All UFC Thread

[OzExorcist]

Agreed, that division is much more interesting with an active Cat Zingano in it. And it's already suddenly the most interesting it's been... well... ever really.

 

[zkel1980]

Just started a thread on this in the lounge, but, thought I'd get it on this thread too. Have you guys heard about the Busquet V Alvarado MMA STYLE Fight happening soon? It's a $270,000 bet!! It is serious and Busquet has packed on a few muscles for it. I suppose certain Poker players would have the mental agility for MMA. Anyway, just thought I'd get this on here.

 

[underdog140]

There is talks about a possible match between G.S.P. and Nate Diaz. I am not sure what to make of this. Should be an easy UD for G.S.P. if true.

http://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/geor...te-diaz-firas-zahabi-wants-to-make-it-happrn/

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

But you can't argue that he's already a massive star in the sport, and is more of a household name than Silva or GSP or Hughes or BJ ever were or ever will be.

NO. Please stop.

I hope you are trolling me.

I coudn't care less if Conor sells 100 zillion PPV buys. He's yet to be time tested like those fighters you mentioned.
Just for the sake of discussion, if he dies tomorrow, will Conor be considered a legend or future hall of famer?


Kim kardashian is not more of a household name than Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor even if this generation doesn't know who they are. It doesn't matter how many idiots watch her stupid show or buy her shitty products.

5, 10 years after she dies, no one would give two ****s about her.

 

[WVHillbilly]

NO. Please stop.

I hope you are trolling me.

I coudn't care less if Conor sells 100 zillion PPV buys. He's yet to be time tested like those fighters you mentioned.
Just for the sake of discussion, if he dies tomorrow, will Conor be considered a legend or future hall of famer?


Kim kardashian is not more of a household name than Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn or Elizabeth Taylor even if this generation doesn't know who they are. It doesn't matter how many idiots watch her stupid show or buy her shitty products.

5, 10 years after she dies, no one would give two ****s about her.

He didn't say he was a better fight just that he's more well-known than any of those fighters are or ever were. He's not wrong about that. As for his legacy that's yet to be determined but one fight, win or lose, won't be the deciding factor on that.

 

[OzExorcist]

NO. Please stop.

I hope you are trolling me.

I coudn't care less if Conor sells 100 zillion PPV buys. He's yet to be time tested like those fighters you mentioned.
Just for the sake of discussion, if he dies tomorrow, will Conor be considered a legend or future hall of famer?

I'm not trolling you and it's exactly like Hillbilly says - I'm just saying that he's more well-known. You're the one who brought up "household names". Being a household name has nothing to do with how good a fighter is and everything to do with how well-known they are.

As for whether Conor would make the Hall of Fame if he died tomorrow... and I'll clarify again that I'm NOT trolling here... yeah I'd give better than even money that he'd end up in there. The UFC Hall of Fame includes a t-shirt salesman, after all. The standard for entry obviously isn't very high. Stephan Bonnar is in it for crying out loud. Would Uncle Dana and co give a spot to a company man who broke all of its previous sales records? You're damn right they would.

 

[underdog140]

I think what lol_donkaments is getting at is Conor may be more popular today but won't stand the test of time when compared to the greats of the sport. He won't be talked about as highly as fighters like G.S.P. or Anderson. By the average Joe or by anyone in the fight business once all is said and done. Which I would agree with.

Also I am not convince he is as popular than lets say G.S.P. Dana is quoted at saying the Conor and Diaz fight broke numbers but lets not forget that PPV was also backed by the woman that beat long time champion Ronda. She deserves credit for that event. And so does Diaz. He also has a following.

Conor vs Diaz UFC 196 had a live attendance of 14,898 and $8.1 Million gate.
G.S.P. vs Shields UFC 129 attendance of over 55,000 and over $ 12 Million in gate.

Sources:
Shows G.S.P. vs Shields numbers
http://mmapayout.com/blue-book/live-gate-attendance/

Conor vs Diaz Numbers. ...
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ufc-196-mcgregor-vs-diaz-gate-attendance-las-074533647--mma.html


In fact Aldo vs Conor did more in gate sales and attendance than Conor vs Diaz. He is a great draw and holds some of the top spots but this is just Dana blowing smoke up everyone's ass. Continuing the hype that is the Conor show. So he can keep those numbers up and make $$$$.

