished his ultimate goal and dominated McGregor from pillar to post. There was no need to stoop to his level and commit outside-the-cage violence. The commission presiding over UFC 229 is not impressed and admitted that in a recent statement.

Khabib and McGregor will both face a complaint from the NSAC for their parts in the melee. The champion’s situation seems to be a bit more dire as the commission withheld his purse. Dana White doesn’t believe the NSAC should keep his whole $2,000,000 or strip him of the title. Khabib’s punishment is very much up in the air.

He’s soared up the UFC pound-for-pound rankings in the meantime.

The post UFC Champion Calls Out Khabib In Viral Tweet appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor Addresses Hand Injury Concerns

Some people were concerned with an apparent hand injury Conor McGregor was sporting recently.

The post Conor McGregor Addresses Hand Injury Concerns appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Conor McGregor is back.

“The Notorious” will headline this weekend’s (Sat. October 6, 2018) UFC 229 pay-per-view (PPV). McGregor is challenging Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight championship. He returned to the mixed martial arts (MMA) spotlight over a week ago at a UFC 229 press conference.

While McGregor’s outlandish statements and witty antics stole the show, something else caught fans’ eyes. McGregor was sporting an apparent injury on his finger. “Mystic Mac” addressed this in an interview on “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” recently.

McGregor revealed that the mark on his finger was the result of a freak sparring accident. The Irishman hit his sparring partner with a clean, hard shot which resulted in his opponent’s tooth becoming embedded in his hand (via Bloody Elbow):

“Only the strong survive around this game. I was fighting a 90-kilo fighter, Ion Pascu, he’s a great solid fighter. They call him the bomber. Like me, I sometimes spar without a gum shield. I was sparring this guy, The Bomber, and I smacked him with a clean shot, and his tooth embedded into me.”

“A man’s tooth was embedded into my knuckle. Welcome to the fight game. The real fight game. Not that tip-tap sh-t you see so much of. You’ve got to get in and do it. You’re either going to do it or you’re not going to do it. Make a decision. It is what it is.”

It doesn’t sound like that injury will hinder McGregor’s performance this weekend. He is still prepared to make the walk to the Octagon in hopes of handing “The Eagle” the first loss of his MMA career. McGregor also hopes to reclaim the lightweight title he never lost.

The post Conor McGregor Addresses Hand Injury Concerns appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

GSP Says Fighters Who Use PEDs Shouldn’t Be In GOAT Discussion

GSP continues his stance against previous PED users being in discussions as the GOAT.

The post GSP Says Fighters Who Use PEDs Shouldn’t Be In GOAT Discussion appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

GSP says fighters with a history of PED usage should not be in the talks of GOAT in mixed martial arts.

For years now before the induction of USADA, the former welterweight and middleweight champ has made his opinion strong. Thus, that was one of the reasons that he took time off before his most recent fight.

St-Pierre decided to take a break from MMA following his split decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. During his MMA career, St-Pierre made nine successful title defenses and held an overall pro-MMA record of 26–2.

The former UFC welterweight and middleweight champion returned to competition in November of 2017 after four years away from the sport to win the middleweight title.

The ending of that fight went down with a submission victory in the third round over Michael Bisping at UFC 217. However, shortly after the fight, he had to vacate the title as he is dealing with colitis.

St-Pierre Disapproves

During a recent interview with MMA Fighting, GSP went on record by stating that it makes a difference between those who use PEDs and those who don’t. Thus, he thinks that fighters with past PED usage should be removed from GOAT discussions.

“It makes such a difference,” St-Pierre told MMA Fighting. “People have no idea how much of a difference, and I know it because I’ve trained with people who are using peak performance-enhancing drugs. I’ve trained with a lot of them, that I know for sure.

“I’ve trained with them, and you could see a huge difference. Like, when you grapple with them, it’s not even the same guy. It’s like if you’re taking two different human beings. It’s completely insane.

Disqualified From The GOAT Discussion

St-Pierre went into detail about his view on performance-enhancing drug (PEDs). He claimed they not only affect the physical aspect of fighting, but also the athlete’s mind and the persona as a whole.

Because of that, St-Pierre believes those caught using them should be removed from the conversation for the greatest of all-time:

“Also, not only the physique, it changes the mind of the person. So with people, they think it’s only affecting strength and conditioning and stuff like that. No, it doesn’t. It’s not only recuperation — it changes the person entirely. It makes him a better athlete. And yes, I think they should be removed from the [GOAT discussion].”

He did add it’s difficult to know if longtime fighters who got caught using PEDs once or twice were lifelong users. GSP believes there’s a stark grey area as a result:

“It’s very hard to say that,” St-Pierre added, “because a lot of people, they work hard. We know if they got caught once or twice, but we don’t know if they’re all taking it for all of their life or not, so it’s a hard topic to say. It’s not black or white. It’s grey.”

