jimufctna24 Posted July 4 Posted July 4 (edited) You know how Tank Abbott stopped fighting in the UFC in 1998 then re-emerged briefly in the Zuffa era years later and felt like a conplete relic. McGregor's lay off from the UFC has actually lasted longer than Abbott's. There isn't much time difference between Shamrock's lay off from the UFC between 1996 and 2002 either, which felt like a lifetime (I'm aware that he fought in Pride and on an independent show in the 2 years before their UFC return). My point is that 5 years is a heck of a long time to be inactive in MMA, even in this day and age, and especially for an aging lighter fighter who hasn't lived the life. Thus I would be very surprised if McGregor is anything close to the fighter he was next weekend. Edited July 4 by jimufctna24 Quote
Dai Posted July 5 Posted July 5 Those are great ways of putting it. Despite those social media things Wand was talking about, the bookies still have him as a big underdog, which says it all. The McGregor fan boys have backed him down into a still very flattering 2/1, which makes no sense based on the timelines you gave above. What do we think of the decision to face Max? You can level alot of things at McGregor, but he hasnt picked an easy fight to come back to. Purely from his management position, I'm trying to think if there were more attractive options to him. Are there any more obvious 'super fights' he could have chosen? Should he have just fought some easier guys to clear his contract and pave the way for his Netflix fights? A fight with a non ranked guy would have got nearly as much traction and attention as this Max fight, and that way hes not fighting an elite figher who is still active. Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 5 Author Paid Members Posted July 5 36 minutes ago, Dai said: What do we think of the decision to face Max? You can level alot of things at McGregor, but he hasnt picked an easy fight to come back to. Nah, I’m not giving him credit for that either. Fuck him 🤣 like I said in the opening post… On 6/27/2026 at 12:02 PM, wandshogun09 said: I’ve seen a lot of McGregor arse lickers going ‘Man, you have to give him credit. Taking a fight with Max after five years out is such a badass thing to do’. Is it though? Really? Yeah fighting Max at any time is a challenge. But it’s not really a badass move when he’s making Max come up to 170 for it, is it? Let’s have it right, he’s making Max come up in weight because he probably can’t make 155 anymore after years of juicing. Real badass stuff there. And to add to this, Charles Oliveira was recently saying it was supposed to be him as the opponent for McGregor’s comeback. Whether there were any actual talks in that direction or whether it’s just Oliveira assuming that, whatever. But with Charles having the BMF belt and all that, you would think it’d be the more appealing fight for Conor if he was really serious about this comeback and confident in where he’s at. “Best Conor ever” and all that, Charles should be easy work. But Charles reckons he went with Max (a rematch against a guy he’s already beat) because it’s the easier option. And given that Charles is naturally bigger than Max and probably would’ve made the transition to 170 easier, plus has both the knockout power and grappling to give McGregor real problems, you can see why McGregor might’ve swerved that one. Not saying Max is an easy fight to come back to but this thing I often hear about McGregor of ‘say what you want but he always takes the tough fights’ doesn’t really wash with me. Even years ago, I remember when he fought Cerrone there was a ton of talk that Gaethje wanted the fight and there was no reason at the time that the fight couldn’t happen. Yet McGregor chose Cerrone who was coming off back-to-back losses instead. Gaethje was coming off back-to-back first round knockout wins and had just beat Cerrone. Plus he’d been talking shit about McGregor at the time. McGregor went the easier route. McGregor’s in a position now where he has to face big names and top guys every time. They’re paying him too much. They couldn’t have had him return against some fringe Top 15 guy. So while I do get your point that this is a tough fight coming off such a long layoff, who else could they have really put him against? I’m surprised they didn’t hold off a bit longer and feed him a bloated, washed up Chandler at 170. But yeah, bollocks to McGregor. There’s zero credit coming his way from me. There’s no reason why this fight couldn’t have been at 155. Conor has chosen it to be at 170 because he thinks Max is gonna be less effective and he’ll have the advantage physically. He hasn’t picked an easy fight but he’s gone for a guy who’s coming off a lopsided loss, who’s finally had his chin cracked not too long ago by Topuria, and he’s making him come up to a weight class that he’s never fought at before. Quote
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted July 5 Paid Members Posted July 5 1 hour ago, Dai said: What do we think of the decision to face Max? You can level alot of things at McGregor, but he hasnt picked an easy fight to come back to. Purely from his management position, I'm trying to think if there were more attractive options to him. Are there any more obvious 'super fights' he could have chosen? Should he have just fought some easier guys to clear his contract and pave the way for his Netflix fights? A fight with a non ranked guy would have got nearly as much traction and attention as this Max fight, and that way hes not fighting an elite figher who is still active. The size of Holloway is a big reason why he was probably selected. He has no business fighting at 170. Quote