I don't think PPV sales were released yet. At least I don't know them but with the info I do have I am not seeing any records being broken or any indication he is more popular than G.S.P.

 

[OzExorcist]

I think what lol_donkaments is getting at is Conor may be more popular today but won't stand the test of time when compared to the greats of the sport. He won't be talked about as highly as fighters like G.S.P. or Anderson. By the average Joe or by anyone in the fight business once all is said and done. Which I would agree with.

Yes I know what he's saying - but what I'm saying, and everyone seems to be ignoring, as that there's simply no way to say whether or not Conor will reach that same level in the future.

People are saying this one loss is "proof" that he'll never be an all-time great, and that he was fast-tracked into a title shot without any justification. I'm saying that GSP, Silva and Penn were all as guilty, if not more so, of the exact same things at the same stages in their careers and they went on to be legends despite that.

As for attendance and gate figures...

First of all you're comparing two very different shows - GSP-Shields was in a 55,000 seat stadium, while McGregor-Diaz was in a 16,000 seat one. And if you want to say that Diaz and Holm had a big impact on the past weekend's sales, then you've gotta also concede that Randy Coutoure, Lyoto Machida and the same Nate Diaz (I'm not even mentioning the Aldo title fight on that card because we all know he's not actually a draw) helped GSP sell all those seats. As did the novelty of the UFC's first proper stadium show in a country that doesn't get many events (compared to Vegas, which has them every other week).

So let's look a bit broader, here's the four most recent events for each (all stats from Wikipedia):

UFC129 GSP-Shields: 55,724 attendance, $12m gate, 800k PPV buys
UFC154 GSP-Condit: 17,249 attendance, $3.14m gate, 700k PPV buys
UFC158 GSP-Diaz: 16,523 attendance, $3.63m gate, 950k PPV buys
UFC167 GSP-Hendricks: 14,856 attendance, $5.76m gate, 630k PPV buys

For the lulz too let's note that GSP got to fight all but one (UFC167) of those events in his native Canada. McGregor, of course, has to import his home-town crowd from the other side of the world. That's more impressive to my mind, but mileage may vary. Anywho, here's McGregor's numbers:

UFCFN McGregor-Siver: 13,828 attendance, $1.3m gate, not on PPV, 2.75m viewers, easily the best FS1 card ever
UFC189 McGregor-Mendes: 16,019 attendance, $7.2m gate, 825k PPV buys
UFC194 McGregor-Aldo: 16,516 attendance, $10.1m gate, 1.2m PPV buys
UFC196 McGregor-Diaz: 14,898 attendance, $8.1m gate, no PPV data yet.

FWIW the FS1 prelims for UFC196 did 1.9m viewers, a prelim record, and that bodes well for the PPV sales.

Anywho, in similar-sized venues McGregor's gates are almost double GSP's. There's not a lot of PPV data to go on but what there is backs up everything the UFC has been saying about McGregor's popularity. And we're looking at in-his-prime, certified legend GSP (with a home-field advantage in 3/4 cards). GSP also fought less often, with less risk of fatiguing the market (McGregor just fought in Vegas for the third time in eight months).

Sorry to say it but the numbers bear out that Dana isn't blowing smoke up your ass. McGregor headlining a show really does move the needle. We'll see if he continues to I guess.

It's hard to say what Nate Diaz does BTW: in his past 10 fights he's only been in the headlining match four times, and of those UFC196 with McGregor was the only one that was on PPV. His best gate of those headline spots, outside last weekend, was v Henderson for the lightweight belt: 14,387 attendance, $1.5m gate. Some others were just sad: 4,853 attendance and a $300k gate for his most recent fight with Grey Maynard, for example.

 

[WVHillbilly]

GSP - Shields was in Toronto so let's wait till Conner fights in Ireland to compare.

