Tag: Instant Articles

Floyd Mayweather: I Think The Fight Will Happen With Conor McGregor

It’s looking like the Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fight may just happen. Last week it was announced that UFC President Dana White and lightweight champ Conor McGregor had come to terms on an agreement for the Irishman’s side of negotiations for the superfight. All that remains is for White to meet with Mayweather and […]

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It’s looking like the Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather fight may just happen.

Last week it was announced that UFC President Dana White and lightweight champ Conor McGregor had come to terms on an agreement for the Irishman’s side of negotiations for the superfight. All that remains is for White to meet with Mayweather and manager Al Haymon to get a deal done for “Money’s” side of things.

Yesterday (Sat. May 20, 2017) Mayweather was in attendance for an IBF super featherweight bout between Gervonta Davis and Liam Walsh in London. During the post-fight press conference Mayweather was asked about the possibility of fighting McGregor, to which he replied he believes the fight is going to happen (quotes via The Score):

“If me and Conor McGregor do happen to make the fight happen, which I think the fight will happen, I would love for (Davis) to be on the undercard,” Mayweather said.

” … I had a great career, and my career may not be over. Number 50 may be against Conor McGregor, we’ll just wait and see.”

Mayweather has been retired from in-ring competition since his 2015 unanimous decision win over Andre Berto, where he stepped away from the sport with an unblemished record of 49-0. “Money” has stated on multiple occasions that he is happily retired as of now, but the only fight he’d consider coming out of retirement for is against McGregor.

The brash Irishman has taken the combat sports world by storm after having accomplished a plethora of historical feats under the UFC’s banner in such a short period of time. McGregor defeated Jose Aldo, a longtime featherweight champion who hadn’t lost in mixed martial arts (MMA) competition for over a decade, in only 13 seconds.

He followed that up with a spectacular rivalry at welterweight against Nate Diaz, before becoming the first dual-weight champion in UFC history with his second round knockout win over Eddie Alvarez in Madison Square Garden.

A fight between two of the combat sports world’s biggest stars is certain to draw a tremendous amount of attention and cash, two things both McGregor and Mayweather treasure. The pair have been exchanging barbs at one another throughout the media, and with a deal being so close in regards to making the fight happen, it should be interesting to see them hash things out inside the squared circle.

While many give McGregor little to no chance competing against Mayweather inside the boxing ring, rightfully so seeing as though he has never fought in a professional boxing fight in his life, “Notorious” is known for his ability to silence doubters on a regular basis.

Many doubted his ability to get past the likes of Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz, and Eddie Alvarez, making the bout against Mayweather an intriguing one for those who have followed the Irishman’s career closely.

If McGregor and Mayweather do find themselves standing opposite each other inside the ring, it will be the biggest combat sporting event of this era.

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Dana White: Conor McGregor Is A Bigger Star Than Manny Pacquiao

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 […]

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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.”

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Coach: Conor Is Ready To Go For Mayweather Right Now

Many in the combat sports community have given UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor little to no chance in a potential boxing match with the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many have also refused to believe that the fight would ever actually take place, but the tides have seemed to pick up in recent weeks. McGregor recently […]

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Many in the combat sports community have given UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor little to no chance in a potential boxing match with the legendary Floyd Mayweather Jr. Many have also refused to believe that the fight would ever actually take place, but the tides have seemed to pick up in recent weeks.

McGregor recently revealed that he signed a contract with the UFC in order to make the fight a reality and UFC President Dana White announced that he hoped to begin negotiations with Team Mayweather this upcoming week.

As far as his chances against “Money” go, the “Notorious” one is obviously confident, as is his striking coach Owen Roddy. Roddy, although admitting the more time to train the better, actually said that McGregor was ‘ready to go now’:

“We’re training now. The longer it takes Mayweather to sign, the better it is for us,” said Roddy during a recent interview with Newstalk.com. “We get more time to study him the longer he drags it out. We can get people in to help us if needs be. I see the negotiation period as just more time for Conor to immerse himself in boxing.

“The longer he takes to sign, the better it is for us. To be honest, we’re ready to go now.”

Mandatory credit: Adam Hunger USA Today Sports

McGregor has been out of action since last November, when he brutally stopped Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York City to become the promotion’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion. Roddy admits that the Irishman has been preparing for Mayweather ever since he stopped Alvarez last fall:

“We’ve almost been preparing since Conor’s last UFC fight,” said Roddy. “As soon as the talk picked up we started getting ready for it. We all realized that there was too much money to be made on both sides for it not to happen.

“Both Conor and Mayweather made it clear that they wanted the fight, so it was bound to happen.”

