Tag: UFC 223

Conor McGregor Reacts To Max Holloway’s UFC 222 Pullout

The MMA world was dealt collective disappointment yesterday when word arrived that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar. The tough-as-nails champion wanted to fight no matter what, detailing what he said would go through in order to meet Edgar in a month’s […]

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The MMA world was dealt collective disappointment yesterday when word arrived that UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway had been forced out of his scheduled UFC 222 main event versus Frankie Edgar.

The tough-as-nails champion wanted to fight no matter what, detailing what he said would go through in order to meet Edgar in a month’s time. But ultimately he simply could not compete in the alotted timeframe.

The UFC set out to replace the March 3 fight card’s main event with two high-profile bouts, seeking to book bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw against former teammate Cody Garbrandt in a rematch of their UFC 217 affair with Edgar then taking on surging contender Brian Ortega in the co-main.

Dillashaw turned the bout down, however, citing the birth of his child and lack of training before mocking ‘No Love’ with a brutal photo from his knockout win last November.

And it remains an uncertain spot for the promotion and the rapidly-approaching event, but the mocking surrounding the card didn’t stop there. UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor got in on the action by trolling Holloway with a photo from his 2013 win over “Blessed”:

When there is no referee to save you.

A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on

‘The Notorious’ loves to rub salt in the wounds of his former opponents, yet it’s understandable if fans asked whether he should be doing so with his fighting future still very much up in the air as he acts a fool with his newfound mega-riches from boxing Floyd Mayweather.

This injury is bad timing for Holloway for sure, but the young Hawaiian has been a model of consistency for the UFC during his rise to championship status. He’s also stated he’s willing to take on any and all comers as champion, something that would most likely be true if he wasn’t hurt.

The same simply cannot be said for McGregor, who campaigned for a UFC bout versus Mayweather this week rather than a title defense against the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Is it time for McGregor to stop kicking willing fighters while they’re down and get back to fighting in MMA himself? Did that time pass long ago?

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UFC 223’s Al Iaquinta to Paul Felder: ‘You’re a Kiss Ass, Bro’

Al Iaquinta views Paul Felder as a company shill. On April 7, Iaquinta will take on Felder inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The bout will be part of the UFC 223 event. It’ll also be the first bout under Iaquinta’s new UFC contrac…

Al Iaquinta views Paul Felder as a company shill. On April 7, Iaquinta will take on Felder inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The bout will be part of the UFC 223 event. It’ll also be the first bout under Iaquinta’s new UFC contract. Felder Is A Teacher’s Pet? Iaquinta and Felder certainly have […]

Pic: UFC 223 Poster Suggests It’s For ‘World Lightweight Championship’

Everyone remotely associated with MMA is looking forward to the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event at April 7’s UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York – even if they don’t which version of the lightweight title will be on the line. Of course Ferguson is the interim champion as Conor […]

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Everyone remotely associated with MMA is looking forward to the Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov main event at April 7’s UFC 223 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York – even if they don’t which version of the lightweight title will be on the line.

Of course Ferguson is the interim champion as Conor McGregor drags his feet in deciding or announcing his long-awaited comeback, but the very real possibility of “The Notorious” never coming back after his $100 million payday to box Floyd Mayweather last year has the UFC is the precarious position of having to potentially strip their biggest star of a title again.

Yet they won’t come out and say it, as Dana White danced around the question when asked at a UFC 220 media event last month, giving his predictable and tiresome ‘we’ll see what happens’ in response. The situation was only clouded when White said the winner of Ferguson vs. Khabib would ‘be the champion,’ but gave no indication of what they would decide for McGregor.

With speculation running wild that they will strip him of a second title, the recently released UFC 223 poster may be an indication of those plans. Based on a photo of the poster released last night, the UFC 223 main event will be for the ‘world lightweight championship’ – not interim – suggesting McGregor would be stripped by fight time. Check it out:

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New Weight Cutting Rules Could Force Max Holloway To Lightweight

New weight cutting rules may force UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway up a division, leaving “Blessed” at a potential career crossroads. As Holloway prepares to defend his belt against Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, the 145-pound champ told The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani that he may have to move up to 155 pounds in the near […]

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New weight cutting rules may force UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway up a division, leaving “Blessed” at a potential career crossroads.