 

[OzExorcist]

Or in any kind of venue with a capacity over 16,000ish LOL

I said back at the time they announced the UFC193 stadium show here in Melbourne that they were nuts trying to headline it with Lawler v Condit (as awesome as that fight eventually turned out to be) and there were only two people who had a hope in hell of pulling 50k+ people: Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor.

They went with Rousey and they got their attendance record... though only just. I suspect McGregor would have done similar numbers, though we'll never know. And I'm certain that if they had've stuck with Lawler-Condit, the whole card would quickly have been moved to a much smaller venue.

 

[underdog140]

Yes I know what he's saying - but what I'm saying, and everyone seems to be ignoring, as that there's simply no way to say whether or not Conor will reach that same level in the future.

People are saying this one loss is "proof" that he'll never be an all-time great, and that he was fast-tracked into a title shot without any justification. I'm saying that GSP, Silva and Penn were all as guilty, if not more so, of the exact same things at the same stages in their careers and they went on to be legends despite that.

I agree there is no way to now for sure. It is all just speculation based on an educated guess. And that speculation is based on.. he is seriously lacking in the ground department compared to other elite fighters. You can't be a constant winner in today's MMA vs. Elite fighters with a ground game like his. He can improve his ground game .. and then who knows.

As for attendance and gate figures...

First of all you're comparing two very different shows - GSP-Shields was in a 55,000 seat stadium, while McGregor-Diaz was in a 16,000 seat one.

I just looked at the raw numbers. But if Conor vs Diaz stadium held 16000 and 14000 attended it means he didn`t reach the max in a much smaller stadium. Which makes your points about GSP having his in a 55000 seat stadium mute.

And if you want to say that Diaz and Holm had a big impact on the past weekend's sales, then you've gotta also concede that Randy Coutoure, Lyoto Machida and the same Nate Diaz (I'm not even mentioning the Aldo title fight on that card because we all know he's not actually a draw) helped GSP sell all those seats. As did the novelty of the UFC's first proper stadium show in a country that doesn't get many events (compared to Vegas, which has them every other week).

While all the fighters on each card help with PPV numbers. Nate is a bigger draw today than he was back on the GSP card. Machida was on a two fight losing skid and lost drawing power also. His aura was gone... it was no longer the Machida Era.

None of them compare to watching the girl who just beat Ronda for the title fight again. As soon as Diaz was announced as the replacement the card just got that much better. It was the fight that should have been made from the start. He instantly brought more sales to the card.

Fair play on your location point.

So let's look a bit broader, here's the four most recent events for each (all stats from Wikipedia):

UFC129 GSP-Shields: 55,724 attendance, $12m gate, 800k PPV buys
UFC154 GSP-Condit: 17,249 attendance, $3.14m gate, 700k PPV buys
UFC158 GSP-Diaz: 16,523 attendance, $3.63m gate, 950k PPV buys
UFC167 GSP-Hendricks: 14,856 attendance, $5.76m gate, 630k PPV buys

For the lulz too let's note that GSP got to fight all but one (UFC167) of those events in his native Canada. McGregor, of course, has to import his home-town crowd from the other side of the world. That's more impressive to my mind, but mileage may vary. Anywho, here's McGregor's numbers:

UFCFN McGregor-Siver: 13,828 attendance, $1.3m gate, not on PPV, 2.75m viewers, easily the best FS1 card ever
UFC189 McGregor-Mendes: 16,019 attendance, $7.2m gate, 825k PPV buys
UFC194 McGregor-Aldo: 16,516 attendance, $10.1m gate, 1.2m PPV buys
UFC196 McGregor-Diaz: 14,898 attendance, $8.1m gate, no PPV data yet.

FWIW the FS1 prelims for UFC196 did 1.9m viewers, a prelim record, and that bodes well for the PPV sales.

Anywho, in similar-sized venues McGregor's gates are almost double GSP's. There's not a lot of PPV data to go on but what there is backs up everything the UFC has been saying about McGregor's popularity. And we're looking at in-his-prime, certified legend GSP (with a home-field advantage in 3/4 cards). GSP also fought less often, with less risk of fatiguing the market (McGregor just fought in Vegas for the third time in eight months).

