Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 16, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 16, 2019 (edited) Back in Vegas on Saturday 18th January for the first PPV of 2020. And look whoās back... PPV MAIN CARDConor McGregor vs Donald CerroneĀ Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington Alexey Oleynik vs Maurice Greene Brian Kelleher vs Ode OsbourneĀ Anthony Pettis vs Carlos Diego Ferreira Ā ESPNĀ PRELIMSMaycee Barber vs Roxanne ModafferiĀ Sodiq Yusuff vs Andre Fili Tim Elliott vs Askar AskarovĀ Drew Dober vs Nasrat Haqparast Ā ESPN+/FIGHT PASSĀ PRELIMSJustin Ledet vs Aleksa Camur JJ Aldrich vs Sabina MazoĀ Ā This is on BT Sport Box Office over here š” And itās gotĀ to be said, this isĀ weak as fuck for a PPV. Theyāre clearly relying solely on McGregorās name.Ā There are a few other decentĀ fightsĀ but itās not the deepest of cards, is it? Take the main event away and this would be poor even by Fight NightĀ standards. Doesnāt help that itās following 244 and 245 which were both stacked on paper andĀ awesome in practice.Ā Ā Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone then. What a mad road itās been to get to this fight. Itās a fight thatās beenĀ on the horizon a couple of times in the past but for one reason or another, theyĀ just never got it done. I think some might not actually realise just how far back theĀ origins of this one go. Itās all been fairly respectful between them of late but it wasnāt always like that. The first time a potential McGregor-Cerrone clash was on everyoneās radar was as far back as September 2015 at the UFCās āGo Bigā press conference.Ā McGregor had just beat Chad Mendes to become the Interim Featherweight champion and this was right in the middle of that insane buildup to the Jose Aldo fight. Cerrone was gearing up for a crack at Lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos on FOX. But McGregor was having a pop at pretty much everyone on the stage. And when talk turned to him possibly moving up to 155 in the future, Cowboy had some shit to say.Ā Cerrone:Ā Conor has no right coming up to 155. Thereās no way, heās not gonna stand a chance. Weāre too big for him, weāre too strong. So you can take your little English ass and...McGregor: Youāre too slow and too stiff. Youāre stiff as a board. Iād snap you in half. And thatās it. I see stiffness when I look at that 155lb division. Slow, stiff, I feel like theyāre stuck in the mud almost. The Featherweights, they hit like Flyweights, so itās nice down there just destroying them and killing that whole division. But I have my eye on that 155 division and I see them all stuck in the mud in there. So weāll see over time but guess what? Have I been wrong yet? Have I been wrong yet? No!Ā Cerrone:Ā You have a monster right here at 145, Aldo about to beat your ass. Youāve beat nobody and you think youāre gonna come up to 155 and make a statement? Come on man, sit the fuck down.Ā McGregor:Ā YEE-HAW!Ā Cerrone:Ā Heās real good at talking out in front of the public but when we all stand there in the back he aināt got nothinā to say. I stood back there for 30 minutes and nothinā to say to me. Of course we get out here and he wants to run his mouth. But itās good, he sells the fights. But he comes to 155 Iām gonna bend his little ass over and knock the fuckinā Lucky Charms out of him. š After that, Cerrone did a few interviews talking about Conor and for a while there it seemed to be gaining some momentum. But Cerrone wound up getting TKOād in the first round of his title fight against Dos Anjos. So when Conor knocked out Aldo in 13 seconds and became the undisputed Featherweight King, he was onto bigger things and the Cowboy thing got left in the dust. It was dead in the water after that and they both moved on.Ā Cowboy moved up to Welterweight after the loss to RDA. And had a very successful 2016, going 4-0 with finishes over Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, Rick Story and Matt Brown. McGregor had an up and down year, going 1-1 with Nate Diaz in back-to-back wars. But ending 2016 in style, breezing throughĀ Eddie Alvarez at Madison Square Garden to become the UFCās first ever āchamp, champ.āĀ In 2017 they both went winless though. Cerrone suffered losses to Jorge Masvidal, Robbie Lawler and Darren Till. McGregor made his Pro Boxing debut, fought some bloke named Floyd and got schooled.