Tag: UFC 179

[ARCHIVES] McGregor Continues To Steal The Show Before UFC 179

Conor McGregor is on his way to becoming the most entertaining fighter in MMA history.

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] McGregor Continues To Steal The Show Before UFC 179 at MMA News.

[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]

Here’s a look back to an editorial written about Conor McGregor in the middle of his rise to superstardom in 2014. The following piece was published seven years ago to this day and is presented to you in its original, unaltered form.

[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 23, 2014, 11:30 PM]

How can anyone not love Conor McGregor?

Seriously?

“The Notorious” one has been providing entertainment all week long as we head into Saturday’s UFC 179 pay-per-view in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Jose Aldo defends his UFC Featherweight Championship in a rematch against Chad Mendes.

While Aldo and Mendes are the headliners this weekend, no one is making more headlines than Ireland’s finest.

Whether it’s Mendes claiming he wants to punch a hole through McGregor’s face, or Aldo calling him a “sh*t,” Conor McGregor is getting people’s attention.

Whether it’s Conor ranting on Twitter (which resulted in a likely January bout with Dennis Siver), or hijacking live television interviews and threatening to rest his balls on a certain Featherweight’s forehead, McGregor is the man in the spotlight.

Whether it’s calling Ben Askren a “pube head”, or stealing the show on UFC 179 Embedded, Conor McGregor cannot — and will not — be ignored.

Hell, today alone, McGregor posted two tweets that generated legitimate laughter from yours truly, as he touted “sipping fresh coconut on the beach in Rio” and then posted a photo of himself with who he called UFC’s “Head Of Operations,” Garry Cook, in the back of an “armored vehicle” while referring to himself as UFC’s “Head Of Removing Heads.”

Conor McGregor is truly a rock star.

No one was sadder than I when Chael P. Sonnen retired — but fear not — his Irish-counterpart has arrived …in style.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to “The Notorious era.” The best part? We’re just getting started!

Talk about this on our official FACEBOOK page, or on our official TWITTER page. You can also talk about it in our popular FORUMS.

Continue Reading [ARCHIVES] McGregor Continues To Steal The Show Before UFC 179 at MMA News.

Video: Watch Jose Aldo’s Miserable UFC Q&A Session With Drunk Bostonians

(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

Fresh off the most embarrassing UFC Q&A ever involving CM Punk earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV., at UFC 182, the UFC thought it would be a great idea to call upon its featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo, to answer some hard-hitting questions in Boston a day before UFC Fight Night 59 (which takes place tonight, if you haven’t heard already).

It was sort of like a fair exchange, seeing how tonight’s headliner, Conor McGregor, goofed around with the Brazilian fans at his Q&A during UFC 179 weekend in Brazil, teasing the country and calling out some “mamacitas.”

If you predicted this installment was going to be as cringeworthy as the last few, then you deserve the Medal of Honor. Then again, would you rather watch these types of train wrecks, or a respectful and intelligent session with the likes of Cain Velasquez (UFC 180) or T.J. Dillashaw (UFC 181)?

It’s a tough call, really.


(Video courtesy of YouTube.com/UFC)

Fresh off the most embarrassing UFC Q&A ever involving CM Punk earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV., at UFC 182, the UFC thought it would be a great idea to call upon its featherweight kingpin, Jose Aldo, to answer some hard-hitting questions in Boston a day before UFC Fight Night 59 (which takes place tonight, if you haven’t heard already).

It was sort of like a fair exchange, seeing how tonight’s headliner, Conor McGregor, goofed around with the Brazilian fans at his Q&A during UFC 179 weekend in Brazil, teasing the country and calling out some “mamacitas.”

If you predicted this installment was going to be as cringeworthy as the last few, then you deserve the Medal of Honor. Then again, would you rather watch these types of train wrecks, or a respectful and intelligent session with the likes of Cain Velasquez (UFC 180) or T.J. Dillashaw (UFC 181)?

It’s a tough call, really.

But at the end of the day, the brass is already thinking ahead and promoting a contest between Aldo and McGregor for the UFC featherweight championship, considering the Irishman will crush the living hell out of that guy he’s fighting tonight.

Here are some low-points worth noting:

1:19 – Host Megan Olivi introduces Aldo to the Boston crowd, who gets booed like a classic pro wrestling heel with a smile on his face. The crowd is already chanting.

