Three HUGE Fights That Could Headline UFC 205

UFC 205 has been subject to so many twists and turns in the recent weeks. Following wide-spread rumours of a main event between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez, things started to get a little confusing. Reported as still injured from UFC 202, McGregor’s part in the New York debut for the UFC was now in

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UFC 205 has been subject to so many twists and turns in the recent weeks. Following wide-spread rumours of a main event between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez, things started to get a little confusing. Reported as still injured from UFC 202, McGregor’s part in the New York debut for the UFC was now in question. Following that report, number one contender Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed he would be fighting Alvarez. News then broke that the featherweight champ was in fact uninjured, and still aiming to fight at UFC 205.

Posting pictures of two signed bout agreements on Twitter, ‘The Eagle’ furthered reports that he’d receive the next lightweight title fight. ‘The Silent Assassin’ added to the mix of news by stating he still wanted to fight McGregor. There’s been a number of bouts confirmed for UFC 205 so far, and they are as follows:

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Who’s Missing?

UFC welterweight championship: Tyron Woodley vs. Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson

UFC Strawweight championship: Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Women’s bantamweight: Miesha Tate vs. Raquel Pennington

Welterweight: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone

Featherweight: Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy ‘Lil Heathen’ Stephens

Middleweight: Rashad Evans vs. Tim Kennedy

Lightweight: Thiago Alves vs. Jim Miller

Middleweight: Tim Boetsch vs. Rafael Natal

Woman’s bantamweight: Liz Carmouche vs. Katlyn Chookagian

There’s an announcement set for tomorrow (September 27, 2016) but for the moment, the big names in the recent debate are missing.

Let’s take a look at three HUGE possibilities for UFC 205’s main event…

Eddie Alvarez vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

After two years away from fighting due to multiple injuries, ‘The Eagle’ returned in April of this year. Solidifying his spot as number one lightweight contender, Nurmagomedov defeated Tony Ferguson’s late replacement Darrell Horcher by submission.

Why would this fight be so huge? Aside from it placing rankings above popularity and money, Nurmagomedov is possibly the most dominant lightweight this division has ever seen.

‘The Eagle’ has never lost a round, and comes to completely shut out his opponents. Undefeated at 23-0, many feel Khabib presents the biggest possible challenge to Eddie Alvarez’s lightweight championship. That’s a very real and intriguing prospect. Also worth considering is that ‘RDA’ appeared to be a very dominating force, but ‘the dog’ in Alvarez put that beast to sleep in no time.

MMA: UFC Fight Night-Dos Anjos vs Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor

Swaying away from the rankings, this scrap has all the makings of a pay-per-view record breaker. That said, as fans and pundits, PPV records aren’t exactly paramount, at least not for the purists. But, and it’s a big one, many are interested to see how ‘The Notorious’ will do at 155 pounds. Don’t think for one minute the UFC won’t book this fight either, as UFC 196 was originally meant to feature Rafael dos Anjos against the Irish star for the lightweight belt.

Should McGregor fight his way through the top 10 for a title fight at 155? Many would argue yes, but does this mean we won’t tune in if Alavarez vs. McGregor is announced as the UFC 205 main event?

Back to rankings…

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Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo 2

This fight has years of history. After sharing 18 months worth of beef, it took just 13 seconds for Conor McGregor to dethrone Jose Aldo. Claiming the formerly dominant Brazilian’s 145-pound strap, ‘The Notorious’ has spent the last two fights at 170 pounds against Nate Diaz. Many fans and the crop of irate featherweights are calling for McGregor to defend or vacate, so what if it’s the former?

Aldo never really got going in their first meeting, that’s not to say he would in a rematch, but he looked on fire against Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. Now, with the interim strap in hand, the tables have turned on McGregor and Aldo’s rivalry. The Irish star has a junior champion in his midst, and who wouldn’t want to see this fight in the UFC 205 main event?

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Dana White Wants Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo 2

The state of play in the UFC right now is odd, at best. With so much riding on the UFC’s first visit to New York, things couldn’t have been more confusing if they’d tried. Or at least, perhaps that’s what they’d like us to think. The promotion has been known to throw a few curve

The post Dana White Wants Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo 2 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The state of play in the UFC right now is odd, at best. With so much riding on the UFC’s first visit to New York, things couldn’t have been more confusing if they’d tried. Or at least, perhaps that’s what they’d like us to think. The promotion has been known to throw a few curve balls in the past, so maybe the lack of solid news is intentional. Either way, we’ve witnessed quite the circus of headlines this week, and once again Conor McGregor is at the centre of it all.

Following rampant reports of a lightweight title clash between Eddie Alvarez and the featherweight champion, news to the contrary emerged. Top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov claimed he’d signed two contracts to fight Alvarez, but ‘The Silent Assassin’ had not returned the favor. After we heard McGregor was still injured, ‘The Eagle’ vs. Alvarez was near-confirmed by Dana White. Once again conflicting reports threw the media in to a head spin.

