With UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor challenging for a second title against UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos and Holly Holm making the first defense of her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Miesha Tate, it would seem like…
With UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor challenging for a second title against UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos and Holly Holm making the first defense of her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Miesha Tate, it would seem like UFC 196 couldn’t possibly get any bigger — until now.
On Wednesday’s edition of UFC Tonight, MMAFighting.com journalist Ariel Helwani reported that UFC Hall Of Famer BJ Penn “guarantees” he will be making his Octagon return at the event scheduled for March 5th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Coincidentally enough, outside of Randy Couture, Penn is the only fighter to ever become a champion in two different UFC weight classes, something McGregor will be attempting — with his own twist (as he won’t be relinquishing the 145-pound title even if he beats Dos Anjos) — in the main event of the very show that “The Prodigy” will be returning on.
While nothing has been announced at this point, the belief is Penn will not be fighting Nik Lentz in his comeback fight despite their vicious back-and-forth insults and challenges, as Lentz overplayed his hand in negotiations for the fight by compiling an unreasonable list of demands that he said must be met before he would accept what would clearly be the highest-profile fight in his MMA career.
With Lentz seemingly out of the running, the talk right now is that Penn will make his UFC fighting return against Dennis Siver. Once again the coincidences between Penn and McGregor are evident, as “The Notorious” Irishman also fought Siver in what was considered a “tune-up” fight before ultimately challenging Chad Mendes for the interim UFC Featherweight Championship due to then-undisputed champion Jose Aldo pulling out of their scheduled title fight. With names like Nik Lentz and Dennis Siver popping up as potential opponents, one would have to consider Penn’s first trip back to the Octagon as a “tune-up” fight as well.
UFC 196: Dos Anjos vs. McGregor is scheduled to take place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 5, 2016. Make sure to visit MMANews.com for the absolute fastest and most-detailed live UFC 196 results coverage on the web!
We are now just over a month out from the highly anticipated super fight between defending UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and reigning featherweight title holder the “Notorious” Conor McGregor. McGregor will be moving up in weight to challenger for the 155-pound strap, and the two are set to do battle at March 5’s
We are now just over a month out from the highly anticipated super fight between defending UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos and reigning featherweight title holder the “Notorious” Conor McGregor.
McGregor will be moving up in weight to challenger for the 155-pound strap, and the two are set to do battle at March 5’s UFC 196 from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Irish superstar has won all seven of his Octagon bouts, and is coming off of a shocking 13-second demolition of former long-time champion Jose Aldo at last December’s UFC 194.
Dos Anjos has also been on a tear as of late, winning five straight including dominant showcases over the likes of Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz, Anthony Pettis, and most recently Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
While McGregor has backed up all of his relentless trash talk to date, many feel as if dos Anjos provides a troublesome matchup for the fledgling 145-pound boss.
Former light heavyweight champion and former pound-for-pound king Jon “Bones” Jones recently gave his two cents on the upcoming bout, saying that while he’s a fan of the “Notorious” one, he’d have to go with the Brazilian here:
“It’s hard to say,” Jones said. “I’m a big fan of McGregor, I’m becoming a huge fan of RDS. Based on RDS’ performances, I think I’m going to go with him. I’m not rooting for either person, but If I had to put my money on someone, I’d put it on RDS … RDA, I’ve been calling him RDS.”
“[Donald Cerrone] is my teammate. I watched him prepare and I knew he was super prepared to become a world champion, and the way that fight went just showed me what level RDA is on. So if I had to put money on it I think I’ll go RDA.” Jones told Brazilian actress Rainah Andrews.
“Bones” is currently gearing up for a massive rematch with champion Daniel Cormier which will likely take place in the coming months.
Fight fans can always count on UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor to captivate the MMA world with his brash and outspoken rants and trash talk. Coming off of a breathtaking 13 second knockout victory over former divisional kingpin Jose Aldo at UFC 194, it didn’t seem as if it could get much bigger
Fight fans can always count on UFC featherweight champion the “Notorious” Conor McGregor to captivate the MMA world with his brash and outspoken rants and trash talk.
