McGregor McRetires? No. But let's talk about him anyway.

[Supremo]

Ariel and Luke Thomas react to Conor's statement.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=Z9zVRUA_SPk

 

Imagine the pop if he flew in for the New York press conference? Jesus Christ.

Edited April 21, 2016 by Supremo

[Supremo]

When is Nick Diaz's suspension up? I really love the idea of him and Nate headlining and co-headlining UFC 209.

[wandshogun09]

When is Nick Diaz's suspension up? I really love the idea of him and Nate headlining and co-headlining UFC 209.

Love that idea.

 

Think Nick's suspension's up just after UFC 200. July or August. 209 probably won't be until about next March or April though. By which time Nick will probably have returned, fought again, failed another test and been suspended. Again.

Edited April 21, 2016 by wandshogun09

[herbie747]

So we have our now thread now for this. Moo kindly split it off from the general news thread.

 

Free Observer Live show today talking about it:

http://media001.f4wonline.com/free/042116wol.mp3

 

Skip to 11:30mins for Meltzer.

[Supremo]

Ariel Helwani just tweeted the following.

 

Reporter asked Dana White today if he would do a scrum, but White just smiled. "You got questions, huh? Well, I don't have any answers."

 

They're going to settle, surely? It's the only thing that makes sense. Would they really cut their nose off to spite their face?

[JNLister]

Just reading through Eddie Alvarez's contract (which was released in a lawsuit and appears to be a standard UFC template) and I can't see anything that says a fighter is required to do any publicity events. Obviously UFC is quite entitled to book people in better positions if they do their part in publicity, and clearly its in peoples interests to do so, but if McGregor has signed a fight contract for the show with Diaz, I don't see anything that suggest they can cancel the fight because he's not met his legal obligations.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1516575-the-business-of-fighting-a-look-inside-the-ufcs-top-secret-fighter-contract

[METAL ON METAL]

An employment contract and a bout agreement contract are two completely separate things, just because it's not in one doesn't necessarily mean it's not in the other. They probably have a shitload of getout clauses written in the bout agreement to give the promoter extra security.

[chokeout]

I'd be shocked if the actual fight contract doesn't include a (very) vague 'all promtional duties that UFC sees fit' style clause.

[lambyUK]

The thing is the UFC probably want to let Mcgregor do what he wants. The more I think about it they all probably agree that Mcgregor is right. The major problem is the precedent it sets for everyone else.

 

As a fan, it's an obvious answer, Mcgregor has done so much for the company and has busted his ass more than any fighter in company history (from a promotional perspective) that his request is more than fair. 

 

However, if the UFC agree, then every fighter from now on, at least those fighters even with 1/10th of Mcgregor's clout, will see a leeway into their promotional obligations in the future. and you could potentially create a free for all.

 

That said, the UFC have an easy out here. All they need to say is "you're not Conor Mcgregor, come back once you've generated $400m in a year for us". How that would go down is another matter altogether. 

 

It really boils my blood though as can you imagine Pacquiao or Mayweather doing something like this? Their promoters would jump through hoops for them to keep their fights from being cancelled. Mcgregor is the UFC's Mayweather, and for them to not budge on this is crazy to me. 

 

Bizarrely I get the feeling we may be closer today to actually getting the fight back on. Seeing the backlash the company is getting after Mcgregor released his statement is through the roof.

Edited April 22, 2016 by lambyUK

[David]

The thing is the UFC probably want to let Mcgregor do what he wants. The more I think about it they all probably agree that Mcgregor is right. The major problem is the precedent it sets for everyone else.

 

As a fan, it's an obvious answer, Mcgregor has done so much for the company and has busted his ass more than any fighter in company history (from a promotional perspective) that his request is more than fair. 

 

However, if the UFC agree, then every fighter from now on, at least those fighters even with 1/10th of Mcgregor's clout, will see a leeway into their promotional obligations in the future. and you could potentially create a free for all.

 

That said, the UFC have an easy out here. All they need to say is "you're not Conor Mcgregor, come back once you've generated $400m in a year for us". How that would go down is another matter altogether. 

 

It really boils my blood though as can you imagine Pacquiao or Mayweather doing something like this? Their promoters would jump through hoops for them to keep their fights from being cancelled. Mcgregor is the UFC's Mayweather, and for them to not budge on this is crazy to me. 

 

Bizarrely I get the feeling we may be closer today to actually getting the fight back on. Seeing the backlash the company is getting after Mcgregor released his statement is through the roof.

 

I'm not so sure the UFC do want to let him do what he wants to be honest.

 

I'm not so sure that his "I run this company" patter hasn't irked the likes of Dana, who likes everyone to know that he's the boss when it comes right down to it.

 

From what I've seen, McGregor is basically testing the waters to see how far he can push the company to set aside certain rules for him, and the company aren't budging.

 

Good on them. No man is bigger than the sport.

[Guy Bifkin]

I think McGregor wants co-promotion rights and this is all part of that longer game. 

 

 

I am just trying to do my job and fight here. 

I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote.

 

[lambyUK]

 

 

I'm not so sure the UFC do want to let him do what he wants to be honest.

 

I'm not so sure that his "I run this company" patter hasn't irked the likes of Dana, who likes everyone to know that he's the boss when it comes right down to it.

 

From what I've seen, McGregor is basically testing the waters to see how far he can push the company to set aside certain rules for him, and the company aren't budging.

 

Good on them. No man is bigger than the sport.

