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Firas Zahabi Explains Why Fans Shouldn’t Have High Expectations For Khabib vs. McGregor

It will be the biggest fight in UFC history but maybe not the best fight.

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Firas Zahabi explains why fight fans shouldn’t believe that Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor will be the greatest fight that they have ever seen. Make no mistake about it though, it will be one of the biggest fights that the UFC has every booked on the pay-per-view.

The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champ will challenge the current UFC lightweight champ for the strap at UFC 229.

Firas Zahabi Explains

The Tristar coach recently did a podcast where he gave his thoughts on various topics including this fight that does down in over a month. The renowned coach went on record by stating that this title bout won’t be competitive at all.

“What I’m doubting, what I don’t see very likely is a seesaw battle,” Zahabi said (H/T to Bloody Elbow). “Where there’s a lot of stand up, then they hit the ground, then they get back up, and they’re striking and they’re wrestling, and it’s a back-and-forth battle where it’s coming down the last round — that, I don’t see.

“I don’t see a very competitive fight even though these two fighters are great phenomal competitors,” he said. “The only reason I don’t see it that way is not because one fighter is more skilled than the other. No, far from it. The only reason I do see it this way — a one-sided victory — it’s purely because of their styles. McGregor’s style is completely opposite to Khabib’s.”

The Follow Up

The UFC 229 pay-per-view event is slated to take place on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass.

Zahabi would continue by stating that the times that they fought out of character gave an interesting insight into their skills. First, when the UFC lightweight champion was jabbing and out-striking Al Iaquinta at UFC 223. Second, when McGregor was trying to dirty box with Nate Diaz and Max Holloway. According to the coach, he feels that they should be sticking to their strengths in this upcoming title fight.

“If Khabib tries to pick and poke at McGregor from afar with that jab, that would really really surprise me,” he said. “If McGregor tries to dirty box with Khabib, that would really surprise me, because any tie ups with Khabib will probably result with McGregor being put on his back.

“So I think they’re gonna be really on their game plan that night. It’s going play their game for real, the way they really play it. That’s McGregor at a distance, sniping, and that’s Khabib up-close, in personal, tying up, clinching.

“It’s going to be a blowout either way. Either Khabib is going to win and it’s going to seem lopsided… Khabib is going to take him down and maul him, or McGregor is going to catch him on his way in and knock him out. It’s going to happen one way or another.”

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Dana White Talks Using McGregor Attack Footage To Promote UFC 229

Dana White discussed promoting UFC 229 using Conor McGregor’s attack.

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Time heals all wounds. So it’s time Dana White talks us through the thought process behind using the ‘Trollygate’ video to help promote UFC 229.

Not even six months ago, former UFC champion Conor McGregor was making headlines for throwing a dolly through a bus window in Brooklyn, NY. As a result, Ray Borg and Michael Chiesa were injured. They were therefore unable to compete at UFC 223, altering the PPV portion of the card.

Dana White, who usually has McGregor’s back, was left almost speechless – quite the feat. White went so far as to question whether or not his Irish superstar was on drugs. Perhaps the Irishman knew exactly what he was doing all along.

White may have viewed McGregor’s action perplexing at the time but what’s done is done. And since White can’t go back in time and prevent McGregor from acting a fool in Brooklyn, he should do the next best thing. White talked using the ‘despicable’ footage to help promote UFC 229:

“It was definitely something bad that I didn’t expect from anybody,” White said in a recent BBC interview. “He got in trouble legally in New York. He had to go to court and hire lawyers and go through lawsuits and all kinds of stuff that goes along with something like that. Obviously, going into the fight, it’s definitely part of the storyline.”

Indeed it may be a part of the storyline. There’s no doubt that footage of the insane attack will help hype the fight.

But it’s already being called the biggest fight in UFC history. Does UFC 229 need that kind of promotion?

The post Dana White Talks Using McGregor Attack Footage To Promote UFC 229 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Dana White Talks Using McGregor Attack Footage To Promote UFC 229

Dana White discussed promoting UFC 229 using Conor McGregor’s attack.

The post Dana White Talks Using McGregor Attack Footage To Promote UFC 229 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Time heals all wounds. So it’s time Dana White talks us through the thought process behind using the ‘Trollygate’ video to help promote UFC 229.

“It was definitely something bad that I didn’t expect from anybody,” White said in a recent BBC interview. “He got in trouble legally in New York. He had to go to court and hire lawyers and go through lawsuits and all kinds of stuff that goes along with something like that. Obviously, going into the fight, it’s definitely part of the storyline.”

Indeed it may be a part of the storyline. There’s no doubt that footage of the insane attack will help hype the fight.

