jimufctna24 Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Right now, Conor vs Khabib has the potential to be the biggest fight in the UFC's history. This incident will only add to the intrigue. Combat sports fans rarely consider morals when they part with their money. Mike Tyson was as popular as ever after his rape conviction. Fans from these shores also flocked to see Tyson fight in the late 90's after he had taken a lump out of Holyfield's ear. I'm not sure if Tyson's notoriety added to his drawing power, but it certainly didn't hurt it. Even today a lot of MMA fan's can seemingly gloss over - and even glorify - fighter's dodgy behaviour. Breen pointed out on Twitter this week that some fans have lionised the video of Khabib fighting with the bear, without a thought for the animal's rights (or lack thereof). I can't really get on my high horse myself. Despite all that has happened, if tomorrow ITV Box Office offered Conor vs Khabib for a price of £15, I would part with my cash in an instant. Not because I would want Conor to get smashed, but because I have wanted to see that fight for some time. I have disliked the UFC as an organisation for the best part of a decade, yet I have never boycotted any of their shows on moral grounds. Morally, McGregor should at least be suspended for a full year, and be given a decent amount of community service. Really, the UFC should cut ties with him for a good while, and only take him back if he starts behaving himself. But sadly, after the dusts settles in the upcoming months, someone at UFC HQ will probably find a way of getting around all this (if that is even possible). Therefore, I predict that Conor will fight again in the UFC before the end of 2019. As someone once said about Mayweather vs Pac - "there's too much money involved for it not to happen". That line especially applies if Khabib keeps winning, and a fight between him and Conor remains so lucrative. If Khabib wins tomorrow, I expect him to address Conor again during the post-fight interview. If he indeed does, somewhere in the back of Dana's mind, he'll be seeing dollar signs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Fox Piss Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 Oh the way UFC shilled Conor in that Embedded means their defiantly got their eye on the now "Mega Fight" I honestly don't see myself has a massive Conor dick rider (thanks Schaub) but this play is a high risk/high reward by Conor. His still/just on the fine line where i'd still pull for him against Khabib. Morally that leaves me in a low standing, no doubt but it will be seen how widely accepted/not arsed his actions are seen when the fight comes around. Time heals everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 Conor needs to worry about getting his shit together first. Sorry to be no fun, but I'm more concerned about his mental health than whether the Khabib fight does 2M buys. It was always going to be a cracking event before this (and will no doubt be the case after), but Conor needs to give his old head a shake first. The fact Dana said he had not a clue at the severity of what he did says a lot; who knows if Conor still feels the same way after getting arrested. The fall out from this is still to play out also. Anyway, that little fact about the dates matching up is so unbelievable, it almost makes sense it would coincide with this fight week - Al fighting in his backyard, no less. If anyone has followed Ragin' Al's career they'll know he's a proper underdog with every reason to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder. If you have the time, and want to add another layer to the fight, definitely check out some of his appearances on the MMA Hour. Al is a fighter that doesn't mind pushing back and pointing out some of the nonsense that comes with being a UFC fighter, which is commendable because he's never had the leverage to do so. I'm worried about Rose for her fight. Despite coming off as very stoic during the two Joanna fights, she mentioned a few times on the Rogan podcast that it takes a lot for her not to get rattled and, obviously, some turd nearly threw a metal barrier through a window and on to her head. Beating Joanna twice was always going to be a big test, but with this on top of it, it will be interesting to see how Rose does - over to you Pat Barry. If Rose pulls it off then she deserves any and every plaudit coming her way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 4 hours ago, AdamTH17 said: I did have to laugh at the transition in the embedded video from the sign about "spreading love" instantly moving to a shot of McGregor trying to hammerfist down a window. That as well as Artem completely realising he's well and truly in the shit when Conor throws the dollie at the bus. Poor Artem is in over his head. I hope Conor helps him out financially because Artems UFC career has to be over. As much as I love Serra/Longo and would love to see Iaquinta have a mad one tonight with some crazy fairytale ending shit, it feels weird that hes going in fighting the guy whos been messed around the most by this whole saga. As much as i love an underdog I feel i cant root against Khabib at this point. What a few days though, this will go down as one of the most infamous shows in MMA history. Just an unbelievable build up, and in the days of instant infomation and social media i'd be lying if i didnt say it was some enthralling shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BigJag Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 Rose did look a little emotional during her short interview with Rogan last night. JJ was putting on the I'm scarily confident show. Maybe a little nervy herself. Artem is a financial professional I believe. He should be fine in getting a job. He really shouldn't be fighting at this level, anyhow. Plus, look at all the trouble he's caused. It'd be good for him to fade into the background. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 Is he really? had no idea about that. Id imagine thats it for him in the UFC though, hes bad arguably the greatest coat tail riding run in MMA history, fair play to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Yeah, I can't root against Khabib either. In all of this furore it's easy to forget that he's basically not had a clue who he's fighting until less than 24 hours beforehand when he was told that he's fighting a guy that there's a good chance he's never even heard of. Iaquinta has never been a major player in the division, and there's a really good chance the guy has never even been on Khabib's radar. if Khabib wins I know a lot of folk will say "ah well, it was to be expected", but in all honesty to go from preparing for Tony Ferguson, to getting a champion from another division six days from the event, to then losing your nutrionist who was helping you lose weight with the most important part of the weight cut coming up, to then being told the replacement isn't able to fight a day out from the event, to being opponentless for hours after that with various names being tossed around, to then being given a guy who's not even in the title picture and who's never been in contention and that you've probably never really paid any attention to, it's insane. throw into the mix that a few days before the event you had your bus surrounded by a group of goons who proceeded to hurl metal objects at the window and smash the thing up and it's fair to say Khabib has had possibly the most trying fight week in the history of the company. Sure, we can all say "but he's Khabib, and he fights everyone the same, and he's a tough bastard from Dagestan" but he's a person just like everyone else, and despite his brave front there's no way that none of the above has affected him. Not to mention that he usually finds it tough to make weight. The whole George Lockhart shite must have been pretty unsettling when it happened in the final run to the weight cut to the biggest fight of his career. So yeah, Al may be an underdog coming into this, but by fuck Khabib isn't far off with the circumstances he's faced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 7, 2018 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 Artem's face on that picture. I know he couldn't have known how bad it would escalate but, yeah Artem, your gobbing off did nearly cause World War 3. Artem's only lasted as long as he has in the UFC because he's Conor's mate anyway. His record is terrible and a loss to Caceres (which is what I was expecting) on this card would've probably seen him let go regardless. I feel bad for Rose. But it sucks for Joanna as well because if she beats Rose now, I can already hear the cries of 'yeah, but Rose wasn't right after the bus thing'. It's clouded everything. Also, I think it's bollocks that the UFC didn't pay the fighters who didn't get to fight their win money. Dana couldn't wait to tell everyone 'the guys who didn't get to fight will still get paid', as if he's doing them a massive favour. Then when Ariel asked 'Show and win money?' Dana goes 'No, just show. We don't have that much money'. One, yes you fucking well do have that much money. Two, why can't he just pay them and then recoup the money from McGregor's millions seeing as, you know, this is all his fucking fault?! In the end Chiesa, Pettis, Borg, Moreno, Caceres and Felder were innocent parties who didn't get to fight as a direct result of this. They should pay them show and win money. I know that's a chunk of change but why should these guys lose a penny of what they could've got paid? And the win money makes a big difference, it doubles their cheque in a lot of cases. The right thing to do would be for the UFC to pay them in full, then Conor owes the UFC whatever the total was. And I don't want to hear any 'well the UFC didn't have to pay them at all because they didn't fight, they should be grateful'. I know contractually they probably could've weaselled out of it, but these guys getting half a cheque (or the loser purse) after the week they've had, through no fault of their own, isn't really good enough, is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 Suppose it may help their lawsuits against Conor saying they also never got their potential win bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 7, 2018 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 13 hours ago, Supremo said: I'm shocked they put the footage on Embedded. Yeah, that's why I was asking yesterday if they'd put any of the footage in Embedded. Because the fact that they did tells you everything you need to know about their intentions going forward. Dana's going to book Conor vs Khabib, no doubt. By including the footage in Embedded they're actually promoting what happened. I know there'll be people going 'well they couldn't just ignore it, everyone knows what happened' but that's exactly why they didn't have to show it again. Everyone knows already. If the company were as "disgusted" as Dana said they were, they'd have moved as far away from that incident as they could and just focused on tonight's show. The fact they're fuelling the flames by sensationalising it further all but confirms that, despite what they say publicly, they're going to do the fight as soon as they possibly can. @ColinBollocks Yeah, suppose there