UFC newbie Michael Chandler enjoyed one of the best promotional debuts of all time when he quickly knocked out top lightweight contender Dan Hooker in Abu Dhabi last weekend. Post-fight, Chandler grabbed the mic and cut an epic WWE style promo. ‘Iron Mike’ called out UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and MMA superstar Conor McGregor. […]
Post-fight, Chandler grabbed the mic and cut an epic WWE style promo. ‘Iron Mike’ called out UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and MMA superstar Conor McGregor. It was akin to wrestling legend Ric Flair’s speech when he won the Royal Rumble in 1992.
‘The Nature Boy’ was apparently so impressed by Chandler and the speech that he got in touch. The three-time Bellator champion couldn’t hide his excitement after getting the call from Flair. Chandler took to social media to share his experience with the fans.
“Are you kidding me? – Just got a personal zoom call from @ricflairnatureboy to congratulate me on my win at #ufc257-Living an actual dream,” Chandler wrote on Instagram. “Thank y’all for being on this journey with me – Stay the course. Eventually all your hard work will pay off, you just still have to be standing there with arms wide open when it does. – WOOOOOOOOOO! – See you at the top! – Huge thanks to @theathleteassist for making the connection for me.”
We all tend to take for granted that the UFC makes MMA a bit more serious than it is at its core. With the stars and titles and big pay-per-views, you’d almost forget what the game is in actuality.
It’s a carnival sport, a more real cousin of professio…
We all tend to take for granted that the UFC makes MMA a bit more serious than it is at its core. With the stars and titles and big pay-per-views, you’d almost forget what the game is in actuality.
It’s a carnival sport, a more real cousin of professional wrestling where scripted outcomes are missing but loudmouths who are willing to live their gimmick have increasingly gotten ahead. To that end, Vince McMahon and his band of merry entertainers could surely relate to it.
If you don’t agree, consider Exhibit A: a classic Ric Flair faceplant following a low blow in a recent Indonesian MMA bout, held by One Pride MMA.
Following a relatively low-impact lead leg kick that struck the groin area, the fighter throwing the kick stops. He knows he’s in the wrong, and though he’s willing to continue the fight, he halts and considers the situation.
If there’s more fight to be had, he’ll have it, but in the name of sportsmanship, he leaves the next move to his counterpart in the red corner.
That move?
Comically grab his cup, adjust it a few times, take a single step and faceplant hard on the mat. Flair himself—the subject of the most recent 30 for 30 and suddenly resurgent popular culture icon as a result—couldn’t have done it better.
The referee steps in, presumably to give our Flair Lite the five minutes he needs to recover, and the clip is over. We don’t know what happened in the immediate aftermath, but what we have is easily one of the more memorable reactions to a low blow in recent MMA history.
Thank the heavens for this wonderful, bizarre sport.
Conor McGregor’s boxing skills allowed him to hang with Floyd Mayweather Jr. longer than anyone expected in the MMA vs. boxing megafight. It was his WWE-style bravado, verbal assaults and larger-than-life presence that helped make that bout the must-wa…
Conor McGregor‘s boxing skills allowed him to hang with Floyd Mayweather Jr. longer than anyone expected in the MMA vs. boxing megafight. It was his WWE-style bravado, verbal assaults and larger-than-life presence that helped make that bout the must-watch phenomenon that it was.
McGregor is UFC’s biggest name. He’s a fighter even the most casual fan has an opinion about.
And his star power is so great that his pro boxing debut on Saturday was the talk of the sports world.
Everyone from P Diddy to LeBron James was in attendance that night. The pay-per-view numbers are expected to be historic. The Telegraph estimated the fight’s total revenue at $700 million. All this for a guy with a 0-0 boxing record.
It’s not just McGregor’s knockout power and defense that got him to this point and allowed him to churn this kind of buzz. His personality and trash-talk acumen moved him into the mainstream. It’s that part of his game that is heavily influenced by the world of pro wrestling.
McGregor is loud, brash and defiantly over the top. He cuts down opponents with one-liners and lands verbal body blows as he lays on the disrespect thick.
His pre-fight promises sound they belong on WWE Raw.
