The new MMA general news, events and thoughts thread

[David]

15 hours ago, Noah Southworth said:

Covington is the worst kind of no name fighter, in that he's underrated and is actually really good. If you manage to beat him, well, it's a good win but it's a good win that means nothing because Covington doesn't have a name. But if you lose, you've lost to a guy nobody knows.

Exactly. Which tells you why Woodley will do whatever he has to do in order to win his fights and keep making those $600,000 paydays. If he'd lost to Maia it would be him facing Covington on that show for around $200,000 if he's lucky.

[David]

So, what's everyone's thoughts on the lightweight title scene now that the Mayweather situation is over & done with?

Personally, I think if Conor is coming back to the UFC with the intention of defending his title against a top contender then there's no need for an interim belt. He only beat Alvarez nine months ago, although it seems like an age since that fight.

For me, the number one contender should be Tony Ferguson. Since Conor won the lightweight title he's burned through Edson Barboza, a late replacement for Michael Chiesa in Lando Vannata, and Dos Anjos. That's an impressive run whichever way you slice it.

However, I don't see Conor doing much of anything until the end of the year at the earliest. 

My opinion? The UFC have got it right this time. Khabib is making it really difficult for anyone to support his cause with his seeming reluctance to fight. The guy hasn't stepped foot inside the cage since the same night McG won the strap! Activity isn't one of his virtues!

I'd bin the interim nonsense, and say that McG faces the winner of Ferguson and Lee. And Khabib? I'd match him up with someone like Barboza. He's on a three fight streak and a win over Khabib would throw him right into the picture as the next challenger. And if Khabib wins again, then he's the next man in line.

Where things get bumpy is if McGregor is reluctant to face the winner of Ferguson/Lee.

If he decides to go down the route of taking on Diaz again, and maybe going after GSP afterwards then he needs to drop the belt and let the rest of the division move on. There no way Nate Diaz is worthy of a title shot. The dude hasn't fought in over a year now, hasn't fought at 155lbs for almost two years, and is currently 2-3 in his last five at 155lbs. Taking Ferguson, Lee and Khabib out of the equation to give Diaz a shot would be pushing it big time in my opinion.

So, that's how I see it. Anyone got anything different to throw into the mix?

[Egg Shen]

If McGregor refuses to fight the winner of Ferguson/Lee he just has to vacate the belt.

Conor's beyond the belts at this stage anyway, it would be great to see him come back and defend it, but if he came back and decided a trilogy fight with Diaz at 155 was the fight to make, i dont think the belt would make any difference in that being massive.

[Noah Southworth]

Conor is saving the Diaz fight for his last fight, because it’s guaranteed big money, so if Conor refuses to fight the winner of Ferguson vs. Lee, it’s because he wants out and he wants the Diaz fight before he leaves. Otherwise, I fully expect Conor to have no problem fighting the winner of Ferguson vs. Lee.

From the perspective a fight fan, I want to see Conor face Ferguson because it’ll be a much better fight and I belive that Ferguson presents far more of a challenge. But if I want to see some great fight build, I want to see Conor face Lee, because that will be some great fight build. Not because I expect great back-and-forth, but because I expect Conor to tear Lee to pieces. Conor will rip Lee apart over his Conor-lite routine. It’s like David said in the Conor/Floyd thread; guys should do something original to stand out, but Lee’s new persona comes across as a low-rent Conor tribute act.

[wandshogun09]

Kevin Lee is awful. Terrible shit talk and I don't even think he's that good a fighter. He's decent but nothing outstanding. I don't buy him as some big time prospect at all. The only thing he's got going for him is that he's so unlikeable so I'll always be interested in his fights because I want to see him lose. He's got that Frank Mir effect. 

Saying that, McGregor vs Lee could be the ideal way for McGregor to return to the UFC when you think about it. Lee isn't a big name but I actually think it'd do better than people think on PPV being McGregor's first fight after Mayweather. People will probably be intrigued to see how he comes back again and back in the octagon, his 'natural habitat'. Plus, the fight itself is one I think McGregor would breeze through. I really think he'd piss right through Lee and look spectacular doing it. Then you can set up a Khabib, Ferguson, Diaz, Woodley, GSP or whoever. 

Fight quality wise, it's either Ferguson or Diaz all day for me. But I think Lee would be a pure showcase return with a strong build and a squash match fight to put McGregor back in the saddle in style. I could see why they'd go with that before throwing him at a really tricky opponent. Nate's always going to be a tough fight for Conor and I still think Ferguson isn't going to be as straight forward as many seem to think. 

