Helwani says it's all about the beef between Khabib and Artem. If Conor and Khabib ever do fight, the money made will be ****ing insane.

Can't really cut weight effectively if you're laying in a hospital bed getting treated for cuts from glass.

Conor injured one of the UFC VP's.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UFC VP of Athlete Development <a href="https://t.co/Wxy4KUudpB">https://t.co/Wxy4KUudpB</a></p>&mdash; Adam Hill (@AdamHillLVRJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamHillLVRJ/status/982025803293741061?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 5, 2018</a></blockquote>
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I was a big McGregor fan until hearing about this and watching the video after work today... **** that cocky mick, some UFC heavweight needs to catch him backstage at the next event and whip his ass

I was talking to a few people about how this compares to Jon Jones, this is a hell of a lot worse. It might not be worse in terms of what level of felony or potential legal punishment, but it is significantly worse in two very important ways. First, there was no real malice in most of Jon Jones' ****ups, in all times for the most part he meant no harm but was making bad decisions that may have eventually put people in danger. We can forgive that.

Secondly, Jon Jones is easy to like even when he's a little bit of a jerk to some of his opponents, but Conor is quickly turning into an unlikable asshole, and its a really bad look to charge in with his own personal ****ing gang. This isn't like a "heel" which you can sell, a lot of people who otherwise may have been potential fans are simply not going to be interested in watching him fight anymore, and its bad enough to potentially do damage to the UFC brand.

Conor is the greatest self promoter. He's up there with Ali.

I get what Conor did was wrong, but he's literally sticking up for a team mate, despite the horrible decision on when to do it. Its wasnt an unmotivated attack, Khabib slapped and cornered Lobov with 10 other guys - conor uniquely doesnt give a **** and here we are.

Jon jones hit and ran from a car accident with a pregnant lady. It doesnt matter about the intent - thats a scum bag move that could have been much worse.

Artem was talking shit and had it coming. Conor's entourage is full of ****s like Dillon Danis. Conor can and should not in a jail cell.

Intent is extremely important in terms of career and marketability. We can forgive what Jon Jones did quite easily, Conor gathered a posse, flew to New York with intent, and broke in the windows of a crowded bus.

3 fights Saturday night have now been cancelled because of Conor.

Chiesa/Pettis is off because of Chiesa's cuts and his weight cut was thrown off by the trip to the hospital, he lost too much time.

Borg/Moreno is off because Borg started to experience problems with his eye from broken glass.

Lobov is already off for obvious reasons, and Caceras will not get a last-minute opponent.

WWF-esque promotion here. Connor and Dana laughing their asses off.

Damn, I was looking forward to that Moreno fight


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This shit is crazy

I wish there was some heavyweight on the bus who didn't give a shit and had gotten off and beat Conor within an inch of his life.

Jesus ****ing Christ.

Thats your opinion, and you are very entitled to it. But i would bet the house that this doesnt have any long term effects on his career.

I actually disagree. I’d bet he’s suspended a year. And that’s if he doesn’t get hit with a felony and loses his travel visa


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Mcgregor turned himself in


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Conor has been arrested and will be charged with assault.

From a quick lookup of NY laws, the possible charge is either 2nd degree assault (3-7 years prison), or 3rd degree assault (0-1 year jail). Its not clear to me which type of assault Conor's case falls under.

The problem Conor is gonna have, is prosecutors have 0 reason to give a plea. They have him on video clear as day throwing the dolly through a window that injures people.

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ok, i found out that the difference in NY law is that 2nd degree assault requires intent to cause serious physical harm. 3rd degree doesn't require intent, just recklessly use a weapon or dangerous object and end up hurting someone. 3rd degree assault is not going to be a problem to prove since they have 5 or 6 videos, but 2nd degree assault might be tricky.