McGregor told the media in 2013 ahead of his fight with Max Holloway: “There are two things I really like to do and that’s whoop ass and look good. I’m doing one of them right now, and on Saturday night, I’m doing the other.”
He gifted us equally entertaining quotes before tangling with Mayweather:
The trash talk McGregor emits is art. It’s snappy and unforgiving. It’s the rhetoric of a pro wrestler, the kind of ammo The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Roddy Piper fired at their foes.
Former WWE champion Chris Jericho referred to McGregor in an interview with Sports Illustrated as a “yappy” guy who “knows the concept of cutting a wrestling promo.”
The Notorious One has not been shying about borrowing from Ric Flair in terms of his look, either.
McGregor’s flashy style often parallels that of the WWE Hall of Famer. He sports loud suits, sunglasses indoors, and the finest shoes and watches that money can buy.
The getup he sported at the press conference for his UFC 205 clash with Eddie Alvarez last November looked plucked straight from The Nature Boy’s collection:
At a 2013 press conference, McGregor spat lines that would have been right at home in a Flair promo: “These custom-made suits aren’t cheap. This solid gold pocket watch…three people died making this watch.”
Even McGregor’s gait has a WWE tinge to it.
The Irishman has long emulated The Chairman in the way he walks. Much like WWE head Vince McMahon, McGregor struts with his arms swinging dramatically at his sides, his head bobbing like a peacock.
Like Muhammad Ali before him, McGregor has realized that people will pay big bucks to see someone they find irksome get knocked around.
Ali explained that wrestler Gorgeous George influenced the way he presented himself. It’s clear that McGregor learned similar lessons from the squared circle.
The WWE-esque elements of McGregor’s total package have helped him stand out among all the other hard-hitting warriors of the Octagon. He has leaned on his personality to make a name beyond what his fists and feet could.
McGregor infamously blasted WWE stars last fall but owes a debt to that world. Pro wrestling provided the blueprint to create headlines and make money from what comes out of his mouth.
Those who were hoping the Conor McGregor vs. WWE feud would die already are going to be waiting a bit longer, as “The Notorious” one spoke more about the company and some of its’ talent during his official UFC 202 Media Day Q&A (Watch Here).
The WWE Superstar that McGregor seemed to zero in on the most was John Cena, the top star of the promotion for well over ten years. When he was asked about his recent beef with WWE, McGregor brought up Cena and immediately started firing shots at the popular wrestling star.
“What’s the main guy? John Cena. He’s 40. He’s 40 years of age. He’s walking around in a luminous orange t-shirt and a headband talking about nobody can see him. We can see him right there. He’s a big fat, 40-year-old failed Mr. Olympia mother f*cker.”
When McGregor made his initial remarks towards WWE and some of their talent, referring to them as “messed up p*ssies,” among those who were quick to fire back at the UFC star was WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Flair, who took most of his persona and overall act from Buddy Rogers, a legend who preceded him in the pro wrestling business, posted a tweet where he criticized McGregor for stealing his brash, trash-talking rich guy gimmick. In response to “Naitch,” McGregor simply pointed out the fact that what he does for a living is real, so he couldn’t possibly be a gimmick.
“I don’t know what to say to Ric Flair. This ain’t no gimmick. This is the real sh*t. I’ve gotta get in and fight a man for real. With no script, with no nothing. He was talking about bringing some other wrestler guys out to challenge me. Come bring it, then. This is the real shit over here. You know want to come over, we can fight no problem. A few of them are talking about the street and all. If they want to do that, come at me and see what happens.”
As the WWE-related talk continued, McGregor reiterated a point he made during the aforementioned UFC 202 media call regarding the fact that he has respect for some WWE figures, specifically naming the same group of people he did the first time around — WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and along with Hulk Hogan, arguably two of the biggest stars in the history of the company — “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This time, strangely enough, he added Ric Flair’s name to the list of WWE stars he does like.
“Like I said, no disrespect to the dons of the game, the McMahons. [WWE CEO Vince McMahon] is a f*cking legend. They wrote Vinny off a few years ago when he dropped from the billions and then he rose back up and now he’s back in the billionaire club. What he’s been able to do with that bunch of dweebs he has over there at the moment has been phenomenal and I respect him for that. And then of course the OGs of the game, The Rock, Stone Cold, they’re cool mother f*ckers. Even Ric Flair is a cool mother f*cker.”
