Tag: MMA

Friday Afternoon Grab Bag

By on • ( Leave a comment )

I have ten minutes at work to kill so let’s go.

-I initially disagreed with Mattes’ blog about Dwayne Allen but then I really concentrated on exactly how much we are paying him and I am now enraged. What I texted him, and what I’ll share with you, is that you kind of have to compare his role on the team and contract to players of equals roles and their deals. My example was James Devlin, who lead blocks on just about every significant run play (I think I heard last week the Pats go with more 2 back sets than just about every other team) and now has added catching a key pass every now and again to his repertoire. He also makes a little more (in pro athlete terms) than a quarter of what Allen makes. Fuck that. Allen contributes significantly as a blocking tight end but not 4x of James Devlin significant.

-On the other hand, I respectfully disagree with the assessment of our pass rush. If you recall the hey day of the Pats dynasty, The D relied on a front seven that could hurry the hell out of a quarterback, forcing bad throws and picks (sup Ty Law and Asante Samuel) (No “sup” for you Ellis Hobbs III). We didn’t really fill up the stat sheet back then with sacks either. I think we are doing the same thing nowadays. Adrian Clayborn, for example, seems to be somewhere near the quarterback on a lot of significant pass plays. I’m fine where we’re at right now.

-I feel like there hasn’t been any press yet about “The Sisters Brothers”, a western that stars Gyllenhaal, C. Reilly, Phoenix, and Ahmed, among others. It looks like the shit.

-I’ve tried to get into “Big Mouth” the animated show by Nick Kroll and his childhood friend Andrew Goldberg about puberty and jerking off but just can’t. I guess it’s one of those litmus test shows like “Rick and Morty”, you either get it or you don’t.

-Khabib and Conor will both be suspended from the 15th to the 25th, when it will be decided if they will be suspended indefinitely pending an investigation. You can count on the indefinite suspension. Bob Bennett, the Commissioner of the NSAC is considered one of the more reasonable Commissioners and I don’t think he even can pass up an opportunity to show his power and self-importance. This could take awhile.

-Lewis vs. Cormier for the title at UFC 230 is the fight we deserve right now. I mean leeeet’s fuckin go. Should be a fun one. Sucks about Nate vs. Poirier though. I’d say the event itself nets out even. If both were still on, this would be a can’t-miss card.

-No word on the final fate of Zubair Tughukov, I’m thinking a suspension at this point.

-I know I’m forgetting something….

.

.

.

.

-O YA, THE YANKEES SUUUUUUCKKKK HAHAHAHA. O boy. Poor trash bags from the 5 burroughs with nothing to be proud of anymore. If you are in the tri-state area next couple weeks bottle some tears for me. Go Sox, indeed.

 

Khabib Nurmagomedov Drops Incendiary Instagram Post Directed at the UFC

By on • ( Leave a comment )

View this post on Instagram

I would like to address @ufc Why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family? Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started. In any case, punish me, @zubairatukhugov has nothing to do with that. If you think that I’ll keep silent then you are mistaken. You canceled Zubaira’s fight and you want to dismiss him just because he hit Conor. But don’t forget that it was Conor who had hit my another Brother FIRST, just check the video. if you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother. If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'll break it myself. And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding. You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat. We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing. We intend to go to the end. #Brothers

A post shared by Khabib Nurmagomedov (@khabib_nurmagomedov) on

Holy. Mother. Fuck. Khabib Nurmagomedov is is reaaaaalllly not kidding around folks. While I sit here and try and wrap my head around the situation in order to write an even mildly coherent commentary, I think that it is important to note that this whole debacle is going to be impossible for the UFC to get right. There are just too many players, too many events, and too many questions to address.

For instance – what do you put more weight, on the past or the present? Yes, the entire melee involving Khabib and his team was wrong and a bad look for the sport. That much is undeniably true and it can’t go unpunished…..except for the fact that six months ago Conor McGregor got off scot-fucking-free, at least in terms of the Athletic Commission and the UFC, for throwing metal objects through bus windows, injuring two fighters, who had no involvement in any kind of beef with McGregor by the way, to the point where they could no longer compete and earn an income that weekend. So if you didn’t punish Conor for that, how can you really punish Khabib or his teammates for this when at least no foreign objects were used and no one was critically injured?

