Glover is a bad mamajamma but Evans got outclassed by Bader too, so you're probably not far off

Yup. And it just goes to show how dominant Mighty Mouse is. One of the greatest fighters to ever walk the face of the Earth.

Dodson looked like a Mike Tyson mini-me, both in build and in the way he worked that uppercut... once he landed the first one he just kept driving it home

Khabib is a ****ing man.

He's going to run through Dos Anjos and then take Conor's belt.

I don't think Khabib wants to cut to FW.

After Conor fights Diaz, he'll probably be told that he either needs to defend his belt, or vacate it.

Predictions for that Conor fight? Does he beat Diaz? If so, does he defend at FW or move up to LW?

I don't see how McGregor wins. Diaz actually had time to train for this one.. He is just as bad match-up.

Agreed, after seeing that first fight, Diaz looks like a terrible matchup. Conor will always have a chance because of his murderous left, but I don't think his issue was just stamina as he claims. Even if he paces himself, he faces one of the best boxers in the UFC who is also a legit Gracie black belt.

That's the key for me. Nate is long, and a fantastic boxer. He's also better on the ground than just about anybody not a Gracie BB. Conor would have to land that one punch KO. IIRC Nate's been ko'd but it was an accumulation and not the one shot Mac would need.

I don't believe this at all and think Conor is trolling us, but just in case he's not, he just inexplicably tweeted this:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I have decided to retire young.<br>Thanks for the cheese. <br>Catch ya&#39;s later.</p>&mdash; Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNotoriousMMA/status/722492455732584448">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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What on earth....

No way

Again, I don't believe it, but Conor was cageside at the Joao Carvalho fight. Its possible that may have affected him more than anyone expected.

The leading theory on the internet is that Conor is in a dispute with Dana White and the Fertittas, and is using this as leverage.

Followed by "he is high right now and messing around"

Followed by the theory that seeing someone just die in the cage at the hands of his teammate profoundly impacted him and he's serious.

OK, this one is 100% trolling

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I guess my work here is done I&#39;m retiring too✌🏼️👊🏼</p>&mdash; Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateDiaz209/status/722514064576917505">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well was fun while it lasted</p>&mdash; Coach Kavanagh (@John_Kavanagh) <a href="https://twitter.com/John_Kavanagh/status/722515043376607234">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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well, thats not good.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Multiple sources are adamant at this time that McGregor&#39;s tweet isn&#39;t a joke, troll job or hoax of any kind. Reason(s) behind it is unclear.</p>&mdash; Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) <a href="https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/722516118267633665">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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So..... UFC 200.

Diaz vs GSP maybe? What's Lawler doing?

i have heard dana finally might have ****ed the UFC. no one will say how but they are saying they think this is the real deal...

and the from someone that is still under contract and was ordered to be silent on the issue

my guy says hes pretty sure that at "THIS POINT" diaz is out too...

and im hearing its not a money thing but they wont say what it is

Were they on a conference call and Dana lost it and mouthed off to them both or something? They aren't friends, why would they both up and retire?

edit: God bless our dumb sport

Obligatory Aldo reaction

https://scontent-ams3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...ca&oe=57B2BF3F

Cowboy's gotta cowboy

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I sought it. Just another stunt to get people to talk about his bitch ass <a href="https://t.co/U9Tww5KPh4">https://t.co/U9Tww5KPh4</a></p>&mdash; Cowboy Cerrone (@Cowboycerrone) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cowboycerrone/status/722522916039090176">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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i have no idea and my buddy isnt saying or cant say but he texted me earlier saying to keep my ears open for fight news.

and i WILL say that my buddy is a ****ing jokester also so he could be ****ing with me too...

The fourth (least likely) theory floating around the internet is that Conor failed a drug test

Very interesting.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Let me be the first to say, &quot;Welcome back from retirement, Conor McGregor.&quot; Hey, may as well get ahead of this. These things never last.</p>&mdash; Josh Gross (@yay_yee) <a href="https://twitter.com/yay_yee/status/722543934010818561">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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ROFL

Really weird stuff

Another theory (though its not a distinct 5th theory since its just another version of theory #1), Dana decided to bump McGregor/Diaz to the co-main, and have GSP/Lawler as the main event, and now Conor is pissed.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Reasons still unclear, but 4 hours later, multiple sources maintaining McGregor&#39;s tweet is real. UFC working on next step(s) at this time.</p>&mdash; Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) <a href="https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/722552180859932673">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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I'm hearing it's over something Dana did or didn't do, but again it could be bullshit.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I don&#39;t think that&#39;s a crazy hypothesis. <a href="https://t.co/rXDIPn9eZr">https://t.co/rXDIPn9eZr</a></p>&mdash; Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) <a href="https://twitter.com/arielhelwani/status/722565732324753408">April 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
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Reports saying Mcgregor was 'truly heartbroken' after Carvalho death. He was ringside.