While McGregor signing a deal with the UFC is certainly a positive step in making the fight, agreeing to a deal with Mayweather is where things become far more difficult. If the fight does indeed come to fruition, however, it will undoubtedly be amongst the most lucrative in the history of combat sports and Roddy claims that McGregor is ‘happy’ with what he’ll make from the fight:

“Conor is happy with what he’s getting,” said Roddy. “If Conor is happy with what he’s getting, I don’t think he cares what Mayweather is getting. It makes no difference.

“Conor would not have signed if he wasn’t happy with his deal. I doubt he will be affected in any way by what Mayweather is getting for it.”

The undefeated 41-year-old Mayweather hasn’t competed since Sept. 2015 when he scored a one-sided decision victory over Andre Berto. After the bout, he announced his retirement, but revealed earlier this year that he was ready to make a return to the squared circle for a bout with the outspoken McGregor.

Do you expect McGregor and Mayweather to come to terms for a super fight?

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Julianna Pena Shifts Attention To New UFC Women’s Division

If a women’s UFC flyweight title is on the way, Julianna Pena wants in on the action. The UFC recently admitted the possibility of crowning an inaugural women’s 125-pound champ through The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), similar to what they did with the strawweight crown. That would take place on TUF 25 which is set to […]

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If a women’s UFC flyweight title is on the way, Julianna Pena wants in on the action.

The UFC recently admitted the possibility of crowning an inaugural women’s 125-pound champ through The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), similar to what they did with the strawweight crown. That would take place on TUF 25 which is set to begin filming in July.

Pena knows what it’s like to compete on the show seeing as she won TUF 18 nearly four years ago, and recently stated on an episode of “TUF Talk” that she’d love to return to the Ultimate Fighter house in attempt to win the women’s flyweight title (quotes via FOX Sports):

“I was asking Dana [White] if I could get back in the house and have a crack at that belt finally,” Pena said. “I fought at [125 pounds] a couple of times in my career so it’s not hard for me to make the weight. I walk naturally around 135 [pounds], a couple pounds heavier, so making 125 is not a problem for me.

“I think I would steamroll all the girls at 125 pounds but then again I’ve kind of got that big head thing going on.”

Pena claims she cuts very little to make 135 pounds and a move to flyweight would mean she’s finally taking on fighters relatively closer to her own size:

“I think the biggest change would be for me is to probably cut the weight is the biggest problem, but I don’t honestly don’t think it is a problem. Because during fight week at 135, I’m literally 137, if that not even, and I’m walking in there with not even cutting a pound so I really don’t think the weight would be an issue for me,” Pena explained.

“I think I’m a more natural 125’er. At 135, I feel like that’s my more normal walking weight so it makes sense for me that they finally — the MMA gods have been listening — and made a 125-pound division.”

If the opportunity to become the first ever female 125-pound champ hangs in the balance, Pena is just fine staying at the Ultimate Fighter house for six weeks again:

“I would love the opportunity to go back into “The Ultimate Fighter” house,” Pena said. “There’s never a moment where you get to eat the best food in the world, you can live in a mansion and not pay rent, you don’t have any of your bills, no drama from the outside and you really get to focus on yourself as a fighter for the first time without any outside focuses or any outside stimulation from the other people you have to deal with. It’s all about you, two times a day, eating the best food and getting the best training that you can possible get. So it was a great experience for me.”

Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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Coach: GSP vs. McGregor Would Be ‘Greatest Fight In UFC History’

Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre confirmed earlier this year that he would finally be making a return to the Octagon after going into a self-imposed hiatus after his highly controversial split decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013. UFC President Dana White had even announced that St. Pierre […]

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Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St. Pierre confirmed earlier this year that he would finally be making a return to the Octagon after going into a self-imposed hiatus after his highly controversial split decision victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013.

UFC President Dana White had even announced that St. Pierre would take on middleweight champion Michael Bisping in his return bout, although White recently pulled the plug on that bout after learning that “Rush” would not be ready to fight until this coming fall.

St. Pierre’s longtime head coach Firas Zahabi, however, recently said that ‘everyone’ knew of St. Pierre’s timeline:

“I think everybody knows Georges has to go through the USADA testing,” Zahabi told MMAJunkie.com. “He has to wait to the fall until he can fight. I think it’s clear on everybody’s side – everybody knows that.”

When St. Pierre does indeed return, Zahabi feels as if only two bouts make sense for him: a title fight with Bisping or a fight with lightweight king Conor McGregor:

“I think I want Georges to fight a high-profile fight,” Zahabi admitted. “He doesn’t need any more to go and try to be champion of the welterweight division and try to defend the title every three-four months. I think he’s done that, and he’s past that. I don’t want to speak for him. I don’t know if it’s a lifestyle he wants to go back to.

“I think he should fight Conor McGregor or Michael Bisping, and I’ll tell you why: Michael Bisping will give him a two-title championship, and if he fights McGregor, it’ll be the greatest fight in UFC history.

