Photo: Conor McGregor Showboats While Sparring Former Boxing Champ

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor continues his preparation to take on, arguably, the greatest boxer of all time in his own backyard. Next month on August 26th, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will play host to the biggest combat sporting event of all time. McGregor, a proven knockout artist in the sport of […]

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UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor continues his preparation to take on, arguably, the greatest boxer of all time in his own backyard.

Next month on August 26th, the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada will play host to the biggest combat sporting event of all time. McGregor, a proven knockout artist in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), will make his professional boxing debut against the undefeated 49-0 Floyd Mayweather Jr. in attempt to pull off the most shocking upset in recent sports memory.

The pair took place in a four stop World Tour earlier this month to promote the bout, in which they unloaded a ton of controversial trash-talk against one another. After getting the promotional side of thigs done for the time being, “Notorious” and “Money” can now focus on their physical preparations for the fight.

McGregor has been busy getting in rounds over in Las Vegas with a variety of training partners. Recently, the Irishman decided to bring on former two-weight boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi as a sparring partner. The 155-pound champ posted the following picture of he and Malignaggi sparring, and the UFC mega-star can be seen showboating with his hands behind his back as his adversary stands in front of him:

Malignaggi took to Twitter himself to comment on his sparring sessions with “The Notorious One,” and although he was reluctant to give any details on how the session went, he did note that they were ‘good rounds’ and that he looked forward to continuing to help McGregor prepare for Mayweather:

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Floyd Mayweather’s “Juicehead” Bodyguard Offers To Take USADA Drug Test

Most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans and media members will most likely agree they are glad that last week’s exhausting Mayweather vs. McGregor world tour is over, as the media spectacle hyping August 26’s boxing super fight from Las Vegas devolved into a contrived circus of off-color and unnecessary back-and-forths plain and simple. Those unadvisable […]

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Most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans and media members will most likely agree they are glad that last week’s exhausting Mayweather vs. McGregor world tour is over, as the media spectacle hyping August 26’s boxing super fight from Las Vegas devolved into a contrived circus of off-color and unnecessary back-and-forths plain and simple.

Those unadvisable gaffs included McGregor’s supposed ongoing racism, claims he denied only to continue making even more crass and specific jokes concerning race, this time while humping the air at Brooklyn’s absolute flop of a press conference. Mayweather, perhaps miffed and looking to do the Irishman one better, did just as bad when he blurted out a homophobic slur at McGregor.

The press event tour did produce some equally memorable moments, however, as many felt the second stop in Toronto pushed the hype into the stratosphere. And much of it was because of McGregor’s golden tongue, as he spit out slick, stinging one-liners that required so little effort that it seemed to bring out the old, seemingly long-gone trash-talking version of Mayweather.

One joke among several that stuck for McGregor was his reference of Mayweather’s muscled bodyguards as ‘juiceheads’ after they ‘formed Voltron’ around him at the Brooklyn conference. One of those security specialists is named Greg La Rosa, and he recently addressed the situation in an interview with Submission Radio (via Bloody Elbow):

“….He looked over at me and the other guy Ray (Jizzy Mack) and he said, ‘look at these two juice heads,’” La Rosa recalled. “So I guess at that point he probably had enough of him, he had to go at me. So I thought it was very, he looked at me and he said, ‘look at these two juice heads,’ and Floyd, I can’t remember what Floyd said after that. Floyd said something after that.”

“So I think he walked away for a bit and then he came back and said some stuff to me like, ‘you’re on juice,’ and I told him right there, I said, ‘no, never,’” he continued. “I said, ‘I’m not’. I said, ‘I’ll do a USADA test right now and I’ll bet you a hundred thousand dollars that I’m not,’ and he said, ‘yeah right, yeah right,’ and I said, ‘I’ll take it right now, I’ll take the blood right after the show.’”

“And it kind of got him like, ‘no way’ and he said, I think he said something along the lines of, ‘this is a real body,’ or something. And then I just told him, I said, ‘you know what, when you’re standing next to me’, I said, ‘put on a shirt cause you’re embarrassing yourself standing next to me’. I figured it would just rattle him up a little bit. That’s all it is for me.”

SHOWTIME Sports

So La Rosa is just trying to get inside McGregor’s head and help Team Money pick up the win in the massive super fight, yet no one has yet to do that in any of his fights in MMA. “The Notorious” is clearly one of the most confident athletes in combat sports, but he is going up against a legendary fighter whom many feel is arguably the greatest boxer of all-time.

La Rosa acknowledged his skills and praised McGregor for his accomplishments in both the cage and in promotion, but overall, he thinks the UFC’s leading name is just out of his league here, and that became clear when he rubbed Mayweather’s head at the final world tour stop in London:

“Conor’s an excellent athlete, he’s an even better promoter, I take my hat off to him,” La Rosa said. “He’s done things in four years that people didn’t even think were possible, so I got nothing negative to say in that aspect. But in terms of getting in Floyd’s head – impossible. I believe the turning point of what showed that he couldn’t get in his head is at the point when he touched his head in London.

“To me, that showed a sign of weakness in Conor because basically, the touch, you’re not supposed to be touching the other guy obviously, and I believe that touch was to try to bring something out of Floyd and he was basically saying, to me anyways, that I can’t do with words, I can’t do with actions, I need to try to do something else here,” he added.

“And even when he touched him, Floyd wasn’t even paying attention. He was on his phone and was just laughing at him, just laughing. He was talking to other people while Conor was doing his bit and I think that was really getting to Conor.”