jimufctna24 Posted July 5 Posted July 5 (edited) 7 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: I’m surprised they didn’t hold off a bit longer and feed him a bloated, washed up Chandler at 170. This was going to be my answer to Dai's question. Perhaps UFC management or McGregor's camp didn't want match McGregor up with a wrestler? 7 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: There’s no reason why this fight couldn’t have been at 155. Conor has chosen it to be at 170 because he thinks Max is gonna be less effective and he’ll have the advantage physically. He hasn’t picked an easy fight but he’s gone for a guy who’s coming off a lopsided loss, who’s finally had his chin cracked not too long ago by Topuria, and he’s making him come up to a weight class that he’s never fought at before. Well when you put it like that 😃 Even accounting for all that, and the possible swerving of Oliveira, it is a curious fight for McGregor to take. On paper, a skilled, well conditioned and durable high-volume striker had the potential to give peak McGregor fits, even more so with the 2026 version. Edited July 5 by jimufctna24 Quote
Dai Posted July 5 Posted July 5 Yeah, I'm still not entirely on board with Wands 90% dismissal of fighting Max bloody Holloway, and am not putting half as much stock into the weight class difference as you seem to be. Max at 170 is still an insane problem. Not fully on board that he has to fight a big name either. He hasnt fought for yonks, so the UFC knows hes in a strong position of not giving a shit if he fights or not. Given the choice of McGregor against a non ranked bum, where they could still plaster him all over posters and social media, or not fighting at all, which is a genuine threat from McGregor, then I think they would have still took it. With the five years of juice, there's no way he could make 155 these days too, so to say there's no reason is a bit off too. Anyway this is far too much McGregor defending! I'm going to start a thread stating why Frank Mir is the best UFC heavyweight of all time just to be even more contrary to Wand. Quote
jimufctna24 Posted July 5 Posted July 5 48 minutes ago, Dai said: Anyway this is far too much McGregor defending! I'm going to start a thread stating why Frank Mir is the best UFC heavyweight of all time just to be even more contrary to Wand. Also try: Mauro Ranallo: MMA's Greatest Ever Commentator. Quote
Dai Posted July 6 Posted July 6 Dana White Appreciation Thread Joe Rogans best quips (2026 Edition) Kim Winslow: Even better than Herb Dean? Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 6 Author Paid Members Posted July 6 20 hours ago, Dai said: Yeah, I'm still not entirely on board with Wands 90% dismissal of fighting Max bloody Holloway, and am not putting half as much stock into the weight class difference as you seem to be. Max at 170 is still an insane problem. I’m not dismissing Max, I’ve said multiple times that he’s never an easy option. I’ve been bigging Max up forever. I was one of the few who wasn’t acting like he was a lamb being led to the slaughter going into the Gaethje fight. I’m dismissing the notion that Conor’s being a brave little soldier and doing something to be admired. He’s not. Fuck him. Whoever he faced first coming off this layoff, there’d be doubts on Conor. The layoff, the injury, the lifestyle, the legal issues. But I don’t get how you can dismiss the weight as a potential issue for Max when Max has never fought there. How can any of us say Max is “still an insane problem at 170” when he’s never ever fought at 170? He might be fine, it might be a bridge too far. Considering people were saying he was too small for 155 not long ago I don’t really get why him moving up another weight class is being played down as a non factor now. Shit, we’ve literally just seen Alex Pereira move up to Heavyweight and look pretty shit. Granted, a lot of that was Gane being an awkward style but I don’t think anyone’s gonna argue with a straight face that Pereira looked in his best shape at Heavyweight. Every fighter has a limit to the extra weight their frame can carry before it starts being more of a detriment than a benefit. I don’t recall anyone ever saying they thought Max could do well at 170 before this Conor fight was announced. Christ, there was some talk as recently as March that he should move back to 145 because Charles manhandled him. Now we’re supposed to believe him fighting at 170 is no big deal and isn’t gonna have any negative effects? 21 hours ago, Dai said: Not fully on board that he has to fight a big name either. He hasnt fought for yonks, so the UFC knows hes in a strong position of not giving a shit if he fights or not. Given the choice of McGregor against a non ranked bum, where they could still plaster him all over posters and social media, or not fighting at all, which is a genuine threat from McGregor, then I think they would have still took it. I get that his name and his return on its own would still have got people watching and yeah, if it was either that or nothing, they’d have probably reluctantly gone with it. But I don’t think that was ever gonna happen. He’s too big a name and making too much money. Going the Tyson Fury vs Marius Wach route after all this time would’ve been dogshit. Who the fuck would wanna see him against Neil Magny or Jake Matthews? I don’t care how long you’ve been out, you can’t have a name like McGregor and be facing guys like that in headline spots. Especially when there’s a very decent chance McGregor comes back completely washed up and could potentially lose to a no hoper. As hilarious as I’d personally find it, just imagine his big return with all the attention and promotion and he gets strangled by Myktybek Orolbai or clipped by Daniel Rodriguez? It’s not as embarrassing losing to an established name and former champ like Max. Plus apparently, according to McGregor, his coaches, Dave Feldman, most of them media, his fans and so on, he’s looking “better than ever” and it’s gonna be the “best Conor we’ve ever seen” so it’d be a bit weak of him to pick on an unranked opponent. 