Paid Members Egg Shen Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 I feel that too Dave, i think Conor generates such an air of excitement anyway that its going a little unnoticed but when you step back and look at it the whole situation is weird as fuck.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 3 minutes ago, Egg Shen said: I feel that too Dave, i think Conor generates such an air of excitement anyway that its going a little unnoticed but when you step back and look at it the whole situation is weird as fuck. Exactly. I don't buy this idea that he'd rather be training in isolation, and that it's what he's always wanted to be able to do. He loves being in the limelight. He's the only fucker I know who even walks around in everyday life as though he's got entrance music announcing his arrival. He lives for that kind of shit. In a way, I'd rather he was being his usual mouthy self leading up to this event, with his ridiculous suit and his sunglasses, because you'd know he was right up for it and looking forward to being back. He isn't though, and I have this feeling that the fight itself is going to be a huge anticlimax with Conor being decimated over a few rounds, which is pretty sad really as we all know that despite him not having as many tools as Khabib, he's usually a game fucker who gives it a bash. I assumed we'd get this match maybe January or so when the dust had settled on the court case and he'd had time to chill for a bit. Now he's heading into this fight with yet another court case hanging over him, and the likelyhood of a decent chunk of his change being snatched. I'm not his biggest fan by any stretch, but if this goes down as I think it will, even I'll be asking "what if?" when it comes to the timing of the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 Again, it's worth taking into consideration the fact Conor has been asking for this exact scenario since the Aldo fight. He's been very vocal over his last two MMA training camps about not enjoying the media because it takes a lot of energy coming up with content - energy he'd rather spend training. I think you lot are reading too much into it. If he wasn't so vocal about wanting to just train, in the past, then I'd agree, but this is the exact scenario Conor has wanted since battering Aldo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mole Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 I must have missed the tweet he had for Khabibs dad, saying you raised a coward and he can see you with a picture of him next to khabib during the bus stuff, saying like father like son, this was in reply to Khavib Sr saying Conor doesn't deserve to be considered a top lightweight. He replied challenging Conors dad to a fight. Then Conor went after Khabibs training partner, who I think had a fight or something with Lobov, Conor said, immagine as a proud Chechen man taking orders from a man from Dagestan, saying he's an embarrassment to his people. Those are things that could annoy someone like Khabib, saying it was a disgrace because some Hip Hop artists were playing in Dagestan, or that type of music, the guys were fro Dagestan but it shows Khabib has a very conservative side. Dana has said there will be 3 pressers for this event, so still plenty of time for words to be said, he's probably waiting until he brings his camp over to Vegas for a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 (edited) Exactly. Conor posts on his IG and twitter to hype the fight. He has a lot of people following him. It's not like he's went Rousey-level dark on the world. All the "mental warfare" and endless quotes will come fight week. As of right now Conor is probably fully aware he's in for the fight of his life and is spending his day working his arse off in the gym. Edited September 11, 2018 by ColinBollocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_mole Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 25 million apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 I might be misremembering this, but didn't he do the same thing with the second Diaz fight? Could've sworn I read there was some friction with White over him wanting to not do press in favour of focusing on training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 9 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said: Again, it's worth taking into consideration the fact Conor has been asking for this exact scenario since the Aldo fight. He's been very vocal over his last two MMA training camps about not enjoying the media because it takes a lot of energy coming up with content - energy he'd rather spend training. I think you lot are reading too much into it. If he wasn't so vocal about wanting to just train, in the past, then I'd agree, but this is the exact scenario Conor has wanted since battering Aldo. See, I could buy into that idea if he was a full-time MMA competitor with designs on winning and then defending titles to create a legacy of that kind. But he isn't. He's a media whore, the guy can't go on holiday without making grand entrances to clubs and venues, and he certainly doesn't dress or drive to avoid the media that he hates so much, does he? His bickering over the amount of media he was doing previously had fuck all to do with him wanting peace and quiet to train, and everything to do with his stupid power struggles with the company and Dana White. The whole "I'm retiring....no, wait.....I'm not" carry on was part of that. That was one of the few times I actually agreed with Dana, when he was saying "look, we can ship Conor's entire fucking gym over here for a few days if that's what it takes, and we can work the pressers around his schedule. It's as simple as getting on a private jet for a few hours, then training in a venue here for a few days." You don't make a shitload of money and base your entire schtick on your media appearances and hyping of fights only to suddenly say "wait, I'm actually not that guy, I just want to stay home in Ireland, play with my son and train in peace." This idea that he lost to Nate the first time around because of media obligations is a load of shit. He lost to Nate because he was spending too much of his time fucking about at parties, playing the part of the "the notorious" and all that jazz, while eating and lifting his way to welterweight like a fucking amateur. There are plenty of fighters out there who live outside the US and who can combine training hard with attending press conferences in New York and California, which is what he was asked to do at the time. It wasn't a world tour, it was a couple of standard pressers. The only difference, in fact, is that most fighters have to do that shit without the company bending over backwards to accommodate them in the way the UFC were prepared to do. I didn't believe that he refused to do press work for the Nate fight for training purposes, and I don't buy it now either. There's already been rumblings that the company aren't happy about him not doing his thing already before this fight. It's part of the deal, and he should know that. He's not in the spot he's in because he's some phenom in the cage, he's there because he creates controversy, talks shit, looks the part and draws eyeballs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 (edited) 13 minutes ago, Carbomb said: I might be misremembering this, but didn't he do the same thing with the second Diaz fight? Could've sworn I read there