In today’s fight game, it seems as if ‘money fights’ are all the rage rather than fights that make the most sense from a rankings standpoint. After all, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will challenge lightweight king Eddie Alvarez at November 12’s UFC 205 despite having not defended his title since he won it last
In today’s fight game, it seems as if ‘money fights’ are all the rage rather than fights that make the most sense from a rankings standpoint.
After all, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will challenge lightweight king Eddie Alvarez at November 12’s UFC 205 despite having not defended his title since he won it last December and having instead taken two fights at welterweight in the meantime. Undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov, a man who’s undoubtedly deserving of a shot at 155-pound gold, was passed over for the title shot given McGregor’s incredible star power.
“The Eagle” will instead take on Michael Johnson at UFC 205 in a bout that he hopes is a title eliminator bout. Recently speaking with Champions.co, Nurmagomedov said that he cares about the belt and not the money:
“I care about the belt,” Nurmagomedov said.“I want to finish this fight and fight for the title. I don’t care who has the title, who wins (between Alvarez and McGregor). I don’t care about money.
“I know a lot of fighters fight for the money, but money is not everything for me. I know money is very important for life, but I have money. I never use MMA to make money. MMA for me is about my life, about my blood and about everything I do all my life. Money, I can make money with other stuff. I have money. I have everything. I need the belt.”
Do you expect Nurmagomedov to get by Johnson, and if he does, will he finally receive his long awaited title shot?
Chris Weidman was a rather late addition to the massive New York card at UFC 205 next month, when he takes on Cuban power-house Yoel Romero in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd. Just before making the trip over for the UFC 205 press conference earlier this month, Weidman revealed that he had just
Chris Weidman was a rather late addition to the massive New York card at UFC 205 next month, when he takes on Cuban power-house Yoel Romero in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Just before making the trip over for the UFC 205 press conference earlier this month, Weidman revealed that he had just inked a new contract with the UFC after wanting to get paid for what he felt he was worth:
“There was definitely money, trying to get paid what you feel like you deserve,” Weidman said (courtesy of MMA Junkie). “But it wasn’t just as simple as just a number for this fight. You’re starting up a whole new contract, so it gets pretty detailed on what everybody is looking for in the new deal.”
Weidman, once the reigning undefeated champion of the UFC’s 185-pound division, suffered his first mixed martial arts (MMA) loss when he was finished by Luke Rockhold in the fourth round of their co-main event meeting at UFC 194 this past December. The pair were scheduled to rematch in the main event of UFC 199, but ‘The All American’ was sadly forced out of the contest due to an injury sustained in training camp.
Michael Bisping would step in on two weeks notice to replace Weidman, and would go on to knockout Rockhold in the first round to secure his first ever UFC title.
With a potential win over Romero come fight night in New York, Weidman is hoping to get a shot at winning his title back from Bisping, not a redemption match against the man who handed him his first professional loss in Rockhold:
“We’ve got time; we’re both semi-young in this game,” Weidman said. “The money fight is the title fight. That’s what I’m looking for. I’m not looking to avenge a loss and not get paid what a champion does.”
For now, Weidman is focused on getting the tall task ahead of him done when he meets Romero inside the Octagon next month, and it’s not going to be easy:
“I think I go out there and do my job, I’ll get the title shot,” Weidman said. “I’m focused on Romero.”
Weidman and Romero will meet on the main card of UFC 205 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Madison Square Garden arena in New York City on November 12, 2016.
On Nov. 12, Conor McGregor will try to make history and become the first man to hold two UFC titles in different weight classes at the same time when he meets 155-pound champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205. The one main problem with McGregor aiming to achieve history is that the
On Nov. 12, Conor McGregor will try to make history and become the first man to hold two UFC titles in different weight classes at the same time when he meets 155-pound champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205.
The one main problem with McGregor aiming to achieve history is that the Irishman has never defend the featherweight title he won in December 2015. ‘The Notorious’ secured the title from Jose Aldo with a devastating 13-second knockout at UFC 194 last year, but has since failed to even fight in the weight class.
When his lightweight title fight versus Alvarez at Madison Square Garden was announced last month, UFC President Dana White made a note of saying that should McGregor win, he would give up one of the title belts, as he could not hold up a division by not defending one of the two titles.
McGregor brushed the remarks off at the UFC 205 press conference:
“I’m going to wrap one (belt) on one shoulder and I’m going to wrap the other (belt) on the other shoulder and they’re going to need a (expletive) army to come take them belts off me.”
Now, however, McGregor admits that he will give up one of the two titles under one condition.
“Let me see the pictures on publications with a belt on each shoulder first,” he recently told Sports Illustrated by phone. “Let me go onto the side of that Octagon and raise two world titles, what’s never been done before, before talking about stripping me. Let me get the f—— things, let me do it.
“I’ll always listen to the correct business move and I’ll always do what is the correct move,” he added, “but let me do it and let me go back and look at some pictures of me with two belts and let me embrace it for half-a-day.”
White and McGregor seemed to be at odds regarding the relinquishing of one of the belts, but the Irishman believes the media have played their part in the debacle.
