Tag: Khabib Nurmagomedov

All Hell Breaks Loose at UFC 223 Media Day as Conor McGregor and His Crew Blitz Fighters’ Caravan, McGregor Now In Police Custody

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So there honestly isn’t a great “article” out there detailing what happened yesterday but the good folks at Sherdog have an interesting social media and youtube breakdown that gives you not only a first person view of what went on, but a surreal one at that as you see and hear multiple UFC fighters as basically people at their jobs thrown into a chaotic situation.

The story itself goes like this: All of the UFC 223 fighters were at the Barclays Center for “media day”, where they sit and take numerous interviews from every outlet imaginable in the MMA world and beyond in order to promote their fight and the event. I know this is not what this blog is about but I’d like to address this is as grueling as it sounds. In the middle of a weight cut and 2 days away from a cage fight and you have to spend the whole day answer the same questions over and over.

Anyway, after media day the fighters were in a couple of vans, located under the Barclay’s where team buses normally are, waiting to go back to the hotel they were staying at. Unbeknownst to the fighters, security, etc. reps from The Mac Life, Conor McGregor’s website and branding campaign(s), had media credentials and thus access to the area where the caravan of vehicles was. McGregor apparently had taken exception to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s altercation with Artem Lobov, Khabib’s statement about there being one king after Saturday, being stripped of his belt in general, a combination of all of the above, or something else entirely and had flown across the Goddam Atlantic Ocean to rectify the situation. The folks from The Mac Life let him and a dozen or so of his crew, Lobov included, in a side door or something and they attacked the van Khabib was in. They threw some trash cans and barricades and God knows what else at the van. One projectile demolished one of the windows, cutting both Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg, who were sitting next to it, causing them to be pulled from their fights tomorrow. Something else cracked a windshield. This was all after McGregor’s crew demanded that somebody get off the van to confront them, most likely Khabib.

In the videos above you can see the look of absolute shock and confoundment in Ray Borg’s face. Like “is this happening?” You can hear Joanna Jedrzejczyk say something with the same amount of disbelief. Like I said it’s surreal. Another video from IG taken by someone in a Starbucks near or in the Barclay’s shows McGregor and his people running out of the building and into a large SUV. He was at large for awhile before surrendering and being taken into police custody around 10:30pm EST last night when he realized he’d probably be charged. I mean, shit. To be 29, at the height of your powers, a multi-millionaire many times over, and have an entire sport in your hand only to pull some shit like this is beyond stupid.

Who knows what was going through his head. Aside from the criminal charges, which will actually probably net out to some fines or what not when you think about it, there is a laundry list of other consequences that Conor will probably face. All of them of course are “probable” as it Conor McGregor after all. He’ll probably be suspended by the UFC itself. Dana White already said he’s not a fan of being in the CM business right now. He’ll probably be suspended by the NYSAC, which will be enforced by all athletic commissions in the United States. Whether or not you think athletic commissions overstep is a debate for another time, it’s probably happening. Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg could absolutely seek damages for their lost fight money as they have been pulled. The same could actually be said for their opponents, Anthony Pettis and Brandon Moreno. To that extent, while not the marquee fights on the card, losing them and the Lobov-Caceres fight, cancelled due to Lobov being pulled for his actions, could cost the UFC some money which means the UFC could go after Conor monetarily as well. It’s just a mess of shit that could rain down on him and that is just what comes off the top of my head as O, Idk, someone who isn’t a fucking lawyer.

The TL:DR of this blog is staggering: Conor and his buddies attack a group of UFC fighters on a van resulting in 3 fights being cancelled, two fighters being CUT BY BROKEN GLASS, and McGregor himself being arrested. Dana White called it “the most digusting” incident in UFC history and he may not be wrong, it really has been hard to process. It will be interesting to see as McGregor’s legal and professional battle unfold what the ramifications will be for the winner of tonight’s Main Event and the UFC as a whole. He didn’t come here to take part. He came here to cause chaos.

The Fight Gods Care Little For Jesus of Nazareth, 86 Ferguson- Khabib For The Fourth Time On Easter

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Please sit back for a moment and close your eyes. Remember back to simpler time. It was last Thursday or Friday. And as you found any and all possible ways to not do any work or go to the gym thereafter, you possibly read yours truly’s blog proposing Strapping Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov to their own beds for the good of this fight. Well, they were not tied to their beds, and now that fight is again off.

Please review the following material as a brief interlude:

Thank you. Now, I’m sure what to say at this point. Apparently, Tony Ferguson slipped on a production set while doing media and tore his LCL. We know this because he released a statement detailing just that, with of course the first letter of every word capitalized because again, he’s awkward and tries too hard. But man, what a fight that would be if EVER ACTUALLY FUCKING HAPPENED.

