Conor McGregor Reacts To Max Holloway’s UFC 222 Pullout

The MMA world was dealt collective disappointment yesterday when word arrived that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar. The tough-as-nails champion wanted to fight no matter what, detailing what he said would go through in order to meet Edgar in a month’s […]

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The MMA world was dealt collective disappointment yesterday when word arrived that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar.

The tough-as-nails champion wanted to fight no matter what, detailing what he said would go through in order to meet Edgar in a month’s time. But ultimately he simply could not compete in the alotted timeframe.

The UFC set out to replace the March 3 fight card’s main event with two high-profile bouts, seeking to book bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw against former teammate Cody Garbrandt in a rematch of their UFC 217 affair with Edgar then taking on surging contender Brian Ortega in the co-main.

Dillashaw turned the bout down, however, citing the birth of his child and lack of training before mocking ‘No Love’ with a brutal photo from his knockout win last November.

And it remains an uncertain spot for the promotion and the rapidly-approaching event, but the mocking surrounding the card didn’t stop there. UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor got in on the action by trolling Holloway with a photo from his 2013 win over “Blessed”:

When there is no referee to save you.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on

‘The Notorious’ loves to rub salt in the wounds of his former opponents, yet it’s understandable if fans asked whether he should be doing so with his fighting future still very much up in the air as he acts a fool with his newfound mega-riches from boxing Floyd Mayweather.

This injury is bad timing for Holloway for sure, but the young Hawaiian has been a model of consistency for the UFC during his rise to championship status. He’s also stated he’s willing to take on any and all comers as champion, something that would most likely be true if he wasn’t hurt.

The same simply cannot be said for McGregor, who campaigned for a UFC bout versus Mayweather this week rather than a title defense against the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Is it time for McGregor to stop kicking willing fighters while they’re down and get back to fighting in MMA himself? Did that time pass long ago?

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Pic: UFC 223 Poster Suggests It’s For ‘World Lightweight Championship’

Everyone remotely associated with MMA is looking forward to the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event at April 7’s UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York – even if they don’t which version of the lightweight title will be on the line. Of course Ferguson is the interim champion as Conor […]

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Everyone remotely associated with MMA is looking forward to the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event at April 7’s UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York – even if they don’t which version of the lightweight title will be on the line.

Of course Ferguson is the interim champion as Conor McGregor drags his feet in deciding or announcing his long-awaited comeback, but the very real possibility of “The Notorious” never coming back after his $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather last year has the UFC is the precarious position of having to potentially strip their biggest star of a title again.

Yet they won’t come out and say it, as Dana White danced around the question when asked at a UFC 220 media event last month, giving his predictable and tiresome ‘we’ll see what happens’ in response. The situation was only clouded when White said the winner of Ferguson vs. Khabib would ‘be the champion,’ but gave no indication of what they would decide for McGregor.

With speculation running wild that they will strip him of a second title, the recently released UFC 223 poster may be an indication of those plans. Based on a photo of the poster released last night, the UFC 223 main event will be for the ‘world lightweight championship’ – not interim – suggesting McGregor would be stripped by fight time. Check it out:

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Conor McGregor Slams Floyd Mayweather For Stepping Into MMA Cage

Earlier today, ‘retired’ boxing legend Floyd Mayweather set the collective online mixed martial arts world ablaze after he posted a video of him briefly stepping into an MMA cage, prompting speculation that the UFC debut he shot down late last year could actually happen. It’s unlikely to happen, but if he were to make his […]

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Earlier today, ‘retired’ boxing legend Floyd Mayweather set the collective online mixed martial arts world ablaze after he posted a video of him briefly stepping into an MMA cage, prompting speculation that the UFC debut he shot down late last year could actually happen.

It’s unlikely to happen, but if he were to make his MMA debut against say, former boxing rival Conor McGregor, it may just become the biggest over-the-top scene in the history of MMA – if not combat sports as a whole.

So with the prospect of another record-setting purse (after his first one to box Mayweather has kept him on the sidelines and not defending his UFC belt) in plain view, McGregor was quick to respond to ‘Money’s’ short video on Twitter, laughing at his old foe by calling him his ‘son’ and signing off as ‘Senior’:

Standard operating procedure for “The Notorious,” whose future still remains unknown even though the MMA universe is crying for him to finally defend a UFC title – something he hasn’t done a single time since winning the featherweight title in December 2015.

