It appears a third Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight could be heading our way very soon. UFC lightweight champion McGregor teased a trilogy fight with Diaz after his 10th-round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring on August 26, but it’s not as if the fight needed confirmation that it was actually […]
It appears a third Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz fight could be heading our way very soon.
UFC lightweight champion McGregor teased a trilogy fight with Diaz after his 10th-round TKO loss to Floyd Mayweather in the boxing ring on August 26, but it’s not as if the fight needed confirmation that it was actually going to happen. No – it was only a matter of time after the two rivals engaged in quite possibly the most popular rivalry in UFC history when they split a pair of fights at UFC 196 and UFC 202 last year.
“The Notorious” went on to win the UFC lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez and face Mayweather, yet Diaz has been on the sidelines awaiting his third and final payday against the outspoken Irish megastar. Now that the bout appears on the near horizon, however, Diaz is making his presence known.
The popular anti-hero took to Instagramearlier today to blast McGregor for his loss to Mayweather, calling the fight “overpromotion bullshit”:
Last night, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor stated that longtime rival Nate Diaz would have to meet him at 155 pounds if he wanted to cash in on an oft-rumored trilogy bout after the two stars met twice at 170 pounds in 2016. Following McGregor’s tenth-round TKO loss to boxing great Floyd Mayweather last weekend, “The […]
Last night, UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor stated that longtime rival Nate Diaz would have to meet him at 155 pounds if he wanted to cash in on an oft-rumored trilogy bout after the two stars met twice at 170 pounds in 2016.
Following McGregor’s tenth-round TKO loss to boxing great Floyd Mayweather last weekend, “The Notorious” is understandably aiming for an octagon return, and not surprisingly, he’s aiming for Diaz in what would most likely be the biggest payday for both men.
But while the Irish megastar’s purse and residual income would be guaranteed, Diaz is apparently still looking for a lot more money as usual. However, just how big of a payday he’s looking for may be tough to secure.
The popular and polarizing Stockton native, who’s been out of action since a close majority decision loss to McGregor at UFC 202, is apparently looking for quite the sum according to his longtime coach Richard Perez, who told Submission Radio just how much he wants from the UFC:
“At least $20 million, $30 million. Come on. UFC’s making a whole lot of money, a whole lot of money and they’re pocketing it. They’re giving more to McGregor, so it’s not fair because it takes two in that ring to draw a crowd – I mean, a good two fighters. It’s just like Mayweather when he fought Berto. It was not even sold out at all. It was embarrassing. It’s because that guy couldn’t draw a crowd. See, that’s what I’m saying, it’s the fighters that draw the crowd, and Nathan and McGregor, third one would be outstanding. Everyone knows that. So he needs to get paid at least $30 million easy.”
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Indeed the UFC is making a ton of money off of McGregor, but it’s debatable if they’re making much more off of the rest of their roster during a downtrodden 2017 where strong pay-per-view numbers have been incredibly difficult to come by, a dynamic that only got worse when troubled light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tested positive for steroids following his knockout win over Daniel Cormier at late July’s UFC 214. Diaz may deserve a sum on that level; however, it will be tough to get it from the new UFC owners WME-IMG, who have appeared hellbent on reducing costs during their one-year tenure thus far.
McGregor vs. Diaz is one of, and arguably the, biggest fight the UFC could sign to end the year off with a bang, as there’s no other bout that comes close to matching the backstory and intrigue of MMA’s biggest current rivalry. Many thought Diaz would close that rivalry by beating McGregor twice after submitting him in their first bout, but he supposedly came into UFC 202 with an injury that limited his ability to train.
If he can avoid such a scenario for the third fight, Perez suggested, then McGregor will have ‘no chance’:
“If Nathan goes through training camp with no injuries, McGregor’s not gonna have a chance,” Perez said. “I’ll tell you that right now. If you watch some of the fights, like when Nathan fought (Donald) ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and some other guys, he was in tip-top shape, he wasn’t injured or anything, he went out there and did it, he boxed them. And when he’s in tip-top shape, he can box. I mean, they think McGregor can box, Nathan can box.
“Right now in the last two fights he fought him, the first time was 11-day notice, so it wasn’t enough time but it was enough time to get a win. Second time he got injured so he had to lay back, so it put him back as far as being in shape and being accurate in timing. And people were thinking, ‘oh, he’s gonna come back and be better,’ no, they don’t see the outcome of it, the true outcome of what happened. It’s like any fighter.
Conor McGregor certainly achieved a great amount of success in his boxing match with all-time legend Floyd Mayweather last weekend from Las Vegas, as the MMA superstar was able to land more punches on the elusive great than many world-class boxers had against “Money.” But ultimately he succumbed to a tenth-round TKO after he faded badly […]
Conor McGregor certainly achieved a great amount of success in his boxing match with all-time legend Floyd Mayweather last weekend from Las Vegas, as the MMA superstar was able to land more punches on the elusive great than many world-class boxers had against “Money.”