Ā He got an insane payday for that though. Reportedly somewhere in the region of $100 million. And then swiftlyĀ went off the rails and on a downward spiral he might never come back from.Ā Cerrone had a mixed 2018. He went 2-1 with a points loss to Leon Edwards sandwiched between first round finishes over Yancy Medeiros and Mike Perry. Conor fought once. The big grudge match with Khabib. And... āItās only businessā. 2019 began and Cerrone had been going through a transitional period in his life and career.Ā He spoke after the win over Mike Perry about his renewed motivation after becoming a father and separating himself from what sounded like a toxic relationship with coach Mike Winkeljohn at Jacksonās MMA in Albuquerque. He seemed in a much better place and the man who had always talked about not being arsed about titles and just fighting for fun, suddenly sounded more focused than ever to crack on and leave a legacy. He dropped back down to Lightweight and stopped a tough young prospect in Alexander Hernandez in January in a great fight. And the talk of him facing McGregor briefly started up again.Ā Nothing came of it and in March McGregor actually announced his retirement. Then just kept endlessly tweeting, fucking around (literally) and getting into trouble. Smashing peopleās phones up, calling Khabibās wife (a Muslim woman) āa towelā on Twitter, accusations of him getting random women pregnant, punching an old man in a pub... There was a period around the middle of the year where barely a week would go by without some kind of scandal or bad press surrounding him. The most disturbing being the reports of a sexual assault accusation from an incident in December 2018. More on that in a bit.Ā Meanwhile, Cerrone kept trucking. In May he went 5 rounds with rising contender Al Iaquinta and came out on top. One of Cowboyās best career performances for me. His new Lightweight campaign was going well. But in June, just a month after beating Iaquinta, he jumped in with Tony Ferguson at UFC 238. That one didnāt work out quite so well.Ā He then got stopped by Justin Gaethje in the first round of their September fight in Vancouver. Not good. After such a strong start to the year, he ends 2019Ā at 2-2.Ā McGregor continued to make headlines for all the wrong reasons as more sexual assault accusations came out. Iāve seen different reports but from what I can gather, there is at least one more alleged incident, maybe two, that heās accused of from sometime in October this year. There was also a story around this time that Ā an attempt had been made to pay one of the accusers a huge sum of money (around ā¬1 million was the number that was thrown around) but she wasnāt having it. The MMA media largely ignored most of this stuff but there were some who were vocal about it.Ā Itās all still being investigated but considering how slow moving these things are in Ireland, it could be some time before we know more.Ā Dana still loves him though. And in late November, McGregor vs CerroneĀ was finally made official.Ā Dana was asked by the media during UFC 245 fight week about people criticising him for booking Conor in a fight despite the ongoing rape investigation... āHe hasnāt been charged with anything. You canāt accuse somebody and stop them from making a living when they havenāt even been charged of anything. Listen, if he was being charged with something right now, it would be a different story. The New York Times have wrote those stories, but there are no other stories out there about Conor McGregor.ā āConor McGregor has made a lot of bad decisions in the past several years. He has paid for it. He walked into court and plead guilty to punching that guy in the face in Ireland. He paid for the slapping of the phone out of the thing. He attacked the bus and paid for that. Heās obviously done some things. Heās been charged and paid and done everything heās supposed to do. These other things, first of all I donāt even know. Has it said that heās the guy thatās being accused?ā - Dana White inĀ December 2019 I donāt know how to feel about this fight. Just going on the fight itself, itās a fun one no doubt. Iād much rather this than Khabib vs McGregor 2. Weāve all been saying for ages that the fight to make for McGregor was either Gaethje or Cowboy. So Iām fine with the matchmaking. But thereās just something niggling away at me where I canāt fully get into this. All the outside the cage stuff with Conor over the last year or so has really left a sour taste for me. I canāt just push the more serious accusations to the side and throw myself into this. Iāve got no doubt the fight will be exciting. But I donāt know. It all just feels a bit sleazy and offputting. Ā Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington 2 in the co-main spot? I know, me neither.