Neil Magny’s Speech Put On Backburner For Snoop Dogg Concert

Neil Magny wanted to unite the UFC’s roster over the weekend at the promotion’s Fighter Retreat in Las Vegas. Magny prepared a speech that he planned to deliver right before the private Snoop Dogg concert that was put in place for them, and went through quite a bit in attempt to get on stage before […]

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Neil Magny wanted to unite the UFC’s roster over the weekend at the promotion’s Fighter Retreat in Las Vegas.

Magny prepared a speech that he planned to deliver right before the private Snoop Dogg concert that was put in place for them, and went through quite a bit in attempt to get on stage before the show and give everybody a piece of his mind (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I got all fired up, and I was trying to get to the stage to get the speech out, but it was so many hoops I had to jump through,” he said. “At first it was, alright, who has the microphone? So I went to the DJ booth, got a hold of the DJ, and was like hey, I have this speech, I’m really excited about it, I just want to get a chance on the mic, and get it out to as many fighters as possible and let them know to start working together now.

“So the DJ booth sent me over to the sound guy, and sound guy sent me over to this guy. I was jumping through hoops trying to get a hold of someone, and by the time I got it I said you know what, I’m not going to risk getting in trouble, I’m just going to go directly through the UFC, and just ask them permission to do so.”

Unfortunately, Magny was shot down when he asked the UFC for permission to go onstage, as they had to lock the stage down because Snoop was about to take center stage. The promotion told him he was more than welcome to speak to his fellow fighters after the concert, but in the end, Magny opted otherwise:

“They said right now we have to lock this space down because we got Snoop Dogg and his security staff and stuff like that, and for security reasons we can’t allow you to go up on stage use the microphone,” Magny said.

“Immediately after that, they said if I want to stick around afterwards and give the speech then, I was more than welcome to do so. I was like, alright, I’ll hang around until afterwards and do it. But by the end of the evening with Snoop Dogg being on stage, open bars and being there a couple of hours and him coming out two-and-a half hours late, it was just way too late in the evening. At that point, the people who were standing around weren’t interested and weren’t in a position to even take in what I had to say.”

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

You can check out the speech that Magny was prepared to deliver here below:

“First I want to thank the UFC staff for working so hard to put this event together. Thank you guys, we really appreciate all you do.

“Second, I want to address fighter issues. We don’t need a group of fancy lawyers to speak for us, we need to speak up for one another. There are deals in place that may not please everyone and there’s not much we all can do about it. Instead of bitching about the things we can’t change, let’s work on the things that we can control within our reach. There are about 300 of us here this weekend posting about this athlete retreat on social media. By the end of the weekend, our posts will have reached millions of people.

“What if we all came together to support our colleagues the same way? If, say, Matt Brown has an idea, how well will it do if we supported it? And when the next guy has an idea, we support him or her? Let’s stop beating each other down outside of the cage and start helping each other.”

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Jose Aldo: Conor McGregor Will ‘Never’ Accept A Rematch

Jose Aldo is set to defend his UFC featherweight title against red hot interim champion Max “Blessed” Holloway in the main event of June 3’s UFC 212 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but he still receives questions about bitter rival and former champion Conor McGregor, who knocked Aldo out cold in just 13 seconds at […]

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Jose Aldo is set to defend his UFC featherweight title against red hot interim champion Max “Blessed” Holloway in the main event of June 3’s UFC 212 from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but he still receives questions about bitter rival and former champion Conor McGregor, who knocked Aldo out cold in just 13 seconds at Dec. 2015’s UFC 194.

Aldo, however, appears to be focused on the featherweight contenders coming up the ranks, as he recently said that McGregor will ‘never’ accept a rematch:

“It’s good that this subject is being brought up, because nowadays everybody talks about something, and I don’t really understand why,” Aldo told reporters (Via MMAJunkie) in his native Portuguese. “Conor, on the one hand, was good, let’s say. And it’s good to explain that to everyone, because he brought a lot more visibility, both to the division and to me. But, on the other hand, talking about the fight? That’s in the past.

