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

[wandshogun09]

Supremo - Them gaps you mention in your first paragraph were again through injury. He beat Mendes the first time at UFC 142 then he was meant to defend against (I think) Erik Koch at UFC 149 but got injured. Then it was rescheduled for UFC 153 but Koch got injured. Then Edgar stepped in and Aldo got injured and was pulled from 153 as well. That whole period was a mess. 2012 might've been the worst year ever for injuries. Then it got rebooked for 156.

 

The second example you mentioned, he beat Mendes at 179 then, as we know, was meant to fight McGregor at UFC 189. He injured his rib (which Dana said he was lying about but a fucking doctor said was legit) and pulled out, pushing the fight back to 194 in December.

 

He's just really, really injury prone.

 

The moaning about McGregor was fucking goofy. I'm 100% with you on that. But having him keep both titles was never going to be realistic. It's a nice idea but it'd be a bit of a nightmare in practice because McGregor's always going to have so many options, and at multiple weights, that you can't keep shelving the titles while he takes a fight against Overeem at heavyweight or whatever.

[Supremo]

The whole thing reminds me of when Chael Sonnen fought Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight Title. Because Chael was Chael everyone was losing their minds with outrage, disgusted that a man could move to a division he's never fought at, on a loss, and fight for a Title. What a mockery of the sport. Then they'd subsequently go extremely fucking quiet when you'd point out that Frankie Edgar did the exact same thing, going down a weight class after two losses in a row, fighting Aldo for the 145 Title.

 

Have your opinions or beliefs on the sport, but just be honest. And be consistent. If you don't like Conor or Chael or Brock or whoever because they're popular or bombastic or whatever then just say as much. Trying to play the, "...for the good of the sport!" card is all fine and dandy if you're consistent with it, but a huge portion of it reeks of not wanting to just admit you think Conor is a dickhead and you don't like that he keeps beating your heroes.

 

Wand - None of this is aimed at you, I totally agree with you. It's more about the wider complaint that Conor should have been stripped. A large portion of it was just fans wanting to get some type of victory over him because he kept proving them wrong.

Edited November 28, 2016 by Supremo

[lambyUK]

Whilst I don't necessarily disagree with you regarding the consistency element of fans Supremo, the Frankie and Chael comparison does have big differences.

 

Yes, Frankie did drop down straight into a title shot, but you have to look at each other's achievements too. Edgar was fighting much bigger guys at lightweight and became champion. Sonnen on the other hand didn't achieve that feat in the middleweight division.

 

Edgar was moving down to fight guys who were more of his size, whilst Sonnen was moving up after being TKO'd, fighting a bigger guy, and who achieved far less than Edgar in his division when it comes to merit.

 

Now again, I do agree with you on the consistency side of the things from fans, but there were arguments that existed at the time outside of just wins and losses. 

Edited November 28, 2016 by lambyUK

[wandshogun09]

Supremo - Oh I'm wholeheartedly on board with that. And it's certainly not that with me. McGregor is one of my favourite fighters ever and almost as soon as he burst onto the scene the UFC became more fun again. After a bit of a shit 2012 where the product was devoid of that true 'Go Big' feel, PPVs were getting cancelled and cards were being destroyed by injuries left and right - McGregor and Rousey coming into the UFC in 2013 was exactly what the doctor ordered.

 

I love McGregor. Yeah, he can be a dickhead but so what? So can Rousey, so can Bisping, Lesnar, Sonnen, Diaz etc. It's funny but pretty much all the ones who make MMA more fun and bring the big time atmosphere are that way. To borrow a pro wrestling term, 'white meat babyfaces' like GSP are a rare thing in MMA when it comes to being a genuine bonafide star.

 

My point has always just been that you can be a fan of McGregor (or whoever) without having to demonise every other cunt around. And that seems to be the way it goes now. Someone gets mega popular like McGregor, or Sonnen in years gone by. They're charismatic and have the gift of the gab. They slag off their opposition, mostly for the purposes of promoting fights with them. And then you get every bastard with a screen name or twitter handle, and his dog, piling on and it just all gets a bit tiresome for me. I get being a fan of someone but the way people have gone on at times the last year or so, particularly in bashing McGregor's opponents, has been a bit silly IMO. I get it if they're having a pop back like Alvarez and Mendes did, that's all good fun. But people carrying on like Aldo was shitting himself of McGregor was laughable. And the besmirching (I love Regal) of RDA's good name with the pure speculation based on fuck all really, that he was juicing left a bad taste for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the face vs heel thing. I get that when you root for someone, naturally you're rooting against the other guy. But when it's someone like McGregor or Sonnen, it's almost like they're so good at promoting themselves that it gets some people running cock in hand to twitter to start a stupid witch hunt on their opponents. It's all just a bit shit.