Ā This was supposed to happen at UFC 243 in Australia back in October but got scratched when Holm got injured.Ā Not exactly a rematch anyone was clamouring for. Might be OK but IāmĀ not really feeling it. Their first fight in 2015 wasnāt the best. It was Holmās UFC debut and she barely squeaked by on a split decision. Many had Pennington winning actually. At 38 and having lost title shots at both Featherweight and Bantamweight, itās difficult to see where Holm goes even with a win here. Sheās got a lot of miles on the clock when you factor in all her MMA, Boxing and Kickboxing fights.Ā At 10-7, Pennington is no world beater but sheās tough as nails and does have wins over Irene Aldana, Miesha Tate and Jessica Andrade on her record. Ā Alexey Oleynik vs Maurice Greene will probably be worth giving a look. If for no other reason than to see if Oleynik can pull off yet another Ezekiel choke. The fucker has ELEVEN of them on his record now. Iāve grown to like the big lummox. Heās 42 now so probably wonāt be fighting that much longer. Heās had a ton of fights as well. Heās 57-13-1 now. With 45 submissions! Mental. Heās done alright as well. With names such as Mark Hunt, Travis Rousey and Mirko Cro Cop among his wins. Greene was on TUF at some point. Heās 8-3 and a BJJ guy himself. Big sod at 6ā7ā. Havenāt been blown away by him so far. Iād like to see another Ezekiel from Oleynik here. Ā Anthony Pettis vs Carlos Diego Ferreira is opening the main cardĀ as it currently stands. Cracking fight although it seems a bit of a weird one for Pettis.Ā Iām happy to see Ferreira getting a big fight though.Ā Iāve liked him for a while. Seems a good guy and heās got skills. His grappling is his bread and butter. Heās a 3rd degree black-belt in BJJ. Heās legit on the ground. But heās not against throwing hands either. Heās 16-2 and comes into this fight on a 5 fight winning streak over some tough opposition like Mairbek Taisumov, Rustam Khabilov and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. His only losses are to Dustin Poirier and Beneil Dariush. This is a huge opportunity for him. Facing a name and former UFC champion on a McGregor PPV. Pettis hasnāt been the most consistent in recent times either. Heās been alternating between wins and losses a lot. Got beat by Nate Diaz in his last fight in August and now here he is dropping back to 155. Just seems like heās a bit lost and bouncing around aimlessly. Could be a good time for Ferreira to catch him. Should be a fun one. Ā Maycee Barber vs Roxanne Modafferi is a bit of an odd one for me. Complete clash of styles here. Barber likes to strike, Modafferi is very much a grappler. Barber was trying hard to goad Paige VanZant into a fight recently. There seems to be some real dislike brewing there. But Paige wasnāt interested. Barber has some hype behind her. Sheās just 21 years old and undefeatedĀ at 8-0Ā with 7 finishes. Canāt help thinking sheās going to come unstuck soon though. She gets reckless at times and has a habit of leaving her chin hanging there in striking exchanges. Canāt argue with the results so far though. She looked good stopping Gillian Robertson last time out. Modafferi could be tricky though. Sheās a real veteran. Not the best of recordsĀ at 23-16Ā but sheās crafty and experienced. She made her pro debut in 2003. When Barber was 5 years old! Hopefully we see more of Barberās overall MMA game tested in this one. Ā Sodiq Yusuff vs Andre FiliĀ will probably be good. Iāve never really been able to get into Filiās fights. Heās not bad, and at one time he was considered one of Team Alpha Maleās top prospects. But heās always been just there to me. His fights come and go and I generally remember sod all about them a day later. Itās Sodiq Yusuff that has me invested in this one. Really like what Iāve seen of him so far. I think he could be someone to keep tabs on going into 2020. Heās 26 years old from Nigeria, 10-1 with 6 knockouts. Heās won his last 5 fights and stopped Gabriel Benitez in a round in his last fight at UFC 241 in August. I like Super Sodiq. Honestly think he could make some noise next year in the Featherweight ranks.