Image result for conor mcgregor bus attack

Next there is the fact that Conor McGregor came after Khabib’s religion, father, homeland, nationality (this is a long fucking lists), etc. Now to a lot of Americans, including my lapsed Catholic ass who doesn’t put a ton of weight on the fluid idea of the “nuclear family”, Conor engaged in the same over-the-top shit talking he always does. But it was just that to us, shit talking. We cannot comprehend what it means to a proud Dagestani Muslim from humble beginnings to hear his next opponent thrash the very fabric of his being like that. It just doesn’t compute in our brains. I guarantee you it has been overwhelmingly hard for Khabib to watch and hear Conor these past few months. If you think about it, he is absolutely stoic. Imagine the volcano bubbling inside of him in order to finally have him snap last Saturday?

One of the things that makes Khabib Nurmagomedov so intriguing is that he is a throw back. He fights to challenge himself. He fights for honor. He fights to prove he is the best. He fights to fight. Indeed it must be a mind-fuck, in the age of the money fights and the red panty nights, for the UFC to come up with a compromise with their champion, possibly the greatest lightweight ever (we don’t know that yet), when he states pretty clearly money does not matter to him here. They can choke on it, is what he pretty much says. It reminds me of Frank Costello’s remark about Billy Costigan’s Dad, “He never wanted money. You can’t do anything with a man like that.” Now, having finally arrived in the age of MMA fighters demanding to be paid, Khabib sees red over his teammates’ professional fate, not green from his greatest triumph.

Dana White is a stubborn man so I have no doubt Tukhugov is or will be cut. If I had to guess I’d say they’ll do what they did with Artem Lobov and just re-sign him somewhere soon down the line.  I actually don’t know if Lobov was ever even formally cut or not. I do know that many more members were added to Team Khabib last Saturday and that the UFC would be well suited to do all they can to keep that large, global team happy. I’m not saying don’t punish anyone, but keep in mind your past transgressions when it comes to these sorts of mishaps. Because now The Eagle has come home to roost.

-Joey B

QUICK P.S: This was not meant to be anti-Conor at all. Big Conor fan too. However Khabib’s current issue with the UFC has to be seen in the context of both his beef with McGregor and in McGregor’s past actions.

 

 

Khabib Nurmagomedov Loses His Mind at UFC 229, Jumps Into the Crowd to Fight Conor McGregor’s Teammate

By on • ( Leave a comment )

You talk shit long enough and sooner or later someone’s going to make you pay for it. That’s exactly what happened last night at UFC 229 as Conor McGregor got submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov via rear naked choke in the 4th Round. It was a humbling loss in a fight that McGregor was outclassed in on the ground. He never got into a rhythm and was unable to land enough strikes to ever really faze Khabib who just methodically took McGregor down time and time again with superior grappling skills.

The end right?

Not exactly.

Rather than revel in the victory Khabib instead lost his shit. He literally jumped out of the octagon and attacked, what the broadcast team ID’d as, McGregor’s jiu jitsu coach. A guy who just defended his crown and snuffed a loudmouth literally jumped the fence to fight a guy in the crowd. Then all hell broke loose and you could hear Joe Rogan’s legit concern on the broadcast, “No, no, no, don’t do this!”

It was like a scene straight out of the WWE, but this was anything but fake. Khabib’s buddy and fellow champion Daniel Cormier even had to come out of the crowd in an effort to calm the dude down.

Worst of all, what appeared to be one of Khabib’s teammates jumped INTO the ring and sucker punched McGregor from behind, who was up until that point not participating in the chaos.

I’m sure Dana White was counting the PPV sales in his head for a rematch, but he told Khabib you are not getting this belt in front of this crowd right now.

To be fair, McGregor talked shit for weeks leading up to the fight, and there was the whole Brooklyn bus incident so a lot of people in my twitter mentions were saying Conor got what he deserved. But last night was different, the post fight mayhem was just dirtier.

Khabib had a press conference somewhere past my bedtime and while he did offer an apology, he still didn’t seem to understand the issue with what had just happened.