3:50 – Olivi asks “Are they serving beer here?” Gosh, she’s so naive in a really cute way.

5:20 – Co-host and translator Jorge Gurgel pleads with the audience to keep it down so he can hear the questions.

6:10 – Aldo sneaks in a gem, and says he has his mind on Dennis Siver after being asked a question of who would you rather, Anthony Pettis or T.J. Dillashaw. Either that, or Gurgel got it wrong. We don’t speak Portuguese.

6:30 – A kid who looks like a retired child actor asks Aldo if he would take McGregor seriously after he’s wearing his belt. Look, it’s kind of witty and all, but these trolling sessions are becoming excruciating.

7:34 – A guy asks what Aldo’s thoughts are on Jon Jones and the cocaine scandal, and if he’s “ever been in love with the coco himself.”

10:46 – A nine-year-old child asks what Aldo would think about fighting in Ireland once McGregor beats Siver. We’ll applaud this young hopeful for having the best question out of his peers. A future Helwani in the making.

11:43 – They take a small pause to let the fans chant. It’s getting exhaustive now, and it’s just over 10 minutes in.

12:08 – Some dude who looks like prime Kevin Smith comes up to the mic to laud McGregor, and impersonates his idol, without asking a question.

16:49 – Another young kid asks if Aldo has already started cleaning the belt for McGregor. The balls on this one.

17:45 – Olivi gets booed for saying they shouldn’t serve beer during these ordeals. A drunken buffoon immediately thanks her for “wearing those pants.” He then asks Gurgel for an Aldo vs. McGregor prediction fight, and despite initially refusing, the MMA veteran claims Aldo will beat him.

22:39 – Another wizard with a beer in hand asks roughly the same Pettis or Dillashaw question, thinking he just cracked the Da Vinci code.

24:46 – A guy asks Aldo if he will be rooting for the New England Patriots in their championship game. Sigh.

26:25 – No idea what this bonehead said.

27:17 – Lastly (for us, at least), a guy asks for Conor’s sister’s hand, and then starts chanting, “There’s Only One Conor’s Sister.” Olivi reminds this idiot McGregor has two sisters.

At least Aldo stayed strong and stood his ground with his answers, stating on multiple occasions that he’s going to beat McGregor, and had no problem playing the bad guy. After multiple questions from people reading them on their mobiles and asking for pictures, loud chanting, and a segment that went way too long, the hosts seemed completely exhausted by the end of it all.

Now, we all know the UFC will never garner the mainstream attention it truly desires, but this doesn’t help. It’s hard enough to convince a friend that MMA is really special at times, considering we have to put up with this nonsense more often than not. It also proves that UFC fans (not all of them) really fit the stereotypes of lifeless and bloodthirsty ignoramuses.

Maybe (and this is just an idea) the company should consider cleaning up these types of shindigs. When someone neat and accomplished came through our high school for a Q&A, a teacher normally stood by the mic and asked a student to tell them their question first, before spewing saliva all over the place. It wouldn’t be bad for UFC to send someone down to control the questions, or better yet, control the beer sales.

Until then, these Q&A’s will just be a big drunken party where aspiring journalists will ruin their credibility in six seconds.

– Alex G.

The UFC 178-181 PPV Buyrate Estimates Are About as ‘Meh’ as You’d Expect


(Pretending that Mighty Mouse wasn’t headlining the card may have been a brilliant marketing strategy — but it wasn’t enough to make UFC 178 a success.)

Reddit user thisisdanitis passes along the latest UFC pay-per-view buyrate estimates from Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer newsletter, which provide more proof that the UFC’s PPV business just ain’t what it used to be. Here we go…

UFC 178 (Johnson-Cariaso, Cerrone-Alvarez, McGregor-Poirier): 205,000 buys

UFC 179 (Aldo vs. Mendes): 160,000-200,000 buys

UFC 180 (Werdum vs. Hunt): 185,000-200,000 buys

UFC 181 (Hendricks vs. Lawler, Pettis vs. Melendez): 380,000 (This is an early number and may change somewhat based on late reporting cable systems.)

The UFC 178 estimate is the most surprising to me, because the event was so highly anticipated among hardcore MMA fans as a “stacked” card with Event of the Year potential, and it still barely broke 200k. Of course, casual fans only look at the main event, and Demetrious Johnson is basically the worst PPV draw on the roster.