Ā Ā Drew Dober vs Nasrat Haqparast is a fightĀ Iām neither her nor there on really. Can see it being decent enough, just canāt say Iām that bothered about it. Haqparast is a guy I only really remember because heās the spit of Kelvin Gastelum. Looking him up though, heās doing alright for himself. Heās still only 24 years old and heās won his last 3 on the trot and knocked out Joaquim Silva in August. Dober, for me, has one of the most annoying punchable faces in the game. Heās 21-9 and stopped Polo Reyes in June. Alright for a filler fight. Ā Justin Ledet vs Aleksa Camur could be worth having a look at, if only to see what this Camur bloke is all about. This is his UFC debut, he was on Danaās Contender Series and heās 5-0 with 5 knockouts, 3 in the first round. So far, so good. Heās only 24 as well so heās got some legit potential. Ledet could maybeĀ ask a couple of questions of him though. Heās got some solid boxing from what I recall of him.Ā He went 9-0-1 with 7 stoppages at the start of his career before losing his last 2 fights against Johnny Walker and Aleksandar Rakic. Of all the new batch of 205ers over the last couple of years, Ledetās wowed me the least. Theyāre probably hoping Camur smokes him here. But Ledet could be a banana skin for a young guy making his Octagon debut.Ā Ā Tim Elliott vs Askar Askarov should be a fun Flyweight tussle. Elliott has been hit and miss but heās had his moments. Most notably, he gave Demetrious Johnson arguably his toughest title defence before Cejudo came along and took the gold. Heās non-stop. Havenāt seen a lot of Askarov but he had a tremendous scrap with Brandon Moreno that went to a draw on the Mexico City card in September. He was a perfect 8-0 before that. Good fight.Ā Ā Ode Osbourne vs Brian Kelleher.Ā Dunno. Kelleher is always good for a ruck.Ā At 19-10Ā heās never going to trouble the title picture but heās a tough scrapper. Heās had his moments as well, to be fair. Submitted BJJ black-belt Iuri Alcantara, beat Renan Barao, survived into the third round against John Lineker. Iāve enjoyed watching him whenever Iāve caught his fights. Never seen Osbourne though. Apparently heās 8-2 and was on Danaās Contender Series. Thatās all Iāve got on him. Ā JJ Aldrich vs Sabina MazoĀ Iām not sure about. Havenāt seen much Aldrich and Iāve seen nothing of Mazo. I know Aldrich mostly as one of Rose Namajunasā main training partners. Sheās 8-3 and gave Maycee Barber her hardest fight yet before getting stopped herself. Mazo is Colombian, 22 years old with a 7-1 record. Lost her UFC debut to Maryna Moroz but bounced back to beat Shana Dobson in August.Ā Ā Thatās your lot for 246.Ā Edited January 18, 2020 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 I'm not usually one for backing Dana and the UFC, but if there's not actual charges against him then they can't really deny him the right to fulfil his contract, can they? Can they stop a guy from fighting because there's been accusations?Ā It'll be interesting to see how the UFC react if McGregor beats Cerrone, and then the accusations lead to actual charges and court appearances. What will they do then? Cut him? Put him on the shelf? Who knows? I think this will be a decent scrap. I don't really know who's going to get the win, because for as much as Cerrone can talk a good game we've seen him crumble a little mentally in the past I think. If McGregor can get under his skin then we may see a repeat of the Aldo situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 42 minutes ago, David said: I'm not usually one for backing Dana and the UFC, but if there's not actual charges against him then they can't really deny him the right to fulfil his contract, can they? Can they stop a guy from fighting because there's been accusations?Ā It'll be interesting to see how the UFC react if McGregor beats Cerrone, and then the accusations lead to actual charges and court appearances. What will they do then? Cut him? Put him on the shelf? Who knows? Your second paragraph there is what Iāve been wondering for a while. Even though I get the feelingĀ he reeks of guilt, IĀ understand that you have to treat him as innocent until the time comes if/when heās charged. I get that. But itās still mad to think that they could be promoting a rapist and like you say, if he wins this fight and they start the ball rolling on this title shot Danaās so desperate to give him, and then this sexual assault case picks upĀ steam, things will get realĀ messy.