“Everybody goes back and talks about this, if I want (a rematch) or not. It’s not up to me. It’s up to the UFC. And we know that it’s never happening. I don’t even know if he’s fighting again. I ask not just the reporters, but everyone who talks about ‘Aldo …’ This doesn’t exist anymore. The UFC tried to make that fight, and he didn’t accept it, and he never will. Because what happened is never happening again. It’s good to make that clear for everyone.

“I see athletes, reporters, UFC people saying that ‘Aldo wants to fight (McGregor) … Man, there’s no way. He doesn’t want to fight me anymore, and it’s never happening again. And that’s good, because then nobody ever talks about my name or his. I don’t give a damn about what Conor is or isn’t doing. I’m a UFC athlete fighting in the featherweight division. So whoever is coming up the ranks, these are the guys I need to fight, that I have to train for, and get better and better to defend the belt.”

The build-up to UFC 194’s main event between Aldo and McGregor was sensational, and although the outcome of the fight was both shocking and thrilling, it left some fans wanting more.

The “Notorious” one, however, never ended up defending the 145-pound strap, instead electing to take on Nate Diaz in back-to-back bouts before closing out 2016 with a dominant knockout victory over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. The win over Alvarez made McGregor the first fighter in promotional history to hold two titles at one time, but he was later stripped of his featherweight belt.

Aldo, on the other hand, bounced back from his loss to McGregor with a one-sided decision victory over Frankie Edgar last July at UFC 200 to become the interim champion, but he was later promoted to undisputed titleholder. Now ready to defend that strap against Holloway, who’s won an incredible 10 straight fights, Aldo knows he has a ‘big challenge’ in front of him:

“Max is a big challenge,” Aldo said. “He’s an opponent I already imagined I could fight. I’m a reference. I’m the target. Everyone wants to be the champion. So I’m always studying every up-and-coming athlete in the division. This will be a test for me, because he’s a young guy, hungry to win, but he’ll be one more to try and not succeed. To me, that’s certain.”

What do you make of Aldo’s comments?

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UFC Signs Kickboxing Star Gokhan Saki

The UFC has made quite a high profile signing. According to a report from UFC.com, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion has come to terms on a deal with 33-year-old kickboxing star Gokhan Saki. His debut is not currently sit, but he appears to be interested in competing at a UFC Fight Night event […]

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The UFC has made quite a high profile signing.

According to a report from UFC.com, the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion has come to terms on a deal with 33-year-old kickboxing star Gokhan Saki. His debut is not currently sit, but he appears to be interested in competing at a UFC Fight Night event in Rotterdam on September 2, 2017.

Holding an impressive 83-12-1 kickboxing record, Saki is clearly a world class striker and his resume speaks for itself. He’s only competed in MMA once, losing to James Zikic in 2004.

Despite his lack of experience in MMA specifically, Saki feels as if the UFC mad a blockbuster investment in him:

“I’m glad I finally can announce that I have signed an exclusive long term contact with the UFC,” Saki posted on his Facebook page. “The best investment the UFC has made since Conor McGregor. Soon I will show everybody what Turkey and U.A.E. bring to the table.”

Check out Saki’s full statement on why he left Glory below:

I DID LEAVE GLORY KICKBOXING

I stopped my contract at Glory Kickboxing and have signed my Retirement Contract. (Turkish translation )

I’m STOPPING with GLORY. For my fans hereby the explanation the facts about Glory and Rico Verhoeven.

3 May 2017 (see my next post, picture for proof)

I left Glory Kickboxing on 3 May. All the owners/co-owners etc of Glory have discussed this and they signed my Retirement Contract and I received it back on 3 MAY.

After 5 months being kept on a line, for me it was done, i had a lot of other deals but i kept waiting to fight Rico or for Glory. The waiting is over, tired of it. Glory Kickboxing is playing politics to keep their ‘champion’ Rico Verhoeven safe for his renewal contract that had to take place end May or begin June. If he would lose against me, his position towards Glory would have been weakened. Rico Verhoeven and his team and also Glory did not want to expose their Champ to such risks.

Saturday 20 May

Cor Hemmers from Glory announced in an interview on 20 May that i have a retirement contract from Glory and i stopped fighting for Glory.