Sorry to say it but the numbers bear out that Dana isn't blowing smoke up your ass. McGregor headlining a show really does move the needle. We'll see if he continues to I guess.

It's hard to say what Nate Diaz does BTW: in his past 10 fights he's only been in the headlining match four times, and of those UFC196 with McGregor was the only one that was on PPV. His best gate of those headline spots, outside last weekend, was v Henderson for the lightweight belt: 14,387 attendance, $1.5m gate. Some others were just sad: 4,853 attendance and a $300k gate for his most recent fight with Grey Maynard, for example.

I am not going to lie I didn't read all that. It is getting late and I will look it over again tomorrow but doing a quick skim leaves me with a few points:

Nate upped 196 numbers because it was an interesting match for Conor. I would argue the most interesting one that could have been put on at the time. Both talk shit ect. People were excited for that match and wanted to see if Diaz was going to talk shit and taunt Conor in the cage.

You left out UFC 100 G.S.P was Co-Main event and that had 1.6 Million buys.

Comparing a free card to PPV card is a little bit of a stretch.

I am not saying Conor isn't popular. He clearly is. He is a big draw there is no doubt about that.

Conor fighting more often helps him with PPV numbers. He is a great self promoter. It keeps his last antics and fights in peoples minds and wanting to see more.

Maby Conor PPV numbers for his last event broke all PPV records I am not sure. It is hard to comment on something we have no info on. But as it stands it doesn't look like the event broke many records to me. And even if it did break PPV records that is one record it broke not .. multiple or tons .. what ever wording Dana used. Like I said Dana is blowing smoke up everyone's a$$ and I don't blame him. That is his job as a promoter. He like everyone else wants red pantie night and as many as he can get.


Here is a Video for everyone to enjoy, I found it on internet while reading up on some MMA.

https://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4-mobile/6s4m.mp4

 

[OzExorcist]

I think the issue here is that you're looking at all of this from the perspective of a fan of the sport, someone who follows it on a regular basis. That's great, I'm the same kind of fan. But it's not us that actually move the needle in the biggest way - it's the Joe Public casual observer, who probably only tunes in to a couple of cards a year.

And there's simply no proof, no data, that backs up the idea that Joe Public's needle is moved by Nate Diaz or Holly Holm. To us, as fans of the sport, it makes sense that people should care about this stuff, but there's no proof that they actually do. There is definitely proof they care about Conor McGregor though.

One last thought on PPV sales and records: trying to give GSP credit for UFC100, when it was headlined by Brock Lesnar at the height of Lesnar-mania, is a suspiciously long bow to be drawing. In 12 attempts as the headliner of a PPV event, GSP never made it to 1 million buys. 0/12. His closest was 920k in the superfight with BJ Penn.

Silva was 2/16 over that magical mark (second Sonnen fight, second Weidman fight). Interestingly, that suggests that losing (or nearly losing) a fight can sometimes HELP a fighter draw even bigger numbers. Bodes well for Conor next time out Penn was 0/9.

McGregor is confirmed 1/2 so far, and we should find out soon if he's 2/3.

Keep in mind too that when Dana talks about records he's usually got all sorts of things in mind: I'm sure he'd tell you YouTube views of the Embedded videos count, for example. As mentioned earlier the prelims set an FS1 viewership record too.

You can call that blowing smoke up asses but records are records, numbers are numbers and they all tell the same, consistent story: Conor McGregor the cultural phenomenon, the maker of boatloads of money and setter of records, is a real thing. I'm not sure why anyone is questioning that?

 

[underdog140]

Again, I agree he is a star and makes him and others boatloads of money.

My points were:

Based on an educated guess, Conor is likely to not be as popular as G.S.P./ Anderson and other greats as his career goes on / ends ect. He may not be as popular today as G.S.P. is or was ( lets see what a GSP come back PPV does ) Dana likes to say outlandish things and people eat it up. Conor breaking all these records is one of those things. It feeds fire to the fuel. Gets fans excited and keeps them interested. He is a promoter. Why hasn't he released PPV numbers yet if they are so great ? No doubt they are good but I am starting to doubt if it did break the record. I agree about your later Youtube comment .. Dana would consider that but not seriously ... he would use it for hype .. it is the very reason I don't take his comment that Conor broke all sorts of records at face value.