Instead the Sort Of Interim 155 Pound Belt will be on the line this Saturday, and will be fought for by Khabib and 145lb Champ Max Holloway. “Blessed” is long and rangy and has even discussed a future move to 155 as the featherweight weight cut gets harder and harder. However, I can’t see him stopping the onslaught of “The Eagle”. Not on short notice. Not when Khabib is as dominant as he is. Khabib via UD or late finish is my guess here.

But back to the point of this, to close things out. Who knows why this fight is so jinxed or why they never make it to the cage. Both fighters have each pulled out twice so say they have to book it once more now at least to see if someone can even that score. It just sucks one of the best fights we could see this generation just seems 100% cursed.

Life is meaningless.

Brock Lesnar Probably In, Jon Jones Probably Out, And The State of UFC Headliners

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Sherdog – …During a hearing on Tuesday, the California State Athletic Commission revoked Jones’ license in the state and fined him 40 percent of his purse — $205,000 – from UFC 214. The revocation comes with a one-year period of ineligibility, meaning that Jones will not be able to reapply for a license until August at the earliest….“Let USADA give their discipline, when that’s completed, I’ll be inclined to support Jones in getting his license back,” CSAC Executive Officer Andy Foster said. “”I do not believe we should end Mr. Jones’ career today, but I do believe he should sit out for a while.”

sky sports – Lesnar is currently the WWE Universal champion but did not attend Raw this week…He was also absent from Sunday night’s Sky Sports Box Office event, Elimination Chamber, although he was not scheduled to appear, and was photographed in the host city Las Vegas with White…..That led to speculation that Lesnar will return to UFC after WrestleMania, and when asked on Sirius XM radio what the odds of that happening were, White said: “Very, very, very good.”

Express – Conor McGregor is reportedly in talks with the UFC to fight twice this year. That’s according to MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer, who last week revealed that negotiations between the UFC and their poster boy are going swimmingly. “The word is that negotiations with Conor McGregor are going well,” he wrote in his subscription-only newsletter.

It is surely a very odd time to be a UFC fan right now. It seems like the injury bug is biting everyone, including those at the top, and what seems to be compounding everything is that the few folks that could be counted on to carry a PPV simply aren’t around. In Brock Lesnar’s case, he hasn’t been for awhile, save a cameo at UFC 200. Jon Jones actually hasn’t been around much either, fighting once a year since 2014 and prefering weed, coke, hitting and running, and steroids to fighting, or so it seems. We’ll get to the man with the red panties later. What that makes for is this sort of holding period for the leader in MMA while they build up new superstars with peculiarly-placed headlining and co-headling bouts while biding their time with fan friendly duels between veterans and solid title fights that move divisions along the best they can.

There is a reason, after all, That previously barely-knowns Darren Till and Josh Emmett were both recently given quick turnaround, high profile fights (Till vs. Cowboy Cerrone, a success, Emmett vs. Jeremy Stepehens, not) after a noted highlight-reel knock out. The UFC is desperate to quickly build up names and star power, hoping to get one or more of the next generation of revenue generators into the title picture while they await Jones and Lesnar to cycle off and for Conor McGregor to stop slinging whiskey and shoes and get back in the gym.

This is the same reason behind Brian Ortega stepping in against Frankie Edgar in this weekend’s UFC 222 co-main event. Frankie Edgar has been a longtime top-10 pound for pound talent and has been breathing down the belt’s neck for awhile now, save for an admittedly lackluster performance against Jose Aldo at UFC 200. He could have either dropped from the card and waited for his title shot or faced a better known opponent, as it is rumored McGregor himself offered to step in to some capacity. However, Edgar has also proven to be willing and able to provide his services as the gatekeeper to the 145 top -3ish as well, e.g when he took on the highly-touted Yair Rodriguez last May. “The Answer” demolished Rodriguez, who was clearly not ready for what he had bitten off, and sent the prospect back home to catch up to the 36 year old veteran. Enter Ortega – coming off a convincing, if not a little sloppy, guillotine finish over perennial top-10 145er Cub Swanson. If Ortega is able to beat Frankie Edgar, it sets up a HUGE Featherweight Title fight between two of the best young fighters to come along in a who knows how long: Ortega and 145lb Champion Max Holloway. If he loses, it only cements Edgar’s claim to his title shot and his place among the featherweight elite. Either way, it clears the way for a big PPV headlining fight for the UFC; one less that they have to worry about.