“I no understand how people can talk about I jump on cage,” Nurmagomedov said. “He talk about my religion, he talk about my country, he talk about my father. He come to Brooklyn, and he broke bus. He almost kill a couple people, worry about this (expletive). Why people talk about I jump on cage? Why people still talk about this? I no understand. My California seven years. Everybody know who I am. All my friends. Everybody who know me, they know who I am.”

Listen, it’s cage fighting. Naturally the sport is going to attract some crazy fellas, but brawling with people in the crowd while your teammate is sucker punching a fighter in the octagon is a bad, bad look for Team Khabib.

Three of Khabib’s teammates were arrested after the shenanigans, but it seems like everyone agreed to just call it a night.

“Per UFC president Dana White, the three members of Khabib’s team that were directly involved in the post-fight brawl were taken into custody, but were subsequently released after McGregor decided not to press charges. He also confirmed that Khabib’s cheque has been withheld by the Commission.”

Wild, wild night and McGregor’s already planning for a rematch.

The 300s Official UFC 229 Preview

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Here we are folks. The eve of the single most monumental, true, blue, “who is the best in the world who weighs this much” fight in MMA history. Members of the media, etc. have stated as much and I do indeed agree. Sure, there has been a puzzling absence of press and promotion for this fight, but like in days of yore, all that matters is that they will definitely deliver in the cage.

The main event of UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor, seems to have been written in the starts dating back years, when the rising, still slightly anonymous man from the Northern Caucasus seemed destined to steamroll his way to an eventual title shot. That shot, even back as far as 2015, would most like likely be against the brash Irishman who everyone wanted to be booked against – either for the pay day, the legacy, or both.

Both of our headliners, of course, face their first test today around noon when they meet “The Scale”. Although Nurmagomedov is the one with the history of weight issues, neither man enjoys the cut to 155lbs, which adds an additional layer of drama.

UFC 229 also serves up a helping of additional quality fights in all shapes and sizes – some divisionally-meaningful, some MMA nerd friendly, some of the “just bleed” variety. Therefore, after addressing the main event, I will very briefly touch on the rest of the main card plus one more to give this entire event it’s due and proper.

Shall we?

The Main Event – Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Conor McGregor

Lightweight (155lbs) Title Fight

Image result for khabib conor face offIn one hand of our main event we have Conor McGregor, the bombastic, charismatic, electric former two-division champion. Aside from his accolades inside the cage and in the PPV buys record books, he has single-handedly brought MMA further into mainstream consciousness than any of his predecessors combined.

On the other hand is Khabib Nurmagomedov, who is every bit what you’d think his former-USSR origins would beget – stoic, calculated, direct, and harboring a simmering inner fury that is simply terrifying.

Stylistically, thank the MMA Gods again, we have been blessed with a fight between polar opposites. McGregor is a dynamic, one of a kind striker. He is capable of throwing a powerful side kick, lightning fast spinning kicks, and speedy combos from a rhythmic, bouncing crouch. Alternatively, he can slither forward in his wide, southpaw stance, slipping everything on earth in anticipation of firing off his patented bolt stunner of a left hand. His grappling, although much maligned thanks to a submission to Nate Diaz to go with the pair he suffered pre-UFC, has steadily improved since the first Diaz fight and the wrestling clinic Chad Mendes put him through before that. It’s worth noting, of course, that the late-notice replacement Mendes tired down the stretch and got knocked out.

The Upside Down to McGregor’s Hawkins, Khabib Nurmagomedov is what has become known as a typical Dagestani wreslting machine, albeit the best of the bear wrestling best with a few additional tricks up his sleeve. On the feet, he is willing and able to change his approach based on his opponent, from the jab seminar he put Al Iaquinta through to the 1-2s he used against Michael Johnson. His knock of course is his straight back and forth footwork coupled with occasionally limited head movement. This is to say he gets hit, sometimes kind of a bit too much. All of this standing and trading of course is only done to set up the inevitable take down, which usually comes via a beautifully brutal double leg. It should be noted here that anywhere from the middle of the octagon to against the cage Nurmagomedov has an unlimited arsenal of throws and take downs, he just prefers the double. From there, “The Eagle” becomes arguably the best, and definitely the most physically dominant, top position fighter in MMA. He uses slick passes, heavy pressure, and shockingly repressive strength to get into position to begin reining merciless elbows, punches, and hammerfists down on his opponents. Also of note, if he gets a back or side position, he is an expert user of the wrist ride to confound and torque his opponents into a position where he can again begin pounding away or hit a submission such as the kimura he tapped Johnson with. It’s brutal folks. It made DII all-American Abel Trujillo, held prostrate on the ground, throw his hands up in frustration to the ref as if to say “is this even legal?”