21 hours ago, Dai said: With the five years of juice, there's no way he could make 155 these days too, so to say there's no reason is a bit off too. Well there’s an easy solution to that. How about fight a proper Welterweight then if he can’t make 155? And the “he can’t make 155 because he was pumping himself full of PEDs for five years” isn’t exactly reflecting well on him either. What a shame. He can’t make 155 anymore because he’s been roided to the tits. That as some kind of defence for McGregor sounds more off than me suggesting he should’ve tried to make 155 if he wanted to fight a 155er. Again, he wants it at 170 because he thinks it gives him the advantage and that it’s too much of a jump for Max. He’s actually said that himself in the buildup. He’s not even trying to pretend otherwise. You’re never ever ever gonna get me to soften and give that cunt credit 🤣 I’m at the point where if he somehow beats Max on Saturday, I actually do hope they give him a title shot. Just feed the piece of shit to Makhachev and be done with it. 21 hours ago, Dai said: Anyway this is far too much McGregor defending! I'm going to start a thread stating why Frank Mir is the best UFC heavyweight of all time just to be even more contrary to Wand. Quote
Paid Members Supremo Posted July 6 Paid Members Posted July 6 Not sure if it speaks to how far his star has fallen, or how shit UFC have become at promoting, but it’s wild how there’s a Conor McGregor fight this week - it looks like he’s actually going to make the walk- and yet there doesn’t appear to be any buzz at all. Wonder if Conor will pack it in if he loses again? Or do we think he wants to fight out the remainder of the UFC contract so he can follow Darren Till into the circus of easy money? Quote
jimufctna24 Posted July 6 Posted July 6 (edited) A problem is that three of the more suitable opponents for McGregor at this time, namely Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal, and Tony Ferguson, are not with the UFC any longer, and are instead mostly fannying around in novelty boxing bouts. Which hammers home the point. McGregor at a stage of his career should probably be fighting Jake Paul on Netflix or something similar. Understandably, the UFC are going to try and milk him for all he's worth until his contract expires, but he does seem a little out of place in today's UFC when the likes of Misfits, Netflix MMA, etc, are out there. 53 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: You’re never ever ever gonna get me to soften and give that cunt credit 🤣 I’m at the point where if he somehow beats Max on Saturday, I actually do hope they give him a title shot. Just feed the piece of shit to Makhachev and be done with it. I don't buy that McGregor is being brave in taking this fight either. Rather, it's more probable that the matchmakers/his team have underestimated how bad a match-up Holloway is for him on paper, even when accounting for the weight differential. I'm not sure who else they could have matched him with though, at least in terms of a name opponent and one which he could realistically beat. We've already mentioned Chandler. Perhaps they could have dragged Pimblett up to 170lbs? Edited July 6 by jimufctna24 Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 6 Author Paid Members Posted July 6 (edited) 35 minutes ago, Supremo said: Wonder if Conor will pack it in if he loses again? Or do we think he wants to fight out the remainder of the UFC contract so he can follow Darren Till into the circus of easy money? The second option. I didn’t watch him on Helwani’s show but I caught the quotes and he was saying the UFC wanna delay his next fight after this (the last fight on his current deal) until April 2027 for some reason. Probably to allow them more time to try to lock him into a longer contract. He was baffled by it and I get the impression he wants to get these two fights over with, leave and do his own thing. He’s talked about wanting to stay with the UFC but I’m not convinced. He knows he can make more money being his own promoter than having the UFC just giving him a fraction of the pie. You only have to look at how Francis Ngannou cleaned up financially once he got free of the UFC red tape and he was never the name McGregor was. I reckon he leaves after these last two fights whatever happens. And either just promotes his own standalone fights, or maybe does something with Netflix. I can absolutely see him having that third fight with Nate Diaz and/or a boxing match with Jake Paul over the next couple of years. I guess it depends on how these last two UFC fights go as well though. If he gets properly fucked up or suffers another bad injury, it’s obviously gonna limit what he can do. It’ll be interesting to see who they match him up with for that last fight on his contract. You’ll probably be able to tell if he’s staying or leaving by who they book him against. If he’s leaving, they’re gonna try to give him a nightmare matchup to ensure he does the “time honoured tradition” on the way out. ”Dana White didn’t screw Conor McGregor. Conor screwed Conor.” Edited July 6 by wandshogun09 Quote
Cousin Jim Bob Posted July 6 Posted July 6 @wandshogun09 Magny would probably have beaten him, he is the ultimate spoiler. Quote
Paid Members Bus Surfer Posted July 7 Paid Members Posted July 7 I think the contract stuff and the Chandler fight not materialising this time round is a heavily interlinked. He clearly wants out, they clearly want him in... I can see this going on a lot longer than April 2027. Not that I'm bothered, but I imagine they'd want him soundly beaten in his last 2 fights before he eventually leaves. He will make far more money off his own back, and history has taught us the UFC will not let that happen without trying to take some shine off you if they can. It's mental really. I've never known a McGregor fight week so quiet. Quote
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