Tag: UFC 205

Khabib: I Will Torture Conor McGregor For Five Rounds

By defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, Conor McGregor blew the lid on the possibilities in mixed martial arts. Already a record-breaking force to be reckoned with, the Irish striker put an unquestionably dominant stamp on his New York title fight. Already holding the featherweight belt from the year previous, the infamous trash talking boxer smashed the

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By defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, Conor McGregor blew the lid on the possibilities in mixed martial arts. Already a record-breaking force to be reckoned with, the Irish striker put an unquestionably dominant stamp on his New York title fight. Already holding the featherweight belt from the year previous, the infamous trash talking boxer smashed the holiest of UFC achievements. Although he’s not yet defended a belt, McGregor carved a path for a number of massive fights in multiple weight classes.

Then came his big announcement after UFC 205, and it wasn’t retirement. To the contrary, ‘The Notorious’ said he wanted time off to care for Dee Devlin during her pregnancy, but aims to return and defend both belts. Conflicting reports would indicate the Irishman will in fact be stripped of the 145-pound belt. Should these turn out to be true, then surely the focus shifts to the lightweight division for McGregor’s immediate future.

khabib nurmagomedov
Who’s a crazy wig and wants to fight Conor McGregor?

Khabib

When discussing potential contenders at 155 pounds, two stand out above the rest; Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson. Arguably it could go either way, but currently 24-0 and fresh off a demolition of Michael Johnson, ‘The Eagle’ believes he should be next in line. Talking with TMZ Sports, the dominant wrestler said he will toy with Conor McGregor for five rounds:

“I want to finish his hype. I don’t care about money, I have money, but now I want the belt. I want to talk in his ear, slap him and make him nervous. Then I want to let him stand up, ask him ‘Where is your boxing?’ then slap him more. I don’t want to finish him early, I’d rather fight for 25 minutes with him.”

Nurmagomedov then discussed the incident with McGregor after the UFC 205 weigh-ins. ‘The Notorious’ was filmed spitting insults at ‘The Eagle’ after the scales show, and Khabib says the Irishman should be careful:

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“I’m Not Eddie Alvarez or Tyron Woodley”

“He watched me at weigh-ins, McGregor was looking at me all crazy. I asked him ‘what you want?’ I saw how he was with Tyron Woodley, but I’m not Tyron Woodley or Eddie Alvarez, I’m different. If somebody watch me like crazy, I can go crazy too. There was a lot of security coming, I watched his eyes, he was saying ‘what?’ but he did nothing. Of course (I was ready to go right there). I’m ready to go anytime, I had a lot of street fights, back when I was amateur I had many street fights. Now I’m a UFC fighter, I have to warn people to be careful, I don’t do it anymore. “

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Report: Holloway vs. Pettis For Interim, McGregor Stripped & Aldo Promoted

The UFC featherweight division has been on hold since Conor McGregor’s claiming of the belt at UFC 194. Still less than a year ago, that one-punch knockout on December 14 set in motion a chain of events nobody could foresee. Looking to get the popular Irishman in to the two-weight great category right away, the

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The UFC featherweight division has been on hold since Conor McGregor’s claiming of the belt at UFC 194. Still less than a year ago, that one-punch knockout on December 14 set in motion a chain of events nobody could foresee. Looking to get the popular Irishman in to the two-weight great category right away, the promotion aligned McGregor with Rafael dos Anjos. The Brazilian was rampant at that time, holding the 155-pound title, and was booked to face ‘The Notorious’ at UFC 196. Instead facing Nate Diaz on March 5, and also at UFC 202, McGregor fought twice as a welterweight, going 1-1.

Finally his bid for lightweight glory was solidified, as McGregor was quickly booked to face Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205. All this time contenders in both divisions were crying foul play. During this period also, Aldo had won the interim belt against Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. As the Irishman continued to take the MMA world by storm, the top lightweights and ‘Scarface’ could do little but sit back and watch. McGregor’s dominance of Alvarez cemented his spot in MMA lore, but for how long will he hold two titles?

Conor McGregor-Jose Aldo-Khabib Nurmagomedov

“They’ll Need an Army”

Conor McGregor predicted the UFC would need an army to strip one of his belts after UFC 205. Perhaps Dana White has some troops, as reports on The Score and by Ariel Helwani would indicate that time is now.