As far as everyone not named McMahon, Austin, Rock or Flair, McGregor tried to elaborate on his issue with them, but didn’t really have anything specific to support his “dweeb” or previous “messed up p*ssies” claims.
“I’m just speaking the truth. That new age of those guys are absolute dweebs. They just seem messed up in the head. I don’t know what it is. When I listen to them talk, when I listen to them carry themselves, they just don”t seem right in the head. That might have been a bit rudeness for me to say, but again: It ain’t trash talk, it’s truth talk.”
In closing, McGregor pointed out his ability to get the top stars from multiple sports and entertainment companies to focus their time and energy on him, something that clearly just helps broaden the awareness level of himself and the sport of MMA in general.
“I’ve got them all wrapped up on my little finger. The boxing game, the MMA game. Now I’ve got those wrestling dweebs in here as well. I’ve got the whole sh*t locked up.”
Conor McGregor will look to avenge his first and thus far only defeat inside the Octagon when he meets Nate Diaz in an immediate 170-pound rematch in the main event of next Saturday’s UFC 202 pay-per-view.
UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2 takes place on Saturday, August 20, 2016 from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Join us here at MMANews.com on 8/20 for live coverage of the UFC 202 PPV.
H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above Conor McGregor quotes from Friday’s UFC 202 Media Day Q&A event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Those who were hoping the Conor McGregor vs. WWE feud would die already are going to be waiting a bit longer, as “The Notorious” one spoke more about the company and some of its’ talent during his official UFC 202 Media Day Q&A (Watch Here).
The WWE Superstar that McGregor seemed to zero in on the most was John Cena, the top star of the promotion for well over ten years. When he was asked about his recent beef with WWE, McGregor brought up Cena and immediately started firing shots at the popular wrestling star.
“What’s the main guy? John Cena. He’s 40. He’s 40 years of age. He’s walking around in a luminous orange t-shirt and a headband talking about nobody can see him. We can see him right there. He’s a big fat, 40-year-old failed Mr. Olympia mother f*cker.”
When McGregor made his initial remarks towards WWE and some of their talent, referring to them as “messed up p*ssies,” among those who were quick to fire back at the UFC star was WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair.
Flair, who took most of his persona and overall act from Buddy Rogers, a legend who preceded him in the pro wrestling business, posted a tweet where he criticized McGregor for stealing his brash, trash-talking rich guy gimmick. In response to “Naitch,” McGregor simply pointed out the fact that what he does for a living is real, so he couldn’t possibly be a gimmick.
“I don’t know what to say to Ric Flair. This ain’t no gimmick. This is the real sh*t. I’ve gotta get in and fight a man for real. With no script, with no nothing. He was talking about bringing some other wrestler guys out to challenge me. Come bring it, then. This is the real shit over here. You know want to come over, we can fight no problem. A few of them are talking about the street and all. If they want to do that, come at me and see what happens.”
As the WWE-related talk continued, McGregor reiterated a point he made during the aforementioned UFC 202 media call regarding the fact that he has respect for some WWE figures, specifically naming the same group of people he did the first time around — WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and along with Hulk Hogan, arguably two of the biggest stars in the history of the company — “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This time, strangely enough, he added Ric Flair’s name to the list of WWE stars he does like.
“Like I said, no disrespect to the dons of the game, the McMahons. [WWE CEO Vince McMahon] is a f*cking legend. They wrote Vinny off a few years ago when he dropped from the billions and then he rose back up and now he’s back in the billionaire club. What he’s been able to do with that bunch of dweebs he has over there at the moment has been phenomenal and I respect him for that. And then of course the OGs of the game, The Rock, Stone Cold, they’re cool mother f*ckers. Even Ric Flair is a cool mother f*cker.”
As far as everyone not named McMahon, Austin, Rock or Flair, McGregor tried to elaborate on his issue with them, but didn’t really have anything specific to support his “dweeb” or previous “messed up p*ssies” claims.