Coming off of a breathtaking 13 second knockout victory over former divisional kingpin Jose Aldo at UFC 194, it didn’t seem as if it could get much bigger for the Irish superstar.
However, McGregor is now set to take on reigning lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at March 5’s UFC 196 in an attempt to become the first man in promotional history to simultaneously hold two titles.
Taking to his official twitter accountearlier today (February 1, 2016), the “Notorious” one said that he was pleased to give fans back to back super fights, taking a shot at heavyweights Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez in the process:
It’s with ease, and with pleasure, that I gift the fans, and the company, back to back super-fights.
Werdum was scheduled to defend his title against Velasquez on February 6, 2016, but after the former champion pulled out with a back injury, “Vai Cavalo” withdrew as well, leaving the UFC with no choice but to place the card on FOX Sports 1.
Continuing on, McGregor once again reiterated his oft-spoke idea that he has the fight game in the palm of his hands:
Notorious knockout artist and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has run through a murderer’s row of contenders on his quest to securing 145 pound gold, which he did with a spectacular 13 second knockout of Jose Aldo at December 12, 2015’s UFC 194. The Irishman appears to be hungry for the toughest of challenges, however,
Notorious knockout artist and UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has run through a murderer’s row of contenders on his quest to securing 145 pound gold, which he did with a spectacular 13 second knockout of Jose Aldo at December 12, 2015’s UFC 194.
The Irishman appears to be hungry for the toughest of challenges, however, as he’s set to take on reigning lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos at March 5’s UFC 196 in an attempt to become the first man in promotional history to simultaneously hold two titles.
Getting that second title will be no easy task for McGregor, as dos Anjos has been a force to be reckoned with as of late.
The Brazilian champion has won five straight including three finishes over the cream of the crop at 155 pounds, leading UFC president to call McGregor crazy for taking on RDA:
“Conor wants to be a two-belt champion, so he wants to fight dos Anjos, which is crazy,” the UFC president said on “Opie with Jim Norton” on Thursday. “If you look at that guy, look what he did to ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, look what he did to Ben Henderson, look what he did to Anthony Pettis. And now Conor wants to fight this guy. It’s gonna be awesome.”
While many feel as if he may have problems with dos Anjos inside of the Octagon, McGregor has already begun to unleash his relentless trash talk in hopes of playing mind games with the Brazilian.
White feels as if it’s more than just trash talk, however, noting that the “Notorious” is very calculated and intelligent with mental warfare:
“It’s not even about shit talk with this guy,” White said. “His mental warfare game is better than anything I’ve ever seen in how he gets in guys’ heads immediately. Very intelligent, calculated. Conor McGregor is a very interesting guy.”
At the end of the day, McGregor has combined his mic skills with his world class fighting abilities to become one of the promotion’s biggest draws. White wasn’t afraid to admit that the “Notorious” one is the “money fight”, claiming that there aren’t many fighters who don’t want a piece of him:
“From flyweight to heavyweight, they all want to fight Conor McGregor,” White said. “It’s the money fight.”
Aside from his ferocious knockout ability, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has used his relentless and tactical trash talk to seemingly break his opponents. Scheduled to move up in weight and challenge lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at March 5’s UFC 196, the “Notorious” one has not changed the script, verbally assaulting the Brazilian champion
Aside from his ferocious knockout ability, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor has used his relentless and tactical trash talk to seemingly break his opponents.
Scheduled to move up in weight and challenge lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos at March 5’s UFC 196, the “Notorious” one has not changed the script, verbally assaulting the Brazilian champion from the get go at a recent press conference.
Dos Anjos isn’t too pleased with McGregor’s antics, claiming that the Irishman’s style has cast a black cloud over the sport:
“He crosses the line all the time. He answered questions the media asked me, talked about my kids, said I’m not a Brazilian. Man, all the time. He said I’m sloppy. He crosses the line all the time. He’s here to confuse everyone, give the sport a bad image. He thinks it’s nice to dress up like a drug dealer. I don’t think that’s a nice way to promote a fight. That doesn’t add anything to the sport. Georges St-Pierre always sold well as a champion doing exactly the opposite.” dos Anjos told MMAFighting.
