Tag: UFC 223

Pic: Is Georges St-Pierre Cutting Down To Lightweight?

Is Georges St-Pierre already making his way down to lightweight?

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Some evidence has arisen that may support George St-Pierre cutting down to lightweight.

The former UFC middleweight and welterweight champion has often teased a high-profile bout with the winner of UFC 229’s Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor. UFC President Dana White insists he’s not interested in it, but the dollar signs may be too hard to pass up.

St-Pierre has been out of action since he submitted Michael Bisping at last November’s UFC 217 from New York. He won the middleweight title but vacated it soon thereafter. “GSP” cited a bout with colitis due to the increased food intake he required to compete at 185 pounds. He’s since discussed returning at lightweight to win an unprecedented third belt, but nothing is confirmed.

Some evidence suggesting that may be true recently arose, however. St-Pierre posted a picture on Instagram of him looking decidedly smaller than the last time we saw him. Check it out:

Recovery time in Russian Spa in Brooklyn with @82spaniard!

A post shared by Georges St-Pierre (@georgesstpierre) on

St-Pierre simply looks like he’s lost a lot of weight since he last fought. Some of that could be because of his stomach ailment, yet he’s said he only wants to fight in only the biggest fights in order to make it worthwhile.

A fight with the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor is the obviously the biggest he could hope to book. It would tie up the UFC lightweight division even more after it only got back on track somewhat when Khabib won the vacated title at April’s UFC 223.

But in this era of money-focused super fights, there’s not much to support the theory that Endeavor would pass this up. And you know, Dana White said it wasn’t happening.

Stay tuned.

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Former UFC Title Challenger: I Hope Khabib Rearranges Conor’s Face

This former title challenger is pulling no punches with his Khabib vs. Conor prediction.

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A former UFC title challenger is rooting for Khabib Nurmagomedov to dismantle Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC 229.

That’s obviously because of his storied history with the undefeated UFC lightweight champ. Al Iaquinta met Nurmagomedov on short notice in the main event of April 7’s UFC 223. He was the feared wrestler’s fifth prospective opponent in the week. ‘Ragin’ Al’ was also supposed to face Paul Felder at the event, but was instead dominated by ‘The Eagle.’

Predictions ‘Rage’ On

That set up his highly anticipated match-up with McGregor. One top-ranked lightweight is picking McGregor to sleep Khabib, but Iaquinta feels differently. The Long Island-based slugger recently told MMA Fighting that Nurmagomedov should walk through McGregor’s feared knockout power and keep charging:

“The worst-case scenario, I think [Nurmagomedov] takes a few shots from Conor and just keeps coming forward. I mean, Conor obviously has the power to put him out, but I don’t know. Does he? I think a lot of people think he does, because he’s knocked a lot of people out, but Khabib is tough. He sees things, he’s got a little awkward style, which is different. It’s tough to adjust to, because it’s so different, standup-wise.”

That’s the question on everyone’s mind. Many are in agreement with Iaquinta’s stance that Khabib will simply impose his relentless pressure on “The Notorious.” That will lead to the ‘pretty’ McGregor giving up – at least in Iaquinta’s mind:

“I think he could just get after him. Get after him, keep the pressure on him. Conor, he’s quit before. He’s given up. Against Diaz, it gets a little later rounds. I think he’s a pretty fighter. If the fight is pretty and it’s going good for him … [Chad] Mendes took that fight on no notice. He had zero in the gas tank going into that fight. If it’s five rounds of that, I think Conor is finding a way out.”

‘Ragin’ Al’ then affirmed his desire that Nurmagomedov demolishes McGregor. It would obviously make him look much better. It’s also something he thinks will happen:

“I hope he does,” Iaquinta said. “It would look good for me — if he beats the **** out of him more than he beat the **** out of me on a day’s notice. It’d look real good. So, I hope Khabib f*cking knocks his *** out, makes him quit and rearranges his face like he says he’s gonna do. I think it’s gonna happen — I hope it happens.”

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Coach: Khabib Nurmagomedov Is “Never Going To Lose”

Khabib Nurmagomedov is never going to lose according to a decorated MMA coach. The undefeated UFC lightweight champion is set to meet Conor McGregor in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229. It could end up as the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history. That result may not be due to the amount of […]

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Khabib Nurmagomedov is never going to lose according to a decorated MMA coach.