Besides Till and Ortega, there are a few other guys you can be sure the UFC will try and build quickly over the next few months. At 170lbs with Till there is Santiago Ponzinibbio (Dana White doesn’t seem too pleased with the pace of a lot of Kamaru Usman’s fights and Colby Covington’s behavior is too erratic for the UFC to trust him yet; see Jones, Jonathan Dwight). At Middleweight, champion Robert Whitaker should be a household name soon if he can stay healthy, with stud Kelvin Gastelum, a 170-185lb tweener, always on the verge of stardom. There’s a bit of dearth in the heavier weight classes, but I could see Volkan Oezdemir sticking in the title picture and gaining popularity at 205. I could also see Aussie Tyson Pedro making the jump at some point, should he string together some wins. Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic should already be a star and the UFC is foolish to not have capitalized on his bankable skills and personality already. Up-and-comer Curtis Blaydes has star potential and pedigree and returning legend Cain Velsaquez has one more run in him should he stay healthy. In the lower weight classes, the Dillashaw-Garbrandt feud should be around awhile and a money maker. Jimmie Rivera and Marlon Moraes are also breathing down their necks at 135 lbs. 155lb is ready to blow up with Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez, and maybe some day Nate Diaz gunning for a part in the enjoyable feud between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov, with McGregor soon returning to join the fracas.

That paragraph, if you stuck around for it, was probably a long, boring read of a list of potential superstars who you probably don’t care about yet. But it illustrates my point that the lack of RIGHT NOW star power is not so much of a problem for the UFC if they can capitalize on what they have on their AAA team. With Lesnar possibly coming back to fill in a space and McGregor supposedly fighting twice this year, the UFC may only need a Fox card and a high-PPV spot for a couple of these guys to be pushed into contention and headliner status. If you are as much of an MMA nerd as I am, you’re also excited to see how it plays out.

 

5 Different Professional Fighters in The Ultimate Fighting Championship Have Simply Refused To Fight Zabit Magomedsharipov.

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Image result for zabit magomedsharipov

(He’s the one in the air, in case you didn’t draw that conclusion)

Sherdog –  The former Absolute Championship Berkut competitor took to Twitter to call out the likes of Myles Jury, Arnold Allen, Yair Rodriguez, Andre Fili and Artem Lobov for turning down a potential bout with him on April 7. According to Magomedsharipov, of those five only Lobov agreed to a fight — only to have his team decline.

Fuckin Dagestan, man. They just don’t want to stop producing the most terrifying MMA fighters alive. It’s bad enough when you have Khabib Nurmagomedov calmly telling fighters they don’t have a shot in hell and they need to give up so he can fight for the title – while reigning down hellfire elbows on their skulls. Now you have this GIGANTIC featherweight who is already such a problem two fights into his UFC career that the entire 145lb division has just said, nah, fuck that. Someone else do it. I mean look at those names above. Myles Jury (a former 155er btw), Yair Rodriguez, Andre Fili. Not only are those guys up there in terms of divisional standing (Fili aside, but he’ll be back into the Top 15), but they make their living going to Goddam WAR. They bring it. They’re all “anywhere, anyone, anytime” guys. That’s what makes this guy Magomedsharipov so special. He’s the limit. He’s where the rest of these guys said yaaaaaa anyone but him.

A little more on the man himself. He’s 14-1 with 12 finishes. His last two opponents – as aforementioned his first two in the UFC – both met their end via rear-naked choke. Also already mentioned, he is from the MMA factory known as the Republic of Dagestan. By “Republic” I mean Dagestan is a subject of Russia’s that sort of operates as it’s own thing because it would be too much of a pain in the ass for Russia to try and control them as much as some of their other regions. Given Dagestan’s proclivity for MMA, you can probably imagine why. A 6’1 featherweight,  when he is stateside (I don’t how often/constant that is) Magomedsharipov trains out of Ricardo Almeida BJJ amongst the likes of Edson Barboza and Frankie Edgar. That gym is known as one of the most underrated in the sport and a great spot for a 26 year natural. Apparently, maybe it’s a little too good for him because now no one wants to fight him.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. It’s hard enough for foreign fighters to rise up the UFC pecking order sometimes, for various reasons, without the road block of not being able to find an opponent. Let’s hope someone rises up soon to accept the challenge because this guy could be a part of the new wave at 145 along with Holloway and Ortega.

(Note: I wonder if between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Zabit Magomedsharipov Dougie will start putting a quota on how much text I can waste of names. Hope note.)

Here. We. Go. (Again) – Khabib Nurmagomedov Vs. Tony Ferguson Official For UFC 223 in Brooklyn

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So I didn’t hear this directly, but it is all over the “Toucher and Rich” twitter that this morning Dana White himself confirmed on the show – one of  Boston’s top morning sports-talk programs, for those not in the know – that The Eagle vs. Tony Ferguson will go down in Brooklyn at UFC 223. This also almost guarantees Conor McGregor will be “stripped” of his 155lb belt, as Dana White has previously alluded, and that this fight will be for the undisputed championship, not Ferguson’s as-previously billed-as Interim Title.

