UFC 223: Khabib vs. Rogan (This is #2 Bullsh*t)

No MMA analyst is more influential than Joe Rogan. Rogan has more Twitter followers than any other MMA analyst, with over four million, and his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has over 2.5 million subscribers. And with over 20 years of commentary un…

No MMA analyst is more influential than Joe Rogan. Rogan has more Twitter followers than any other MMA analyst, with over four million, and his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has over 2.5 million subscribers. And with over 20 years of commentary under his belt, it is safe to say that Rogan is considered the […]

The post UFC 223: Khabib vs. Rogan (This is #2 Bullsh*t) appeared first on MMA News.

UFC 223: Khabib vs. Rogan (This is #2 Bullsh*t)

No MMA analyst is more influential than Joe Rogan. Rogan has more Twitter followers than any other MMA analyst, with over four million, and his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has over 2.5 million subscribers. And with over 20 years of commentary un…

No MMA analyst is more influential than Joe Rogan. Rogan has more Twitter followers than any other MMA analyst, with over four million, and his podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, has over 2.5 million subscribers. And with over 20 years of commentary under his belt, it is safe to say that Rogan is considered the […]

The post UFC 223: Khabib vs. Rogan (This is #2 Bullsh*t) appeared first on MMA News.

5 Takeaways From UFC 223

Within a matter of days, an absurd chain of events turned the most stacked card of the year into a potential dud. Luckily, two 5-round championship battles and several great fights salvaged the card from being a complete disappointment. One thing is ce…

Within a matter of days, an absurd chain of events turned the most stacked card of the year into a potential dud. Luckily, two 5-round championship battles and several great fights salvaged the card from being a complete disappointment. One thing is certain, Khabib Nurmagomedov is well on the way to becoming the most dominant […]

The post 5 Takeaways From UFC 223 appeared first on MMA News.

Quote: Conor McGregor Won’t End Year As Lightweight Champ

Just over two months after his history-making win over Eddie Alvarez at last November’s UFC 205, the MMA world is holding its collective breath for lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s next move. The face of the UFC was stripped of his featherweight championship before December’s UFC 206, and his name is more in the news right now for his

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Just over two months after his history-making win over Eddie Alvarez at last November’s UFC 205, the MMA world is holding its collective breath for lightweight champion Conor McGregor’s next move.

The face of the UFC was stripped of his featherweight championship before December’s UFC 206, and his name is more in the news right now for his rumored boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr., although it’s been more in the form of “Money” and Dana White running their mouths about it than anything “Notorious” has said.

With McGregor out for an indefinite period of time to welcome his first child, his current home of 155 pounds will also move on in a sense when Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson fight for the interim title at March 4’s UFC 209 from Las Vegas. The winner is expected to meet ‘The Notorious’ in his next fight, but that’s far from anything close to guaranteed considering his unpredictable schedule.

If and when McGregor finally does defend his belt, one top-ranked lightweight doesn’t seem to think he’ll hold onto it for very long. That man is No. 8-ranked Michael Chiesa, who told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto on his “5ive Rounds” podcast that McGregor will have to defend his belt at some point:

“Sooner or later, Conor is going to have to come out and fight,” Chiesa said. “Whether he’s taking this hiatus himself or the company is putting him on ice, who knows? But I don’t see him staying champion.”

Chiesa moved to clarify he knows McGregor is highly skilled, but compared him to the elite level of competition he’ll conceivably face upon his return. Based on the most obvious upcoming match-ups, Chiesa believes Nurmagomedov, Ferguson, and even himself are just too big for “The Notorious”:

“I know he’s good. I’m not knocking him. We have to recognize the guy can f—ing fight. But you have to look at the guys coming up in the lightweight division. Tony Ferguson and Khabib, you have to fight the winner of that fight. I mean, dude, you’re good, but you’re going up against a guy who is 24-0, multiple samba world champion, or a guy that would be on a 10-fight win streak.”

“Conor is good, but I really don’t think he’s a true lightweight,” Chiesa continued. “That’s what I’m saying. With the landscape of this division, I don’t see Conor ending his year as champion. And you put me in there, I’m going to drag him to the ground and beat him too. I’m a huge lightweight. I’m as big as Nate or bigger, and we saw how many problems Nate gave him.”