We'll see. Him being actually charged changes everything - however i still think this will be a set back, not a career killer.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/AHjyf7plgO">pic.twitter.com/AHjyf7plgO</a></p>&mdash; Stipe Miocic (@stipemiocic) <a href="https://twitter.com/stipemiocic/status/982089378259505152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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As for the card, it took a hit. The PPV is not as good, though probably still average. The prelims also suffer a bit without the Borg/Moreno fight.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Updated UFC 223 fight card lineup <a href="https://t.co/HadgGcoRFM">pic.twitter.com/HadgGcoRFM</a></p>&mdash; Jason Floyd (@Jason_Floyd) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jason_Floyd/status/982101854258528257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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If they can prove it was in retaliation over the Khabib and Artem incident, things could get dicey. Don't see how that's going to be feasible though.

This wasn't self defense, so I don't think New York is going to care about his reasons.

I'm talking about 2nd degree vs 3rd degree.

TMZ is reporting 2 charges for misdemeanor assault (so the 3rd degree), and a charge of felony criminal mischief. the vandalism charge got upgraded to a felony because he caused over $8,000 of damage.

edit: maximum penalty for the felony charge is 7 years

edit2: damn, hopefully Borg is ok

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Multiple corneal abrasions for Ray Borg... <a href="https://t.co/QhROMLtlsd">https://t.co/QhROMLtlsd</a></p>&mdash; Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jon_Anik/status/982105200608477184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Conor is a piece of shit and shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath with Ali...

The timing of it being wrestlemania weekend makes me wonder if not somewhat of an over the top stunt that went too far

People keep saying this which is understandable, but no.

Dana and the UFC had no plans for Conor to be there, and there is no way in hell they would agree to a stunt where Conor confronts the red corner bus. Conor himself didn't decide to fly to New York until Wednesday evening when he saw the footage of Artem being confronted by Khabib, so he flew out overnight and because he's an insane dumbass he gathered up a posse and went looking for him.

If Conor had contacted the UFC about promoting a fight, they simply would have had Conor sit cageside and have him jump into the cage after the main event to screech a challenge at the winner.

The law makes no allowances for retaliation. He wasn't defending Artem, he was trying to keep himself relevant. I hope Borg, Chiessa and everyone else sue the shit out of him.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BREAKING: Max Holloway has been declared medically unfit to fight. Holloway is out of UFC 223. Per Dana White.</p>&mdash; Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/bokamotoESPN/status/982253230531919872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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And this PPV has turned into a shit show.

ROFL

The plan now is to see if Pettis can make 155. If he can, he will fight struggle against be brutally murdered by Khabib. He's got 30 minutes left to make weight.

The reason was probably obvious, but the NYAC doctors were observing Max's weight cut this morning, decided he was way too dehydrated to safely get to 155, and told him to stop. Max and his team wanted to keep going.

The AC's have come a long way on this, from California's new weight cutting rules, and now this. We'll still see zombies stumbling to the scale in less-regulated jurisdictions, but all of the large AC's are taking it a lot more seriously.

Unfortunately, someone is going to have to drop dead before the UFC adopts any new rules. Amateur wrestling had to have the same thing after I think 3 college wrestlers dropped dead.

Pettis weighed in at 155.2, the NYAC doctors have cleared him to continue cutting weight, and he has 2 hours to lose the last 0.2 (he wont need anywhere near 2 hours to do that) He didn't look bad at all, he was probably at 156 this morning.

So, tomorrow night, live on PPV, Khabib will kill Showtime.

You have to be the diehard of the diehard fans to buy this PPV at this point.

I'm not sure it's worth the buy anymore. I would like to see if Rose was a fluke, I hope she defends her belt.

Not really, it only feels that way because of how far the card has fallen, but the card still has two title fights. Just take a look at the past two PPV's, the Cyborg freakshow and that pile of shit on the Australian card. This card is below average for sure, but there will be 4 or 5 worse PPV's on paper by the end of the year.

Watch Showtime win now lol...