It’s almost as surprising that UFC 180 performed as well as it did, considering that the card had no stars outside of the main event. And 380,000 buys for UFC 181 is very good, relatively speaking. That’s like the equivalent of 650,000 buys in 2009.


(Pretending that Mighty Mouse wasn’t headlining the card may have been a brilliant marketing strategy — but it wasn’t enough to make UFC 178 a success.)

Reddit user thisisdanitis passes along the latest UFC pay-per-view buyrate estimates from Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer newsletter, which provide more proof that the UFC’s PPV business just ain’t what it used to be. Here we go…

UFC 178 (Johnson-Cariaso, Cerrone-Alvarez, McGregor-Poirier): 205,000 buys

UFC 179 (Aldo vs. Mendes): 160,000-200,000 buys

UFC 180 (Werdum vs. Hunt): 185,000-200,000 buys

UFC 181 (Hendricks vs. Lawler, Pettis vs. Melendez): 380,000 (This is an early number and may change somewhat based on late reporting cable systems.)

The UFC 178 estimate is the most surprising to me, because the event was so highly anticipated among hardcore MMA fans as a “stacked” card with Event of the Year potential, and it still barely broke 200k. Of course, casual fans only look at the main event, and Demetrious Johnson is basically the worst PPV draw on the roster.

It’s almost as surprising that UFC 180 performed as well as it did, considering that the card had no stars outside of the main event. And 380,000 buys for UFC 181 is very good, relatively speaking. That’s like the equivalent of 650,000 buys in 2009.

The UFC’s next three PPVs should pull the promotion’s buyrates out of the garbage, at least. UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier and UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz have massive main events (but thin supporting cards), and UFC 184 features the double title-fight punch of Weidman vs. Belfort and Rousey vs. Zingano. So where will the buyrates for those cards end up? And if more than one of them falls below 500k, will the UFC just give up and focus its business on novelty barbecue equipment?

UFC Rankings: Good Calls and Bad Calls Following UFC 179

Usually dominant, Jose Aldo ran into a tough bout Saturday against Chad Mendes.
In his first meeting with Mendes, Aldo took care of business quickly. After stuffing several takedowns, the featherweight champion defended his belt with a knee as the open…

Usually dominant, Jose Aldo ran into a tough bout Saturday against Chad Mendes.

In his first meeting with Mendes, Aldo took care of business quickly. After stuffing several takedowns, the featherweight champion defended his belt with a knee as the opening round neared an end. At UFC 179, Mendes was much more competitive, hurting the champion with heavy punches on multiple occasions. In the end, though, Aldo stood tall once again, winning on all three scorecards.

Currently, Aldo is now tied with Jon Jones for the most consecutive UFC title defenses among current champions. Will that be enough to move him upward in the pound-for-pound rankings?

Here are the latest official UFC rankings via UFC.com, which are voted on by various members of the MMA media. 

Begin Slideshow

Poll: Who Should Jose Aldo Fight Next — Cub Swanson or Conor McGregor?


(Presented without comment.)

It seems Jose Aldo won’t even be given a chance to clean out the cobwebs from his epic war with Chad Mendes last weekend before we start discussing who he will face next. While the crowd vote seems to be swaying in the way of a fast-talking Irishman wid da finest suits money can buy, the MMA media almost unanimously agree that whatever Daddy Dana says is fine Cub Swanson, should he defeat Frankie Edgar at Fight Night 57 next month, would undoubtedly establish himself as the division’s true #1 contender.

Chuck Mindenhall wrote a great piece about the prospect of giving Conor McGregor the next title shot over at MMAFighting, but that was before McGregor was booked to take on Dennis Siver in Boston on January 18th*. Swanson, on the other hand, took to Twitter following Aldo’s victory to ensure fans that he would be given the next title shot “as long as he won his fight against Edgar.”

Unfortunately for Swanson, a verbal agreement for a title shot doesn’t mean sh*t when you’ve got a bonafide star like McGregor waiting in the wings. In his post-scrum interview with Ariel Helwani at UFC 179, Dana White declared that “If everything goes to plan, then we can probably have a fight between [McGregor and Aldo] in the summer.” Not only does this statement directly contradict the title fight Swanson was apparently promised, but it really doesn’t say much for how the UFC feels Siver’s chances are against McGregor either.