Saturday 20 May Night (Rico Fight)

Rico Verhoeven was bragging in TV-Shows after the Badr fight in GERMANY, that he doesn’t need famous opponents, he sells out tickets on his own, worldwide he would fill arena’s.

Now the Rico Verhoeven fight takes place in his own country in his own city and there were than 1500 empty seats. On twitter I said congratz Rico but what happened with those empty seats you said you would sell out all tickets?

Rico Verhoeven as usual (like the 5 months) did not respond but this time SCOTT RUDMAN vice chairman and co-founder of GLORY starts to tweet back and tried to rescue this poor kid Rico. Like a daddy Scott was trying to answer for the little kid that cant answer or talk for himself. Now Scott knows I left his organization for 3 weeks at this point. Scott said on twitter: ‘’Den Bosch is not Amsterdam, Glory is still a buzz, GET IN!’’

So at this point everbody in Glory and Rico Verhoeven and his management KNOW that I left GLORY. And now he is still trying to lie on social media. He knows at this point it is impossible for me to fight and I have other obligations at this point. Cheap and sleazy way of GLORY and SCOTT RUDMAN.

I answered his tweet with ‘’the last fight wasn’t even in Amsterdam, it wasn’t even in Holland but in GERMANY. And I am from Rotterdam. But if the fight was in Amsterdam, I would sell out all tickets on my own, I have proven it before!’’

As goes for you now Scott, instead of tweeting you should be concerned about making Glory big after all these years, money and opportunities you wasted you smuck.

So at this point in also some other people from Glory start tweeting me, again knowing that i left Glory and can not respond. So pathetic and cowardly. One even said I should accept Rico his challenge..Which challenge? He never challenged me at this point? He was silent for months.

AGAIN LIES.

I tweeted back and said its too late now!

Again at this point Glory, Rico Verhoeven and his team know for 3 weeks that i left Glory and have other obligations and its impossible to make this fight happen. NOW at this point when Rico knows there can not be a fight, after 5 months he opens his mouth and says: ‘’ Saki if you want to fight pick up the phone’’

Like what kind of bitch action is that Bro? Are you that scared, are you that much of a coward? Glory starts reposting all his stuff calling me out, while they know that I left Glory. When I was at Glory and I was calling Rico out, they never put effort in reposting my stuff out. Again this shows how amateuristic and pathetic organization this is, politics and protecting their pet Rico. Carefully choosing their opponents and their kind of media censorship.

I said the truth that he didnt want to fight me from January or in short term because he wanted a rest. He said that i lie and i dont want to fight. This week he said in a tv show ‘’yeah i didnt want to fight saki at januari i needed rest because I fought Badr’’

Like this guys story changes every day, not consistent.

When i fought K1, i fought 8 till 10 matches a year, against real men. At this point you fought badr 1,5 round and you need a year break before you fight me?? I havent even fought for 2 years and still you need time that much time to prepare for me? You just wanted the fight after your renewal contract in MAY.

Then Glory said to me in January, if i first could fight someone else, this would be Remy Bonjasky fight. I said i want Rico but if he doesn’t want it, i fight Bonjasky first, BUT ONLY IF GLORY GARANTEES THAT RICO WILL FIGHT ME THAN. I would have fought Bonjasky in March or May. Rico again sabotaged this with stretching time on accepting my challenge, hemessed up the whole fight between Bonjasky and me. Remy stood up and accepted my fight and he was down to do it! So I salute you for this, a guy who comes back at retirement at such short notice, and Rico says Bonjasky needs to much time to prepare, the guy is 41 years old and didn’t fight for years, Rico only wants unprepared fighters, more chance to win!

Meanwhile these last months, i have other offers but still i am calling rico online out, but still no balls.. All these months he was silent and said not oneeee thing after i repeadetly called him out. And know that he knows that i left the building, he opens his big mouth. Your fans should be ashamed of you and your lying ass. Just running your mouth like a puppet with those studied lines from your managment: “i only eat whats on the menucards, fighters come with only smoke no fire etc etc”

PS: you called me a mutherf*cker in an interview, real men dont bring in family or wife and kids, thats what cheap bums do. Guess fits you well

What do you make of this signing by the UFC?