So, striker or grappler? As with many of these I have to pick head vs. heart. My heart lies with Dagestan’s favorite son. I have to say, I fucking love Khabib. With that said, he indeed gets hit. And Conor knocks. People. The fuck. Out. So as much as I hope the opposite. I have go with the man from Erin.

The Pick: Conor McGregor wins via KO (Rd1). Becomes new UFC Lightweight Champion

 

Co-Main Event: Tony Ferguson vs. Anthony Pettis

Lightweight (155lb) Fight

This one, for me at least, is just a little sad to pick. Former division champ Pettis had an “I’m back” moment when he submitted Michael Chiesa in July, but as good as he looked in that fight his Achilles heel has always been that he shits the bed when he is being backed up. Although I kind of hate Tony Ferguson and his played out antics, he DRIVES forward. Ferguson is also a very good wrestler, something which Pettis also struggles with. There could be a silver lining here for Pettis, for as good of a grappler Ferguson is, “Showtime” has a knack for tapping out higher ranked/thought of mat men such as the aforementioned Chiesa as well as Benson Henderson. That said, that’s a little too much to wish for.

The Pick: Tony Ferguson wins via Submission (Brabo Choke) – (Rd2)

Dominick Reyes vs. Ovince St. Preux

Light-Heavyweight (205lb) Fight

This one will get mighty interesting if it gets to the ground, what with OSP loving to Von Flue Choke people for some bizarre reason and everything. With that said, OSP is a sneaky-slow starter on the feet. Although he throws early and often, I find it to be without a lot of commitment. I think Reyes mauls him after some feeling out.

The Pick: Dominick Reyes wins via KO (RD2)

Alexander Volkov vs. Derrick Lewis

Heavyweight (265lb) Fight

Someone is most likely losing consciousness in this one. Volkov is 5-0 since joining the UFC including 2 KOs in his last 2 fights. Lewis is two for his last two but has looked sluggish and sort of uninterested. Turns out his back has been completely fucked and he hasn’t up to this point ever…really…trained? Throw that all in a pot and stir it up and I think the towering Volkov get’s a bit cocky here.

The Pick – Derrick Lewis wins via KO (RD1)

 

Michelle Waterson vs. Felice Herrig

Strawweight (115lb) Fight

Here we have a pivotal match-up in the Women’s Strawweight Division. Both fighters are top-115lbers but a few wins away from a title shot. Herrig is coming off a loss after four wins, Waterson a win after two losses. Although Herrig probably has the edge on the ground due to both skill and size over the natural atomweight Waterson, both prefer to stand and trade.  This is honestly a complete toss up so I’m going to just stop typing and pick.

The Pick: Michelle Waters wins via split decision.

As I mentioned, one more for the hell of it?

Jussier “Formiga” da Silva vs. Sergio Pettis

Flyweight (125lb) Fight

This could honestly be a Flyweight #1 Contender’s fight if Henry Cejudo didn’t have plans to fight T.J Dillashaw, possibly even for that very 125lb belt, next. Anyway, here we have the perennial (although finally arrived) young gun, if there is such a thing, vs. the World’s premier back taker. You know what? I’ll stop there.

The Pick: “Formiga” wins via submission (Rd2)

So that’s it folks. My fingers are bleeding and I’m emotionally exhausted and the Goddamn fights are a whole day away. Therefore, I don’t have much of a sign-off in me. My recommendation: take a minute for yourself over the next 36 hours. Take some deep breaths. Really come to understand what we are about to witness. It’s a historical event. Here. We. Go.