“It’s the media that’s making this,” he said. “Let me look at the historic images we’re going to get on this night, me with these two belts. That’s what everyone should be excited about, this is history.”
McGregor is aware that he would be holding up two divisions should he not give up a belt, but says he wants to accomplish the feat and then enjoy the moment first.
“Everyone wants to see you do good, but not better than them,” he said. “That’s what’s happening here. I’m just looking forward to raising the belts, and doing what has not been done before.
“Don’t be trying to take away the historic moment before I’ve even experienced it.”
UFC 205 is just weeks away now. The historic Madison Square Garden pay-per-view has arguably the greatest line-up of any show in UFC history, with a main event to die for. Clashing in the top spot in New York will be lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Irish sensation Conor McGregor. Leaving the featherweight belt on hold
UFC 205 is just weeks away now. The historic Madison Square Garden pay-per-view has arguably the greatest line-up of any show in UFC history, with a main event to die for. Clashing in the top spot in New York will be lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and Irish sensation Conor McGregor. Leaving the featherweight belt on hold for the third straight fight, ‘The Notorious’ looks to make history. Becoming the first champ to hold UFC belts in two weight classes at one time would be huge. Following the announcement of this titanic main event came a number of complaints from fellow fighters.
Arguing about title shots comes with the territory, but recently it’s been much more of a hot topic. Interim champion Jose Aldo has essentially retired over the UFC’s decision to book Alvarez vs. McGregor. Also outraged by he UFC 205 main event is number one lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov. When money is king, feelings are bound to be hurt, and rankings become less relevant by the day. Opposing this argument over rankings is the debate about exposure, and how these super fights involving the biggest stars help the sport grow as a whole.
McGregor’s Thoughts
Standing at the forefront of this typically wild saga is the UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor. Speaking with Sports Illustrated this week, ‘The Notorious’ urges his fellow fighters to stop complaining, and get on board with the way the promotion is headed:
“Tell me one time that crying and moaning, tell me one time that’s good for progression. It’s not,” he told SI by phone while promoting his role in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. “Where would you be if I wasn’t here? Be grateful that you’re even in the conversation.
“Keep your head down, keep working, stay focused, stay positive, that’s the way to go forward. Not crying, moaning, complaining. I can’t engage in that. I wish them well, but I’m on something different here.”
McGregor on Media
As he awaits the biggest fight of his career, potentially the most pivotal in UFC history given the ramifications, Conor McGregor discusses the media. The Irish striker says sour grapes cause him to be cast in a somewhat negative light:
“I’ll always listen to the correct business move and I’ll always do what is the correct move,” he added, “but let me do it and let me go back and look at some pictures of me with two belts and let me embrace it for half-a-day.”
“It’s the media that’s making this,” he said. “Let me look at the historic images we’re going to get on this night, me with these two belts. That’s what everyone should be excited about, this is history.”
“Everyone wants to see you do good, but not better than them,” he said. “That’s what’s happening here. I’m just looking forward to raising the belts, and doing what has not been done before.
“Don’t be trying to take away the historic moment before I’ve even experienced it.”
Earlier this week former longtime 170-pound king Georges St-Pierre shockingly announced that his lawyers managed to terminate his contract with the UFC. Shortly after, however, the UFC responded by claiming the Canadian star is still under Zuffa contract. Who better to clear up the situation than St-Pierre’s lawyer, James Quinn, of New York firm Weil,
Earlier this week former longtime 170-pound king Georges St-Pierre shockingly announced that his lawyers managed to terminate his contract with the UFC. Shortly after, however, the UFC responded by claiming the Canadian star is still under Zuffa contract.
Who better to clear up the situation than St-Pierre’s lawyer, James Quinn, of New York firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges? Quinn spoke to MMA Fighting to discuss the situation, stating that he was ‘blown away’ by the language in ‘GSP’s’ contract:
“I’ve done a lot of work in sports. When I read that contract, I was blown away by how restrictive it is,” Quinn said.
“They’re basically tying him up for life. They have no rights and they own all of his licensing and all the other things. It’s unheard of in the other professional sports. And they won’t get away with it forever.”
Quin, who has taken and won cases against major sports organizations such as the NFL and NBA, stated that the language in St-Pierre’s contract was so restrictive that any other sports organization wouldn’t get away with a contract of that manner:
“You couldn’t get away with any old contract in any of the other sports,” Quinn said. “There is litigation in that aspect of a class-action lawsuit that challenges the contract as being illegal under the NHS laws. That case is ongoing, and I think that under the law’s terms, I don’t think the contract — that formal contract — is likely to stand up. Not in today’s world. It’s a pretty nice form of slavery.”
Furthermore, Quinn stated that the contract terminated after the UFC failed to make the 10-day deadline mandated by ‘GSP’ to for the UFC to give him a fight:
“He notified them earlier this year that he was ready to fight again,” Quinn said. “He wanted to arrange for the terms of the fight, and that did not happen in a timely fashion. They were required to actually schedule a fight, the time and place with a bout agreement, and we gave them — because there’s a 10-day notice period in the contract, in the old contract — we gave them the 10 days to do that, and they didn’t do it before the time period. And therefore we terminated the contract.”