 

The McGregor detractors who were saying he didn't deserve this and that, the ones who were constantly wanting McGregor to 'prove himself' yet were always moving the goalposts when he did prove himself - yeah, they're utter mouth breathers. But at the other end of the scale you've got the fans who seem to take it too far in the other direction and act like McGregor can do no wrong and can walk on water and part the Red Sea while he's at it. All the while feeling the need to accuse his opponents of all sorts just to make them the heel.

 

It's part of the reason I barely follow MMA online the way I used to. Apart from here and the actual MMA news sites, I just can't be fucked with it anymore. I'm certainly not acting like I'm superior to anyone else, if someone gets enjoyment out of tweeting shit and calling a professional fighter a coward or whatever, more power to them. But I can't be doing with it myself.

 

I've gone way off on a tangent with this, sorry.

Edited November 28, 2016 by wandshogun09

[jimufctna24]

I visit Sherdog for news a couple of times a day, but I stay off the forum. Other than that, this is the only MMA website I visit these days. I really should watch more of Helwani's stuff though, but I never get round to it. 

[David]

It's more about the wider complaint that Conor should have been stripped. A large portion of it was just fans wanting to get some type of victory over him because he kept proving them wrong.

 

If we're honest, those types of fans aren't really worth thinking about. Fuck 'em.

 

What cannot be denied now though, is that come next month it'll have been a year since Conor defended, and if he was booked in for a defence in January or February then fair enough, it would be worth letting him keep the title for that extra period of time, much like they did with Aldo. On those occasions when he went over a year without defending the fight was usually booked a few months in advance, so even though he hadn't defended it was known that he was booked to do so.

 

There's a good chance that C-Mac is gone until, what? May? That's too long to keep a title on ice, you're talking almost a year and a half by that point, and even then there's no guarantee that he comes back to featherweight.

 

He did what he wanted to do, he got his two titles, so the best thing to do is relinquish, let Aldo do his thing, and if there's call for a rematch after Jose fights a few more times then all the better, and if not, no harm done.

[David]

I visit Sherdog for news a couple of times a day, but I stay off the forum. Other than that, this is the only MMA website I visit these days. I really should watch more of Helwani's stuff though, but I never get round to it. 

 

The way people constantly confuse the actual news site Sherdog with the forum irks me sometimes. The news site is excellent, with a superb podcast to go along with it. Jordan Breen is one of the most knowledgable guys in the industry.

 

The forum is a mentalists heaven though, and reminds me a bit of the wresting section on this forum (especially the BritWres section). This little corner of the forum is a virtual secluded paradise if we're honest, despite the bickering and arguing that goes on sometimes (usually with me, of course   )

[Egg Shen]

yeh agree with that. Sherdog's a great site. The forums are work skimming too sometimes because you see some decent links and random news you might have missed, just don't read the replies to any posts you may open. It's like reading youtube comments, it's a sesspit.

[Keith Houchen]

Supes, you refer to double standards regarding defending, but has anyone done that on here? Doesn't seem right creating a scenario to support you valid point.

[jimufctna24]

Breen was always one of my favourites to listen to. I still always check his Twitter while I stay up for PPV cards. 

[seanz25]

Been granted a boxing license in California let the speculation begin...

[OzExile]

Lets make this fucking happen. It would just be oh so typical of McGregor to be the 1 in the 49-1. 

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Makes a nice diversion from the belt stripping nonsense, but I can't see anything coming from this. Conor is under contract to the UFC, it would take insane amounts of cash for the new owners to let him take an outside venture like Mayweather. Also, I heard that Floyd has an exclusive contract to fight in the MGM Grand, which is of course in Las Vegas, Nevada, not California.

[ColinBollocks]

The boxing license, days after getting his belt ripped from him, raised a smile. The timing of it all is brilliant.

 

The only way the Mayweather fight happens is if UFC grant him a favour, in the same way WWE did with Lesnar fighting in the UFC, which is probably unlikely unless they're desperate.

[lambyUK]

The boxing license, days after getting his belt ripped from him, raised a smile. The timing of it all is brilliant.

 

The only way the Mayweather fight happens is if UFC grant him a favour, in the same way WWE did with Lesnar fighting in the UFC, which is probably unlikely unless they're desperate.

 

Mcgregor may now be so big that he's able to demand what he likes.

 

Without Mcgregor, the current outlook of the UFC is bleak as fuck financially and after spending 4.2bn, he could easily have them bent over Marsellus Wallace style. 

 

If Mcgregor has the conviction, he could say to the new owners, 'allow me to box 1 or 2 fights, or I will never fight for you again.' He always said his intention was to retire early from the sport, and he's got more than enough money now to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

 

He's also achieved as much as he possibly can in the sport by achieving a feat that has never been done before. Right now the UFC need him far more than he needs them.