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Dana White: Conor McGregor ‘Might Never Fight Again’

Since winning the UFC lightweight title with a brutal demolition of Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 last November in New York City, Conor McGregor has made it abundantly clear what he’d like to do next and that would be to take on former pound-for-pound king and undefeated five-time world champion Floyd […]

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Since winning the UFC lightweight title with a brutal demolition of Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 last November in New York City, Conor McGregor has made it abundantly clear what he’d like to do next and that would be to take on former pound-for-pound king and undefeated five-time world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather in a boxing match.

Over the last year, talks regarding a potential bout have come from both parties, but many refused to believe it was a legitimate possibility. Recently, however, McGregor revealed that he had officially signed a contract with the UFC in order to make the fight a reality. UFC President Dana White also confirmed that he and the “Notorious” one had come to terms on a deal and that all that was left was to agree to a deal with Mayweather, which is obviously no easy task, but clearly things are moving in the direction of the fight happening.

If the fight does indeed take place, it could end up being the most lucrative in the history of combat sports and if it isn’t, it’ll certainly rank near the top of that list. White recently spoke on this topic, saying that McGregor could make ‘between $60 and $70 million’ for a bout against “Money”. The UFC boss even said that he wouldn’t be shocked if McGregor never fought in the UFC again after earning such a big pay day:

“If this things goes down, Conor could make anywhere between $60 and $70 million; and what I think happens is, how do you come back again and fight for $10 million bucks?” proclaimed UFC president Dana White on a recent appearance on GGN News with Snoop Dogg.

“He’s a smart kid, but he may never fight again,” White told Snoop. “In the fight business, you have to be hungry, man. It’s hard to get up and get punched in the face when you got $75 million in the bank. I think he is hungry for Mayweather and hungry for the money and Conor loves to prove people wrong.”

McGregor, the titleholder of arguably the UFC’s most intriguing division, has no shortage of challengers awaiting him in the UFC. Top contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are both chomping at the bit to receive a title shot, while a trilogy bout with bitter rival Nate Diaz is also a possibility. None of these options, however, would provide the brash and outspoken Irishman with the type of money he’ll bring in for a bout against Mayweather.

As far as Mayweather goes, the 40-year-old hasn’t competed since scoring a unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto in Sept. 2015. He announced his retirement after the bout, but has since made it clear that he’d make a return to the ring to take on McGregor. “Money” also recently said the he thinks the fight will happen.

What do you make of White’s most recent comments?

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Is Gustafsson vs. Teixeira Merely A Battle Of Runner-Ups?

This Sunday night (May 29, 2017), Alexander Gustafsson will face off with Glover Teixiera in the main event of UFC Fight Night 109 from the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. Both men are top-ranked contenders, with Gustafsson sitting at No. 1 and Teixeira sitting at No. 2, and both men are clearly elite-level light heavyweights. […]

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This Sunday night (May 29, 2017), Alexander Gustafsson will face off with Glover Teixiera in the main event of UFC Fight Night 109 from the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.

Both men are top-ranked contenders, with Gustafsson sitting at No. 1 and Teixeira sitting at No. 2, and both men are clearly elite-level light heavyweights.

“The Mauler” made his UFC debut back in 2009 and has since gone 9-4, scoring six stoppage victories in the process. He holds pivotal victories over the likes of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Jimi Manuwa and Jan Blachowicz and a win over Teixeira this weekend could very well earn him another 205-pound title shot.

Teixeira, on the other hand, has been in the UFC since 2012, amassing a 9-3 record in the Octagon. The Brazilian slugger holds notable victories over the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Ryan Bader, Ovince Saint Preux and Rashad Evans. A win over Gustafsson could too earn him another title shot.

Each man’s resume speaks for itself, but the question here, however, pertains to the status of the light heavyweight division as well as the status of its top two contenders. In other words, does Gustafsson vs. Teixeira simply represent a battle of runner-ups?

Both men have had vast success in the UFC, but both men have also stumbled when nearing dangerously close to the pinnacle.