The post GSP Says Fighters Who Use PEDs Shouldn’t Be In GOAT Discussion appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Check Out The Full UFC 229 Fight Week Schedule

The full fight week schedule for UFC 229 has finally been announced.

The post Check Out The Full UFC 229 Fight Week Schedule appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC 229 fight week is quickly approaching.

Conor McGregor will be making his highly-anticipated Octagon return next weekend (Sat. October 6, 2018). “The Notorious” will challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title. McGregor and Khabib will be headlining UFC 229 on pay-per-view (PPV).

Last week, McGregor and Khabib came face-to-face for the first time. Unfortunately, the press conference wasn’t open to the public and was only accessible to media. Next week, however, that all changes.

UFC fight week kicks off October 3rd with open workouts for UFC 229. The following night, McGregor and Khabib will participate in a public press conference to promote the fight.

And finally, on October 5th, the night before the big event, ceremonial weigh-ins will be held at the T-Mobile Arena. Check out the full UFC 229 fight week schedule here:

UFC 229 Open Workouts

Date: October 3, 2018

Location: Park Theater
3770 S. Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Time: 3:30 P.M. PT

Participants:

  • Khabib Nurmagomedov
  • Conor McGregor
  • Tony Ferguson
  • Anthony Pettis

UFC 229 Press Conference

Date: October 4, 2018

Location: Park Theater
3770 S. Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Time: 3:00 P.M. PT

Participants:

  • Khabib Nurmagomeodv
  • Conor McGregor
  • Dana White

UFC 229 Ceremonial Weigh-Ins

Date: October 5, 2018

Location: T-Mobile Arena
3780 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89158

Time: 5:00 P.M. PT

The post Check Out The Full UFC 229 Fight Week Schedule appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Scott Coker Discusses Eddie Alvarez Possibly Re-Signing With Bellator

Could “The Underground King” be on his way back to Bellator?

The post Scott Coker Discusses Eddie Alvarez Possibly Re-Signing With Bellator appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

There’s been a ton of speculation on if Eddie Alvarez could be returning to Bellator MMA.

Bellator MMA President Scott Coker was asked about the matter by MMA Fighting at Bellator 206 media day. In regards to seeing Alvarez back in Bellator, Coker said it doesn’t seem likely at this point. He admitted Bellator personnel spoke to Alvarez, but nothing came out of it :

“It doesn’t seem likely at this point,” Coker said. “I think that they had a conversation with Eddie and I’m not sure where it’s at. But I don’t think it took a second, it wasn’t like it was something that was picking up any steam so I’m not sure.”

Alvarez was previously with Bellator and was essentially the face of the promotion. He even competed on Bellator 1 in 2009. “The Underground King” put on a pair of absolute classic 155-pound title fights with Michael Chandler.

Unfortunately, the Philadelphia native didn’t get along too well with former promotion President Bjorn Rebney. He was later released from his contract in 2014 before signing with the UFC. Alvarez defeated Rafael dos Anjos via first-round knockout to win the UFC lightweight title in July of 2016.

Later that year, Alvarez would be one-half of one of the biggest fights in UFC history. He headlined the UFC’s first card from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Unfortunately for him, he dropped the 155-pound title to Conor McGregor via second-round knockout.

Alvarez fought out the final bout on his UFC contract this past July. He put on a heavy-hitting affair with Dustin Poirier in Calgary, which he lost via TKO. It will be interesting to see where “The Underground King” winds up.

The post Scott Coker Discusses Eddie Alvarez Possibly Re-Signing With Bellator appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Second UFC 229 Press Conference Will Be Open To Fans

If you thought the first #UFC 229 presser was insane, wait until you factor in McGregor’s rowdy Irish fans.

The post Second UFC 229 Press Conference Will Be Open To Fans appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Prepare for the biggest fight week, arguably, in UFC history.

Next weekend (Sat. October 6, 2018) Conor McGregor will make his highly-anticipated return to the Octagon. The Irishman will challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the 155-pound title. Title aside, McGregor and Nurmagomedov have some deeply personal issues with one another.

Last week, McGregor and Khabib participated in a press conference to promote the fight. Despite the fact that the event was still outrageous, it was not open to the public as per usual. McGregor’s press conference appearances are usually elevated by his rowdy Irish fans egging him on in the crowd.

While we didn’t get to witness that last week, fear not, for the return of the Irish is upon us. The UFC has announced that a second press conference is scheduled for this Thursday (October 4, 2018). McGregor and Khabib will verbally joust once again, but this time, it will be open to the public.

New York City played host to the first presser between McGregor and Khabib. Thursday’s festivities will take place from the Park Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference will kick off at 3:00 PT. McGregor, Khabib, and UFC President Dana White will all be present for the event.

For those of you in the Las Vegas area wishing to attend, admission is free. McGregor and Khabib will settle their differences inside the cage two days later. UFC 229 goes down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 6th.

The post Second UFC 229 Press Conference Will Be Open To Fans appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.