As Holloway prepares to defend his belt against Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, the 145-pound champ told The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani that he may have to move up to 155 pounds in the near future (MMA Fighting):

“If they change a few things around, I’m probably not going to be able to make 145. If it happens, it happens. If UFC keeps making new rules, I most definitely might have to step up. There ain’t no denying it.”

“Everybody is talking about being champs and this and that. I’m a champion in my mindset. I’ve told you before, I’ve nothing but time on my side. Man, you might see me with two of these gold belts. Who knows? I’m trying to be a legend.”

The new weight cutting rules essentially established that a fighter cannot cut more than 10 percent of their natural body weight, meaning many of the heavy weight-cutters will now have to reevaluate their diets.

Holloway would be one casualty of the new rules; the massive Hawaiian towers over everyone else in the division despite his lanky frame. He’s never missed weight but admitted many are surprised he can even make the division’s 145-pound limit:

“Every time I check my weight they’re in disbelief, but I’m like, ‘I’ve never missed weight in my life.’ I don’t know why they’re giving me a hard time, but medically if they’re the rules, then medically I probably won’t be able to make it because of their rules with the (weight) cuts.

“155 might come sooner rather than later, so we’ll see what happens.”

How would Holloway do at lightweight against the likes of Eddie Alvarez, Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Tony Ferguson?

Could the featherweight champ win gold at 155 pounds?

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Anthony Pettis vs. Michael Chiesa Verbally Agree To Showdown At UFC 223

An intriguing lightweight bout appears to be close to finalized for UFC 223. ESPN was first to report the news that Anthony Pettis and Michael Chiesa have both verbally agreed to meet at the April 7 pay-per-view event scheduled for the Barclays Center …

An intriguing lightweight bout appears to be close to finalized for UFC 223. ESPN was first to report the news that Anthony Pettis and Michael Chiesa have both verbally agreed to meet at the April 7 pay-per-view event scheduled for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Pettis and Chiesa are both coming off of […]

Conor McGregor Slams Floyd Mayweather For Stepping Into MMA Cage

Earlier today, ‘retired’ boxing legend Floyd Mayweather set the collective online mixed martial arts world ablaze after he posted a video of him briefly stepping into an MMA cage, prompting speculation that the UFC debut he shot down late last year could actually happen. It’s unlikely to happen, but if he were to make his […]

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Earlier today, ‘retired’ boxing legend Floyd Mayweather set the collective online mixed martial arts world ablaze after he posted a video of him briefly stepping into an MMA cage, prompting speculation that the UFC debut he shot down late last year could actually happen.

It’s unlikely to happen, but if he were to make his MMA debut against say, former boxing rival Conor McGregor, it may just become the biggest over-the-top scene in the history of MMA – if not combat sports as a whole.

So with the prospect of another record-setting purse (after his first one to box Mayweather has kept him on the sidelines and not defending his UFC belt) in plain view, McGregor was quick to respond to ‘Money’s’ short video on Twitter, laughing at his old foe by calling him his ‘son’ and signing off as ‘Senior’:

Standard operating procedure for “The Notorious,” whose future still remains unknown even though the MMA universe is crying for him to finally defend a UFC title – something he hasn’t done a single time since winning the featherweight title in December 2015.

It’s clear he’s all about the money, and it’s tough to blame him considering this is prizefighting, after all, but if McGregor truly just wants to take ‘money’ fights and never defend his belt, then the UFC owes it to the rest of the lightweight division to strip him and let them continue trying to further their careers.

That would open up a path for McGregor to potentially fight Mayweather in the octagon, something that seems highly unlikely due to the fact most believe ‘Money’ would get destroyed in MMA just like McGregor was stopped in the boxing ring.

The immediate fashion in which McGregor responded makes it seem like the UFC could be working on something in that regard, and it would probably be the Irishman’s first choice for his return if it were indeed a viable option.

For the sake of MMA purists everywhere, let’s hope it is not.

In today’s spectacle-focused era under Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG), it may be, however, so don’t be surprised if this topic heats up quite a bit in the next few days.

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