The undefeated UFC lightweight champion is set to meet Conor McGregor in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229. It could end up as the biggest pay-per-view event in UFC history.

That result may not be due to the amount of pre-fight hype, however. There’s actually been precious little in the way of prominent promotion only a month out. Nurmagomedov and McGregor’s pre-installed beef may be what promotes the fight due to its heated backstory. McGregor infamously stormed the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, earlier this year days before Nurmagomedov won the lightweight title at UFC 223.

The Stage Is Set

‘The Notorious’ has cleared up his legal issues. The undefeated Russian champ remains his focus now, and we haven’t seen much from the former champ. We have seen a decent amount from Nurmagomedov’s head coach Javier Mendez. AKA front man Mendez recently admitted there was no way “The Eagle” could hang with McGregor’s striking.

That doesn’t mean he thinks his star fighter will lose. Mendez recently offered the view that Nurmagomedov will never be defeated on MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast. The champion will find a way to win no matter due to his mental toughness:

“I’m of the belief that Khabib’s mental strength is so strong that I personally feel that he’s never going to lose. I really don’t — I don’t think he’s ever going to lose. He’s going to find whatever he needs to do to win, whether he does it my way or does it his way, he’s going to find a way to win and that’s just what he does.”

A Focused Gameplan

Mendez then opened up on their gameplan for McGregor. The longtime head coach said he and Khabib are putting together a solid plan with intense, isolated focus:

“Basically it’s just me and him, myself and Khabib. We go through the gameplan and I structure it. I’ve mostly been the one that structures all of the gameplans, except for with Daniel [Cormier], it’s myself and Bob Cook. I’ve been doing all the gameplans, the other coaches do a fantastic job and they fall into place where they’re needed, but the gameplan is usually always me.”

AKA’s famed owner then dove into the mental aspects of a fight this huge. He isn’t worried about Nurmagomedov getting flustered. McGregor may be a master at mental warfare, yet Mendez insists he’ll find his equal in the champ:

“I’m not going to have to worry about keeping [Nurmagomedov] in check. He is so mentally strong that it’s not going to be an issue at all. Like I said, Conor is going to press his buttons, but it doesn’t matter. I believe Khabib is going to stay cool throughout the whole thing,” Mendez said.

“He’s going to dish it out as good as he gets it, and trust me, Conor’s going to give it to him because Conor is a master at playing the game. He’s going to find an equal mental sparring partner as well as physical. This fight is going to be mental and physical, outside the fight and inside the fight, they’re both going to fight for the advantages.”

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Report: UFC Upset With Conor McGregor’s ‘Attitude’ Heading Into UFC 229

The UFC isn’t happy with Conor McGregor’s attitude before UFC 229.

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The UFC is reportedly upset with Conor McGregor’s ‘attitude’ heading into his awaited return.

The superstar will face lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov at October 6’s UFC 229. The fight is McGregor’s first trip back to the cage since his TKO victory over Eddie Alvarez in November 2016. McGregor won the 155-pound title but was stripped due to inactivity.

‘The Eagle’ now holds the belt after defeating Al Iaquinta at April’s UFC 223. McGregor was arrested for his now-infamous bus attack at the Barlcays Center in Brooklyn. He reached a plea deal on assault charges last month. His massive return was announced before August 4’s UFC 227 from Los Angeles, California.

Lack Of Hype

The hype for what many are calling the biggest fight in UFC history hasn’t seemingly gone into overdrive just yet, however. McGregor has been largely unseen despite only the fact five weeks remain until the bout. Apparently, that’s causing discord with his employers. The UFC is frustrated with his attitude according to f4wonline.com (via MMA Mania):

“One of the reasons you haven’t seen much in the way of interviews and such is that McGregor has not agreed to do anything. There are no press conferences scheduled because McGregor at this point hasn’t agreed to them. There is a lot of frustration within the UFC about McGregor’s attitude, but in the end, he’s got the leverage and the ticket sales and secondary market results only give him more leverage.

The feeling is that this may be the biggest non-boxing PPV of all-time, and the only reason it wouldn’t be is that McGregor hasn’t been pushing it hard. McGregor was able to get a larger piece of the action for this fight than any of his UFC fights to date, so there is a direct correlation more than ever between his work in promoting the fight and his pocket book, but this may also show that he knows he’s in a real fight and doesn’t want to break training.”