But ultimately he succumbed to a tenth-round TKO after he faded badly and Mayweather poured on the pressure, and regardless of if you felt the stoppage by referee Robert Byrd was early or not, McGregor clearly had little left in the tank in the later rounds. He admitted as much after the fight, and it was hardly a surprise to hear him talk about returning to the octagon before the year is over – if his medical suspension is able to be surpassed.
When he does, the clear frontrunner for his next MMA bout is his oft-discussed trilogy bout with rival Nate Diaz after the two split a pair of record-grossing classics at UFC 196 and 202 last year.
“The Notorious” has already begun sowing the seeds of the bout in the media, and he recently took discussion of the fight to a new level in an interview with BBC News (via BJPenn.com), declaring that Diaz would have to cut down to 155 pounds where he holds the title after they met at 170 pounds in their two original bouts:
“I’m the 155-pound champion. I faced him at 170, he beat me, then I rematched him at 170, I beat him. Now I’m the 155-pound world champion, now if he wants that fight, he must come down — that’s a fair trade. I didn’t ask for the rematch at a lower weight, I asked for the rematch at the exact same weight. I thought that was a fair play move on my behalf and I came in and I won. So, now I won that and I won the 155 title after that, so if he wants the fight he has to make that 155-pound limit.”
Photo by Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports
It’s far from a surprise to hear McGregor insist Diaz has to meet him in the division he currently rules over (although some fight fans would say it’s a surprise) because the major advantage many felt Diaz had over McGregor was size. The Stockton star has had trouble making the 155-pound limit before, most recently in his late 2014 loss to former champion Rafael dos Anjos, a fight before which he said he was significantly injured.
McGregor vs. Diaz II was a bout that was going to made eventually no matter what, and putting the title on the line will make it the biggest fight the UFC has on the table right now. It’d be a perfect headliner for the New Year’s Eve weekend card on December 30, and would almost assuredly deliver the biggest pay-per-view numbers in a year that has been painfully short of just that thanks to McGregor’s absence from MMA.
Diaz may not want to cut down to lightweight at this point in his career, but taking into account the payday he would receive and the fact that it appears to be the only fight he’s willing to return to MMA for, it’s going to happen sometime, and most likely sometime soon.
Conor McGregor may have come up short in his boxing debut against all-time great Floyd Mayweather (watch full highlights here) last night (Sat., August 26, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., but “The Notorious” UFC champion obviously still has a bevy of lucrative fights awaiting him once he decides to return – be […]
Conor McGregor may have come up short in his boxing debut against all-time great Floyd Mayweather (watch full highlights here) last night (Sat., August 26, 2017) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., but “The Notorious” UFC champion obviously still has a bevy of lucrative fights awaiting him once he decides to return – be it in MMA or the boxing ring once again.
He’s certainly earned at least a brief amount of time to reset and collect his thoughts, as he put forth an effort that many felt was impossible due to him having no professional boxing bouts on his resumé. Both he and his boss, UFC President Dana White, have suggested McGregor will be back in the octagon before 2017 is finished.It’s certainly what the UFC needs – especially
It’s certainly what the UFC needs – especially in the aftermath of Jon Jones’ latest failed drug test – but McGregor says he needs to discuss his financial arrangement with new UFC owners WME-IMG, and wouldn’t rule out a possible boxing return during the during the Mayweather vs. McGregor post-fight press conference.
While the MMA superstar wouldn’t commit to anything just yet, he did also hint at a possible trilogy bout with his longtime rival Nate Diaz in the near future (transcribed by MMA Fighting):
“I’m certainly open to hearing what WME-IMG, what they want, and what Showtime wants, and if they want me to come over to boxing then we can talk. I’m certainly young. Twenty-nine years of age. I don’t think the boxing world or the fighting world has seen a man as confident as this come in at this age and with this amount of accolades and this amount of records and this amount of revenue generated. So I’m certainly open to all options.
“I have certainly many contenders in the mixed martial arts game. I have a trilogy bout with Nate Diaz that’s sitting there, I have options.”
Photo: Joshua Dahl for USA TODAY Sports
Diaz seems to most certainly want the fight, especially considering scenes like these. But while the options are certainly open for McGregor, who just turned 29, he obviously isn’t quite sure exactly what’s next even though he wants to continue to improve in the boxing game:
“People ask me what’s next. I’m not quite sure what’s next,” McGregor said. “I have multiple titles in the UFC to think about and I could always continue in the boxing game so what’s next for me is to continue to study and continue to learn.”
So with the entire combat sports world speculating about what’s next for arguably its biggest star, McGregor himself isn’t in as much of a rush. He’s proud to have accomplished what he did versus Mayweather, even in a loss, and revealed he was a ‘free agent’ who had his name on the side of the ring in one of boxing’s biggest fights ever last night:
“I’m just relishing in it for now,” McGregor said. “I have many options in mixed martial arts. I’m sure there’s options now that will present themselves in the boxing game. Right now I’m a free agent, my name is on the ring. McGregor Sports and Entertainment on a boxing ring, that’s something — I’m very proud of that. So I’ll see what’s next, but I’m open.
