Tag: UFC 196

Quote: Frankie Edgar Is Making Conor McGregor A Welterweight

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will once again fight Nate Diaz, in an attempt to get revenge on the loss he was handed at UFC 196. It was the first time ‘The Notorious’ had been defeated under the Zuffa banner, and it was about as convincing as it possibly could’ve been. The Stockton grappler/boxer took

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UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will once again fight Nate Diaz, in an attempt to get revenge on the loss he was handed at UFC 196. It was the first time ‘The Notorious’ had been defeated under the Zuffa banner, and it was about as convincing as it possibly could’ve been. The Stockton grappler/boxer took McGregor’s best shots and came back with some great strikes of his own during an exciting first round. It seemed the Irish striker had emptied the tank by round two, and Diaz capitalized by wobbling the featherweight boss and forcing the takedown.

From there it was all elementary for Diaz, who submitted his brazen foe in short order with a slick rear naked choke. Suddenly it was McGregor being forced to eat his words, of which there were quite a few, and Diaz rocketed in popularity as a result. It was thought ‘The Notorious’ would head back down to 145 pounds to defend the title he’d snatched from Jose Aldo with a smash and grab 13 second KO at UFC 194, but the Diaz-McGregor tale was not done yet.

Nate Diaz gave an all time classic post fight interview following his victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 196...
Nate Diaz gave an all time classic post fight interview following his victory over Conor McGregor at UFC 196…

It was mere weeks before the news was leaked by Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com that McGregor and Diaz had verbally agreed to rematch at UFC 200. Some time later the UFC would confirm the news with there own belated announcement of the fight, and somewhere in Jersey/Brazil Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo got just a little more mad. Once again taking place at welterweight, the second meeting of the two would further complicate things at featherweight.

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Continuing his trend of out-announcing the UFC, former FOX employee Ariel Helwani then dropped the bomb of an interim belt being produced for the featherweight division. The UFC would later confirm that Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo will square off in a UFC 200 rematch for the junior title, much to the dismay of many fans and pundits.

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz gives his two cents on the whole featherweight mess and Conor McGregor staying at welterweight…

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Bantamweight boss Dominick Cruz isn’t too impressed by the situation at the top of the 145-pound division, and believes McGregor’s added weight is simply a tactic to avoid the fight against Frankie Edgar. He tells the Daily Star the following:

“Conor’s going up to fight Diaz at 170 again, leaving the featherweight belt for Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar to fight for. Okay, what if Conor McGregor goes back down and fights Frankie Edgar at 145lbs? Which is an extremely terrible style match-up and a hard fight?? and then he loses?”

“Now he’s lost all his push, whereas if he stays at 170, fights Diaz and he happens to lose again, he still has it because he’s like; ‘Well, but it was at 170′. So there’s still excuses to make for it, to say why he’s the best. If he loses to Frankie Edgar at 145, you pretty much kill the excuses. It doesn’t necessarily take away legitimacy but it buys time.”

Is there an element of the UFC attempting to eliminate Frankie Edgar using his old rival Jose Aldo? Perhaps, ad if so let’s hope ‘The Answer’ can blow that plan up in the promotion’s face. That said, if the UFC were looking to keep McGregor from losing again, they might not have wanted to book him against Nate Diaz again so quickly. Cruz also told MMAFighting.com that he sees similarities in Diaz vs. McGregor and Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 5000:

“There’s certain things you can control and there’s certain things you can’t. And the fact that fans want to see Dada 5000 vs. Kimbo Slice, you can not control that,” said Cruz. “To be honest, that’s a completely different demographic, though. Because that’s the Internet sensation. That’s the Youtube sensation that’s coming right over and crossing over to watch those fights. So the question really isn’t why are people watching that. The question is how do I make those people intrigued with me.”

“I think there’s a certain appeal to that. A certain appeal to two guys who don’t care,” added Cruz. “If you really think about it that’s Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz, but at a higher level. And they blew their views out of the water. So you can see with that mindset and with the skill set, you can actually blow all those fights out of the water.”

H/T MMAMania.com for the quotes.

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Rory MacDonald Wants Conor McGregor To Change His Bum Life

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has only been with the UFC for three years. That’s a crazy stat when you consider what he’s achieved in that time, and yesterday was actually the three-year anniversary of ‘The Notorious’ fighting Marcus Brimage in his first UFC fight. Now we turn our attention to an awesome Twitter exchange that

The post Rory MacDonald Wants Conor McGregor To Change His Bum Life appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has only been with the UFC for three years. That’s a crazy stat when you consider what he’s achieved in that time, and yesterday was actually the three-year anniversary of ‘The Notorious’ fighting Marcus Brimage in his first UFC fight. Now we turn our attention to an awesome Twitter exchange that happened between McGregor and tough welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald.