The UFC is close to finalizing an interim featherweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway at UFC 206. This according to Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com.

If the fight ends up being confirmed, current interim champ Jose Aldo would become the official featherweight titleholder. Conor McGregor would be stripped of his belt.

Anthony Pettis-Max Holloway

Good News For UFC 206

After learning that UFC 206 lost it’s main event champion Daniel Cormier yesterday, this fight report comes as a breath of fresh air. Max Holloway is streaking hard at 145 pounds, but Anthony Pettis is a former champion with a rekindled flame. The lack of Jose Aldo’s next fight booking could indicate two things; he’s retiring, or McGregor is being stripped. If it is the latter, it seems odd not to promote Aldo to full champ and have Holloway vs. Pettis as a number one contender contest. In fact, the loss of a main event might just explain that, as UFC gold is always a good selling point.

Stay tuned for more updates on this, and all things MMA and UFC!

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Five Opponents With The Best Chance To Beat Conor McGregor

At this point, it seems as if Conor McGregor will always have doubters, but we’ve also learned that he often silences these doubters, and he did just that at Nov. 12’s UFC 205 when he scored a dominant knockout victory over Eddie Alvarez to become the first fighter in promotional history to hold two titles

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At this point, it seems as if Conor McGregor will always have doubters, but we’ve also learned that he often silences these doubters, and he did just that at Nov. 12’s UFC 205 when he scored a dominant knockout victory over Eddie Alvarez to become the first fighter in promotional history to hold two titles simultaneously.

As always, McGregor now has a lot of options waiting for him, and it’s unclear what his next move will be, but we can take the time to speculate on how his future will play out. With that being said, let’s take a look at five potential opponents who could perhaps stop the motor-mouthed Irishman:

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Khabib Nurmagomedov

Starting at lightweight, McGregor could potentially next defend his newly acquired 155-pound strap against undefeated top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, and if he does, he may have his hands full.

“The Eagle” is the owner of an incredibly impressive 24-0 professional record that includes 8 knockouts and 8 submissions. He’s also 8-0 in the UFC.

The main reason why Nurmagomedov may have a strong chance to defeat McGregor is due to his world classing grappling skill set. The Russian is without question one of the best wrestlers in the UFC, and he has found success dragging his opponents to the mat where he is relentless with ground-and-pound and submission attempts. Wrestling has always appeared to be the “Notorious” one’s weak point.

On the contrary, however, Nurmagomedov has shown that he’s hittable, and if McGregor’s left hand lands, “The Eagle” could find himself in trouble.

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Stephen Thompson Says Tyron Woodley Rematch Happening This Spring

Reigning UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley faced a stiff test at Nov. 12’s UFC 205 when he met top contender Stephen Thompson, as the two went toe-to-toe in a five round war. The result, however, was a draw and Woodley retained his title, although a winner wasn’t technically declared. Because of the result, UFC President

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Reigning UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley faced a stiff test at Nov. 12’s UFC 205 when he met top contender Stephen Thompson, as the two went toe-to-toe in a five round war. The result, however, was a draw and Woodley retained his title, although a winner wasn’t technically declared.

Because of the result, UFC President Dana White was quick to say that an immediate rematch would likely take place, and according to “Wonderboy”, that rematch could take place in either February or March:

“So from what we understand, it is going to happen (the rematch),” Thompson told BJPenn.com “We are just not really sure when it is going to be in February, or if it will take place in March. Of course I have some healing up to do. I have some lacerations on nose and my face and I’m a little bruised up. I banged up my feet a little bit. But other than that, I am healing up good and ready to get back in the gym and start training again. So yea, from what we understand the rematch is going to happen. We just are not yet sure when or where. But I talked to my management company and they have been in talks with the UFC and everybody is happy with it man.”

Despite the fight being tremendously close, Thompson feels as if he has a lot of improvements to make, and he plans to make these adjustments the second time around:

“You know as soon as me and my coaches got back from New York we watched the video and looked at the fight and saw a lot of things that we could have done better. So we are going to improve on that man and we (myself and Woodley) will be doing it again probably in February or March.”