This is, I believe, something like the 4th time this fight has been booked in some capacity, the last being the infamous UFC 209 fiasco where Nurmagomedov couldn’t even show up for weigh-ins. With Tyler Minton now firmly entrenched as his trusted nutritionist, I’m actually pretty optimistic weight issues are in the past for the Dagestani. the venue is also of note, as the UFC is very well aware of Brooklyn’s large Russian population, something they’ve exploited in the past by having Nurmagomedov hold interviews there, etc.

It goes without saying that this fight is huge for the division, the UFC, and most directly, the two fighters involved. Whoever wins this fight is almost assuredly also the next winner of the McGregor sweepstakes, as White has also mentioned  that The Notorious would like to come back to the Octagon in the fall. His opponent, one would assume, would be the winner of this fight, giving McGregor an opportunity to win back the belt he was “stripped of” due to his elongated vacation from the cage. Whoever faces McGregor is now always expected to receive an inflated payday and permanent boost in stature, and it can be expected that the man who will emerge from this long-awaited clash of 155ers with a belt around his waist will see an even bigger bump than normal.

As for the UFC and the division, this fight will be a huge part of unweaving quite the web spun by McGregor’s absence, injuries to both competitors, and Nurmagomedov’s fight with the scale. As long as all goes to plan over the next 9-11 months, we will know, in no uncertain terms, who the top 3 Lightweights are, in order. This is not unimportant, as the Lightweight division has been historically one of the UFCs most storied, having been the home of legends like B.J Penn and Frankie Edgar. Their heir awaits them.

A Quick Prediction Regarding UFC 219, The Lightweight Division, And Its Champion(s?)

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Image result for khabib nurmagomedov
So UFC 219 is tonight and with it comes the return of one the most intriguing, frustrating fighters in UFC history: Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov. The dominant Dagestan-native is 24-0 and has long possessed a championship level grappling game with some great boxing to boot. However, he couldn’t even make it to weigh ins at UFC 209 which set in motion Tony Ferguson’s ascent to the Interim throne at 155 lbs while Conor McGregor was out collecting a $100 million payday from Floyd Mayweather. This all leads us to today, UFC 219 and Khabib’s fight against Edson Barboza, and in my honest-to-God suspicion, another step in the long term plan regarding the 155lb division and Conor McGregor….

Beyond being a championship level fighter, The Eagle is also a star/main event money maker in the making. His brutal ground and pound combined with his terse yet comical, Russian-accented mic skills make for an excellent package for the UFC and the man himself to cash in on in a big way. To that end, there really aren’t many fights that make sense right now for the Undisputed Lightweight Champion, Conor Mcgregor, to take. No offense to Tony Ferguson, who has built up quite the name for himself both in and outside the Octagon, but McGregor-Ferguson just isn’t a fight people are totally clamoring for yet.

What they are clamoring for, and have been, is Khabib Nurmagomedov’s shot at the belt and whoever holds it. He’s a draw already, even if his true superstar potential has yet to be reached. The UFC knows that. Conor knows that. Khabib knows that. So with Conor taking 2017 to box and Khabib not fighting until now due to an embarrassing failed weight cut at the aforementioned UFC 209 in March, they allowed the interim 155 belt to be decided. They let Tony due his thing. They gave Khabib time to get ready. What everyone wants -the UFC, Conor, Khabib, and A LOT of the fans – is for Khabib to win tonight against a verrrry tough Edson Barboza and then beat Tony for the right to fight Conor. Think about it. Why did Dana White recently say he hopes Conor is back by the summer? Conor is probably ready at a few months notice (Feb, March, April). As is Tony Ferguson, who recently had a minor surgery but shouldn’t be shelved too long. If they wanted to book that fight for the spring they could. OR, they could stall, let Khabib sort his shit out in the form of hiring rising star in the fighter nutrition/weight cut world Tyler Minton, win a couple fights, and book McGregor-Nurmagomedov for late summer/early fall. It makes too much sense for all involved.

Now this also comes with huge risks. I mean this all could play out the EXACT opposite, Edson Barboza could beat both The Eagle and Ferguson and make for an awkward contender for McGregor’s belt. Or Ferguson could win the already twice-cancelled fight between he and Nurmagomedov and McGregor and the UFC might have to eat that fight to find get to what’s next (again, hopefully, in their minds). Above and beyond all this, Nurmagomedov isn’t the most active fighter we’ve seen, having only fought 8 times in the almost 6 years he has been in the UFC. 3 fights in 6-9 months, let’s say, would be a drastic shift Combat Sambo World Champion.

In conclusion I think the last few months to a year in the 155 pound division represents a lot of business saavy from multiple parties who are doing all they can to set up a MASSIVE fight between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov. The next step to make that fight happens has to be taken by Khabib. Tonight.