G.S.P. does deserve credit for UFC 100. ( he was a co-headliner ) Without him it doesn't do 1.6 million .. without Brock it doesn't do 1.6 million. If you take a close look at PPV sales you will see GSP is on par with Brock. G.S.P had two PPV close to 1 million buys ... 920, 000 and his closest 950 000 and one that was 1.6 million ... Brock had two that broke 1 million and the 1.6 million. Brock Top PPV's just edges G.S.P's top PPV's. Brock 4th biggiest was 900 000 while G.S.P forth biggest was 800 000.

The rest of Brocks PPV were 500 000 / 600,000 / 625 000...

To say casuals didn't want to watch Holly ( the girl who just beat up the one and only Woman UFC champion - this PPV did 1.1 million buys ) is a little silly ( no offence ). These are the type of fights casuals tune into see.

Now that Holly lost ... casuals most likely lost interest in her and chalked her win on Rousey as a fluke. They will line up again to watch ( what they think ) is going to be Ronda getting her revenge.

Nate boosted sales as well. His following isn't near Conors but it is big enough to boost sales in a fight vs Conor. Due to both fighters attitudes and persona.

 

[WVHillbilly]

I agree that GSP added to UFC 100 but it was the Brock Lesner show. Brock is one of the very few fighter who was bigger than Conner imo. He's also not an all time great. Just hugely popular due to his time in the WWE.

 

[underdog140]

I agree that GSP added to UFC 100 but it was the Brock Lesner show. Brock is one of the very few fighter who was bigger than Conner imo. He's also not an all time great. Just hugely popular due to his time in the WWE.

G.S.P. comes close to Brock in PPV sales as I shown in my previous post. Brock was starting to fizzle out coming on the end just as I predict is going to happen to Conor. 535 000 was his last PPV numbers. During that same year G.S.P. had a PPV that sold 800 000.

No GSP on that card = no 1.6 million buys.


Edit: If you believe Dana he is saying the event did 1.5 million buys. So it didn't break that record either ... although is still very impressive. And we have to consider it is Dana saying this. He is going to try and make the card sound better than it was. So it is possible it did less.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/3/11/11202190/dana-white-ufc-196-did-1-5-million-ppv-buys

"People have been telling me 'what are you going to do when Chuck Liddell retires?' then 'what are you going to do when GSP is gone?' There is always new great fighters coming down the pipeline," White told ESPN's Max & Marcellus. "In this sport, we put the best against the best, or sometimes we do crazy stuff like on Saturday night, where Conor McGregor says 'I want to fight Nate Diaz. I'll fight him at 170 [pounds].'

"These are things that capture people's imaginations. That is why the thing does 1.5 million PPV buys. That is because it captures the imaginations of fight fans."

 

[OzExorcist]

To say casuals didn't want to watch Holly ( the girl who just beat up the one and only Woman UFC champion - this PPV did 1.1 million buys ) is a little silly ( no offence ). These are the type of fights casuals tune into see.

Now that Holly lost ... casuals most likely lost interest in her and chalked her win on Rousey as a fluke. They will line up again to watch ( what they think ) is going to be Ronda getting her revenge.

Nate boosted sales as well. His following isn't near Conors but it is big enough to boost sales in a fight vs Conor. Due to both fighters attitudes and persona.

Sorry but there's just no proof of anything you're saying there. Nate's numbers as a headliner don't back it up. And there's simply no data on Holm to prove she's a major draw either. Her and Rousey headlined a 1.1m buy event, but Rousey also got 900k buys with Bethe guddam Correia as her opponent, in a fight that was poorly timed for US audiences... so let's not go pretending anyone other than Rousey was doing the promotional heavy lifting in either case. I'd give credit to Jedrzejczyk for contributing to those sales before Holm.