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The Battle for MSG

The war to headline the historic Madison Square Garden car don November 12 continues. As money and rankings sit on the opposite side of each potential booking, this is truly a pivotal period for the UFC going forward. What about the featherweight division, you ask? Jose Aldo rose to the interim belt at UFC 200 against Frankie Edgar, and now we have the first mention of a unification match from Dana White. The UFC president told Kevin Iole of Yahoo that he fancies McGregor vs. Aldo 2:

“Conor’s foot is hurt, but he thinks he can fight,” White said. “I want him to fight Aldo.”

Simply assessing the complicated scenario in just a few words, Dana White seems to be voicing what many fans are feeling. The purist fans among us still old the rankings as paramount in terms of match making, as does Khabib Nurmagomedov. He also told Yahoo a few home truths on this situation:

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The Eagle Speaks

“Alvarez wants to fight McGregor, because it’s an easy fight and it’s a lot of money to fight him,” Nurmagomedov said. “But he has to fight me. Dana White has told me, ‘He is fighting you. He has to fight you.’ His record is only 2-1 in the UFC and he loses like a chicken to Cowboy [Cerrone]. How did he even get a title shot? I don’t know why he is so scared to fight me.”

“I would have to be careful in the first [round] because he does punch hard,” Nurmagomedov said. “In the second, I would start to catch him and in the third, I’d finish him. Mentally, he’s already lost to me.”

“I’ve worked for this title my whole life,” he said. “Madison Square Garden is the biggest arena in the world. Of course I would like to fight there. But Congo, Manila, Russia, Canada, Brazil, I don’t care. All I want is 25 minutes in the cage with Alvarez.”

“Put me in a cage somewhere with him and lock the door. Then I can show the world who the best really is.”

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Jose Aldo Reveals What Conor McGregor Is Really Like

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and his interim counterpart Joe Aldo have a very colorful history. ‘The Notorious’ first mentioned Aldo’s name back in 2013 after destroying Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut. Th duo were eventually paired in a pivotal title bout at UFC 189 that would never transpire. Eventually McGregor fought Chad Mendes for

The post Jose Aldo Reveals What Conor McGregor Is Really Like appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor and his interim counterpart Joe Aldo have a very colorful history. ‘The Notorious’ first mentioned Aldo’s name back in 2013 after destroying Marcus Brimage in his UFC debut. Th duo were eventually paired in a pivotal title bout at UFC 189 that would never transpire. Eventually McGregor fought Chad Mendes for the junior strap in the main event on July 11, 2015. The resulting second round TKO win for the Irishman set up a unification bout for the recovering Brazilian’s belt.

When McGregor and Aldo finally met i the octagon at UFC 194, they’d been embroiled in a year-long rivalry. The world tour for UFC 189 had seen countless confrontations and trash talking wars, and it all came to a head in 13 seconds. ‘Mystic Mac’ fulfilled his prophecy, laying Aldo down with a single well-timed left hand to the chin. As ‘Scarface’ came around from his flash slumber on the canvas, he awoke to a completely different world.

Rise and Fall

The fall of arguably the greatest 145-pound fighter of all-time was truly a historic moment. The time since has proved to be a wild ride, and has signalled the potential end of the rankings. ‘Money fights’ are he future, ushered in by that one-punch knockout that changed the way the cogs turned. While ‘The Notorious’ wondered up in weight to fight Nate Diaz twice, Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 200 for the interim belt.

Continuing the trend of cash over rankings, the Irish superstar now has sights on the lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez. The fierce rivalry with ‘Scarface’ must go on if Mcgregor plans to fight at featherweight again, but that’s yet to be revealed. According to a report on Bloody Elbow, the beef is not as serious as you’d think.

Jose Aldo Conor McGregor

Friends?

“It’s a friendly relationship. I don’t have a problem with him trying to promote himself. If we take a look at it money-wise, it was pretty good. I think there should be more fighters like him at featherweight. I’m not his friend, though. He can go his way and I can go mine.”

“I’ve seen him staring at a wall, looking at nothing with everyone around him trying to taunt him and he would just stand there, gazing. He’s a regular, mellow guy, but if he sees a camera or some Irish people, he transforms in a such way that makes you say to yourself ‘son of a bitch’”.

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Drinking with the enemy

“One day we were hanging out and he said he was going to get the coffee and I said I wanted mine with sugar and he said something like ‘nice’. Most of the times we met, there was always someone recording us, though, so he had to keep his persona up. With no cameras, he changes completely.”

Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor 2 is by no means a certainty, but one thing is–there’ll be no talk of friendship if/when they are booked to rematch.

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