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

[Supremo]

If the UFC stubbornly refuse to put Conor back on the card and instead wait until UFC 202 or something, I honesty don't think it makes much of a difference at this point.

 

Whichever show Conor is next on is likely breaking the record. These past few days has made him a much bigger star than he was already, as crazy as that would've sounded a few weeks ago. In fact, for year-on-year business it's probably in their best interest to hold him off. They'll do a good number based on the 200 name alone. They may as well save his return for a show later in the summer.

 

They should do a fight for control of the company. Conor vs. Dana's Choice. Hell in a Cell. They've genuinely done a better angle than WWE did with Shane and The Undertaker.

[lambyUK]

 

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.

 

 

Don't really know where to begin with that first sentence. I will just let you believe Mcgregor never went to UFC brass requesting his demands before making his statement on twitter, albeit that being an actual impossible act. 

 

You've shifted the goal posts there as well David. You didn't mention anything remotely about Mcgregor doing this during his contract negotiations before. All you said was if he went to Dana and Lorenzo privately before his twitter announcement, it could have been different. Uncertain why Mcgregor needs to tell you he did that considering it being absolutely self explanatory.

Edited April 22, 2016 by lambyUK

[David]

 

 

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.

 

 

Don't really know where to begin with that first sentence. I will just let you believe Mcgregor never went to UFC brass requesting his demands before making his statement on twitter, albeit that being an actual impossible act. 

 

You've shifted the goal posts there as well David. You didn't mention anything remotely about Mcgregor doing this during his contract negotiations before. All you said was if he went to Dana and Lorenzo privately before his twitter announcement, it could have been different. Uncertain why Mcgregor needs to tell you he did that considering it being absolutely self explanatory.

 

 

Do you think he had a chance of getting what he wanted by fucking about with this retirement nonsense and his statement on Facebook? Be honest now, knowing the UFC and Dana White as we do. Do you think he was ever going to react positively to what McGregor did?

[lambyUK]

Who knows. We shall find out soon enough. I can't predict the future David.

[David]

Who knows. We shall find out soon enough. I can't predict the future David.

I think we all know enough about Dana to know how this shit will go. He won't bend for fuck all.

[the_mole]

You've constantly bashed Dana in this thead but its well known that Lorenzo uses him as a lightning rod, he sometimes acts the good guy but make no mistake Lorenzo knows and usually agrees with everything Dana says.

 

The Fertittas never bent over for the culinary union, even though it's probably hurt the UFC quite a bit over the years.

[David]

You've constantly bashed Dana in this thead but its well known that Lorenzo uses him as a lightning rod, he sometimes acts the good guy but make no mistake Lorenzo knows and usually agrees with everything Dana says.

 

The Fertittas never bent over for the culinary union, even though it's probably hurt the UFC quite a bit over the years.

 

My issue with Dana is usually how he conducts his business. I have no doubt that Lorenzo agrees with him on many things, but he doesn't go about it in the same way.

[seanz25]

My opinion on it is Dana might be stubborn as fuck, but he's never had someone quite on this level, he's going to come across like a moron if he throws away millions and millions of dollars on a fight just because the guy doesn't wanna do all the extra shit and they can't work something out. I get its a awkward one for Dana, but Conor said he'd still do the minimum requirements, and for a guy that's already generated them way more than anyone else, he has a perfect legitimate explanation for not wanting to do all the crazy extra PR work for once. Theres been no one like this before, fuck UFC are covered by BBC purely down to Conor, whether that's deemed big in the USA or not I don't know, but he's done more for this sport in such a short space of time than anyone else has really, it seems really silly to throw this away just because Conor wants to get this done correctly this time.