And numbers aside, saying that casuals want to watch a Holm fight is saying that casuals want to watch a technical outfighter who's polite to a fault, doesn't do much of anything to promote her fights and is very likely to go to a "boring" decision. The Demetrious Johnsons of the world will tell you that's exactly what casual followers of the sport don't want to see.


Anywho, onto different news: both Kimbo AND Shamrock failed their drug tests from Bellator 149!

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/3/1...-drug-screens-steroids-dada-5000-royce-gracie

But because LOL Texas commission they'll probably only be suspended a maximum of 90 days or something.

 

[OzExorcist]

http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/3/1...gor-vs-diaz-did-1-5-million-pay-per-view-buys

This story has a lot more numbers and info on what records were and weren't broken by the McGregor-Diaz card. And FWIW they do seem to think it's likely Holm had a big impact. We'll see I guess.

 

[underdog140]

Sorry but there's just no proof of anything you're saying there. Nate's numbers as a headliner don't back it up. And there's simply no data on Holm to prove she's a major draw either. Her and Rousey headlined a 1.1m buy event, but Rousey also got 900k buys with Bethe guddam Correia as her opponent, in a fight that was poorly timed for US audiences... so let's not go pretending anyone other than Rousey was doing the promotional heavy lifting in either case. I'd give credit to Jedrzejczyk for contributing to those sales before Holm.

And numbers aside, saying that casuals want to watch a Holm fight is saying that casuals want to watch a technical outfighter who's polite to a fault, doesn't do much of anything to promote her fights and is very likely to go to a "boring" decision. The Demetrious Johnsons of the world will tell you that's exactly what casual followers of the sport don't want to see.


Anywho, onto different news: both Kimbo AND Shamrock failed their drug tests from Bellator 149!

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2016/3/1...-drug-screens-steroids-dada-5000-royce-gracie

But because LOL Texas commission they'll probably only be suspended a maximum of 90 days or something.

1.1 million tuned in to watch Ronda vs Holly. What more proof do you need ? More specifically to watch Ronda arm bar Holly. That didn't happen. Holly shocked allot of people. Those people tuned in to see her next fight. Since Holly lost I suspect her PPV rates will go back down closer to her usual buys with a slight increase until her rematch with Ronda. That is how the casual fan base works. If she would have defended her belt ... more would stick around and continue to watch her.


It is the same affect that is currently going on for Diaz because he beat Conor. The next PPV he is on will get a boost because some of the same casual fans that watched Conor will at least watch Diaz next fight.

Too bad there isn't a way to see what kind of affect Diaz had on the PPV because as a betting man .. I would bet allot that he boosted sales. Not based on his previous numbers but because of the match up itself. Because of each fighters persona. Conor is a blown up version of the Diaz brothers. ( the way he acts not fights ) Watching two fighters like that clash is entertaining for everyone. Casuals and loyal fans. The rematch will do big numbers also.


Not surprised by the failed test and doesn't make any difference to me. Dada500 is still undefeated .. Rematch time ?

Spoiler

I Kid but would watch it again if it was set up.

It would have been interesting if Ken got the win just to have it changed to a NC. I wonder where this leaves his appeal about the nut shot at ....

 

[underdog140]

Can't get the twitter image to show but there are reports of Conor turning down a rematch with Diaz.

Twitter

https://twitter.com/FrontRowBrian/status/708814664444960768?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

Article:

http://www.lowkickmma.com/UFC/conor...utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=sumome_share

 

[KUN_AGUERO_KROOS]

I don't recall ever saying this is his end, neither that Conor is a fraud.

But I will say that good part of his superhero story is proven to be BS.

Dana said it. Conor was getting everything he was asking for, because he was backing it up.

What now?

Is he still Mystic Mac - a fighter who can predict how and when he is beating his opponents?

What about that Super Fighter above and beyong weight classes?

"Who cares about weight? They all, they sign and they pull. It's happened time and time again in my weight class. I don't care about weight. It makes no difference to me. Wherever it's at, give me an opponent, and a date, and that's it.

all those MMA experts were giving him props for fighting at his natural weight. They were saying Conor was leading the UFC to a new era of fighters doing the same.