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McGregor’s recent loss to Nate Diaz has seen him change his approach slightly, he’s outspoken and brash as usual, but he’s being a lot more frank and honest with both his followers and himself. The Irish star took to Twitter last night, using one of his classic slogans, and this resulted in a hilarious exchange with Rory MacDonald and Ben Rothwell chiming in:


So where does the young Canadian MacDonald fit in to all this? Well, as you may know, ‘Ares’ has been toying with the idea of becoming a free agent lately. Clearly unhappy with the terms and payscale of his contract, we’ve seen many cryptic Tweets and replies to other free market players such as Matt Mitrione and Benson Henderson. Both ‘Meathead’ and ‘Smooth’ joined Bellator MMA recently, and MacDonald’s reply to McGregor could be more telling than you think.

Plus it’s damn funny…

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Manager: Conor McGregor Will Definitely Defend Featherweight Belt

With Conor McGregor currently booked in a rematch with Nate Diaz in the main event of July’s UFC 200, many MMA fans are wondering if and when the ‘Notorious’ Irishman will defend the featherweight title he won from longtime champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194 last December. It’s not the strap has been on the

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With Conor McGregor currently booked in a rematch with Nate Diaz in the main event of July’s UFC 200, many MMA fans are wondering if and when the ‘Notorious’ Irishman will defend the featherweight title he won from longtime champ Jose Aldo at UFC 194 last December.

It’s not the strap has been on the shelf for that long, as it was last contested just under four months ago, but when McGregor shockingly lost a short-notice bout to in the main event of March’s UFC 196, the fighting future of the UFC’s biggest star got a bit muddied. He’s apparently hell-bent on avenging the loss, and while that’s understandable, it’s also impossible to wonder if he’ll ever be able to make the draining weight cut down to 145 again.

McGregor’s manager Audie Attar is here to tell us that that won’t be a concern, however, as he spoke up to Submission Radio that the champion will not vacate the145-pound belt and will most definitely defend it at some point:

“No, that would have happened. That would have already happened. Cause you know, that’s something that Conor was adamant about. He wants to keep his belt, he’s gonna defend it, and at the end of the day, if he was gonna vacate, it would have already happened.”

Going into detail about McGregor’s highly discussed weight cut, Attar affirmed that it was not as bad as many have made it out to be despite the fact that he often looks like a drawn out skeletal version of himself at weigh-ins:

“I’ve never seen him, per se, pass out and do some things that are unhealthy. Even in terms of how he gets down, right? He does it all natural and just by a lot of hard work and a lot of discipline. So at the end of the day, I want him to feel comfortable. It seems like he liked not cutting weight, right?

“At the end of the day, I’ve never seen it [Conor’s weight cut] to be that extreme as you were kind of making it out to be. I do know that per his reaction for not cutting weight, I’d rather him do what he’s more happier to do as an athlete.”

We never have seen McGregor pass out from a weight cut, no, but again, it’s tough to envision him putting his body through the absolute rollercoaster of fighting at 168 pounds for his welterweight rematch and then cutting all the way down to 145 for his next fight.

And even if he does, the likely target for his next 145-pound defense would be the UFC’s blockbuster Madison Square Garden debut tentatively slated for late this year, meaning that the real featherweight strap will have been on the shelf for close to a year.

Aldo will meet Franke Edgar for the interim title at UFC 200 to decide McGregor’s next rightful challenger. Are you buying McGregor’s manager statement that he will definitely be there to face either one in his next fight?

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UFC 196 Event Now Available For Viewing On UFC Fight Pass

[embed]https://twitter.com/UFCFightPass/status/717096495628095488[/embed]

If you haven’t seen UFC 196 yet, and subscribe to UFC Fight Pass, you are in luck.

The event is now available for viewing on the all-digital service, including the main e…

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If you haven’t seen UFC 196 yet, and subscribe to UFC Fight Pass, you are in luck.

The event is now available for viewing on the all-digital service, including the main event between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. The two will square off again this July.

Also, the card featured Miesha Tate claiming the female bantamweight belt with a victory over Holly Holm.

Rousimar Palhares Reveals How He Would Kill Conor McGregor

Controversial submission artist Rousimar Palhares is currently banished from competing state side in mixed martial arts, coming after a period of momentum that saw ‘Toquinho’ at the peak of his career thus far. After being canned by the UFC for numerous occasions of not releasing submission holds in a timely manner, Palhares transferred quickly to the

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Controversial submission artist Rousimar Palhares is currently banished from competing state side in mixed martial arts, coming after a period of momentum that saw ‘Toquinho’ at the peak of his career thus far. After being canned by the UFC for numerous occasions of not releasing submission holds in a timely manner, Palhares transferred quickly to the World Series of Fighting. The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ace signed with Ray Sefo’s budding organization in March 2014 at WSOF 9, and won the welterweight title in his debut against Steve Carl.

He defended against fellow UFC castaway Jon Fitch at WSOF 16 with his trademark heel hook, but once again delved in to the deep hole he’d dug himself so many times in the past. This time it was Jake Shields who made some shocking accusations against Palhares, claiming the Brazilian had gouged his eyes throughout their WSOF 22 title bout, and that the fight ending submission was not released in good time. The Nevada State Athletic Commission agreed on both counts, and Palhares was stripped of the title and banned from fighting for two years.