It’s clear he’s all about the money, and it’s tough to blame him considering this is prizefighting, after all, but if McGregor truly just wants to take ‘money’ fights and never defend his belt, then the UFC owes it to the rest of the lightweight division to strip him and let them continue trying to further their careers.

That would open up a path for McGregor to potentially fight Mayweather in the octagon, something that seems highly unlikely due to the fact most believe ‘Money’ would get destroyed in MMA just like McGregor was stopped in the boxing ring.

The immediate fashion in which McGregor responded makes it seem like the UFC could be working on something in that regard, and it would probably be the Irishman’s first choice for his return if it were indeed a viable option.

For the sake of MMA purists everywhere, let’s hope it is not.

In today’s spectacle-focused era under Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG), it may be, however, so don’t be surprised if this topic heats up quite a bit in the next few days.

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Manager Hints Khabib May Say ‘Bye Bye’ After Beating Ferguson & McGregor

Although interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of April 7’s UFC 223, the MMA community is still awaiting undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor’s next move. Dana White and the UFC have remained coy on the subject, saying that the winner of Ferguson and Khabib would […]

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Although interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will take on top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of April 7’s UFC 223, the MMA community is still awaiting undisputed lightweight champ Conor McGregor’s next move.

Dana White and the UFC have remained coy on the subject, saying that the winner of Ferguson and Khabib would be ‘the champion’ but refusing to say that McGregor had been officially stripped of his title.

It’s prompted widespread speculation if McGregor will ever return to the octagon, and indeed many believe he may not return after making $100 million to box Floyd Mayweather last year, but in a recent interview with TMZ Sports (via Bloody Elbow), Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz said his star would finish Ferguson, pick up a win over McGregor, and retire undefeated:

“We’re gonna beat Tony. We’re gonna stop Tony in three rounds. Khabib’s probably gonna retire undefeated because he’s gonna beat Conor, he’s gonna beat Tony, and he’s probably gonna say ‘Bye-bye.’”

As for just when he might meet McGregor after finally fighting Ferguson, Abdelaziz said Khabib would make McGregor wait to face him, just as he has the rest of the division:

“Khabib said he’s gonna make the motherf**ker wait,” said Abdelaziz. “That’s what he told me, word for word. ‘When I beat Tony, Conor’s got to get in line or he can go fight Nate Diaz or somebody and make some money.’ [Khabib] said he’s gonna make the division right. At the end of the day, he said Conor’s gonna have to beg.

Nurmagomedov turning down a fight with McGregor if he beats Ferguson is a highly unlikely scenario, however, as it would be the biggest fight in MMA right now and perhaps one of the biggest all-time, making any unnecessary waiting a ridiculous proposition – especially considering Nurmagomedov’s never-ending issues with injuries.

So even though it probably won’t happen, Abdelaziz insisted it will because McGregor should have fought his top client in Russia later this year like he said he was going to:

“On April 7, El Cucuy’s gonna get an ass-whooping and maybe Conor, maybe we’ll give him a crack. You see all his b**ch-ass coaches saying ‘Oh, Conor will knock out Khabib in the first round.’ Motherf**ker, you should have fought Khabib when you were supposed to fight him, when you said you wanted to fight him in Russia!”

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Dana White Reacts To Nate Diaz’s Rumored Comeback

UFC veteran Nate Diaz made headlines last night when he posted on Instagram that he was aiming to return this May or June. Diaz has been out of action since his majority decision loss to Conor McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202, but that didn’t stop two top-ranked lightweights from calling him out for a […]

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UFC veteran Nate Diaz made headlines last night when he posted on Instagram that he was aiming to return this May or June.

Diaz has been out of action since his majority decision loss to Conor McGregor at August 2016’s UFC 202, but that didn’t stop two top-ranked lightweights from calling him out for a potential fight.