-Joey B

Early Morning Grab Bag – October 2nd, 2018

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Note: I kind of enjoyed doing this last time so I am going to try and mix in one a week. Maybe I’ll get a regular day going at some point but not really possible with my schedule right now

–The Patriots did in fact play very well Sunday. I am still not ready to anoint them as Super Bowl contenders again though, yet. There is that something just missing. I guess I just don’t see us cruising to February by dumping the ball to James White and hoping rookie CBs continue lose Cordarrelle Patterson, maybe the worst route runner in football, in the maelstrom of an 11-on-11 football game. Add that to the fact that Gronk has been just less Gronk-like and I don’t know, I’m still worried. The D did look a lot better though and I think that group will continue to improve as weeks go on. But to end back on Offense, next week is the return of the Prince, the Boss….

Image result for julian edelman

 

-Soooo this just popped up:

Whaaaaaat do you know. The guy who signed the MASSIVE extension suddenly just isn’t happy to be in New York. No one, and I mean NO ONE saw this one coming. Truly remarkable. Honestly though I can’t even imagine who has the cap space and that much of a need to bring him aboard. Seattle maybe? I really don’t know? More to come I suppose.

–Khabib vs. Conor is this Saturday which is crazy considering, again, the lack of overall press. They will do, as is customary, another press conference this Thursday, a little over 48 hours before they fight. Huge controversy in The 300s back-channels arose when it was discovered that despite massive hat sales Red would not be flying me out there credentialed. Kind of a missed opportunity but it’s fine. I’ll have my full UFC 229 write up posted sometime Thursday.

–Tom Hardy’s “Venom” movie is coming out, or came out, or something. This is the most perplexing movie pickle I’ve ever been in. I’m just not a comic book movie guy. I’ve explained off-blog but while I am not going to hate on them, they just don’t do it for me. On the other hand, I fucking love Tom Hardy, so what do I do? Add to it the fact that he is kind of a weirdo and could quit at any moment and I probably will end up at least On Demanding it at some point.

(This kills me every time)

Image result for tom hardy the look you give when your phone is plugged in across the room

–To stick with movies, the first trailer got released of Taron Egerton (Eggsy from the “Kingsman” franchise) playing and singing as Elton John. This one should actually be really cool, I thought this kid would have blown up long before this.

–In TV, both “Shameless” Season 9 and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Season 13 have DESTROYED so far so get on that if you haven’t yet. While the former may be tough to just dive into, I think anyone with a brain could catch a random episode of “Sunny” and still have a good time. It’s honestly a timeless show.

–The first episode for this season of “South Park” also aired and…my Lord. (It was very funny).

–Watch Bill Burr’s “F Is For Family” finally and thank me later.

–Lindsay Lohan thought (see: jumped to an outraaageous conclusion based off of literally nothing) that a couple of refugee kids (in Russia I think?) walking with their Mom were actually being kidnapped and sold into sex trafficking and tried to save them or something. The Mom promptly punched her directly in the face. You should probably find the video, it’s wild. Girl is off the reservation. What’s more she is speaking in I think at times both Russian and Arabic as well as English in a Russian accent. This is very soon after she was asked why on earth she was speaking with an Irish accent. On Wednesdays we wear straight jackets.

–To end with some more #sports, Le’veon Bell has annouced he’ll report for Week 7, which is two weeks from now. This is just after he said “sure won’t” upon seeing fellow hold out Earl Thomas risk playing and probably end his career on account of breaking his leg in a game. I’m not sure what Bell’s play is here apart from the Steelers possibly telling him that another team is making an offer but wants him to show up first to make sure he’s committed to football in some capacity.
*************************************************************************************

Welp, that’s it for me for now. I’ll be back this afternoon for the fantasy football round up but other than that I got nothing apart from trying to not get fired for the next two working days while I spend all my time on the UFC229 write up. Ts and Ps for your boy.

Oh, also, apart from the night of said fisticuffs, I’ll be participating in Sober October this year. 99% 100% of my friends are booze bags so if you have any suggestions of what in the fuck I should doing for the next ~30 days please let me know. Please?

Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier Have Decided They’re Fighting for a New 165lb Title for Their Own Damn Selves

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Well look what we have here folks, a good old fashioned case of MMA Constanza-ing. Just go ahead and do it, make it known you’re doing tit, and don’t stop until someone physically stops you.

Now, Dana White has indeed done just that, stating these lunatics have in no way, shape, or form the power to make this match or create this title, let alone sanction it. Still, you never know. “The Diamond” and the 209’s favorite younger brother could go all baclyard wrestling on our asses and just say fuck you, slap together their own title belt and call it the 165lb title. Come to think of it Eddie Alvaez would probably LOVE that idea, tell ONE , who he has been in deep talks with, to go fuck themselves, and race back to the U.S to fight the winner. Soon enough Dana will have a full-fledged mutiny on his hands as the best 155ers and smaller 170lbers will be clamoring to fight seemingly random guys for a fake title. CHAOS JERRY! CHAOS!

So maybe I got a little carried away there but still, it is pretty funny that out of frustration with the UFC trying to make something out of jack shit to call a “main event” when the co-main is made up of two studs, these guys have said fuck you we are claiming main event status. Straight up UFC PPV prima nocte. I’m into too. I don’t want to get too heavy into the subject but I’m not one of these wads who says there are already too many divisons. Fuck that. Why not have more titles and healthier fighters? 165 is a great idea. So is 225.

Either way, the real main event for UFC 230 is now Diaz-Poirier for the People’s 165lb Title. Death or glory, people. Death or glory.

A Bunch Of Stuff Has Happened Over The Last Couple Of Days So I’m Going To Comment On All Of It Here

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Image result for reading the newspaper

-First, sad news that broke early this morning/last night, Japanese MMA legend Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 41 and only announced he was fighting the disease in late August. Kid wracked up a 17-1 record, defeating Caol Uno, Bibiano Fernandes, Genki Sudo, and Rani Yahya, among others, before retiring in 2007. He came back 2 years later not even half the fighter he once was and had mixed results, including 4 losses in the UFC. However at 5’3 and about 140 lbs naturally, Kid fought at Lightweight (155lbs) most of his career and was an absolute beast. Rest easy to a true legend of the sport.

-In other MMA news, UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley was notified of a potential out of competition PED violation stemming from a test administered on 8/5, a little over a month before his successful title defense against Darren Till on 9/8. This could be a huge blow to Woodley personally as he has fought like hell to prove he is legit. Pissing hot is not going to help his case and will only strengthen the voice of his detractors. Good thing USADA ties these situations up quickly….

-Any jackass who says Joaquin Phoenix could even sniff Heath Ledger’s jock when it comes to playing the Joker should not be allowed to produce offspring. This would be like having someone else play Daniel Plainview.

-To stick with entertainment, “Game of Thrones” took down Best Series and my motherfucking MAN Peter Dinklage aka Tyrion Lannister took down Best Supporting Actor in a very well deserved nod considering the work he has put in on that show. I remember, two or three seasons ago, some MIT kids did some formulas and IDK some shit with beakers or something and determined the three “main” characters of “Game Of Thrones” were actually Khaleesi, Arya, and believe it or not, Tyrion, and his many internal and external struggles. The greatest achievement in TV history (notice I didn’t say “best show”, relax) wouldn’t be the same without him.

-Bill Hader also won for “Barry” (which you should watch) but Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman both got the shaft for “The Sinner” (which you should realllllllly watch).

-I love the Pats’ acquisition of Josh Gordon. I’ve heard the “he hasn’t done anything in 5 years take” and am infatuated with how dumb it is. He’s still only 27, did not take any hits during his time away from the game, and has showed in the glimpses we HAVE seen him that he is probably the most physically gifted receiver in the NFL. Think about it this way: literally all he has to do to not make this a colossal mistake on New England’s part is to just not kill like, 4 people. Legit that’s it and we’ve already broken even. NOT SO HARD JOSH.

-I’m just seeing this but RIP to Marcus Smart’s mom and a big “hang in there” to Smart from us at the 300’s. Brutal loss. She raised one hell of a player.

