He’s Back: Conor McGregor Returns Versus Khabib Nurmagomedov

Conor McGregor will finally return to face Khabib Nurmagomedov!

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The UFC’s biggest possible fight is finally official.

At today’s 25th Anniversary Press Conference from Los Angeles, California, the promotion announced that former lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor will make his awaited UFC return against current lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of October 6’s UFC 229 from Las Vegas, Nevada.

McGregor has been out of action since he won the title with a second-round stoppage of fellow former champ Eddie Alvarez at 2016’s UFC 205, a title he was eventually stripped of due to inactivity, allowing “The Eagle” to swoop in and win it by defeating short-notice foe Al Iaquinta at April’s UFC 223.

By far the biggest star in MMA, McGregor instead spent the past two years boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr., a fight where he lost but gained a reported $85 million payday. It’s been debatable if that huge windfall of cash was beneficial to his fighting career, as he’s since careened on a concerning downward spiral of entitled and even criminal behavior. First, he stormed the cage at a Bellator event last fall, shoving ref Marc Goddard and slapping a security official, and then he, of course, stormed the Barclays Center prior to UFC 223 to throw a metal dolly through a bus containing Nurmagomedov.

McGregor was arrested on assault charges in Brooklyn but recently cleared his name, so to speak, with a plea deal, paving the path for his long-anticipated title fight with the undefeated champion to be finalized.

So the UFC’s biggest star – and so-called savior – is officially back at the time they need him most. Will he be able to dust the undefeated Dagestani wrecking machine like he has so many other top combatants in the Octagon?

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Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formiga in the Works for UFC 229

Demetrious Johnson’s next opponent may be determined soon, and it may not be whom you think…or want. MMA News’s Damon Martin confirms that a bout between Sergio Pettis and Jussier Formiga is in the works for UFC 229 in October. The news was initially r…

Demetrious Johnson’s next opponent may be determined soon, and it may not be whom you think…or want. MMA News’s Damon Martin confirms that a bout between Sergio Pettis and Jussier Formiga is in the works for UFC 229 in October. The news was initially reported by ESPN. Jussier Formiga is an 11-fight veteran of the […]

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Conor McGregor’s Return Will Snap UFC Cold Streak – But For How Long?

Conor McGregor will probably save 2018, but the UFC has bigger problems long-term.

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It’s not official just yet, but signs are pointing to Conor McGregor finally making his Octagon return in what could be the biggest MMA fight of all-time against lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

The path to the anticipated title fight becoming official was cleared substantially last week when McGregor resolved his legal issues for the assault charges gained by throwing a metal dolly through a bus containing Nurmagomedov days prior to April’s UFC 223; the Irish former champ avoided jail time and will serve community service along with a few other minor stipulations.

The rumored match-up is supposedly headed for October’s UFC 229 from Las Vegas, an event that only this week McGregor openly discussed as the frontrunner for his return. Another possible date and location is November 3’s UFC 230 from Madison Square Garden in New York City; it was at that exact venue where McGregor last fought in the UFC by winning the lightweight title from then-champion Eddie Alvarez in 2016.

But no matter where and when McGregor does return, it will be perhaps the most-needed jolt that the UFC has ever begged for, and certainly the most crucial of new owner Endeavor’s tenuous two-year period of running the world’s MMA leader. The UFC hit a new low in terms of ratings with last week’s UFC on FOX 30 from Calgary despite the fact that the main and co-main events featured two jaw-dropping knockouts in fights with serious backstories, an ominous sign for a company that has seen steadily declining ratings since 2017 began.

Pay-per-view sales are hitting new lows as well, with July 7’s packed UFC 226 only bringing in around 400,000 buys despite a historic championship win by Daniel Cormier that made him only the second-ever simultaneous UFC champion other than McGregor. By comparison – and it’s really not one – McGregor brought in three separate pay-per-views that brought over a million buys in 2016 alone. That’s why the UFC is willing to overlook the concerning streak of outside events McGregor has exhibited since making a reported $85 million to box Floyd Mayweather last summer, they need a big star more than ever and he’s their biggest of all-time.

McGregor’s return could push for the record of the biggest UFC PPV buyrate ever, it will remain to be seen if a UFC event can sell that well anymore. If it does, it will show just how vital “The Notorious” is to their success, and at this point, that’s shaky ground to stand on. It was uncertain he would ever return to the UFC last year, and even though it’s looking more likely with each day, how long will they really be able to bank on the Irish superstar? He’s often stated his intentions to get rich and get out with his health, and he’s already beyond rich.