This really tells you the state of UFC right now. This is card, as you say, is below average, but you're telling me that it's worth a buy because there will be plenty of others that are worse.

They are eating themselves alive with all these "superfights", worthless weight divisions and last minute thrown together fights.

To be fair, this one isn't really on UFC. Ferguson got hurt on a freak accident, they came up with a decent replacement on 6 days notice, and he couldn't get the weight cut. Then Conor ruined 3 fights lmyesterday

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This shit is more WWE than you think LMAO

Yeah I went from watching everyone of them to I don't give a rats ass about the UFC anymore. I haven't watched an event for a couple of years now. It's turned into the WWE 2.0.

A lot of stupid shit has happened since the weigh-in, and we're not going to get a final answer for another 30 minutes or so. The short answer is that we do not yet know what is going on with the main event, even though weigh ins closed nearly 3 hours ago. This is probably obvious, but if the LW title fight falls out and Khabib is not on the card, then that would be a catastrophic hit to the PPV, so bad that the UFC should seriously consider cancelling the event or making it free. It would be a contender for worst PPV of the year at that point.

Here is what we do know.

1) The UFC wanted Pettis to cut to 155 and step in to save the card. We know he weighed in at 155.2 and was given 2 more hours. Apparently after that Pettis looked around, realized he probably had little chance against Khabib, and decided that if he was going to take a potentially life-altering beating to help out the UFC, then maybe he should get paid a lot of money. He asked for a bump in pay for the fight, well into 7 figures. The UFC said no, and began to explore other options. Somewhere in this drama, the NYAC reportedly butted their heads in to say that they didn't think Pettis should go 5 rounds for some reason, so he's not eligible for a title fight anyway.

2) The UFC then went to Paul Felder because he actually made championship weight at 155. They were getting ready to announce Khabib vs Felder for the LW championship when the NYAC stepped in again and said that they would not allow Felder to fight Khabib. Why? Khabib is 25-0 and #2, but Felder is unranked. Felder is 15-3 scheduled against a dangerous opponent, so he's not some tomato can. So for the first time in the history of the UFC we found someone who takes their rankings seriously, and it came at the worst time possible. If the UFC knew that New York was going to pay attention to rankings, maybe they would have updated it last weekend just in case.

3) Al Iaquinta is an option, but there's a problem. About 6 or 7 hours ago Al looked down at his bathroom scale, saw 155.2, and thought "eh, good enough". If he would have turned around and went back into the tub for a few more minutes, then we'd probably have Khabib vs Al for the title, which actually would have been a pretty cool fight. Unfortunately, he's not eligible for the title, and Khabib only wants to fight for the belt.

4) The UFC is currently talking options with fighters and the NYAC. Maybe they could schedule a 5-round one-sided title bout where Khabib is eligible but his opponent is not. In my mind, the best option (or least-bad option) would be if they could work out a one-sided title fight against Al Iaquinta. Even though he wouldn't get the belt, Al would have a strong claim at a title shot if he somehow beat Khabib.

NYAC is really overstepping their authority here. Que Dana White "I'll never book another fight in NY" in 3,2,1.....

The UFC just told the media that they still are not close to figuring out what they are going to do, so they'll just send out a statement when they have an announcement to make. Media is packing up and leaving now.

They are protecting the fighters when UFC won't.

OK, it is now official. The main event will be a 5-round one-sided LW title bout between Khabib and Al Iaquinta. Only Khabib is eligible for the title if he wins.

Out of the options they had, this was the best/most interesting fight to make, I didn't think Felder or Pettis had a chance, but Iaquinta? Probably not, but he could get a KO.

Here
We
Go!

Pettis and Felder are off the card. They are teammates and did not want to fight each other.

Woof, what a let down. If I were Felder I'd be pissed at the commission.

Apparently the UFC rankings matter now in New York! Next time they go back, they'll maybe want to give them a refresh before weigh-ins.

Kinda weird they're touting rankings as a thing now but only the title is on the line for Khabib.....couldn't have just made the same fight with Felder?