[AdamTH17]

Yeah, Conor's fight with Nate is going to be his last. That's the one fight which will be massive regardless of titles or weight or momentum or coming off wins/losses.

I think he's going to vacate the Lightweight belt and go up to face Woodley next. I doubt the prospect of facing Lee/Ferguson is anywhere near as enticing as the prospect of being the first ever guy to hold three belts, and with Woodley being out injured for a bit, Conor's going to have a bit of time to readjust himself and get prepared. If he comes back and loses to Ferguson or Lee then that could prove damaging, but if he goes up and loses to Woodley he can still bang on about being the two weight world champion without even losing his belts. I've no doubt he thinks he could beat both guys, but the reward of going up to Welterweight and potentially winning that title is a lot more lucrative then a title defence at Lightweight. It's going to be a bigger financial gain than anything going on at 155lbs for the time being.

Woodley, GSP, Diaz III. In that order. Regardless of the results of the prior fights. 

[wandshogun09]

I really think Woodley smashes McGregor. Badly. I'd love to be proven wrong and it'd be massive if McGregor somehow pulled it off and became the first UFC Triple Crown winner, but I really can't see it. I think it's one of the worst matchups out there for him, AND it's out of his natural weight class. Wouldn't blame him for taking it though if it's offered. It's a chance to make history again and at this stage, given that he's already set financially, that's probably more motivating to him than money. 

Is it confirmed that he's saving the Diaz rubber match for his last fight then? I mean, it'd make sense but it's not definite is it? It's worth remembering that McGregor is only 29, he doesn't need to fight anymore but maybe he just wants to. He always said he'd be the man to get in, get paid and get out but I don't get any sense that he's got fighting out of his system yet. There's still big fights and records to break and he's still good enough and young enough to achieve a lot more legacy wise. I wouldn't be surprised if he only has a couple more fights and retires, but I also wouldn't be at all shocked if he fights another 5 years. He seems to love what he does. 

[AdamTH17]

He's not confirmed it anywhere, but he's a smart man and hopefully he'll be smart enough to recognise that Diaz is always going to be a money fight. There's no need at all for him to rush into that trilogy when there's still a fuck load of stuff for him to do. With some of these fights (Khabib, Woodley, Ferguson) it's purely Conor and his status, and the whole two division champion gimmick that's drawing the money, whereas with Diaz it's the actual fight that will sell itself. It wouldn't matter if both guys were coming off of losses for instance, the fight would still draw massive money regardless.

Like, if he goes and fights Diaz in three months and loses, you'd do really fucking well to justify him getting a crack at a title after that. I don't think it would massively damage his drawing power, but it would be a difficult loss for him. If he goes and loses to say, Woodley and GSP, then oh well. He's had a go at the third title and if they fight at Lightweight, Conor should be beating Diaz.#

If I was him, I'd be more than happy keeping Nate on the back burner whilst trying to get the third belt in the meantime.

[David]

The Woodley fight has more downside than upside in my opinion. I don't see much chance of Conor beating him, and even if he does he's simply beaten a guy that the UFC have portrayed as a crying bitch who doesn't want to fight. 

[Noah Southworth]

31 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Is it confirmed that he's saving the Diaz rubber match for his last fight then? I mean, it'd make sense but it's not definite is it?

It’s not official but it makes the most sense. It’s a guaranteed big money fight and it’s going to be a big money fight no matter when it happens, so there isn’t much point in rushing it when you can sit back and let other big money fights develop. Theoretically, Conor could go for the third Nate fight if he loses the lightweight title and wants to rebound with a major fight, but I think if Conor loses the lightweight title the most likely fight for him after that is an immediate rematch, and he’ll get it if he wants it.

Conor is also smart enough to realize that it’s his ace-in-the-hole; right now, it’s the only guaranteed big money fight that the UFC have to offer, and Conor is going to be the one who ultimately decides when it happens, which gives him even more leverage than he already has. Conor won’t play that card unless he has to.

Not only that, if Conor does save the third Diaz fight for his farewell, it makes the fight even bigger, thereby making his paycheque even bigger. Conor vs. Nate III is going to be huge, but can you imagine how big it will be if they promote it as Conor’s farewell to MMA?

Such an event would also give the UFC the ideal opportunity to put the spotlight on the fighters they want to make into their next superstars.

[wandshogun09]

That all makes sense, yeah. 

The thing is, even if it plays out like that and they promoted McGregor vs Diaz 3 as McGregor's farewell fight. I think it'd only end up as McGregor's actual retirement if he won. I don't know, I just can't see McGregor going out on a loss. If Diaz went 2-1 in the trilogy, I reckon McGregor would push for one last fight to go out on his terms. Maybe on home soil in Dublin or something. End it where he started it. 