While McGregor’s talk certainly adds an entertainment value to a fight, he has also used it to get into the mind of his opponent before the two even step foot inside the cage. While previous opponents have fought hard to keep the “Notorious” one out of their heads, dos Anjos admits that McGregor is on his mind constantly.
However, the Brazilian ensures that he will dominate come fight night:
“Every opponent gets inside my head because I think about them for three of four months. He’s in my head just like every other opponent before. I wake up thinking about him, I go to the gym thinking about him. That’s how he’s in my head. Nate Diaz pushed me at the weigh-in, but I fight even better when my opponents make it personal. I will dominate him.”
In a clash of two champions, McGregor will look to make history by becoming the first man to simultaneously hold two titles.
The injury-forced withdrawals of both Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum from UFC 196 presented the UFC with a peculiar, if not unfamiliar scenario, and left many fans wondering what magic the promotion still had up its sleeve after all these years. Would Dana & Co. book a freakish but totally watchable fight to serve in its place, ala UFC 153? Would they bring Ben Rothwell in to save the day, ala what they should have done with Fight Night 76? Or would they throw their hands in the air and outright cancel the event, ala UFC 176? The options were literally limitless.
As it turns out, however, the UFC went and pulled a rabbit out of its hat that not many of us saw coming, bumping up the co-main event between Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson to main event status and shifting the card from its previous pay-per-view spot to the totally free (depending on your cable package) Fox Sports 1 network instead.
“A non-Fight Night, numbered UFC event on free TV? What madness is this?!” we cried with a mix of astonishment and jubilation. It was an unprecedented move, to be sure, and one that unfortunately was too good to be true…
The injury-forced withdrawals of both Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum from UFC 196 presented the UFC with a peculiar, if not unfamiliar scenario, and left many fans wondering what magic the promotion still had up its sleeve after all these years. Would Dana & Co. book a freakish but totally watchable fight to serve in its place, ala UFC 153? Would they bring Ben Rothwell in to save the day, ala what they should have done with Fight Night 76? Or would they throw their hands in the air and outright cancel the event, ala UFC 176? The options were literally limitless.
As it turns out, however, the UFC went and pulled a rabbit out of its hat that not many of us saw coming, bumping up the co-main event between Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson to main event status and shifting the card from its previous pay-per-view spot to the totally free (depending on your cable package) Fox Sports 1 network instead.
“A non-Fight Night, numbered UFC event on free TV? What madness is this?!” we cried with a mix of astonishment and jubilation. It was an unprecedented move, to be sure, and one that unfortunately was too good to be true…
On a name basis, at least (you like that misdirection? SEO 101, babayy!!). Because while UFC 196′s card will still air on FS1 next Saturday as promised, it has officially been downgraded to “Fight Night 82,” per Bloody Elbow.
The UFC announced that the Super Bowl weekend show has been rebranded as UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson, as if it were a normal Fox Sports 1 card all along. The main card bout order has been upped to six fights (with the addition of Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer and Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson) to fill the three-hour broadcast, and Hendricks vs. Thompson has been elevated from three rounds to five.
Ooh boy, Johny “Steakhouse” Hendricks in a suddenly-upgraded five-rounder? Does the UFC not realize that having this man make weight is struggle enough? “Bigg Rigg” just had to close down his restaurant, dammit, he is stressed out as it is!
As a result of the Fight Night shuffle, UFC 197: McGregor vs. Dos Anjos has now been changed to UFC 196: McIlroy vs. Dos Santos. It doesn’t make sense to us either, you guys, but we’ll be damned if we’re going to say so publicly and risk being called a goof by The Baldfather on Twitter. That’s the final kiss of death for any once-mid-level-but-now-something-slightly-less-than MMA blog!
MAIN CARD (FOX Sports 1, 10 p.m. ET)
-Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
-Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt
-Rafael Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux
-Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky
-Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson
-Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)
-Josh Burkman vs. K.J. Noons
-Damian Grabowski vs. Derrick Lewis
-Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
-Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7 p.m. ET)
-Mickey Gall vs. Mike Jackson
-Artem Lobov vs. Alex White