Yes, that is a human forearm
Yes, that is a human forearm

Now relegated to submission tournaments such as Polaris 3, where he recently fought to a draw against Gary Tonon, it looks as though Palhares might have a hard time finding another fight, or at least that’s what we all thought. Newly formed Italian MMA promotion Venator recently announced the banned ‘Paul Harris’ would be facing Emil Meek on their May 21 card. WSOF officials vowed to put a halt to this, and the situation remains tentative at best.

Having grappled with Tonon in the United Kingdom this past weekend, Rousimar Palhares spoke with the Daily Mail in a rare interview, and made some very interesting statements. Check it out:

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‘I know I have an image as a bad boy in the ring but that is not the person that I am underneath. If people got to really know me they would see what I am really like.

‘I have made some mistakes in the past and during fights but I am a good person. I am seen as bad but that is its during the fight. A fight is a fight and sometimes my mindset changes when I get in there.’

‘The arrival of my baby boy two months ago has given me a new perspective on life and on fighting. I will still win at all costs but now I am grounded,’ said Palhares.

‘I am not a monster but I know that many people think I fight like one. People ask me why I am like how I am in the ring but if everyone knew about my childhood then they would understand.’

‘The feeling I get when I go into the octagon is difficult to explain. I am filled with happiness and joy. It is what I do. Fighting is what I am good but I don’t want to particularly hurt the other fighter.’

‘I would consider returning to the UFC just to fight McGregor, ‘ he said….

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Quote: Conor McGregor Will Not Come Back Down To 145 Pounds

In the days following last week’s official announcement that Conor McGregor would rematch Nate Diaz at welterweight in the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 card from Las Vegas, the MMA community has continued their backlash at a fight they consider to be unnecessary after Diaz already beat the Irish trash talker who

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In the days following last week’s official announcement that Conor McGregor would rematch Nate Diaz at welterweight in the main event of July 9’s blockbuster UFC 200 card from Las Vegas, the MMA community has continued their backlash at a fight they consider to be unnecessary after Diaz already beat the Irish trash talker who is leaving his featherweight belt on the sidelines once again.

The circumstances we’ll witness at UFC 200 are most definitely a number of strange ones, as Jose Aldo will meet Frankie Edgar for the interim featherweight title on the same card where the champion will actually be fighting, a scenario that we’ve obviously never seen anything remotely like before.

And a lot of that has to do McGregor’s massive size advantage at featherweight, where he often appears very sucked up and drawn as he struggles to make the division’s 145-pound weight limit. That was a main motivating factor in his move up to lightweight to take on champion Rafael dos Anjos, and he took it a step further when he fought Diaz at welterweight on short notice.

That has left the entire division wondering if he’ll ever venture back down to 145 pounds, and one top-ranked competitor doesn’t believe he will. In a recent talk with MMA Fighting, No. 4 Max Holloway said that he doesn’t envision McGregor ever making it back to 145 because the cut is too draining for him to make any longer:

“At the end of the day, who knows if he comes back to 145? Honestly, my feeling, I don’t think that he does. I think that 155-pound fight (against dos Anjos) was already saying that he just wanted to be at 155, hold the two titles, say that he did it, then just move up full-time. That’s what I thought he was thinking of doing, because he’s a big guy. All you hear of him is struggling to make 145. This guy struggles. You see, all he does is [cut weight] all week long.

“So he was going to go up sooner or later. Then you see him getting bigger every fight. … His last fight, he was a big boy. And he already had a hard time cutting. [With him] going back up to 170, I think he’s going to gain weight and have to cut a little, just trying to compete at that level, at 170. So who knows if he’s coming down?”

As for his own plight, where ‘Blessed’ find himself on the outside of the title picture looking despite an incredible eight straight victories since losing to McGregor of all people back in August of 2013, Holloway believes that he’s being held back because he didn’t finish his last fight against ultra-tough veteran Jeremy Stephens:

“I just feel left out because my last fight wasn’t a finish,” Holloway said. “When I was finishing guys, the media was on me like crazy. Then I have this one decision fight against a guy (Stephens) who, ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, these guys couldn’t finish him. And then [people are] looking at me, asking me how the hell I didn’t finish him. It’s like, look at these guys. These guys are beasts and they had a hard time with the fight too. They couldn’t finish him either. So I’m a true believer in, people only remember you for your last fight. And my last fight, I felt, was great, but I guess some people didn’t think it was so hot. So it is what it is.”

That sounds like quite the mature and patient attitude from Holloway, who at only 24 years old, has nothing but time on his hands as one of the UFC’s brightest potential future champions. Holloway has already fought five of the top 10 at featherweight, and with Aldo and Edgar obviously tied up with each other for the foreseeable future, the only logical choices for the suddenly surging Hawaiian are bouts with former title contender Chad Mendes and Ricardo Lamas.

As for McGregor, only time will tell if he ever fights Holloway or anyone else at 145 pounds again.

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