It’s a clusterfuck of a situation, basically, but it’s times like these when the voice of *true* reason needs to be heard. We’re talking about the voice of MMA fans so hardcore that they only a follow an uncredentialed blog full of UFC-hating hacks, posers, and h8rs. We’re talking about fans who read a blog that pulls no punches except for when they are forced to by threat of legal action. We’re talking about MMA fans who read a blog that was quoted by The New Yorker and Jezebel this year and not once paused to brag about it. They are called…the Taters.

Join us after the jump to vote in our poll, Taters, lest your humorous insight and spot-on analysis of the featherweight title picture go unheard.


(Presented without comment.)

It seems Jose Aldo won’t even be given a chance to clean out the cobwebs from his epic war with Chad Mendes last weekend before we start discussing who he will face next. While the crowd vote seems to be swaying in the way of a fast-talking Irishman wid da finest suits money can buy, the MMA media almost unanimously agree that whatever Daddy Dana says is fine Cub Swanson, should he defeat Frankie Edgar at Fight Night 57 next month, would undoubtedly establish himself as the division’s true #1 contender.

Chuck Mindenhall wrote a great piece about the prospect of giving Conor McGregor the next title shot over at MMAFighting, but that was before McGregor was booked to take on Dennis Siver in Boston on January 18th*. Swanson, on the other hand, took to Twitter following Aldo’s victory to ensure fans that he would be given the next title shot “as long as he won his fight against Edgar.”

Unfortunately for Swanson, a verbal agreement for a title shot doesn’t mean sh*t when you’ve got a bonafide star like McGregor waiting in the wings. In his post-scrum interview with Ariel Helwani at UFC 179, Dana White declared that “If everything goes to plan, then we can probably have a fight between [McGregor and Aldo] in the summer.” Not only does this statement directly contradict the title fight Swanson was apparently promised, but it really doesn’t say much for how the UFC feels Siver’s chances are against McGregor either.

It’s a clusterfuck of a situation, basically, but it’s times like these when the voice of *true* reason needs to be heard. We’re talking about the voice of MMA fans so hardcore that they only a follow an uncredentialed blog full of UFC-hating hacks and posers. We’re talking about MMA fans who read a blog that pulls no punches except for when they are forced to by threat of legal action. We’re talking about MMA fans who read a blog that was quoted by The New Yorker and Jezebel this year and not once paused to brag about it. They are called…the Taters.

Join us after the jump to vote in our poll, Taters, lest your humorous insight and spot-on analysis of the featherweight title picture go unheard.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

–J. Jones

UFC 179 Videos: Aldo vs. Mendes Highlights, Conor McGregor and Anderson Silva Are Called Out + More

(Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes UFC 179 highlights, via UFC on FOX)

In case you missed the action on Saturday night, check out this video recap of the five-round war between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes at UFC 179 in Rio. Aldo came out of the fight looking worse for the wear, but took four out of five rounds on all three judges scorecards.

Below: Aldo and Mendes are interviewed after the bout, and the champ discusses the late-punches controversy at the end of round 1. Aldo lands a great diss on Conor McGregor — “I’m the king, Chad’s the prince, and now we have a joker” — while Mendes just promises to kick McGregor’s ass.

And speak of the devil…


(Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes UFC 179 highlights, via UFC on FOX)

In case you missed the action on Saturday night, check out this video recap of the five-round war between Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes at UFC 179 in Rio. Aldo came out of the fight looking worse for the wear, but took four out of five rounds on all three judges scorecards.

Below: Aldo and Mendes are interviewed after the bout, and the champ discusses the late-punches controversy at the end of round 1. Aldo lands a great diss on Conor McGregor — “I’m the king, Chad’s the prince, and now we have a joker” — while Mendes just promises to kick McGregor’s ass.

And speak of the devil…

Conor McGregor gives his thoughts on the fight and gives respect to both men for a “phenomenal contest.” But of course, he could beat either of them and thinks he’s next in line for a title shot.

Anderson Silva arrives at the arena to a hero’s welcome.

Highlights from the Phil Davis vs. Glover Teixeira co-main event (such as they are)…

…and Davis’s awkward post-fight interview in which he quotes Passenger 57 and calls out Anderson Silva for no apparent reason.

And finally, highlights from the UFC 179 post-event press conference. Click here for the whole thing.