Rumor: Rousey vs. Nunes for UFC 207
According to @TalkMMA, Rousey and Nunes are being lined up to fight at UFC 207.
#UFC207 rumored card: DC vs Rumble, Cruz vs Garbrandt, Werdum vs Cain, and now…
Amanda Nunes vs Ronda Rousey is in discussions for 207
— #Dizz (@TalkMMA) September 19, 2016
Conflicting reports about leg injury
Coming after Dana White’s announcement that McGregor will not fight Alvarez at UFC 205, and reports that Alvarez has not yet signed the contract, Megan Olivi claims that McGregor will miss UFC 205 completely as his leg injury will keep him out of action beyond the event. However, other reports say that McGregor’s leg is fine. If McGregor does not fight Alvarez he would most likely have to defend his featherweight title against Jose Aldo, or take on the potentially returning Georges St-Pierre. The official UFC 205 announcement is set for Tuesday 27th September.
According to sources close to McGregor, Conor is "fine" and the leg would not prevent him from fighting at UFC 205.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) September 22, 2016
Rumour: McGregor to retire after 205
According to the MMA news website, Smack His Face, McGregor is set to announce his retirement from MMA. Reportedly worn down by the travel and media commitments, McGregor’s family life is apparently suffering and he wants to take an indefinite time out from the sport to reconnect with those close to him.
Rumor: Knocked out in sparring
TalkMMA claims McGregor was knocked out in sparring.
https://twitter.com/TalkMMA/status/785507445967822848
Rumour: Will take one-year break from UFC
According to friends, McGregor is planning to take a one-year break from UFC after 205 to settle down with Devlin, his long-term girlfriend. McGregor is set to make an announcement after the fight, but it it is not known whether it concerns a break. There has been no official statement from McGregor. Source:
He’s telling people he wants time out. It’s unlikely to be permanent, but the time is right to step back for a while. He knows that if he wins UFC 205 he can always come back in a year or two for a mega money fight. He could name his price. He’ll be back.
Mayweather may attend UFC 205
Kano says Mayweather may attend UFC 205.
Here's a first: Floyd Mayweather may attend #UFC205 — would be first UFC event for Floyd.
— David Kano (@realdkano) November 10, 2016
Sonnen: McGregor pushing for Mayweather fight
Sonnen says he has been hearing rumors that McGregor is pushing for a Mayweather fight, and that Dana White is open to the idea.
He does have a contract the [UFC]. Ultimately, he will need Dana White to be on board with whatever he wants to do as long as he is under contract with the UFC. Now, what Conor is telling people, and we are only as good as the information we are given, but Conor is telling people privately, he hasn’t gone public with it yet, but he is saying, ‘Look, with a win here tonight, should I beat Eddie, I’m going to take some time off and I’m going to do everything I can to get the boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.’ Allegedly. Now, again, the only person that can sign off on this contractually is Dana White – to come in and co-promote. Allegedly, rumour, Dana White is a little bit more open to the idea – to at least hearing what it is that he wants to do, instead of having a closed door. So, leave the speculation at that. I think there is some legs to it myself.
Source: Romney up for secretary of state position
A source says Romney will meet with Trump this weekend to discuss the secretary of state position. No further details have been released at this time.
Offers Flynn national security adviser job
A senior official offers says Trump has offered retired Lt. Gen. Flynn the job of national security adviser. The official wouldn’t say whether Flynn has officially accepted the job.
In consideration for Dept. of Commerce
Sources say Bolling has discussed the possibility of taking a position in Trump’s administration in the Department of Commerce. Bolling was spotted at Trump Tower in New York City on Wednesday by the press pool and may have visited again on Friday. Bolling:
At this time I can’t confirm anything. I’m sure you understand.
Report: Trump wants Romney for Secretary of State
The Wall Street Journal reports that Romney is the candidate favoured by Trump for the position of Secretary of State. Giuliani supporters are pushing Trump to choose their candidate. A third group is pressing the president-elect to keep searching for candidates. The paper says Trump sees Romney as the prototypical choice to be the nation’s top diplomat.
Source: Ross chosen as Commerce secretary
A senior transition official says that Ross, a billionaire, is Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary. If chosen, Ross would oversee nearly 47,000 employees and a budget of roughly $8 billion. The department represents the interests of U.S. businesses domestically and abroad as the head at Commerce. His department would be among those tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s stated goal of protecting U.S. workers and pushing back against globalisation.
McGregor to be stripped of featherweight title
Helwani reports that the UFC wants Pettis to fight Holloway for the interim 145 pound title in December in Toronto. This would be the main card fight after the Daniel Cornier-Anthony Johnson fight was cancelled due to injury. This means that the organisation will strip McGregor of his featherweight belt, reinstating it to Jose Aldo.
As of now, plan is Anthony Pettis vs. Max Holloway for the interim 145 lbs. title happening 12/10 in Toronto. That's what the UFC wants.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 26, 2016
That's per multiple sources. Should they finalize it, & it's close, Jose Aldo would become the new 145 lbs champ. McGregor? That's, well…
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 26, 2016
UFC has been pushing to strip McGregor of the 145 title for some time. Legally, they can. Would be interesting to see how he responds.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 26, 2016
McGregor to appear in Game of Thrones
The Belfast newspaper Sunday Life says McGregor has filmed a cameo for the next season of Game Of Thrones, which is filming in Belfast and other locations. It is not known what McGregor’s role will be. Source:
It’s been agreed that McGregor will appear in one of the remaining two seasons of Game of Thrones. He was headhunted as it were by HBO, as one of the Game of Thrones directors is a huge UFC fan. They believed that he would be a perfect fit for the show.
Report: Diaz offered interim title fight with Nurmagomedov
With Tony Ferguson appearing to drop out of UFC 209, Anna Jane Kesington reports that the interim title fight with Nurmagomedov has been offered to Diaz.
Nate Diaz has been offered an interim title fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 209. The fight was originally offered to Tony Ferguson, but he was asking for too much money.
Report: Diaz in talks with Mayweather to join TMT
After Diaz says he intends to get a boxing license:
I’m not doing it for a publicity stunt, I’m doing it because I love the sport of boxing. I want to win, I want to win fights for real and get out of this MMA shit that I’m not even into anyway.
BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor confirms with sources that Mayweather has reached out to Diaz about joining ‘The Money Team’ (TMT).
A source close to the Mayweather camp has told me that Floyd Mayweather has reached out to Nate Diaz about joining TMT (The Money Team)
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) January 18, 2017
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.
Report: McGregor turned down Wrestlemania appearance
The Sun reports that WWE representatives approached McGregor with a multi-million dollar offer to make an appearance at Wrestlemania in April, but were unsuccessful. Source:
WWE has made no secret of its desire to do something with Conor McGregor and there were talks between the two parties about this year. Because he’s taking time off from the UFC, there was a talk about doing something at this year’s Wrestlemania in April, but it wasn’t to be despite a hefty offer.
Trump will water down Dodd-Frank
President Trump will sign an executive order to water down the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory framework put into effect in response to the financial crisis. White House National Economic Council Director Cohn:
Americans are going to have better choices and Americans are going to have better products because we’re not going to burden the banks with literally hundreds of billions of dollars of regulatory costs every year.
Brady may stay at Patriots for years, Grappolo will be traded
According to Rap Sheet’s Ian Rappaport, Brady will play three to five more seasons for the Patriots. This means that Garoppolo will be considered as a traded backup for the offseason.
#Patriots will look to extend QB Tom Brady next offseason, source says. Clear indication they believe his proclamation to play into his 40s.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 5, 2017