 

 

I'm talking about the likes or Lorenzo etc. I bet if you sat them down, asked them to take their business hats off, they'd tell you that what he's requested isn't unrealistic.

 

You're right about Dana though. Throughout a lot of those press conferences, especially the RDA one, some of the stuff Mcgregor said may have irked White. You could see it when there was talk of that poster design that he was getting pissed off.

 

However, this isn't Mcgregor testing anything David. He's not dipping his toes and see where the ripples take him. He's flat telling them this is what he wants, and if he doesn't get it, he's not fighting. 

 

In relation to the no man is bigger than the sport, I would perhaps argue that if you take that approach, you stop the sport from growing. 

 

I think there's a case to be made where without personalities who transcended their sport, the sport wouldn't be where it is today. Ali with boxing, Pele with football etc etc. Mcgregor is the first MMA star that really could transcend the sport and push it to places it's never been before. 

 

Edit:- Yesterday's MMA Beat discussing Mcgregor. 

 

Edited April 22, 2016 by lambyUK

[David]

 

I'm talking about the likes or Lorenzo etc. I bet if you sat them down, asked them to take their business hats off, they'd tell you that what he's requested isn't unrealistic.

 

You're right about Dana though. Throughout a lot of those press conferences, especially the RDA one, some of the stuff Mcgregor said may have irked White. You could see it when there was talk of that poster design that he was getting pissed off.

 

However, this isn't Mcgregor testing anything David. He's not dipping his toes and see where the ripples take him. He's flat telling them this is what he wants, and if he doesn't get it, he's not fighting. 

 

In relation to the no man is bigger than the sport, I would perhaps argue that if you take that approach, you stop the sport from growing. 

 

I think there's a case to be made where without personalities who transcended their sport, the sport wouldn't be where it is today. Ali with boxing, Pele with football etc etc. Mcgregor is the first MMA star that really could transcend the sport and push it to places it's never been before. 

 

What he requested when taken at face value isn't unrealistic, but when you go public and "retire" before making a public statement via Facebook of all places instead of sitting down with your bosses privately to discuss the matter you surely can't expect to win the argument?

 

Had he went to Dana and Lorenzo quietly and privately I'm thinking they'd have likely accommodated him, especially Lorenzo. He seems like the more level-headed of the two, and would probably have at least met with McGregor part-way.

 

He didn't do that though. He basically called them out on it publicly, putting them in a position where caving in to his demands make the company look weak, and also open the doors for other fighters to do the same.

 

Looking at it in the cold light of day you really have to ask if McGregor has anyone advising him, because the way he's went about this has been fucking terribly amateurish. For a guy who claims to know the business and be on top of that side of the game he's fucked right up.

[lambyUK]

 

 

What he requested when taken at face value isn't unrealistic, but when you go public and "retire" before making a public statement via Facebook of all places instead of sitting down with your bosses privately to discuss the matter you surely can't expect to win the argument?

 

Had he went to Dana and Lorenzo quietly and privately I'm thinking they'd have likely accommodated him, especially Lorenzo. He seems like the more level-headed of the two, and would probably have at least met with McGregor part-way.

 

He didn't do that though. He basically called them out on it publicly, putting them in a position where caving in to his demands make the company look weak, and also open the doors for other fighters to do the same.

 

Looking at it in the cold light of day you really have to ask if McGregor has anyone advising him, because the way he's went about this has been fucking terribly amateurish. For a guy who claims to know the business and be on top of that side of the game he's fucked right up.

 

 

Do you really think he didn't do that?

 

I'm uncertain how he would have made his request anything but privately in the first instance? He certainly didn't come onto social media asking his requests first did he? They shot him down (privately), and obviously wouldn't budge. He then did what he did on social media, and from a PR perspective, caused a meltdown and made himself into an even bigger star.

 

I would actually say if he did seek PR advice, then I would say buy that person a steak dinner. Does it look the most professional? Without question no, but this is a fighter, not a teacher or a doctor in any normal day to day job.

Edited April 22, 2016 by lambyUK

[David]

 

Do you really think he didn't do that?

 

I'm uncertain how he would have made his request anything but privately in the first instance? He certainly didn't come onto social media asking his requests first did he? They shot him down (privately), and obviously wouldn't budge. He then did what he did on social media, and from a PR perspective, caused a meltdown and made himself into an even bigger star.

 

I would actually say if he did seek PR advice, then I would say buy that person a steak dinner. Does it look the most professional? Without question no, but this is a fighter, not a teacher or a doctor in any normal day to day job.

 

Well, he's certainly not made mention of going to the company first, has he? Unless I've missed it somewhere?

 

And by going to the company first, I don't mean a few days before his Twitter "retirement", I mean at the point where he signed his bout agreement and was informed of the media obligations he'd have.

 

He can be a huge star, but you can also bet that when the opportunity for him to fight again rolls around it'll be Dana and Lorenzo who are calling the shots, and Conor will be doing his media duties.

 

And if he doesn't? I wouldn't be surprised if the UFC are happy to shelve him and strip him of his title until he straightens himself out. The truth is, the way they handle this will affect how other fighters approach the same issues in the future, so whilst they may be taking a dunt short-term financially by not having Conor on the card, they're maybe looking long-term, even to a point when McGregor isn't with the company anymore.

 

And understand, I love seeing Dana pushed into the corner on this. But i don't think he'll cave on it. It's not in his nature to let anyone get the better of him, and he strikes me as the kind of guy who'd rather be seen as the boss and make $50 million than let someone even suggest that he's there for the taking and make $100 million.