Nurmagomedov coach: McGregor calls the shots in the UFC
Coach Mendez says that even if Nurmagomedov beats Tony Ferguson, McGregor may choose not to fight him.
You never know – Conor may decide that he wants to go to the welterweight division and challenge for that title. We’ve yet to see if Khabib wins against Tony, whether that fight will materialise. It’s gonna be what Conor wants. He’s in a position where he calls the shots. If Conor says, ‘I wanna fight Khabib’ – OK, fine. If Conor says, ‘I wanna fight Woodley or Thompson’ then that’s what’s gonna happen. Conor knows what he’s doing. He’s the boss so right now he’s in control…Ideally we would all like to see Conor and Khabib fight if Khabib gets by Tony. But that might not be in Conor’s plans.
As for McGregor’s skills:
Stylistically Tony is by far the tougher fighter. Conor poses a stand-up threat, poses no threat on the ground. Tony poses a threat everywhere. And for Conor, Tony poses a lot of dangers too. Tony is a very dangerous customer.
Silva wants McGregor fight
During a UFC 208 media scrum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Silva says he wants to figh tMcGregor.
I’d like to test myself against Conor because he’s an interesting martial artist. His stand-up game is an intelligent game. Not because he’s champion now, but for the martial arts challenge. I’d like to see how these stand-up techniques, his and mine, would mix, and how that would go. But not to fight for a belt or anything like that. For the challenge, an interest, that thing about knowing how a fight like this would go. I believe he can make 176, 178 pounds, right? That’s a weight I can get. We started this work and I got to 174, but…my team and my doctor decided to stay in my division.
Frampton: McGregor ‘stands alone’ at the top
Frampton praises McGregor, saying that but that McGregor reached out to him before some of his previous fights.
For combat sports probably (we are the top two) but I think McGregor stands alone. He is a huge name all over the world. He is a massive star who I admire a lot but I am pretty happy with what I am doing and the fan base I got. We’re completely different characters. McGregor is doing his thing. But fair play to him. He seems to be raking it in and why not? I really like him. I haven’t met him yet. I’m still looking to meet him. He’s never been to a fight of mine. But he’s watched me a few times, he’s sent me a few video messages privately just to wish me luck in fights. He’s a good guy. He has this persona, but he’s playing the game and fair play to him.
McGregor ‘trying to break into Hollywood’
The Sun reports that McGregor has held a number of high level meetings with producers as he bids to break into movies, and has a big action role lined up. Source:
Conor really wants to start doing movies. He’s doing everything in his power to break into Hollywood. There has been a good deal of interest in him already and he thinks the time is right to start branching out. There’s been talk of a part in a big action movie and he’s held a number of meetings with producers, so it looks like there’s something in the pipeline. Conor would be a natural fit for a big Hollywood blockbuster.
Ferguson: McGregor is a ‘poor bastard’ who has never defended a title ‘in his entire life’
Ferguson calls out McGregor for never having had to defend a belt.
Who knows if ‘McNuggets’ is going to come in there and defend his belt. That poor bastard has never defended even one belt in his entire life. If he’s trying to box – I will go toe-to-toe with that mother f-cker, and I will knock him out. That dude is going to try to go with [Floyd] Mayweather, the Olympic boxer? It’s OK, son. It’s a completely different sport. Come back over here, 155-pound division and defend your belt if you’re really man enough. [McGregor and Nurmagomedov] are puzzles that I got that missing pieces to. I got that missing piece for these guys. That’s something a lot of these guys haven’t figured out. I’m the antidote for these viruses.
McGregor’s father talks about his son growing up
McGregor’s father talks about how he saw his son grow into a man through MMA.