“Other than that, I don’t know if there’s anything else that’s super-interesting. I don’t wanna speak for Georges – maybe Georges is thinking of other fights – but the two fights I’m interested in would be a Bisping fight or a McGregor fight. I don’t see why that can’t happen. Maybe it’s a question of time, but it should happen.”

Bisping recently revealed that he’s still dealing with a knee injury that will also keep him out of action until the fall, so a bout between him and St. Pierre is certainly still an option if that is the direction the UFC would like to go.

McGregor, on the other hand, is coming off of a brutal knockout victory over Eddie Alvarez last November at UFC 205 in New York City. He’s currently pursuing a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, but a bout between him and St. Pierre would pit two of the biggest stars in UFC history against each other. The “Notorious” one has competed at 170 pounds in the past, but “Rush” has also said that he could make the 155-pound limit.

While both options are lucrative, at the end of the day, Zahabi would like to see St. Pierre take on Bisping and it’s a fight he believes Bisping deserves:

“Bisping has been fighting for a long time; he deserves a big money fight,” Zahabi stated. “I think fighting Georges would make him the most money he’s ever made in his career. I think he deserves that. I think he’s a big name. I think he’s champion – he should make that money.

“And what do the fans want to see? I think Bisping vs. Georges St-Pierre is the No. 1 fight they want to see. So why aren’t we giving it to them? I don’t know.”

What do you make of Zahabi’s comments?

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Rory MacDonald Explains Why He’s Not ‘Another Sheep’ In Bellator

Rory MacDonald was one arguably the UFC’s hottest prospect, a young bulldozer who was thought to be the next welterweight ruler in the years following the legendary run of his good friend and TriStar Gym training partner Georges St-Pierre. And “The Red King” nearly summited that peak, taking then-champ Robbie Lawler to the absolute brink […]

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Rory MacDonald was one arguably the UFC’s hottest prospect, a young bulldozer who was thought to be the next welterweight ruler in the years following the legendary run of his good friend and TriStar Gym training partner Georges St-Pierre.

And “The Red King” nearly summited that peak, taking then-champ Robbie Lawler to the absolute brink in the third round of their instant classic co-main event at July 2015’s UFC 189. But true to his “Ruthless” namesake, the champion was able to weather a brutal storm and come back even stronger, destroying MacDonald’s nose on the way to one of the bloodiest stoppages – and greatest fights – we’ve ever seen in the octagon.

MacDonald took almost a year to heal from a badly broken nose, and returned to face then-surging number one contender Stephen Thompson last June. He appeared to be less aggressive than the stalking psychopath fans had grown accustomed to, and “Wonderboy” outclassed him on the feet over the course of five rounds in what was the last fight on MacDonald’s UFC contract.

Since then, the star has signed with Bellator MMA and largely spoken out against the business practices of the UFC, something that more and more fighters are doing on what seems like a daily basis right now. Each new day’s headlines bring a cry of discontent from one fighter or another (and many times more) in the year following the company’s record-setting $4.2 billion sale to talent agency WME-IMG, but MacDonald is in the position to be far more specific and candid as an employee of a rival promotion.

The Canadian brawler will make his Bellator debut against UFC vet and British knockout slugger Paul Daley in the main event of tonight’s (Fri., May 19, 2017) Bellator 179 from England, and during a media call to promote the event this week (via MMA Fighting), Macdonald touched on why his new bosses are doing it right. To him, he feels like an actual person rather than a sheep meant to do the UFC’s bidding:

“I think Bellator gets it, they want to build a character around each and every guy on the roster. They want to build up the names and let people see the real sides of them and they can build that up. The UFC kind of has lost that, everyone is wearing the same thing, everybody is trying to be Conor McGregor, and it’s lost it’s feel a little bit.

“[I’m] just more involved rather than just being another guy in the line, another number, another sheep,” MacDonald said. “So, I just feel more respected, more attention to detail when it comes to the promotion of myself.”

MacDonald may have a good point, as there’s little evidence to deny that many fighters in the UFC are trying to follow the wildly successful money-making gameplan of ‘The Notorious,’ with ridiculous match-ups being discussed and booked to mostly disastrous results in the eyes of the sport’s truest and most loyal fans.

MacDonald then opened up about the current state of MMA fighter morale, noting that things are bad and getting worse, so any competition that puts more money into the fighters’ pockets is a good thing:

“Everybody’s situation is getting worse there and increasingly people are getting more and more unhappy,” MacDonald said. “And seeing that there’s money to be made, just the way they’re treated in general. They’re not content with it, so, it’s got there’s a competitor in the marketplace and that’s just going to make everybody get better. More options for the fighters, everyone’s going to get more money and it’s going to be better for MMA the sport in general.”

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