True, his lavish spending would drain almost anyone’s account, so he may need one more blowout fight to refill his reserves a bit. It all depends on if he loses to “The Eagle” as well – if he wins, expect to see him back one or two more times, if he loses, he may retire. Regardless, the UFC can’t count on magical years like 2016 where McGregor blew the roof off the record books with three all-time great PPV cards.

So while he will probably save an otherwise dismal 2018 for Endeavor, the problems that currently plague it right now will still remain. They’ve been discussed over and over again, with the oversaturation of events being pointed to as the main culprit -while it is true to some degree and fans are simply exhausted, the UFC won’t stop putting on event after event if it’s profitable. They have a $4.2 billion loan to pay back and at the end of the day, this is a business – big business.

Another not-always-discussed point that I think is highly relevant was brought up by Marc Raimondi and Shaun Al-Shatti on their live chat on MMA Fighting today, the concern that fighters being forced to wear essentially the same monotone Reebok clothing every time out to the cage is diminishing (or outright negating) their personal connection to the fans. They put it in the terms of wondering if Chuck Liddell would have been as big a star without his trademark blue Iceman shorts, or if Tito Ortiz would have resonated as a heel so much without his own flame-adorned outfits.  They said they would have been big stars but not as much and I tend to agree.

This level of personalization was all but ripped from the UFC when the Reebok deal went into effect, and while the uniforms have evolved somewhat over the past two years, they haven’t really gotten to the point where they make one high-profile fighter or another stand out from the crowd. Along those lines, fans are perhaps also growing wise to the UFC’s brutal business practices of paying fighters incredibly low wages compared to other professional sports, and the issue of labeling them ‘independent contractors’ rather than employees while they’re forced to wear one company’s apparel remains, and will until fighters finally unionize – if they ever do.

So in summation, McGregor’s return to the Octagon will save 2018 for the UFC just like his boxing loss to “Money” did for 2017, and that will mask the huge gaping problems they have staring them in the face.

The real question is, how much longer can they count on McGregor to fix the issues they clearly don’t know how to mend without him?

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Conor McGregor Claims He’s Close To Agreement For Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight

Conor McGregor is talking about fighting again.

The post Conor McGregor Claims He’s Close To Agreement For Khabib Nurmagomedov Fight appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor has his sights set on fighting again which is a nice change considering that he hasn’t fought in close to one year and hasn’t been seen inside of the Octagon under the UFC banner in nearly two years.

McGregor’s legal troubles are behind him after he agreed to a plea deal that will have a record of guilty of disorderly conduct charge that will see him do five days of community service, anger management classes and have to pay restitution for the damage to the bus.

Moving along to his next fight, the promotion is attempting to book McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov in a lightweight title fight at the upcoming UFC 229 PPV event but when McGregor spoke with TMZ during his workout in NYC Monday, he gave an update on the potential lightweight showdown against Nurmagomedov as well as gave some love to former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, who just picked up a TKO win over Jeremy Stephens at the UFC on FOX 30 event.

“The whole [nation] of Ireland was happy for José Aldo that night.”

“Yes, we’re close. No It’s not official but we are close. I believe so,” when asked if he’ll fight in 2018 and potentially where it will be held. “I’m pushing for it. I love New York City. We’ll see what happens, I’d love to fight in the garden again but I believes this one is for Las Vegas.”

The UFC 229 pay-per-view event is set 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. Time will tell whether this fight actually goes down and when it takes place but either way, the UFC can’t wait to get this deal done.

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“Sugar” Sean O’Malley Claims He’s Fighting In UFC 229 Co-Main Event

Although it is still over four months away, UFC 229 is starting to take shape. “Sugar” Sean O’Malley, the first fighter to establish himself as a star with the UFC fan base by going a different route, rising to fame through the inaugu…

Although it is still over four months away, UFC 229 is starting to take shape. “Sugar” Sean O’Malley, the first fighter to establish himself as a star with the UFC fan base by going a different route, rising to fame through the inaugural season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series (DWTNCS), appears to be […]

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UFC Bantamweight Sean O’Malley Eyeing October Return

Sean O’Malley is looking to get back inside the Octagon this fall. O’Malley last competed against Andre Soukhamthath back in March. “Sugar” won the bout, but suffered a foot injury that left him in pain near the end of the fight…

Sean O’Malley is looking to get back inside the Octagon this fall. O’Malley last competed against Andre Soukhamthath back in March. “Sugar” won the bout, but suffered a foot injury that left him in pain near the end of the fight. Luckily, the foot wasn’t broken and O’Malley believes he’ll be ready to return this year. […]

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