-In news from Capitol Hill….haha nah I’m playin.

 

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are Finally Having a Press Conference

By on • ( Leave a comment )

MMAJunkie – To this point, things have been quiet on the promotional front for the UFC 229 lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

That’s about to change.

The UFC announced today that next week, Sept. 20, a press conference with UFC President Dana White, Nurmagomedov and McGregor will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

There are two, no three, actually four things to consider at the outset of this story:

1.) This very well may be the biggest fight in UFC history.
2.) The UFC has become known for promoting the hell out of their bigger fights; cooking up absolute juggernauts to throw gigantic bankrolls behind in order to reap the even bigger returns.
3.) Conor himself usually subsidizes the UFC’s promotion with his own tidal wave of social media shit talking, interview soliloquy’s, and released, ominous training footage.
4.) There has been precisely MINIMAL promotion for this fight so far. Not from the UFC. Not from Conor. Not from Conor’s “team” (I hate that concept and phrase) who are also usually a promotion vehicle in and of themselves. Virtual radio silence on the part of everyone.

So this press conference was announced this week and by the time it occurs we will be a little more than two weeks out from the fight itself. That is, again, possibly the biggest fight in UFC history. At Madison Square Garden. For Conor to stay quiet is one thing. He has that whole “throwing a dolly at a bus and injuring people” thing to deal with. Sure, he is still Conor Fucking McGregor and so it is a bit odd for him to stay silent because of anything. I can’t help but wonder if he has something saved up his sleeve for when the fight is that much more imminent.

While we have excuses and possible explanations for Conor, for those that follow the business-side of MMA and the art form that is the UFC promoting MMA, the company’s silence is absolutely mind boggling. Barely any social media coverage. No “On Demand” ads that I’ve seen so far. I don’t want to go so far as to question whether or not the UFC has faith the fight will go down, but what the hell else explains this? For Mayweather-McGregor there was a 6 month, international press tour. This may not be THAT big, objectively, but it is the biggest thing MMA has to offer and features 2 internationally born and beloved fighters, so what gives?

I don’t know. I honestly don’t have a clue except to maybe speculate that Conor and the UFC are on the same page and are going to see what happens when they wait for a couple weeks out to both light the fire and throw 310 pounds of gas on it. But is that even enough time to REALLY get people excited? I’m not sure it is.

We can ask, wonder, ruminate, and ponder all we want but in the end on September 20th the two best 155ers in the world will be on the same stage, speaking in wonderfully distinct accents, discussing what should be a monumental fight and a bona fide game changer in terms of the landscape of 155 pounds and beyond. Nothing will be the same after the first Saturday in October.

Here. We. Go.

-Joey B.

 

Soooo McGregor vs. Nurmagomedov Is Basically ON

By on • ( Leave a comment )

If this isn’t an “I’m Back” tweet then IDK what is. After two years away from the cage Conor McGregor will be returning to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in what might be the biggest MMA fight of all time.

Early prediction? I have no fucking clue. Khabib has mauled every last opponent thrown his way. Minus getting some ring rust shaken off him by a VERY fast Michael Johnson he has looked a man amongst boys. But it’s Conor man, it’s fuckin Conor. He has earned 9 figures making people look like folks for doubting him.

HERE. WE. GO.

The 300’s Official UFC 227 Preview

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Happy Diaz vs. Poirier Day! BUT CONCENTRATE. This weekend we have a fantastic card on our hands ladies and gents. We have two title fights and a lot more beautiful violence to cover so if you don’t mind, I’m not gonna be about the bullshit today.

The Main Event

T.J Dillashaw (C) vs. Cody Garbrandt – Bantamweight (135lbs) Title Fight

When you really sit back and think about it the first and last time T.J Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt fought was a perfect encapsulation of who they were then as fighters.  Garbrandt was a slick as hell boxer with a cannon of a right hand and who had probably gotten just a little too cocky for his own good. That said, if you had grown up on the wrong side of the poverty line in Nowhere, OH and had risen to be the undefeated Bantamweight Champion of the UFC, you might have too.

Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw was (and is) a world-class MMA kickboxer and had on his side the confidence that he never really lost his title, despite what the UFC and Massachusetts State Athletic Commission said.