“I love competing. I love a good fight. Tonight was a damn good fight and that’s why you’re seeing me up here showing my heart. I enjoyed myself and that’s it. Long may it continue. I can’t tell you exactly what’s next, but know something will be next.”
It’s no secret that the UFC is having a tough run in the first seven months of 2017. After a banner year in 2016 with multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events eclipsing the coveted one-million buy threshold, new owners WME-IMG are finding out just what it’s like to run the world’s biggest MMA promotion in a time […]
It’s no secret that the UFC is having a tough run in the first seven months of 2017.
After a banner year in 2016 with multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events eclipsing the coveted one-million buy threshold, new owners WME-IMG are finding out just what it’s like to run the world’s biggest MMA promotion in a time of downward-trending PPVs without flagship stars Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey anywhere close to the octagon.
True, McGregor will return to the ring against Floyd Mayweather, on August 26, but that could be hurting the UFC’s actual numbers more than helping them. We’ll get to that shortly.
Regardless, both the preliminary card television ratings and pay-per-view buyrates for July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas were recently revealed, and the numbers ultimately amounted to some of the most dismal overall viewership turnouts the UFC has ever seen. Now, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes’ extremely late withdrawal from her championship bout versus Valentina Shevchenko most definitely caused the lack of buys, but the numbers are concerning nonetheless.
Things didn’t get better two weeks later when UFC on FOX 25 aired live from the Nassau Coliseum on July 22. Despite former middleweight champion Chris Weidman securing an emotional headlining win over Kelvin Gastelum in his hometown, the card had the lowest-ever ratings for a UFC on FOX event in overnight ratings, a number that rose to “only” the third-worst of all-time when the time slot spillover numbers for the main event were factored in.
That continued a disturbing decline for big FOX-aired cards in 2017, but those numbers are also simply indicative of the overall trend of the year, where pay-per-view rates have went down drastically in addition to TV-aired events and PPV prelim numbers.
There are several big underlying factors for this sharp and disturbing decline. On the eve of the biggest pay-per-view of the year, let’s take at the five most impactful.
Promoting Only McGregor & Rousey:
The UFC enjoyed their most lucrative two-year stretch in history from 2015-2016, a time when their biggest-ever crossover stars in Rousey and McGregor were winning big fights in dominant fashion. Rousey was being called the most dominant fighter in MMA, and McGregor won both the featherweight and lightweight titles while becoming the sport’s biggest star.
But that time period simply couldn’t be sustained, as Rousey infamously lost the belt to Holly Holm at UFC 193, following it up with another unsuccessful title fight in her 48-second loss to Nunes at 2016’s UFC 207, after which it appears Rousey may never fight in the UFC again.
McGregor is not gone; at least not in the same sense as Rousey. He’s obviously involved in his hyped-up boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and while the UFC will obviously get a ton of attention and hype from that massive spectacle, it brings up one vital, overarching point – the UFC simply promoted only their top two stars in recent years, and while it clearly worked in that regard, it left them much too dependent on McGregor and Rousey for success, because their other fighters just aren’t bringing in any numbers at all.
If they ever want to get back to the level where they have their big draws and their mid-level stars; say in the time of dominant champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre where mid-level stars like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson could still sell an in-between card for 350-400,000 buys, they’re going to have to diversify their promotional strategy.
If Floyd Mayweather’s team has their way, a face very close to Conor McGregor’s career will be walking out with their team when the legendary boxer faces McGregor on August 26 in Las Vegas. That’s according to Jason Lee, a member of Mayweather’s vast entourage, who told TMZ Sports that he’s made a call to […]
If Floyd Mayweather’s team has their way, a face very close to Conor McGregor’s career will be walking out with their team when the legendary boxer faces McGregor on August 26 in Las Vegas.
That’s according to Jason Lee, a member of Mayweather’s vast entourage, who told TMZ Sports that he’s made a call to Nate Diaz, the UFC bad boy who handed ‘The Notorious’ his sole UFC defeat back in March of last year:
Lee revealed he’s from Stockton, and he’s motivated by what went down between his boy Mayweather and McGregor at the final world tour press conference stop in London two weeks ago, so he’s going to get ahold of the younger Diaz:
“I’m from Stockton, California, and I was just in London with Floyd when the shit went down with Conor. I’m gone make a call to Nate Diaz. I would love to see him walkout with Floyd.”
Mayweather and his team have repeatedly cited the fact that McGregor tapped out to a Diaz choke in their first meeting at UFC 196, pointing to that as evidence that the UFC lightweight champ is a quitter.
But “The Notorious” rebounded well to outlast Diaz in a closely-contested majority decision at August 2016’s UFC 202, avenging his only loss and moving on to dust Eddie Alvarez for the UFC 155-pound title that November. Diaz immediately began calling for a trilogy fight with McGregor after the controversial loss, so he could either want to support a fighter with a common enemy, or turn down the offer because he believes he should be the one fighting the Irish superstar.
Do you think Diaz should walk out with Mayweather in Las Vegas?