McGregor may just be focused on training to beat the undefeated Nurmagomedov. He did the same thing prior to his UFC 202 rematch with Nate Diaz after losing their first fight. ‘The Eagle’ is being deemed McGregor’s toughest challenge in the octagon. The likewise could be said for the champion because of McGregor’s otherworldly striking accuracy and power.

Record-Setting Potential

The megafight is being discussed as the first UFC fight to earn 2 million buys on pay-per-view. That would be a record by a large margin. If the fight fails to reach its record-setting potential, many will point to the lack of promotion as the reason.

McGregor’s rematch with Diaz at UFC 202 in 2016 drew a reported 1.6 million buys to stand as the current record-holder. It would seem Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor would break that rather easily based on the situation. Were the fight not to reach 2 million buys, at least some disappointment would foster for the UFC. The promotion needs a massive pay-per-view more than ever during a year of struggling PPV sales and television ratings.

That’s why they need McGregor promoting the fight. He simply may not be willing to at this point.

Does the UFC have a right to be upset with Conor McGregor’s attitude heading into UFC 229?

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Conor McGregor Responds To Floyd Mayweather’s Interesting Offer

Conor McGregor fired back at Floyd Mayweather’s offer.

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It’s high time Conor McGregor responds to Floyd Mayweather’s recent offer.

Earlier today, it appeared Mayweather had made some sort of peace with previous opponent McGregor. “Money” offered an opportunity for McGregor to train at his gym for his upcoming UFC 229 main event against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Mayweather even sent a message to ‘The Eagle’ in the process:

“Conor’s not gonna back down and he’s not a scared fighter at all, win, lose or draw. Conor gonna come to fight. I know that UFC got a training facility but we’d like for him to work out at the Mayweather Boxing Club.”

However, McGregor just made it clear that he and Mayweather aren’t on good terms. “The Notorious” posted a classic McGregor-style message on Facebook just moments ago:

McGregor apparently isn’t having any of Mayweather’s so-called hospitality heading into his UFC return.

Perhaps he shouldn’t. A potential rematch with “Money” could always be lurking around the corner if UFC 229 doesn’t pan out.

And that’s always a good time to break out “F*** the Mayweathers.”

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Khabib’s Coach Admits ‘There’s No Way’ To Prepare For Conor McGregor’s Striking

Will Khabib be able to hang with Conor McGregor on the feet?

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Khabib’s Nurmagomedov’s coach believes there’s just no way he can prepare for Conor McGregor’s striking.

Javier Mendez dove into detail on the subject during the recent episode of the Eurobash podcast (via MMA Fighting).

He believes McGregor is in a class of his own in terms of striking. The popular Irishman is so good, he’s the best in the UFC in that area in his eyes:

“To me [Conor McGregor] is the best standup guy in the whole UFC, in my opinion.

“He’s got incredible relaxation, he approaches it like a scientist, he knows how to read you, he knows how to bait you…he knows how to put you right into that trap and before you know it you’re caught sleeping.

“He’s a master, in my opinion, on the fighting arts and he’s also got a ground game — he’s good everywhere. I’m not sleeping on how great he is. I’m prepared for everything but he is a great fighter.”

Striker vs. Grappler Match

Mendez believes that his star pupil Nurmagomedov just won’t have enough time to bridge that gap before their awaited showdown at October 6’s UFC 229.

The longtime American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) front man said ‘The Eagle’ will have to take advantage of his position as the much better grappler due to McGregor’s striking skill:

“There’s no amount of time that we have that’s going to help us to try and get him to stand up, there’s no way possible. So, I’m not gonna say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna get him ready’… come on…wake up…it ain’t gonna work,” he said.

“We have to fight our strengths, we have to find ways of opening the doors to where his weaknesses are and likewise. This is basically the classic grappler versus striker fight. Keep in mind that they can both grapple and they can both strike, it’s just one is better than the other at (each discipline).

“We’re the better grappler, he’s the better striker, but that doesn’t mean we won’t strike, it just means he’s better. It’s about who plays whose game.”

Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor is being billed as the classic ‘striker vs. grappler’ match-up. The fight is also being touted as potentially the biggest spectacle in UFC history.

High stakes are on the line for both men, and the result will most likely come down to the fighter who can implement their will best.

Will that be ‘The Notorious’ or ‘The Eagle?’

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