Dillashaw won fight 1, as we all know. After getting knocked down by a Garbrandt sledgehammer, overhand right and potentially saved by the bell at the end of RD1, “Killashaw” came back to make “No Love” pay for his arrogance, ending his night with a head kick not long after.

All of the above makes this fight REALLY tough to pick, especially when you finally acknowledge, in the 4th paragraph of a blog, the animosity between these two guys. I’ve never believed an MMA feud more than this. They hate each other. So did that blind Garbrandt the first time? Will it Dillashaw this time? It’s a really hard aspect of this fight to quantify.

What makes this an even harder one to call is that, in my opinion, both guys are equally skilled at what they do. It is not like a great wrestler vs a great striker fight where you can try and guess which cancels out the other. “No Love” is a slippery-as-they-come boxer with great wrestling to boot while the reigning champ is pure poetry-in-motion with his stance changing-heavy style of Muay Thai. Oh and he is an excellent wrestler too.

So who wins? Who takes this one? For this underappreciated by his boss blogger, it is a battle of head vs. heart. My heart says Garbrandt via RD1 thud. He won’t get as cocky, he is a lot more focused, and he got all the treatment he could find for his ailing back so he’ll get the best of the champ this time. However, my head says the champ. T.J is – Godfuckingdammit I’m talking about him again – Conor McGregor-esque in his confidence. He simply doesn’t see himself losing. He doesn’t recognize it as a reality. He has probably been through every last scenario this fight might throw at him in his head.  So that’s it. I love to watch both these guys fight but I have to take the champ.

Official Pick: T.J Dillashaw retains his title by KO (RD4)
Co-Main Event

 

Demetrious Johnson (C) vs. Henry Cejudo – Flyweight (125lbs) Title Fight

This is why I get paid the big bucks. To talk about snoozers like this. I’d love to pick the upset. I’d love to say Cejudo is going to pull a Rocky and beat the longtime flyweight champ, but alas. Cejudo is ultra talented. He is an Olympic wrestler who has developed a great kickboxing game and  has still-improving but impressive hands. With that said, apart from Wilson Reis, a grappler first and second, Cejudo hasn’t finished anyone since 2013. Before knocking out Reis and decisioning Sergio Pettis, he had been beat on points by Joe B in one of the most lackluster fights the division has ever seen. I’m not trying to dump on Cejudo, but my point is I would have needed to see him DESTROY a few opponents in a row to give him a shot against D.J, who, like him or not, loves to win fights.

Official Pick: Demetrious Johnson retains his title by submission (RD5)

 

Additional Fun Fight

Pedro Munhoz vs. Brett Johns (Bantamweight fight)

In case anyone has forgot BRETT JOHNS WON A FIGHT BY CALF SLICER! CALF SLICER! LAST YEAR! That just does not fucking happen. Including that win, the scrappy, scrawny 135er from Wales won his first three UFC bouts and was undefeated before running into the Funkmaster in his last fight. That would be a wake up call to a lot of up and comers. But I think he needed that to keep progressing and should be using it as motivation going into this tussle with Munhoz.

“The Young Punisher” has gone 5-3 in his UFC tenure, but that belies the fact that his three losses were to Rafael “No one has noticed I’ve been in the top-3 for 10 years” Assuncao, Jimmie Rivera, and John Dodson – three big name, top flight guys at Bantamweight. He is a black belt in a BJJ and has a particular affinity for latching onto a nasty guillotine.

Basically, someone is getting tapped.

Official Pick: Pedro Munhoz wins by submission (RD2)

Notes

– Cub Swanson fights in the third-to-the-top bout of the night. He is one of the reasons yours truly got into MMA and always brings a boxing-heavy, fun, complete style of mixed martial arts to the cage. He fight Renato Carneiro who is a savage in his own right.

– There is a LOT of talk coming from both main event participants as well as D.J that the winner of the 135lb title fight will drop down and fight “Mighty Mouse” for his title in a superfight. We’ll see if that get’s done. Here’s betting Johnson’s gigantic sense of self-worth that it won’t.

Enjoy the scraps.

-Joey B.