I didn’t think this was something he could do as a career. It was only until I saw him in Cage Warriors. When his opponent was called out, I just saw this big, block house coming out to music and lights. I looked at this guy and he was more mature in years than Conor, he would’ve been about 25, 26 or 27, even. And I thought, ‘Oh boy, this is my son’s opponent.’ And then they announced Conor and Conor came out to the music and lights, and when he walked down that ramp, I didn’t see a boy then, I saw a man. That always gets me — my boy becoming a man. It just gets me all the time. He got it right. It’s not often that a father would admit that. But, my son was right and his father was wrong. I knew then he had a career.
Named most marketable Irish person for 2017
McGregor is named the most marketable Irish person for 2017, beating 2016’s number one Paul O’Connell who now lies in second place after his rugby retirement. Robbie Henshaw is third, followed by Katie Taylor. On McGregor’s success, the company that ran the survey says:
I think it’s ultimately down to momentum, a lot of brands try to align themselves with where there is momentum. They want to be associated with success.
McGregor and Mayweather fight in 8-bit video
McGregor and Mayweather appear in eight-bit form in Conor McGregor’s Punch Out! by Adam Arnali.
This bum don’t do nuttin but hug!
Visits club on student night
https://newslines.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/FI-McGregor-Diceys.jpeg 247 470 Mark Devlin Mark Devlin2017-01-24 19:31:132017-01-24 19:31:13Visits club on student night
White will not talk to Pacquiao promoter about McGregor fight
White says he will not take calls from Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, about a McGregor fight.
Listen, I love Manny Pacquiao. But I don’t love Bob Arum. You can tell Arum to save his money and not make any calls over here because we aren’t doing business with him.
McGregor, Rousey biggest part of 2016 record UFC PPV views
McGregor and Rousey drew the biggest pay-per-view buys in a record year for the UFC. Approximately 8,370,000 buys were sold on 13 shows in 2016, an all-time record average of 644,000 buys per show. This compares with 550,000 average per show in 2015 and 265,000 in 2014. Most shows were small but McGregor, Rousey, and UFC 200 did one million buys plus. With Rousey’s future undetermined, and McGregor taking a break, the outlook for 2017 is weak.
Rise Through The Featherweight Division video
A fan-made video shows McGregor’s rise through the Featherweight Division
One by one I will get every single one of them. They say I’m just talk, but here I am walking.
Nurmagomedov: No McGregor rematch, but will loan him money
Nurmagomedov says that once he beats McGregor there will be no rematch, and he also says he will give McGregor a loan if he needs it.
After I finish [Ferguson], then Conor and after I finish Conor, UFC will maybe want to make rematch. But I say, ‘No, calm down. You have to stand in line.’ I came to the UFC to fight with top-level fighters and become the undisputed, undefeated champion. This is my goal. A lot of people fight with [McGregor] because of money. I can give him money if he needs money.
Irish conman pretends to be McGregor’s friend
Demi Cairns, a Scottish woman, is warning other women to beware of Wesley Brennan, who she claims has scammed her out of £200, during a five week relationship that started on Plenty of Fish dating website. According to Cairns, Brennan claims he is a childhood friend of McGregor. Early in the relationship Brennan claimed to be related to gangster Daniel Kinahan. Cairns:
I recently entered a new relationship with an Irish guy. I was lead to believe his name was Paul Wesley Kenneth Kinahan who ran a finance company in Glasgow. However, this is not the case after scamming me of £200 for a train ticket to go collect his son. Since then I have discovered he also uses the alias Wesley O’Brien and his real name is Wesley Brennan. His stories can be Googled! He’s a serial conman who has scammed over 40 girls from Ireland and is now targeting girls in Glasgow. He’s leading people to believe that he grew up with Conor McGregor having proof to back up his allegations. It’s believable, however, it’s all fake. He’s even going to the extent of booking holidays for these girls myself included. I have had a very lucky escape. The only thing the guy got from me was £200. However, it’s believed he has conned people for thousands. He has been using the dating website Plenty Of Fish where he’s picking his victims.
Dillashaw takes on McGregor-give nickname
After McGregor called him a “Snake in the Grass,” Dillashaw uses snake imagery in a post against Cody Garabrant, and uses the snake as his logo for TUF 25.