Should've been Ortega instead of Holloway to begin with and we wouldn't even be in this mess...

Ben Rothwell is suspended until February 2019

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">UFC&#39;s &quot;Big&quot; Ben Rothwell hit with two year USADA ban for steroid use <a href="https://t.co/GYW8G5yH9Q">https://t.co/GYW8G5yH9Q</a></p>&mdash; Erik Magraken (@erikmagraken) <a href="https://twitter.com/erikmagraken/status/982369739329671169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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lol.... Its weekends like this which remind us that MMA is both one of the greatest, and one of the dumbest sports.

We got one last bit of hilarity. Officially, according to the athletic commission and according to the UFC, this is a one-sided title fight and only Khabib is eligible.

Unofficially.... Dana White just flat-out announced that if Al Iaquinta wins, then the title will be vacant, and the promotion has the right to award the title rather than put it up to be contested, and at that point they would promote Iaquinta to champion. (like they did with Aldo and Rousey when UFC bought strikeforce, the UFC just promoted them to champion) So if Khabib wins, he immediately becomes the champion. If Al wins, as far as the state is concerned no one wins the title, but the UFC will wrap a shiny gold belt around his waist and the day after the UFC will strip Conor, declare the belt vacant, promote Al to champion, and give him the vacant title.

Dana justified this by saying that if Al had weighed in without his underwear, maybe he would have made 155, and even if not he would have made it with like 10 minutes in the sauna. And he's right, so... sure, ok.

edit: lol, Dana also said that the UFC actually weighed Al's underwear, and it was 0.2 pounds.

Dana also announced that, and this is not a guarantee, but their current thinking is that the winner between Miocic and Cormier (who would then be HW champ) could fight Brock Lesnar in a HW title fight.

Here's Cormier's face when he heard that.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://t.co/XYrntbn68b">pic.twitter.com/XYrntbn68b</a></p>&mdash; esther lin (@allelbows) <a href="https://twitter.com/allelbows/status/982408075192799232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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How can anyone not love DC LMAO

DC is a huge WWE fan so he's probably doubly excited.

That’s some bs.


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Sad to see UFC become WWE. Lol Lesnar is coming back!

Except, you know, the fighting is real.

Oh Pants he fighting is what used to sell the product now they resort to wrestling tatics.

As is the need to promote it.

Gotcha. I misinterpreted your post. If copying the WWE promotion tactics helps grow the UFC, I'm all for it.

I just like watching these dudes compete with their different styles, skill sets and mentalities.

Mark the time. 9:30pm CT, 4/7/2018

A cornerman actually threw in the towel in a UFC fight and saved his fighter from taking more unnecessary damage. I literally never saw that before, his coach went straight to the ref, told him its over, then told his fighter its over.

****ing loving this card after all, boys.

Someone's bout to pull a Serra upset

Yeah, I can't complain. That 2nd fight on the PPV was amazing.

Dana: fighters who lost bouts at UFC 223 won't get win bonuses "because we don't have much money."

Are win bonuses normally paid for losing?

I think so.

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/1/1...-mccorkle-espn

"
I got a discretionary bonus after all 3 of my fights, even an amount equal to my what would have been my win bonus after my embarrassing performance against Stephan Struve. I was told that was given to me based strictly on the effort I put in to promoting the fight, and not because of how I performed"

Thanks.

He wasn't talking about win bonuses for fighters who lost a fight they competed in. He was talking about the fighters whose fights were cancelled because of Conor's stupid shit.

They will get their show money, but no win bonus since the UFC plans to rebook them ASAP so they'll have another fight in a couple months where they can earn show money again and possibly their win bonus.

edit: and when Dana said "we dont have much money", that wasn't an accurate quote (missing one important word), and the context was important. A reporter asked if they'd also get their win bonus, Dana smiled, chuckled, and said "come on, we don't have THAT much money."