Gustafsson, for example, has competed in two UFC title fights to date. He took on then champion Jon Jones at UFC 165 in Sept. 2013 in what turned out to be one of the very best light heavyweight title fights of all-time. “The Mauler” pushed Jones to his limits, trading blows with “Bones” over the course of five rounds, while, at times, having him on the brink of defeat. In the end, however, Jones fought back to earn a decision victory.

road to the octagon
Photo by Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

A similar situation, played out at UFC 192 last October when Gustafsson challenged Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight strap. Another five round war took place and “The Mauler” once again had his opponent in trouble, as he nearly finished Cormier in the third round. When the final bell rung, however, “DC” was given a split-decision victory, sending Gustafsson home empty handed once again.

Teixeira’s title fight history has played out a bit differently as opposed to “The Mauler’s”. Prior to his UFC 172 title fight with Jones, Teixeira had won an incredible 20 straight fights. He had run through every opponent put in front of him up until that point and was considered to be a legitimate threat to Jones’ strap. That proved to be untrue, however, as “Bones” dominated the Brazilian over the course of five rounds to earn a decision victory. Since then, Teixeira has gone 4-2, with three of those victories coming by way of stoppage.

As far as the division goes, the title will be on the line on July 29 when Cormier faces off with Jones for a second time in the main event of UFC 214. The fight is expected to be amongst the biggest of the year and the winner of the bout could end up facing off with the winner of the fight between Gustafsson and Teixeira – but will it matter?

 

As history has shown, both Gustafsson and Teixeira have established themselves as legitimate contenders, but when matched up against the division’s top dogs in Cormier and Jones, they have fell short.

With that being said, are Gustafsson and Teixeira simply battling for second place?

Only time will tell.

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Tony Ferguson Pulls Nate Diaz’s Gangster Card

Tony Ferguson really wants to meet Nate Diaz inside of the Octagon. Earlier this year “El Cucuy” was expected to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 209 for the interim lightweight title, seeing as current division champ Conor McGregor is on a bit of a hiatus. That bout didn’t go through, however, […]

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Tony Ferguson really wants to meet Nate Diaz inside of the Octagon.

Earlier this year “El Cucuy” was expected to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov in the co-main event of UFC 209 for the interim lightweight title, seeing as current division champ Conor McGregor is on a bit of a hiatus. That bout didn’t go through, however, as “The Eagle” failed to weigh-in after being hospitalized due to complications from his strenuous weight cut.

Since then, Ferguson has been itching to let out his frustrations inside the Octagon but he wants the right opponent. The No. 2-ranked lightweight has been calling out Nate Diaz as of late, who is riding a ton of momentum as he comes off his heated rivalry with Conor McGregor.

Ferguson’s most recent attempt to get under the Stockton Native’s skin came earlier this week (Mon. May 22, 2017) on The MMA Hour, where Ferguson pulled Diaz’s gangster card (quotes via MMA Mania):

“He wants to talk about doing this biking thing, you don’t even own a Harley, you got a Schwinn bike,” said Ferguson. “You have got no heart. You call yourself gangster? You’re backing out from a fight. Let’s go dude. We’ve got a main event that’s open that needs to be filled. So if you want to make some money and impress the fans, want to get back out there and sell your weed, that’s great. Sign on the dotted line and put your name back out in the crowd. Let’s go kid.”

He then proceeded to threaten to “Stockton Slap” Diaz and claimed to be tougher than the man from the 209:

“You’re a bitch, I don’t know what his problem is,” Ferguson said. “I understand you said McGregor, I’m not going to do your dirty work for you. I don’t want to have to go into name calling, I don’t want to do that, but if you’re a fighter in this organization, and you said you’d rather go ride a bicycle, you got better things to do? That’s cute. That’s real cute.

“I might as well Stockton slap the shit out of you,” he continued. “I’m from the 805, I’m tough. And I don’t have to talk about how tough I am, but I am a hell of a lot tougher than that dude.”

Since fighting against McGregor it seems its been harder and harder to get Diaz back into the Octagon, as he has been demanding a significant amount of money to put the gloves back on. Ferguson stated that Diaz’s recent financial gains have made him soft – but money hasn’t affected him:

“Money never made me soft,” he said. “Shit, even if it made me soft I wouldn’t forget where I came from. You have a place to represent, you got a man calling you out right here and you’re not signing on the dotted line? You’re a clown dude. You’re fake.”

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