is that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 2 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: Yeah, that's why I was asking yesterday if they'd put any of the footage in Embedded. Because the fact that they did tells you everything you need to know about their intentions going forward. Dana's going to book Conor vs Khabib, no doubt. By including the footage in Embedded they're actually promoting what happened. I know there'll be people going 'well they couldn't just ignore it, everyone knows what happened' but that's exactly why they didn't have to show it again. Everyone knows already. If the company were as "disgusted" as Dana said they were, they'd have moved as far away from that incident as they could and just focused on tonight's show. The fact they're fuelling the flames by sensationalising it further all but confirms that, despite what they say publicly, they're going to do the fight as soon as they possibly can. Of course they're going to book the fight as quickly as they can. Anyone who actually thought the UFC were going to really do anything to Conor as far as a real punishment goes are deluded. The guy is a walking cash machine, which is all that really matters. the thing is, I remember back in the day when the likes of John McCain were peddling the "human cockfighting" angle, saying it was a sport with no morals or scruples and that it was the sign of a degenerate society if we allowed it to take centre stage in America and so on, and at the time I couldn't have disagreed with him more. But today? Yeah, he was probably right. I know he toned down his rhetoric in recent years, but I think that's because he knew he was fighting a losing battle and basically thought "fuck it, I'm on my way out soon anyway, so you lot do whatever the fuck you want" The fact that the biggest star and money maker in the sport is an absolute prick of the highest order really does tell you all you need to know not just about the people who run the sport, but also about the people who support it and who follow it (including us lot). That doesn't just apply to MMA by the way, it applies to a lot of sports and pastimes today. But yeah, McGregor can act like a complete head case with no regard for the safety or even the lives of others, and yet we'll all be there with our money, gleefully waiting on him stepping into the cage again, helping earn him millions more dollars in the process. That carry on the other night will more than likely put even more eyes on any possible fight, and more cash in the pocket of the guy who carried out the criminal act. He'll certainly earn way, way more than any fine he'll get. As fans we get to condemn his actions and consider ourselves morally superior, but in reality we're the people facilitating him, so we're not much better really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 7, 2018 Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 You only gotta look at Mike Tyson & Floyd Mayweather for proof that making money in the PPV business has nothing to do with how nice a guy you are. Controversy sells, always has, always will and thats why the masses (including us) tune in and its why the sports are so intriguing and exciting to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 7, 2018 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 David - Oh I wasn't ever expecting them to actually come down hard on him. It was obvious from Dana's first carefully chosen words on the whole thing when he kept saying things like 'I don't want to be in business with him right now', and kept making sure to emphasise "right now". Just a day later at the little Khabib-Iaquinta press conference they did he was already kind of backing down saying something like 'hey, yesterday I was still in shock'. Give it a couple of weeks and he'll be in full on hype mode for Khabib vs Conor. I certainly wasn't deluded about it, just wasn't sure they'd include it in Embedded one day after Dana saying he was "disgusted" by the whole thing. In the back of my mind I knew the answer to that, but seeing it on Embedded just confirmed it. Then again, as much of a cock as he is, it's not all a Dana White decision either. It's easy to forget sometimes that, although he's by far still one of the most powerful figures in the sport, he's not the main man anymore and he has to answer to higher ups now. Even if he was against it and wanted to punish Conor (doubt it), if the owners want Khabib vs Conor then it's happening. If Conor even wants it, that is. At this point I don't know what the fuck he's doing or thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 All very true, but in realty none of us can really get all up in arms and claim the moral high ground when someone like McG decides to act out on his instincts like he didn't the other day (not that I'm saying you did, Wand, I'm just generalising here) When the fight happens, we'll all be watching, helping to justify the millions that the guy gets paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 7, 2018 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 7, 2018 We will. It's all a bit sick really but I can't lie I'll watch. It's a completely different thing for me now though. If the fight happened a year or two ago I'd still have been expecting a Khabib win but I'd have been rooting for McGregor. Now I'd be fully hoping Khabib smashes him. Despite Khabib's own dodginess, McGregor getting beat down is what I want to see and Khabib is the best equipped to dish out that arse kicking to the absolute fullest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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