Definitely could be it

Mcgregor officially pulled from UFC 200.

WWE star invites Conor McGregor to join WWE

http://www.foxsports.com/wwe/story/u...y-lynch-041916

McGregor vs Diaz II wasn't that exciting anyway.

I really wanted to see him vs Frankie, though. McGregor vs Aldo II would have been nice too.

So Dana thinks we're all dumb enough to believe he was pulled because he refused to promote the fight......?

.....ok.

I believe it, because they have done it before. Diaz was pulled from his fight with GSP because he wouldn't promote the fight. It makes sense because they do need the press conferences and the commercials to max out huge events like this, and if he won't do it, well then he's not that valuable to the UFC. The UFC wasn't excited about having Conor rematch Diaz anyway, and if he won't come to Vegas, screw him, they won't have any trouble at all finding a new opponent for Diaz and selling that card.

So Dana pulled him over not promoting the fight and he told Dana to **** off and retired.

Makes sense

I think the fact that the UFC didn't want him to fight Diaz anyway, and they wanted him to defend his belt at 200 has a lot to do with it. Conor insisted on the immediate meaningless rematch with Diaz at 170, and its like "ok fine, then come to Vegas and help us sell that rematch that no one is excited for. You won't do that? Fine screw you then, you are off the card."

I assume they have GSP coming back for 200 as well.

Link to Dana's explanation on Sportscenter.

Apparently at some point they had plane tickets booked from Iceland to Vegas, and Dana told Conor that if he is not on that plane, then he's off the card.

Connor is such an idiot. Does he think that he's making some sort of a point? The UFC was huge before him and it will be huge after him. I'm sure Dana wishes he could have kept making money on Connor, but shit, he'll never let any one fighter become bigger than the promotion.

This is what happens when two huge egos collide.


Someone's gonna blink

So he didn't want to interrupt his training and now has no reason to train.

Im pretty sure he doesn't like Vegas

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-ca...50208-mma.html


I knew I had read he didn't like going there.

Seems petty.

It's ego. He thinks he can call the shots.

Like I said this is what happens when egos collide...

And the fight is about 2.5 months away. Do they really need him there to hype the fight right now? Could they have worked with him since he didn't really want to fight there? Yes but danas ego stood firm, lol

It's probably a money dispute.

I highly doubt the reason for puling him off the card is because he didn't want to show up for a press conference.

Remember all of the Aldo/Mcgregor conferences? And those were all over the world.

He has pushed buttons ever since he's blown up

Its not just Conor and Diaz, they had arranged for every single fighter on that card to be in Vegas to do media and commercials. Thats not a small amount of money, and honestly, its not a lot to ask either. All they want is these few days, everyone else on the main card is flying in, if Conor wants special treatment, then I can see how it makes sense to push back and insist that no one is above the pre-fight press conference, doesn't matter who you are, everyone has to do it.

A lot of people have speculated that he was severely traumatized by watching his teammate kill a man less than two weeks ago, his heart is now no longer into fighting, and he's just using this as a convenient excuse.

Really ****ing petty. I don't like Vegas either, but if someone is gonna pay me a few million to go there, it would be my new favorite city.

I don't know....it would look a whole lot more sane and classy to come out and tell the truth if that were the case.

Dana White will be on FS1 at the top of the hour. I'll summarize whatever he says

edit: This wasn't just going to be a press conference, the UFC had planned a 3-city tour: Vegas, Stockton, New York, then Conor could go back to Iceland.

Dana does not believe he will retire. However, if he is not retiring, then Conor "needs to clear that up fast", because if he still says he's retired close to 200, then they will vacate the title.

edit2: They are spending $10MM to promote UFC 200. "I don't care who you are, you can't do this to us".

Meh. That was a reeruned rematch anyway. Holding up the Featherweight belt for a rematch of an exhibition fight. What?

Dana is adamant that this wasn't about money, it was only about promotion. He was confused about why "Conor freaked out", and that it was "weird", especially since the fight is 3 months away, not 6 weeks away.

Conor's team asked if they could delay all the promotion until May, but they already arranged for every fighter to come to Vegas during 197, and had plans for expensive commercials and the tour, so Dana basically told Conor absolutely not, you come to Vegas or you are off the card.

He also made the point that all the greats promote their fights: Muhammad Ali promoted his fight, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, all of them promoted their fights, its mandatory.

The host also asked Dana if it was too late for Conor to change his mind and stay on 200. Dana chuckled and said "well, if he calls me right after this interview, then we'll probably do it".

Good. Dana was once great for the sport. Now he is killing it. These guys need a union and to be paid more on average outside of advertisements. Dana should say any fighter who wins a title or fights 15 matches in ufc gets lifetime health insurance. The guy makes way too much money not to give back especially for what fighters put on the line.