These words may be beginning to sound a bit redundant, as we’ve heard a long list of reasons why McGregor’s next opponent would be the one to shut him down and hand a deflating defeat, only to watch him pass every test – except one – with flying colors. In fact, the one fight McGregor did lose in the UFC, his shocking UFC 196 submission loss to Nate Diaz, was probably the one fans and media members thought featured the lowest odds of him losing given that late replacement Diaz was coming into the fight on 10 days’ notice.

The much larger Diaz gave McGregor more problems at their rematch at UFC 202, yet McGregor escaped with a narrow majority decision win that time around. There’s no question that bigger, rangier lightweights give him a tougher test than the shorter featherweights he’s blasted in the Octagon, but in order for the Irish megastar to lose to any one of the three contenders Chiesa named earlier, he’s going to have to defend his belt – something he hasn’t done a single time in Cage Warriors FC or the UFC.

Will McGregor finally defend one of his titles? And if he does, will he remain the king of the talented 155-pound landscape at the end of 2017?

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Khabib: I Will Torture Conor McGregor For Five Rounds

By defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, Conor McGregor blew the lid on the possibilities in mixed martial arts. Already a record-breaking force to be reckoned with, the Irish striker put an unquestionably dominant stamp on his New York title fight. Already holding the featherweight belt from the year previous, the infamous trash talking boxer smashed the

The post Khabib: I Will Torture Conor McGregor For Five Rounds appeared first on LowKick MMA.

By defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, Conor McGregor blew the lid on the possibilities in mixed martial arts. Already a record-breaking force to be reckoned with, the Irish striker put an unquestionably dominant stamp on his New York title fight. Already holding the featherweight belt from the year previous, the infamous trash talking boxer smashed the holiest of UFC achievements. Although he’s not yet defended a belt, McGregor carved a path for a number of massive fights in multiple weight classes.

Then came his big announcement after UFC 205, and it wasn’t retirement. To the contrary, ‘The Notorious’ said he wanted time off to care for Dee Devlin during her pregnancy, but aims to return and defend both belts. Conflicting reports would indicate the Irishman will in fact be stripped of the 145-pound belt. Should these turn out to be true, then surely the focus shifts to the lightweight division for McGregor’s immediate future.

khabib nurmagomedov
Who’s a crazy wig and wants to fight Conor McGregor?

Khabib

When discussing potential contenders at 155 pounds, two stand out above the rest; Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Arguably it could go either way, but currently 24-0 and fresh off a demolition of Michael Johnson, ‘The Eagle’ believes he should be next in line. Talking with TMZ Sports, the dominant wrestler said he will toy with Conor McGregor for five rounds:

“I want to finish his hype. I don’t care about money, I have money, but now I want the belt. I want to talk in his ear, slap him and make him nervous. Then I want to let him stand up, ask him ‘Where is your boxing?’ then slap him more. I don’t want to finish him early, I’d rather fight for 25 minutes with him.”

Nurmagomedov then discussed the incident with McGregor after the UFC 205 weigh-ins. ‘The Notorious’ was filmed spitting insults at ‘The Eagle’ after the scales show, and Khabib says the Irishman should be careful:

khabib-nurmagomedov-ufc-on-fox-19[1]

“I’m Not Eddie Alvarez or Tyron Woodley”

“He watched me at weigh-ins, McGregor was looking at me all crazy. I asked him ‘what you want?’ I saw how he was with Tyron Woodley, but I’m not Tyron Woodley or Eddie Alvarez, I’m different. If somebody watch me like crazy, I can go crazy too. There was a lot of security coming, I watched his eyes, he was saying ‘what?’ but he did nothing. Of course (I was ready to go right there). I’m ready to go anytime, I had a lot of street fights, back when I was amateur I had many street fights. Now I’m a UFC fighter, I have to warn people to be careful, I don’t do it anymore. “

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Wants to Fight Anthony Pettis and Nate Diaz on Same Night

Just as there is no shortage of friction in the upper tier of the lightweight division, injuries are also prevalent at the elite level of the 155-pound fold. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Anthony Pettis have exchanged barbs in interviews and across social media platforms over the past year, with trigger points for both being focused on […]

Just as there is no shortage of friction in the upper tier of the lightweight division, injuries are also prevalent at the elite level of the 155-pound fold. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Anthony Pettis have exchanged barbs in interviews and across social media platforms over the past year, with trigger points for both being focused on […]