But it’s already being called the biggest fight in UFC history. Does UFC 229 need that kind of promotion?

The post Dana White Talks Using McGregor Attack Footage To Promote UFC 229 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Dana White Says UFC Nearly Doubled In Value From ESPN Deal

Dana White says the UFC is worth an insane amount of money now.

The post Dana White Says UFC Nearly Doubled In Value From ESPN Deal appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Dana White says the UFC’s value is growing by leaps and bounds.

The world’s leading MMA promotion was sold for a then-record $4.2 billion in July 2016. Hollywood talent giants Endeavor (formerly WME-IMG) scooped up the UFC and proceeded to go about business in a new way.

Mixed results came when UFC titles seemingly became devalued in favor of so-called “money fights.” Slumping pay-per-view sales in 2017 and 2018 suggested the new strategy perhaps was not working well.

The UFC signed a lucrative television deal with ESPN set to begin next year. The deal is worth $1.5 billion a year over the next five years. Conor McGregor’s massive boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. gave the UFC their reported biggest year ever, at least financially, in 2017.

A bevy of high-profile fights on the horizon has the UFC trending up. UFC President Dana White says the promotion has nearly doubled in value due to these factors. White said the UFC is worth $7 billion in a recent interview with motivational speaker Anthony Robbins (via MMA Junkie) :

“When you think about it we haven’t even scratched the surface yet of how big this thing can be. We just did a TV deal with ESPN for $1.5 billion for five years. Now the company is worth $7 billion.”

A New Era

There isn’t a ton of concrete evidence to back up White’s claim as of right now, because the promotion is only worth what someone is willing to pay.

The deal with ESPN will bring the UFC and MMA to the homes of millions of more customers. White has been criticized for becoming complacent in the UFC’s new era. He claimed he is still motivated to find new talent, however:

“Obviously this ESPN deal is going to be massive for us, expose us to millions of people just here in the U.S. that haven’t been exposed to the UFC. We’re going to continue to go into markets we haven’t been, we’re going to continue to find the best talent in the world. I love to find up-and-coming talent. I love to find the next guy or girl. Continue to build the sport. That’s it. That’s my focus. It’s not rocket science, it’s nothing crazy. Just continue to do what we do and get bigger and bigger.”

The UFC is certainly headed for greener pastures to close out 2018. Conor McGregor will return at October 6’s UFC 229. The fight is being billed as the biggest in UFC history and legitimately could be. Early indicators suggest it will be.

Fan favorites Nate Diaz and Brock Lesnar are also slated to return in the comings months. So the future is looking bright for the UFC. That should only be amplified by their debut on ESPN.

However, the promotion fared poorly most of this year without any major stars to boost their numbers. Stars like McGregor and Diaz will need to fight consistently in order to attain the level of value White claims they have.

That’s no easy task, as we’ve seen in recent years.

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UFC 229 Quickly Makes History Thanks To Conor McGregor

UFC officials are thrilled to have their biggest draw back.

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UFC 229 quickly made history despite the fact that the event is well over a month away from taking place but that just goes to show the draw power of Conor McGregor.

Conor McGregor is slated to make his Octagon return to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov UFC lightweight championship at this show.

As a result, once tickets went on sale, it was a hit. The reason for that is due to the event racking racked up millions of dollars in ticket sales where it will be one of the largest gates in UFC history.

UFC 229 Quickly Makes History

MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer noted that the event is close to selling out as “there were still a small amount of tickets left at the AXS ticket website at $990 as of Saturday afternoon.”

This is a great start to the road of the return of the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion. This event has surpassed UFC 200 and UFC 129 in terms of gate revenue but is still trailing the top spot and won’t get it.

The all-time record is the one set for UFC 205 on November 12, 2016 which the company’s first-ever event in New York held in Madison Square Garden. That show did $17.7 million.

The Card

Champ Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title
Derrick Lewis vs. Alexander Volkov
Jussier Formiga vs. Sergio Pettis
Yana Kunitskaya vs. Lina Lansberg
Ryan LaFlare vs. Tony Martin
Felice Herrig vs. Michelle Waterson
Dominick Reyes vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Sean O’Malley vs. Jose Quinonez
Scott Holtzman vs. Alan Patrick

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Artem Lobov vs. Zubaira Tukhogov in the Works for UFC 229

Another Team Khabib vs. Team McGregor bout is in the works for UFC 229, as Artem Lobov vs. Zubaira Tukhogov is targeted for the October 6th pay per view event. MMA Team Dagestan first reported the news. UFC 229 will be headlined by Khabib Nurmagomedov …

The post Artem Lobov vs. Zubaira Tukhogov in the Works for UFC 229 appeared first on MMA News.