Ā I hope Cerrone kicks his head off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 17, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 Im torn here because from a purely selfish point of viewing the sport and nothing else a Conor win is what's best because it'll lead to exciting fights in 2020 with Khabib or maybe Jorge which is the fight wanna see now. The other part of would love to see Cowboy kick his head clean off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 I donāt think Khabib vs Conor 2 is exciting at all myself. Of all the great fights that can be made at 155, thatās one of the least exciting to me, and the most predictable. And on top of that, the buildup and aftermath will be awful with race, religion and rape being focal points and probably another ugly post-fight brawl.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Supremo Posted December 17, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) It's a testament to what an incredible job both Conor and the UFC have done to push me away as a fan that a trailer this good still leaves me feeling cold. I'll watch it, mostly in the hope that Conor the scumbag loses again, but either paying money for it or getting as excited as I used to get for a McGregor fight? Nah. Edited December 17, 2019 by Supremo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted December 17, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said: I donāt think Khabib vs Conor 2 is exciting at all myself. Of all the great fights that can be made at 155, thatās one of the least exciting to me, and the most predictable. And on top of that, the buildup and aftermath will be awful with race, religion and rape being focal points and probably another ugly post-fight brawl.Ā I'm exactly the same. I'm not bothered watching either guy really, but I'm fairly sure that Nurmagomedov is nailed-on to win. McG has clearly been dissolute - there's no way he's at his previous level, and, even with his infamous, near-psychotic self-belief, I don't believe he'll be able to claw back the distance he's lost. And even if he did, Nurmagomedov hasn't been standing still; he's been active with his training, he's defended his belt against an elite opponent, and he's probably even better than he was when he beat McGregor. Add to that what we all know about him being a nightmare for McGregor stylistically, and it comes to the grand total of "Yeah, I'm not interested in seeing a cunt batter another cunt again". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I'm sure those inside the UFC are fully aware of the accusations and probably think he is guilty. Still,Ā without actual charges being issuedĀ and minimal media coverage, they can get awayĀ with running this fight. I mean sure, they could tell him to sort his affairs out before booking him, but they aren't going to do that are they? Too much money to be made.Ā As for the fight itself, I don't like either. I've never really warmed to Cerrone dating back to his WEC days. And McGregor, is well, McGregor. The fight should be pretty exciting though. I can't see it lasting the distance.Ā Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I'm honestly dumbfounded as to why the UFC keep persisting with this title narrative for Conor. As much as I don't like the guy, he doesn't need a belt, he draws without it as a special attraction. Keeping him away from the title scene means having more potential stars in the 155/170lbs divisions. Why the fuck would anyone want to destroy what little credibility he has left in the sport by putting him in there with Khabib again? Or even worse, against Usman?Ā If he beats Cowboy then surely a fight with someone like Masvidal, Covington, or even Gaethje is what should be next? Sure, he's likely not beating Colby either, but the build should be somewhat electric, and he actually has a strikers chance against the other two, not to mention that fans will be solidly behind both fights. At this stage, Conor is not getting his hands on a title at 145, 155, or 170lbs. It's just not happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 17, 2019 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 Exactly. I get that they want to make as much dough as possible. And Khabib vs Conor 1 sold more PPVs than any other in UFC history. But if Khabib was to just trounce Conor again (and he would, maybe worse nextĀ time), thereās a good chance Conor just fucks off out of the sport altogether. Look what happened last time. He didnāt fight for the whole of 2019 and instead got himself into all manner of trouble outside the cage. Had he won that fight with Khabib, Iām pretty sure heād have fought this year at some point. This is what he does when he loses. So while a rematch with Khabib would no doubt bring in a truckload of money, thatās probably all youāreĀ getting from him. One big payday and heās done.