There are a bunch of ways it can go and it's going to be interesting to watch it all play out. 

[JNLister]

Apologies for a three-year old story, but I'd never heard it until it was on the QI podcast this week, and I love it.

 

It's from https://www.mmafighting.com/2014/9/1/6069525/who-picked-rory-macdonalds-walkout-music-for-a-time-not-rory-macdonald:

Walkout music comes before the fighter. You often hear it before you see then either on the broadcast or in person at a live event. It sets the tone, sometimes sends a message and, on rare occasions, define who a fighter is in ways nothing else can (e.g. B.J. Penn).

Of course, that all presumes the fighter is the one picking their entrance music. In the case of UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald, that hasn't been his experience, at least not until relatively recently.

The story is a bit strange and, as MacDonald explains, entirely true.

"I moved from Pomona to Montreal and I changed my phone number. The person who got my old number - the person who was dealing with the walkout music, his name is Jason," MacDonald explained, "he doesn't just do walkout music, but he was the one contacting me. He didn't get my new number.

"He had my old one and he texted, 'Hey Rory, what's your next entrance music?' This guy apparently pretended to be me because he knew who I was and he was picking my entrance music. I was like, 'Every time I come out to fight, I'm like why the hell is this playing? I didn't pick this.' It was so weird."

 

MacDonald claims it didn't bother him to the point where it affected his performance, but he wasn't exactly thrilled with how some of the music choices were received by others.

"Not that I really cared. It's not the biggest deal for me. It's just music, you know. Whatever. I was kind of frustrated. It was weird. Joe Rogan was making fun of me for my music. I'm like, 'Aw man, this sucks a little bit.'"

Eventually, as MacDonald explains, the jig was up. An impromptu chat with 'Jason' the producer lead the two to figure out there was a third party there directing things in their own amusing way.

"And then one day - I can't remember what the fight was - but Jason comes up to me and he's like, 'Oh man, sorry we can't play such-and-such song.' He named the song and I was like, 'What are you talking about, man?' I think it was a Nickelback song. He's like, 'You said you wanted this song when I texted you.' I'm like, 'Dude, I never said that.'

"He's like, 'I'll show you.' He showed me and I said, 'Dude, that's my old number. Who are you talking to?' So he calls the guy and is like, 'Dude, this is not Rory MacDonald. You're faking.' He's like,' Oh yeah, I'm just a fan. I was just pretending.'"

MacDonald said this happened for a few years, although he notes it was he who picked choices ranging from Metallica to Rihanna. He also notes he didn't get to pick his own music until UFC 145 when he faced Che Mills. "I like plenty of different music," he claimed.

MacDonald is the first to reiterate, for him, walkout music isn't the be-all, end-all. It's good to have, but he acknowledged what happened to him was funny. Still, he's happy to have control over his choices now.

"It's not really the biggest thing on my mind that week, so I don't even think about it. It just kind of happens. Someone asks me what song I want, I say it. That's the kind of the end of the thought of it. I don't know, it's a funny thing that happened. It's nice to actually be able to choose my music now.

"It's just music, man," he said. "It's whatever."

[wandshogun09]

Haha, yeah I vaguely remember reading that at the time. Love that story. I remember he walked out to MC Hammer's 'Can't Touch This' once, think it was the Condit fight, and I recall thinking that it seemed such an ill-fitting choice of song for Rory. Here he was coming across as the all business, stone cold killer and I'm half expecting him to come out rapping in baggy trousers. It seemed weird but I thought nothing more about it. Then the above article came out and I thought 'ahhhh now it all makes sense'. 

[WeeAl]

UFC have announced Joe Lauzon vs Clay Guida, to happen on the Fight Night 120 card, November 11th. 

It's the same card with Matt Brown vs Diego Sanchez, and Nate Marquardt and Andrei Arlovski also have fights on the card. Shaping up to be a very entertaining night of action that is. 

[wandshogun09]

16 minutes ago, WeeAl said:

UFC have announced Joe Lauzon vs Clay Guida, to happen on the Fight Night 120 card, November 11th.

Lauzon vs Guida was a bit of a dream fight of mine years ago. It probably would've been a FOTY contender around 2007-2009ish. Bit lukewarm on it now though. Guida isn't the same as the caveman lunatic who had those classics with Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta and Diego Sanchez. I guess if anyone can force that back out of him it's Lauzon though.