Edited April 23, 2016 by seanz25

[Egg Shen]

Its weird how pretty much everyone sees Lorenzo as the good guy and Dana as the bad guy in pretty much every business practice the UFC make. Considering Lorenzo is a billionaire businessman and has been in partnership with Dana for well over a decade i find it odd that people like to think they know better.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, Lorenzo definitely agrees with Dana on the things that end up actually happening. He must do. If he didn't, he wouldn't go along with it. Dana's only in the position he's in because he was mates with Lorenzo at school. He was teaching bored housewives boxercise until he met Lorenzo again at a school reunion or something. How glad is Dana that he went to that reunion, eh? No doubt, Dana's worked hard to justify his position in the 15 years since, especially as the schedule of events grew and there were spells where he probably never went home and saw his family for four-six weeks at a time. But if Lorenzo wasn't OKing the 'stupid' decisions Dana makes sometimes, they wouldn't happen.

 

Lorenzo and Dana are the typical good cop/bad cop. They use that dynamic to get what they want. I've no doubt Lorenzo is the easier guy to deal with of the two though. More professional, cooler headed and more reasonable. I imagine he'd at least be willing to listen to a fighter or a fighter's manager's POV. Whereas, as we know, Dana often just goes straight on the offence as soon as he doesn't like what he's hearing. Trying to use the old method of going pink and shouting you down. Basically, he acts just like my two year old daughter when he doesn't get his own way.

Edited April 23, 2016 by wandshogun09

[David]

My opinion on it is Dana might be stubborn as fuck, but he's never had someone quite on this level, he's going to come across like a moron if he throws away millions and millions of dollars on a fight just because the guy doesn't wanna do all the extra shit and they can't work something out. I get its a awkward one for Dana, but Conor said he'd still do the minimum requirements, and for a guy that's already generated them way more than anyone else, he has a perfect legitimate explanation for not wanting to do all the crazy extra PR work for once. Theres been no one like this before, fuck UFC are covered by BBC purely down to Conor, whether that's deemed big in the USA or not I don't know, but he's done more for this sport in such a short space of time than anyone else has really, it seems really silly to throw this away just because Conor wants to get this done correctly this time.

 

Thing is, the UFC are looking at it from the point of view of a corporation. They have to set out rules that apply to everyone, otherwise what's the point? I actually think Dana came across really well in that press conference last night when he was asked about it.

[Supremo]

I actually think they're better off making it clear that you get preferential treatment if you're a fucking mega star. It might make people try a bit harder to generate some buzz and put the work in.

 

Mighty Mouse is one of the best fighters in the world. He's fighting tonight. Nobody cares. If anything is, "unfair," it's the idea that he should get treated exactly the same as someone like Conor. It's night and day.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I actually think they're better off making it clear that you get preferential treatment if you're a fucking mega star. It might make people try a bit harder to generate some buzz and put the work in.

 

Mighty Mouse is one of the best fighters in the world. He's fighting tonight. Nobody cares. If anything is, "unfair," it's the idea that he should get treated exactly the same as someone like Conor. It's night and day.

 

On a post UFC 200 press conference video, Ariel Helwani and Luke Thomas were making the point that the NBA gives special treatment to Lebron James that they wouldn't give to- some other player they named but I can't recall because I don't watch basketball. But I know who Lebron is, because he's a superstar.

 

Conor is the same in the UFC. He transcends the sport itself. He's all over social media, people who don't even watch UFC regularly are talking about him. 95% of the general public have no idea who Mighty Mouse is, and the other 5% don't give a fuck.

[David]

I've been involved in plenty of debates on this very forum I think where comparisons I've drawn between the UFC and actual sports leagues were rubbished because they were supposedly different.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Haha, fair point. With the same posters though? The forum's not a hive mind.

 

You could make the same point outside of sports leagues, though. Special people get special treatment, it's just the way life is. Celebrities in Hollywood, sports, even your own workplace probably involves some people getting preferential treatment because the boss likes them more.

 

It's strange to me to hear Dana talk about fairness- and maybe that's where the points you've made between prize fighting and sports leagues come in. Chael Sonnen got a light heavyweight title shot for no reason other than his ability to talk shit and sell a fight. Brock Lesnar got a title shot because he was a famous WWE star who could bring in big PPV buys. Coming up soon, a season of the Ultimate Fighter where the winner gets a flyweight title shot- despite, by the definition of the show format- several of the fighters in the tournament not being at UFC level. Now, Dana White wants to claim he's about doing what's right and fair?