Ā If they go a different route thoughĀ - there areĀ fights with Masvidal, Gaethje, Colby, as mentioned by David. Thereās the rubber match with Nate.Ā Maybe a rematch with Aldo or something. Thereās potential for several money fights that way. If they throw him at Khabib again I really think that could wind up being the last we see of him in the Octagon. No matter how much money he banks, I think goingĀ 0-2 to Khabib might actually break Conor. Heās already been going downhill. God knows what heād be like after anotherĀ loss to Khabib. I honestly think heād be in prison within 6 months. And thatās probably the best case scenario.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Just now, wandshogun09 said: Exactly. I get that they want to make as much dough as possible. And Khabib vs Conor 1 sold more PPVs than any other in UFC history. But if Khabib was to just trounce Conor again (and he would, maybe worse nextĀ time), thereās a good chance Conor just fucks off out of the sport altogether. Surely the UFC can see that there was some reasons for that though? The whole bus situation, as well as the fact that despite fans who were "in the know" kind of understanding how the fight was likely to play out the casual observer wanted to see if Conor could win. They believed he could win. None of that applies this time. There's no new heat, and the first fight was as conclusive as it gets. From a purely competitive standpoint it would be like running back Khabib's fight with Poirier.Ā Christ, I'd forgotten Aldo as well. I bet that would convince little Jose to pack away some of those burgers and get himself to 155lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted December 17, 2019 Paid Members Share Posted December 17, 2019 15 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: No matter how much money he banks, I think goingĀ 0-2 to Khabib might actually break Conor. Heās already been going downhill. God knows what heād be like after anotherĀ loss to Khabib. Coked off his skull, drinking all day, dead fat & constantly in pyjamas. Making bizarre TV appearances on shitĀ like Loose Women & ringing into Talksport. Make it happen Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 I was talking To my friend yesterday about this card and it being on sky box office. As a whole the card is very weak this would struggle to get mass interest for a fight night card if you take the main event off it.Ā The fact we have had no press conference like you would normally get for a numbered ppv show for the UFC but yet we had one for the ppv after this with jon Jones this past weekend is something that is unbelievably confusing and really shows how much the UFC is relying and over confident with this being the Conor comeback fight so everyone and there mothers will be watching so why would they put mass hype into this show and give it the build up it deserves. I genuinely think they are going to have the shock of a lifetime when they realise people have really lost respect and the love for Conor that they once had, they wont be fighting to go and pay box office prices for this and showing support that he once had like no other.Ā I'm saying this as someone that was the biggest fan of Conor he sucked me into this sport and I loved everything about him but his recent actions and his obvious lack of appreciation and respect for his fans, the sport that made him and everything else that he always said he stood for that turned out to mean nothing to him really has made me feel jaded and angry and like so many others that was hanging onto the hope he would return i have become a fan of new fighters and they now have my attention. I think the whole situation with Conor is unbelievably sad and he has had such a fall from grace after being the most famous man on the planetĀ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 56 minutes ago, Kfogg1991 said: Conor Conor Conor Conor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 3 hours ago, Keith Houchen said: Thank you it genuinely felt like a achievementĀ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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