was some friction with White over him wanting to not do press in favour of focusing on training. Aye. IIRC, Conor was training in Finland (or something) and wasn't up for flying to Vegas while he was doing good work in the gym. The UFC apparently were willing to fly him over and set up a gym exactly like the one he was using, but Conor, IIRC, told them to piss off as he was tired of it all. David, if you refuse to believe him, then I don't know what else I can type. It's been pretty well known for a few years that he's been after a reduced media schedule. If you think it's actually down to some shenanigans, then ok. Although you did type Conor definitely didn't want any of Khabib a few months ago, but here we are. Edited September 11, 2018 by ColinBollocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 (edited) 8 minutes ago, David said: This idea that he lost to Nate the first time around because of media obligations is a load of shit. He lost to Nate because he was spending too much of his time fucking about at parties, playing the part of the "the notorious" and all that jazz, while eating and lifting his way to welterweight like a fucking amateur. Except nobody said that, David. What I said was that I was under the impression he decided to cut out the media work for the rematch because he felt he needed to focus more than he'd ever done before, given that Diaz presented him with the biggest challenge he'd faced in a long time. There's a difference between blaming a loss on the media, and requiring a more intensive camp than ever to beat someone who trounced him. There's plenty to dislike about McGregor at the moment, but that's one particular aspect I think is debatable. EDIT: I should also point out that you're right to a certain degree about why he lost to Diaz - he simply didn't take it seriously enough. For some reason he decided that fighting a guy whose experience at 170 vastly exceeded his would be no different from his usual matches, and not only took the short-notice opponent change, but actually agreed to fight the guy at a weight he'd never fought at before. All just to dick-swing. Edited September 11, 2018 by Carbomb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chunk Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 Didn't the whole fake retirement thing happen because he couldn't be fucked with a trip to the US for one press conference? David, I think you're hatred for the man is clouding your judgment here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 5 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said: David, if you refuse to believe him, then I don't know what else I can type. It's been pretty well known for a few years that he's been after a reduced media schedule. If you think it's actually down to some shenanigans, then ok. You don't think it has anything, at all, to do with the internal battles that have raged between Conor and the company for a few years now? Especially with Dana White? You know exactly what kind of guy White is, he's a vindictive, sneaky prick of a man. You think he's just happy to have Conor on board and this fight happening, happy to allow Conor to skip media and do things all on his terms? You know that's not how White works. Think about it, the moment McGregor threw that metal trolley at that bus he fucked up. You don't think the UFC could have sued the fuck out of him for messing with their event? Why do you think they didn't punish him? You don't find it a bit of a coincidence that since that point McG has been toeing the line? The UFC announce a date and place for this fight and McGregor is onboard without so much as a word? No holding out and keeping the company waiting like he usually does? No "I'll maybe fly in and have a chat with *insert Dana's boss here* and see what we can work out"Â before the fight is announced? I was fucking shocked (and I don't think I was the only one) with how quickly and seamlessly the fight was announced, and how soon it was scheduled for. Completely unlike any other McGregor fight that has been scheduled in a good few years. No kickback from him? No humming and delaying just to fuck with Dana like he usually does? Combine that with his lack of real bite in the build up and it adds up to something being not quite right behind the scenes. I'm telling you, there's more to this than appears. When Conor threw that trolley he handed White and the UFC an advantage, and I think it's been used in the fight we're getting. And @Chunk, if you read what I'm saying I'm actually siding with McGregor on this one. I think there's something weird about how this has all come about, it doesn't feel like a McGregor mega fight, it feels like he's been told who he's fighting, and when, which is something that hasn't happened for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chunk Posted September 11, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted September 11, 2018 5 minutes ago, David said: And @Chunk, if you read what I'm saying I'm actually siding with McGregor on this one. I think there's something weird about how this has all come about, it doesn't feel like a McGregor mega fight, it feels like he's been told who he's fighting, and when, which is something that hasn't happened for a long time. It wasn't about taking his side or not. It was about you concluding that it's unusual for him to not want the spotlight: 25 minutes ago, David said: He's a media whore, the guy can't go on holiday without making grand entrances to clubs and venues, and he certainly doesn't dress or drive to avoid the media that he hates so much, does he? I was just struggling to understand how you concluded that given all the times he's banged on about (and fake retired for) a reduced media schedule. It was almost like your hatred for him as a person was impacting your judgement on the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 My "hatred for him as a person"? Mate, I don't know the guy. I don't "hate" him, as a person or otherwise. I dislike some of his antics and the language he uses when hyping his fights, and think he acts like a dick a lot of the time. For me to "hate" him he'd need to have impacted on my life in some serious negative way. He hasn't. He's a dude on the TV screen to me, and in "real life" I don't really think about what he does or says. I'm discussing him here because that's what we do here, isn't it? We kill spare time in our lives by talking about MMA, wrestling, biscuits, movies and various other nonsense for the most part. I'm sharing an opinion I have on the upcoming fight. I think the build up has been weird, I think there's something more to it behind the scenes, but it's not a big deal, man. I don't "hate" anyone, and be there an issue or not behind the scenes it makes no real difference to any of us, does it? In much the same way as we all discuss PPV buys and viewing figures that matter not a fucking jot to any of us regular plebs. None of it puts dough in our pockets, does it? It's just discussion to kill time and I figured it would be an interesting angle to the build up, of which there's been very little.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted September 11, 2018 Share Posted September 11, 2018 Yeah it really feels so "Un-McG" at the moment but once the first presser starts, I reckon it will feel usual again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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