The very first time he stepped outside his 145 confort zone he got outboxed and submitted back to reality by a gate keeper with 11 days to prepare.

people were asking for a fight against Lawler(!). Can you imagine what he would`ve done to Conor?



So, yes, losing to Nate, the way it happened, does mean a lot.

 

[Sil3ntness]

Can't get the twitter image to show but there are reports of Conor turning down a rematch with Diaz.

Twitter

https://twitter.com/FrontRowBrian/status/708814664444960768?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

Article:

http://www.lowkickmma.com/UFC/conor...utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=sumome_share

Makes sense. Conor should stick to fighting at 145. 155 is too much for him to handle unless he makes improvement in his camp.

 

[underdog140]

Makes sense. Conor should stick to fighting at 145. 155 is too much for him to handle unless he makes improvement in his camp.

I am not sure how much longer Conor is going to be fighting at 145lbs ... If he manages to defend one more time I suspect he takes another crack at 155lbs. His next cut will be his hardest yet. If he loses he gets a hand picked opponent to make him look good and then possibly moves up. He is going to need to improve his ground game in a hurry.

 

[OzExorcist]

Can't get the twitter image to show but there are reports of Conor turning down a rematch with Diaz.

Makes sense. Conor should stick to fighting at 145. 155 is too much for him to handle unless he makes improvement in his camp.

The reports are only saying that he doesn't want to fight Diaz at UFC200 - he's since come out and said that he's very much open to a Diaz rematch at some other point, and that he feels he won the first round and a half of that fight: http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/3/1...iaz-miesha-tate-holl-holm-dana-white-mma-news

FWIW (and I'm gonna get hate for this, I know), Diaz isn't a big enough fight for him to main event UFC200 with anyway. That fight kinda has to be for a belt, either his or RDA's. And even if he did take a Diaz rematch next up there would still be people complaining that he was dodging Frankie, or Aldo.

 

[underdog140]

The reports are only saying that he doesn't want to fight Diaz at UFC200 - he's since come out and said that he's very much open to a Diaz rematch at some other point, and that he feels he won the first round and a half of that fight: http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/3/1...iaz-miesha-tate-holl-holm-dana-white-mma-news

If the reports are saying he doesn't want to fight Diaz at UFC 200 that = turning down a re-match.

Site is not letting me post video at specific time. Go to the 2.50 mark.

FWIW (and I'm gonna get hate for this, I know), Diaz isn't a big enough fight for him to main event UFC200 with anyway. That fight kinda has to be for a belt, either his or RDA's. And even if he did take a Diaz rematch next up there would still be people complaining that he was dodging Frankie, or Aldo.

Of course people would complain. Him duckin... err ...I mean ... waiting to fight Diaz is the right move because the 145lb title should be defended. But I doubt that is Conors reasoning. He knows he just lost to an unprepared Diaz who rolled from his couch to the octagon. It is not looking good for him against a prepared Diaz. That is not to say he can't win. Anything can happen in MMA.

Conor is a smart self promoter. Two losses in a row isn't good for his image. He knows this .. I suspect he is pushing for that Aldo rematch.

As for Nate not being a big enough fight. That just sounds like you are trying to justify Conor not taking the rematch. Conor vs Diaz 2 is one of the biggest fights that can be made in the UFC atm. Ronda return match .. A G.S.P. comeback are the only ones that rival it.


Do you know who Conor reminds me of..... A better self promoted version of Melvin Guillard. Both good with their hands.... both lacking ground skills you need to consistently beat the best.

 

[OzExorcist]

SMH LOL - he's said he wants to fight Diaz again in the future, and you admit that defending his belt is the right thing to do next. What more do you want from him? I'm genuinely confused as to what you think there is to complain about here

And yes, saying Diaz isn't a big enough fight to headline UFC 200 is justifying McGregor not fighting Diaz at UFC200. That event needs to be headlined by a title fight (likely a couple of title fights). McGregor-Diaz wouldn't be a title fight, unless Diaz plans to cut down to 145. End of story.