Almost time to assemble my team for the Snake Den!
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Collins brothers offer to help McGregor beat Mayweather
Collins, who beat Chris Eubank in 1995, says that if McGregor is willing to be trained by his brother, Paschal, he could beat Mayweather.
If he comes up with my brother and does training in his gym, and if he gets a Mayweather fight, we’ll sit down and put together a plan for him to beat Mayweather and if he follows our plan, he’ll beat him. Everybody can be beaten if you put together the right plan. I know that from experience…I looked at Mayweather and said, ‘Do you know what, if Conor is going to beat him, this is how he could do it’. My brother Paschal and I sat down and we put together a strategy, one day chatting, on how we would prepare him to fight Mayweather. We would show him how to win…We communicate with him and John Kavanagh’s his trainer, he’s a great guy. John Kavanagh knows that we are the boxing brains in Ireland. The only reason I’m saying that is because McGregor has the ability to do it. He’s a super athlete who can change his style. Some guys are set, ingrained in a certain way of fighting. He’s not. He can change. That’s what makes him great and that’s why he’s so popular.
McGregor celebrates coach’s 40th birthday
McGregor posts a photo with Kavanagh celebrating his coach’s 40th birthday in Dublin.
Happy birthday Coach Kavanagh we are toasting tonight!
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Kavanagh: A Mayweather fight would make McGregor’s training a lot easier
Kavanagh says training for a Mayweather boxing match would be easier than the average MMA fight.
In a weird way, you’re getting prepared to fight one of the best boxers there’s ever been. But in another way, it would actually almost feel like a break for us because we wouldn’t have to keep up the other skill sets. In mixed martial arts your trying to work on seven or eight different skill sets. Whereas in boxing, it’s one…it’s just boxing. It’d almost be like a break to only have to work on one and not work on everything. If the deal is right and the two of them come to an agreement and that happens we’ll of course plan for that and bring in some of the experts. But I’ll still be playing my little role in the corner.
White: McGregor doesn’t need Mayweather to sell PPVs
White says McGregor can pull more pay-per-views than Mayweather, and talks about Manny Pacquiao’s earnings.
Here’s the thing, Manny Pacquiao ended up doing that fight and you hear all these numbers thrown around, but it’s something like Floyd got $250 [million], Manny got $100 [million]. It’s still a lot of money for both guys, but it’s not a big fight without Manny. Manny was as important in that fight as Floyd was…I’m going to tell you why Conor McGregor is still doing over a million pay-per-view buys and Floyd isn’t. Because Conor McGregor will fight anybody, anywhere, anytime, including Floyd Mayweather. He absolutely is that guy. Whether Conor fights Floyd or he doesn’t, there’s a line of guys that are ready to fight Conor that Conor will fight that are going to do over a million pay-per-view buys. Conor McGregor loves to fight and he is one of those guys that will take on anyone, anywhere. Floyd keeps putting this thing on his social media of Conor getting choked by (Nate) Diaz, but Conor fights.
McGuigan: McGregor lacks financial ability to take on Mayweather
McGuigan, currently training Michael Conlan in Las Vegas, writes about the financial aspects of a Mayweather-McGregor fight.
I can understand how Mayweather would be dismissive. Dana White’s guarantee of $50 million split down the middle does not reflect the power or the value of the respective sports. Mayweather would not get out of bed for $25 million, and McGregor’s record purse to date is the $3m banked for his fight against Nate Diaz. Clearly McGregor needs Mayweather more than Pretty Boy needs him. Indeed this is as much a challenge to UFC as it is to Mayweather, with McGregor unhappy with the money that filters down his way from a sport that changed hands for $4 billion dollars last summer. It is a pity McGregor quit boxing in favour of mixed martial arts as a kid in Dublin. You can see just by looking at him that he would have made a decent boxer if he had been exposed to the right environment and given an opportunity to develop.