A fight with the now-former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler was then offered to St-Pierre, however, that was just after Lawler had pulled out of his scheduled contest with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 205:
“They offered the fight at a time when Lawler had said he was unable to fight,” Quinn said. “We take the position that we believe the contract has been terminated. They have their hand, we have our hand, we’ll see how it plays out. Georges still wants to fight and he’s perfectly happy to fight under a new UFC contract, if we can negotiate one. Or if not, he’ll look at other options.”
Although the two sides may be going through a rough patch, Quinn says his client isn’t against returning back to the negotiation table to hash out a new deal:
“It’s really up to the UFC, whether they’re willing to negotiate another contract or not,” Quinn said. “We’ll have to see. I can’t really predict that.”
Earlier this week St-Pierre stated that it was “up to guys like me, Conor McGregor, Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo, guys that are big names” to take the lead in a stance for fighters’ rights:
“That’s eventually going to happen in this sport as well, whether in the context of Georges’ situation or with the other litigation that’s pending,” Quinn said. “We just have to see how it all plays out. I’m not in the prediction business.”
At this point fight fans must begin to start wondering if we will ever see the Canadian phenom fight under the UFC banner again, but only time will tell.
UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is coming hot off his first career title defense against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 earlier this month, in which ‘The Count’ took home the unanimous decision win to retain his title. Bisping initially won the title when he downed former champ Luke Rockhold in their main event clash at
UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is coming hot off his first career title defense against Dan Henderson at UFC 204 earlier this month, in which ‘The Count’ took home the unanimous decision win to retain his title.
Bisping initially won the title when he downed former champ Luke Rockhold in their main event clash at UFC 199 this past June. The Brit was a late notice replacement for Chris Weidman, who was forced to pull out of the contest due to an injury sustained in training camp.
With Bisping coming off of a successful title defense, he will now sit and wait to see how Rockhold and Weidman perform in their respective upcoming matches as the winner of one will surely be next to challenge him for the 185-pound throne. Rockhold will clash with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in the main event of UFC Fight Night 101, while Weidman will meet Yoel Romero at UFC 205.
Weidman recently spoke to FOX Sports to discuss his upcoming bout with Romero, stating that if he earns the opportunity to step into the Octagon with Bisping, it will be the easiest fight he’s had in years:
“I beat Yoel, I get Bisping, that’s an easy day,” Weidman said. “He’s a tough guy, he showed he’s tough without a doubt but it might be one of my easiest fights I’ve had in years to get that fight with Bisping.”
Weidman was watching closely as Bisping defended his title against the now retired 46-year-old Henderson, who was able to knock the champion down twice with his signature ‘H-Bomb’. ‘The All American’ in fact scored the bout in favor or Henderson, giving him three of the five rounds contested:
“I love Dan Henderson, legend of the sport, and I thought he still had the same chances with his right hand but I thought Bisping would have done better not getting hit by it knowing that was the only thing he really had to worry about,” Weidman explained. “I thought Dan obviously being 46 years old, I thought time would end up wearing him down and Bisping would kind of grind him out and the fight would end up looking kind of easy for Bisping if he wasn’t to get knocked out in the first round. I thought Henderson won rounds 1,2 and 5 so that was amazing to watch a 46-year old do that to the champion.
“Definitely surprised me, I didn’t expect that.”
Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Bisping and Weidman have been exchanging words throughout social media for quite some time now, building up quite the rivalry between the two for a potential showdown inside the Octagon. If Weidman is able to emerge victorious come fight night in New York, they might just get the opportunity to settle their differences:
“Me and him have been going back and forth for years now. Not really back and forth, he’s always just kind of crapped on me and my career. He was always jealous of me and everything I’ve accomplished,” Weidman said. “I came up quick and he was just a guy that never fought for the title but had a ton of fights in the division. I thought there was definitely some saltiness and bitterness on his part.
“When he won the championship I was saying it was embarrassing having Michael Bisping as champion and from that we’ve been going back and forth.”
While Weidman has a hard time believing Bisping can handle himself and the other four monstrous competitors in the top five of the middleweight division (Rockhold, ‘Jacare’, Gegard Mousasi), he does admit that Bisping proved him wrong once before when he knocked out Rockhold at UFC 199:
“I don’t see him beating any of those four, but I didn’t see him beating Luke (Rockhold) and he proved me wrong with that. He’s dangerous, it’s MMA, you’ve got to take these guys seriously but the odds would definitely be against him,” Weidman said.
“Without a doubt and that’s being as nice as possible, he would be a heavy underdog I think to any of us.”
Weidman will meet Romero on the main card of UFC 205 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12, 2016.
A fight with the now-former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler was then offered to St-Pierre, however, that was just after Lawler had pulled out of his scheduled contest with Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 205:
Weidman will meet Romero on the main card of UFC 205 live on pay-per-view (PPV), from Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12, 2016.