“I’m just speaking the truth. That new age of those guys are absolute dweebs. They just seem messed up in the head. I don’t know what it is. When I listen to them talk, when I listen to them carry themselves, they just don”t seem right in the head. That might have been a bit rudeness for me to say, but again: It ain’t trash talk, it’s truth talk.”
In closing, McGregor pointed out his ability to get the top stars from multiple sports and entertainment companies to focus their time and energy on him, something that clearly just helps broaden the awareness level of himself and the sport of MMA in general.
“I’ve got them all wrapped up on my little finger. The boxing game, the MMA game. Now I’ve got those wrestling dweebs in here as well. I’ve got the whole sh*t locked up.”
Conor McGregor will look to avenge his first and thus far only defeat inside the Octagon when he meets Nate Diaz in an immediate 170-pound rematch in the main event of next Saturday’s UFC 202 pay-per-view.
UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2 takes place on Saturday, August 20, 2016 from the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Join us here at MMANews.com on 8/20 for live coverage of the UFC 202 PPV.
H/T to MMAFighting.com for transcribing the above Conor McGregor quotes from Friday’s UFC 202 Media Day Q&A event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
By now everyone has seen that top UFC star and reigning 145-pound UFC Champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor has gotten the pro wrestling world riled up with his recent comments during the official media call (listen here) for his upcoming rematch aga…
By now everyone has seen that top UFC star and reigning 145-pound UFC Champion “The Notorious” Conor McGregor has gotten the pro wrestling world riled up with his recent comments during the official media call (listen here) for his upcoming rematch against Nate Diaz in the main event of this month’s UFC 202 pay-per-view.
McGregor spoke about Brock Lesnar’s failed UFC drug tests for his UFC 200 fight against Mark Hunt. “The Notorious” one gave “The Beast Incarnate” credit for stepping into the Octagon, but pointed out his belief that he was “juiced up to his eyeballs.”
McGregor wouldn’t give his opinion on former WWE Superstar turned UFC hopeful CM Punk (Phil Brooks), noting that he hasn’t seen him fight yet, but did take aim at the entire WWE roster. According to McGregor, for the most part, everyone in WWE are “f*cking p*ssies.”
On Sunday, afternoon, McGregor took to his official Twitter page, where he apologized to the WWE fans, noting he never meant to disrespect them. Of course, he followed that up by saying, “What I meant to say was that I’d slap the head off your entire roster. And twice on Sunday’s.”
Two more WWE talents have spoken out about McGregor’s comments, as WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair and up-and-coming prospect Tommaso Ciampa were the latest to chime in with a response for the UFC mega-star.
Coming from a guy who built a career copying my persona, I expected the type of class we get from Ronda or Anderson. pic.twitter.com/iVoC0Xva5g
UFC featherweight Conor McGregor may have another fight to worry about instead of his UFC 202 contest against Nate Diaz, and it’s with the entire World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) locker room. In a recent media conference call for UFC 202, McGregor was asked if he would ever consider a career in the industry of professional
UFC featherweight Conor McGregor may have another fight to worry about instead of his UFC 202 contest against Nate Diaz, and it’s with the entire World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) locker room.
In a recent media conference call for UFC 202, McGregor was asked if he would ever consider a career in the industry of professional wrestling, and had this to say:
“For the most part, those WWE guys are p*ssies, to be honest,” McGregor said. “They’re messed up p*ssies, if you ask me. Fair play to Brock [Lesnar], he got in and fought, but at the end of the day he was juiced up to the f*cking eye balls, so how can I respect that? And then what’s the other guy? The other guy hasn’t fought yet, so I don’t know about him yet.”
“There’s some dons in that wrestling game,” McGregor said. “The McMahons, they’re dons. Triple H is a don. The Rock is a don. But the rest of them are p*ssies.”
“I haven’t really thought of that to be honest,” he said. “Again, that’s a little more show business. This is the fight business.”
McGregor would take a lot of heat from WWE fans following his comments, and took to Twitter to apologize in his own special way:
I didn't mean no disrespect to the @wwe fans. What I meant to say was that I'd slap the head off your entire roster. And twice on Sunday's.