While he wasn’t necessarily pleased with the way the first fight ended, “Wonderboy” seemed happy with the experience he had fighting at the UFC’s debut at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City:

“Man you know it was definitely a dream come true. To be able to fight in Madison Square Garden, one of the most prestigious venues in the world where so many legendary performers and athletes have performed, it was just amazing to be a part of that. Not only that, but it was really cool to be able to share the octagon with my brother in law Chris Weidman, which was also a big reason why I wanted to be a part of the card. Of course it did not turn out very well for the both of us, but we will definitely be better fighters when we step out there next time. But yea, it was just awesome man. Just to be able to fight for the title as well and fight one of the best guys in the welterweight division and go five 5-minute rounds was special. Of course it went to a draw and didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to, but it was very special regardless.”

How do you expect the rematch to play out?

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Is ‘Done’ With Conor McGregor

The UFC’s 145-pound and 155-pound divisions have been shaken up quite a bit after Conor McGregor’s winning of both weight classes’ titles, as he has now become the first dual-weight champ in UFC history with his second round knockout win over Eddie Alvarez in New York. That same night, however, another contender for the lightweight throne

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The UFC’s 145-pound and 155-pound divisions have been shaken up quite a bit after Conor McGregor’s winning of both weight classes’ titles, as he has now become the first dual-weight champ in UFC history with his second round knockout win over Eddie Alvarez in New York.

That same night, however, another contender for the lightweight throne solidified his claim to the No. 1-contendership with his dominant third round submission victory over Michael Johnson, and that man’s name is Khabib Nurmagomedov. After his lopsided victory the Russian heavily campaigned for a fight with the new Irish champ, going as far as to claim that he will only fight next in the UFC if it is for the title.

‘The Eagle’ even messaged ‘The Notorious One’ privately on Twitter to tell him to ‘die like Irish Warrior’ and accept the fight:

In a recent interview with FOX Sports, Nurmagomedov has claimed to have moved on from a potential bout with the Irishman, and has instead shifted his focus to the No. 2-ranked Tony ‘El Cucuy’ Ferguson:

“Conor is old news. Tony Ferguson deserves the shot more than Conor,” Nurmagomedov said in the statement. “He’s on a longer winning streak. Conor is 2-1 in his last three fights. I’m done talking about Conor. I’m 24-0. I’m ready to defend my undisputed championship against Tony Ferguson.

“I don’t care about Conor. I care about the belt.”

With McGregor set to take time off until the birth of his first child, and Ferguson coming off of a dominant win over former champ Rafael dos Anjos, a match-up between the No. 1 and 2 ranked lightweights is very much a possibility.

Given the current situation in the 155-pound division, how do you see the match making between McGregor, Nurmagomedov, and Ferguson playing out?

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Michael Johnson Challenges Ex-Champion To Bout In Brazil

No. 7-ranked lightweight contender Michael “Menace” Johnson returned to action at Nov. 12’s UFC 205, but came up short in a bout against top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing by way of submission on the preliminary portion of the card. Now, Johnson is looking to get back to his winning ways, and he recently expressed interest

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No. 7-ranked lightweight contender Michael “Menace” Johnson returned to action at Nov. 12’s UFC 205, but came up short in a bout against top contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, losing by way of submission on the preliminary portion of the card.

Now, Johnson is looking to get back to his winning ways, and he recently expressed interest in a bout with No. 4-ranked ex-champion Rafael dos Anjos (Via MMAMania.com). “Menace” even said that he’d be willing to fight dos Anjos in the former champ’s home of Brazil:

“Dos Anjos is the fight I want next,” he said. “I don’t know if he agrees with me — or if that’s a fight he wants — but that is what I’m going after. I was just down in Brazil for my brother Kamaru Usman’s fight and was sitting at the press conference when they announced the UFC would be coming back to Brazil in March.

“I thought, ‘Why not fight RDA in March?’” he continued. “I’ll come to his backyard and fight him in his home country. I have no problems with that at all. I think it would be a great fight. He’s a guy who likes to stand and trade and I’m the exact same way.”

Dos Anjos is also coming off of a tough loss to the red hot Tony Ferguson, and because of that, Johnson feels as if the pairing makes sense:

“We are both coming off tough losses to guys who we both would love to get back in there with. I think it’s perfect timing for this fight. I said before all the stars had to align for me to face Khabib and I think the same thing is happening now with RDA as well.” he added.

Who would you predict to win this potential clash?

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