USADA isn't messing around. They sent a rep to a very remote small town in Russia to give a surprise test to Albert Tumenov

Not sure if this is legit, but I'm pretty sure it's from Conor's Facebook page

I am just trying to do my job and fight here.
I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote.
I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting.
There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.
50 world tours, 200 press conferences, 1 million interviews, 2 million photo shoots, and at the end of it all I'm left looking down the barrel of a lens, staring defeat in the face, thinking of nothing but my incorrect fight preparation. And the many distractions that led to this.
Nothing else was going through my mind.
It is time to go back and live the life that got me this life.
Sitting in a car on the way to some dump in Conneticut or somewhere, to speak to Tim and Suzie on the nobody gives a **** morning show did not get me this life.
Talking to some lady that deep down doesn't give a **** about what I'm doing, but just wants some sound bites so she can maybe get her little tight ass a nice raise, and I'm cool with that too, I've been giving you all raises. But I need to focus on me now.
I'm coming for my revenge here.
I flew an entire team to Portugal and to Iceland to make my adjustments in preparation and fix my errors I made with the weight and the cardio prep.
With the right adjustments and the right focus, I will finish what I started in that last fight.
I will not do this if I am back on the road handing out flyers again.
I will always play the game and play it better than anybody, but just for this one, where I am coming off a loss, I asked for some leeway where I can just train and focus. I did not shut down all media requests. I simply wanted a slight adjustment.
But it was denied.
There had been 10 million dollars allocated for the promotion of this event is what they told me.
So as a gesture of good will, I went and not only saved that 10 million dollars in promotion money, I then went and tripled it for them.
And all with one tweet.
Keep that 10 mill to promote the other bums that need it. My shows are good.
I must isolate myself now.
I am facing a taller, longer and heavier man. I need to prepare correctly this time.
I can not dance for you this time.
It is time for the other monkeys to dance. I've danced us all the way here.
Nate's little mush head looks good up on that stage these days. Stuff him in front of the camera for it.
He came in with no shit to do that last one. I'd already done press conferences, interviews and shot the ads before RDA pulled out.
Maybe I'll hit Cabo this time and skull some shots pre-fight with no obligation.
I'm doing what I need for me now.
It is time to be selfish with my training again. It is the only way.
I feel the $400million I have generated for the company in my last three events, all inside 8 months, is enough to get me this slight leeway.
I am still ready to go for UFC 200.
I will offer, like I already did, to fly to New York for the big press conference that was scheduled, and then I will go back into training. With no distractions.
If this is not enough or they feel I have not deserved to sit this promotion run out this one time, well then I don't know what to say.
For the record also -
For USADA and for the UFC and my contract stipulations -
I AM NOT RETIRED.

So I guess the fight is still on?

Rumors are he wants to promote his own fights.


Like the ufc is gonna go for that ROFL

And FTR I can see where he's coming from somewhat.

I completely see where he is coming from with him wanting to focus on training and not TV interviews.

I'm guessing he won't have to do the whole media thing and will still fight at 200.

But we will see

It really wouldn't shock me to know the whole thing is a set up to generate PPV buys.

Is anyone really all that excited to see a rematch exhibition fight? I want to see McGregor vs Edgar or something of meaning.

I think they will either rebook the fight for 201, or they will tell him to start training to defend against Aldo/Edgar in the Fall. I don't think they will let him headline 200 now after flaking out on them. Maybe he could have talked his way out of doing more than a token amount of media for 202 or something, but he signed on to headline freaking UFC 200, of course he has to do a lot of promoting.

Apparently the UFC offered to fly him out to all 3 cities on a private jet, have gyms waiting for him at each spot so he can keep training, then fly him home and he still said no. I can picture Dana at that point throwing his hands up and saying "fine, **** him then, maybe we can get Jon Jones/DC to headline"

I think they are waiting to see how it goes tomorrow, if Jon Jones easily beats OSP with minimal damage, they'll probably set that up.

I think it's pretty well known that I believe they are both idiots

I read that earlier today, too. I really don't like Conor at all and was looking forward to watching Nate kick the shit out of him.

wut?
you gotta be ****ing KIDDING ME!?
I wanna see that bitch get beat up again...after he "fully prepares".

I'm at the airport with my son, waiting for our flight to Vegas to watch 197. Pretty pumped to be doing this with him!

Hope you have fun man.

Ben Henderson getting absolutely handled by Koreshkov in Bellator.

He ate some heavy shots and kept coming, but was a weight class too small and couldn't do much of anything. He should go back to 155.

Somewhat, I guess. But he has to realize that if he wants to be great, this is part of it.

All of the greats found time to train AND promote.

Why is it so difficult for him.

I think he just knows he's about to get that ass spanked again.