It’s unlikely Diaz would accept an offer to meet either of those combatants, however, as he’s made it clear he’ll only return for his highly-publicized (and lucrative) trilogy match with archrival “Notorious,” and only for a massive payday if he does. But that’s not going to stop the UFC from offering the popular Stockton slugger from a fight, as UFC president Dana White told TMZ Sports that he would offer Diaz a fight right away when asked about his comeback:

“I’ll tell ya what. I’ll call him today and make him an offer. I will make Nate Diaz an offer to fight today.

“I gotta look at the rankings and see where everybody is.”

As for which fight he’s going to offer Diaz, White said it most likely won’t be a trilogy match with McGregor because he believes fans want to see ‘The Notorious’ meet the winner of UFC 223’s Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov – and well, they can do McGregor vs. Diaz III at ‘any time’:

“I think people would rather see Conor come back and either fight Tony [Ferguson] or Khabib [Nurmagomedov] — whoever wins — and the Nate Diaz fight isn’t going anywhere. We can do that thing any time.”

It may be a bit of a stretch to say the UFC can do McGregor vs. Diaz III at ‘any time’ considering the overall uncertainty present that McGregor will even fight in the UFC again after his reported $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather last August.

With confusion abound at 155 pounds, the UFC would most likely be lucky to get McGregor back in the octagon to fight the winner of Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov given the recent circumstances.

That would leave Diaz to fight a lower – albeit elite – level of an opponent, something he’s most likely not willing to do.

Stay tuned to see if Diaz accepts White’s offer.

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Dana White Provides Frustrating Non-Update On Conor McGregor’s Title Status

The focus of the collective mixed martial arts world was on today’s (Fri. Jan. 19, 2018) UFC 25th Anniversary Series press conference from Boston, where rumors abound that the UFC would strip the lightweight championship from Conor McGregor in order to have Tony Ferguson face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title in the main event […]

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The focus of the collective mixed martial arts world was on today’s (Fri. Jan. 19, 2018) UFC 25th Anniversary Series press conference from Boston, where rumors abound that the UFC would strip the lightweight championship from Conor McGregor in order to have Tony Ferguson face Khabib Nurmagomedov for the undisputed title in the main event of April’s UFC 223 from Brooklyn.

But in true UFC form, the promotion wasn’t willing to back up their recent talk tough talk, instead sending out president Dana White to say he still had no update on the absent champion even though the winner of Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov “would be the champion” (whatever that means) when asked about the messy scene in the very first question of the press conference:

“I have no update. The winner of this fight will be the champion.”

And in true White fashion, the polarizing frontman gave the increasingly tiresome non-update that has gained him much ire from the MMA community for years, but seemingly even more so lately under new owners Endeavor:

“We’ll see what happens.”

Asked if he was frustrated by McGregor’s lack of activity or his recent behaviors, White said he wasn’t surprised by it based on his reported $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather last August, which made it uncertain he would ever return to the octagon.

No matter what his decision is, however, White repeated his frequent statement that leaving the talented lightweight division in limbo just isn’t fair to the other elite contenders in the weight class:

“No, I said leading into the Mayweather fight, I made it pretty clear, I’ve been in this business for a very long time, when you make an obscene amount of money like that, who’s know if they’ll ever come back?

“And right now, the position we’re in, Conor’s saying, ‘maybe I’ll come back in August, maybe I’ll come back in September.’ That’s almost two years. It’s not fair to the rest of the guys in the division. The division has to go on. You know, these guys have been fighting their whole career, everyone wants to get to that pinnacle, um, and it’s the fair thing to do.

“Listen, I take so much shit for how much I like Conor McGregor and everything else, but the division has to go on.”

Finally questioned if his lengthy sit on the sidelines was hurting his star power, White stood by his front man and suggested McGregor was one of the biggest stars in all of sports, let alone the UFC:

“I think Conor McGregor is not only one of the biggest stars in mixed martial arts, one of the biggest stars in all of sports on earth. So, this fight is ridiculous. And after this fight happens, whenever Conor does decide to come back I think it will be massive.”

There’s little evidence suggesting McGregor’s return – be it against Ferguson, Khabib, or anyone, really – would be by far the biggest fight going in MMA the moment news of it broke. The problem is we don’t know when that fight will come, or if it ever will.

That has the MMA world on edge anticipating their biggest star’s next move and from the sound of things, fans are going to be waiting significantly longer.

Just don’t expect any clarity from the UFC themselves – as usual.

 

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