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Mike Winkeljohn Breaks Down What May Give Mayweather Problems Against McGregor

Mike Winkeljohn believes Conor McGregor has a chance to frustrate Floyd Mayweather enough to make a difference in their Aug. 26 bout. Many are counting “Notorious” out because he isn’t a professional boxer. While his mixed martial arts (MMA) credentials can’t be denied, he is 0-0 in the boxing ring. Meanwhile, Mayweather is considered to […]

Mike Winkeljohn believes Conor McGregor has a chance to frustrate Floyd Mayweather enough to make a difference in their Aug. 26 bout. Many are counting “Notorious” out because he isn’t a professional boxer. While his mixed martial arts (MMA) credentials can’t be denied, he is 0-0 in the boxing ring. Meanwhile, Mayweather is considered to […]

Mike Winkeljohn Explains How Conor McGregor Can Beat Floyd Mayweather

Mike Winkeljohn is one of the most respected striking coaches in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world today, especially due in large part to his assist in developing former multiple time boxing champ Holly Holm evolve into a UFC women’s bantamweight champion. “The Preacher’s Daughter” competed inside the squared circle for 11 years before making […]

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Mike Winkeljohn is one of the most respected striking coaches in the mixed martial arts (MMA) world today, especially due in large part to his assist in developing former multiple time boxing champ Holly Holm evolve into a UFC women’s bantamweight champion.

“The Preacher’s Daughter” competed inside the squared circle for 11 years before making the transition to the cage, and after just two fights under the UFC’s banner she was able to down former female 135-pound queen Ronda Rousey in one of the biggest upsets in MMA history. Winkeljohn recently spoke to ESPN to offer his thoughts on the upcoming boxing bout between UFC lightweight champ Conor McGregor and undefeated 49-0 legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. next month (Sat. August 26, 2017).

Photo: Steve Flynn – USA TODAY Sports

Winkeljohn believes that McGregor’s ability to bring different angles into the boxing ring from MMA could confuse “Money” a bit, but we’ll know right away if that will play a factor into the fight once the bell rings (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“Floyd is going to go into his shell and hold his shoulder high. You can’t do that in MMA and you can’t do that in a street situation, but in boxing it’s a beautiful thing.

“He has a god-given knack of not getting hit and using his defensive ability so well. Conor’s got the power, though. I think Conor is a big, strong fighter who has speed and is a little slicker. What Conor can bring to the table is maybe some offline angles with his footwork that comes out of MMA and will be something Floyd might not be used to. Attack where Floyd can’t hide behind his shoulder.

“We’re going to know one way or the other right away. Conor comes with a game plan of attacking Floyd in a way he has never seen before. Once it fails, or I should say “if” it fails, then it will fall into a traditional boxing match, which obviously favors Floyd. I’ll tell you what, though, Conor’s got a smart camp, and they’re going to come up with something. It might be worth putting some money on Conor as the underdog.”

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Conor McGregor Should Risk Floyd Mayweather DQ over KO, Says Justin Buchholz

MMA coach Justin Buchholz believes Conor McGregor should risk potential disqualification in an attempt to avoid being knocked out by Floyd Mayweather when they meet on August 26. 
McGregor, who has never been involved in a professional boxing bout…

MMA coach Justin Buchholz believes Conor McGregor should risk potential disqualification in an attempt to avoid being knocked out by Floyd Mayweather when they meet on August 26. 

McGregor, who has never been involved in a professional boxing bout, is a big underdog when the two meet. It means something special is required to beat Mayweather, who is undefeated in 49 professional bouts.

Team Alpha Male coach Buchholz believes McGregor needs to take a risk as a result, per Brett Okamoto of ESPN.com:

“That’s why I’d say, when Floyd starts picking him apart, McGregor needs to turn it into an MMA fight at the risk of being DQ’d. 

“If it’s Round 4 and you’re saying, ‘We’ve got no chance, this guy’s picking us apart, we don’t even want to move in there because we’re going to get knocked out’—next time you get into the clinch, double leg him. It’s better to get DQ’d than knocked the f–k out.”

Buchholz has made his name coaching the likes of Cody Garbrandt and Urijah Faber, and he will be recognisable to viewers of the recently concluded The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption, in which he got into heated exchanges with ex-Alpha Male star TJ Dillashaw.

Given McGregor has no professional boxing experience, it’d be no surprise to see him do something out of the ordinary in an attempt to disrupt Mayweather.

As well as suggesting McGregor should risk disqualification, Buchholz also outlined a blueprint of sorts for how the Irishman gets a foothold in the contest that falls within the rules. 

“Go in there, get in his face right off the bat and try to win a round,” he said. “First three rounds, win one of them by just being aggressive. Floyd can fight in the clinch, and he’ll stick his elbow up in your face. But we’re talking about an MMA fighter with McGregor.”

MMA journalist Chamatkar Sandhu insisted he wouldn’t be surprised to see the UFC lightweight champion break boxing regulations:

However, as reported by Martin Rogers of USA Today, UFC President Dana White has confirmed that the most pertinent point on the fight contract prevents McGregor from tossing elbows or attempting to throw any kicks at the man known as Money.

Mayweather will be ready for some unorthodox tactics from his opponent. Still, the 40-year-old is a canny fighter and a supreme competitor, so expect him to be ready for whatever the Notorious brings to the ring. Within reason, at least.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paulie Malignaggi Explains What McGregor Has to do to Beat Mayweather

What can Conor McGregor do to overcome Floyd Mayweather? Paulie Malignaggi has an idea. On Aug. 26, McGregor and Mayweather will enter the boxing ring inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a huge fight to close the month of August and it takes place less than a month before the summer season […]

What can Conor McGregor do to overcome Floyd Mayweather? Paulie Malignaggi has an idea. On Aug. 26, McGregor and Mayweather will enter the boxing ring inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s a huge fight to close the month of August and it takes place less than a month before the summer season […]