Kavanagh: It only took 30 minutes for McGregor to convince me
Kavanagh says he was initially skeptical about McGregor taking on Mayweather.
When I first sat with him and he started explaining the Mayweather fight, it made no sense to me. By the end of the half-hour conversation, he had me shadowboxing him in the room, watching boxing videos…[After Conor and the UFC come to their agreement] it became a lot more real to me. I was enjoying the buildup, the talk, the idea of it. But it wasn’t until Conor messaged me and said, ‘It’s done, I’ve signed,’ that I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We actually are boxing.’…There could still be negotiations going on four weeks out, but the big mistake would be to mentally put off the heavy training until every detail is agreed upon. We are training now. We’re ready for that date in the fall, whenever that might be. We’ll let the lawyers and suits deal with the nuances of who gets this and who gets that. Conor is a fighter. I am his coach. We’ll focus on the contest at hand.
Kavanagh: McGregor will find it hard to get a fair boxing referee
Kavanagh says McGregor will find it tough to get a fair boxing referee.
If I’m speaking plainly, and I don’t know how much trouble this will get me in, I think we’re going to have a hard time finding a fair referee and a fair set of judges. It will be very difficult for a 50- to 60-year-old boxing referee to not go into this bout a little bit biased. Actually, I’ll throw this out there, I think [U.K.-based MMA referee] Marc Goddard should be the referee. We’re already agreeing to boxing rules, boxing fight, boxing ring — everything is done boxing. So, how about an MMA referee that will understand the inside fighting that will go into this fight?
Kavanagh: McGregor going for ‘old-school’ boxing approach to Mayweather
Kavanagh says he is already working with McGregor to prepare for his bout with Mayweather.
I was enjoying the buildup, the talk, the idea of it. But it wasn’t until Conor messaged me and said, ‘It’s done, I’ve signed,’ that I was like, ‘Oh, OK. We actually are boxing…I have a pretty good idea on how I see the fight going. Over the next three to four months, we need to put that plan into action. Drill it. See how it works in the gym. Mix and match the plan until we have it right for the night of the fight…[There will be a boxing expert on the team] 100 percent. And the reason why, is that I want to know how boxing people think. It’s not throwing punches. Owen Roddy has that. I need a voice from that world to bounce some of the ideas I have about this contest off of. How he thinks a referee might see something, how a judge sees something. That’s the reason to have someone from boxing, as opposed to learning how to box…We’re not going to spend 10 to 12 years doing something one way and then, because it’s a boxing fight, change everything for three months and beat the best defensive boxer of all time. No. We’ve got to come at this with an MMA striking strategy. Of course, hands only, but maybe there are things we can do from an MMA perspective, which, if people study boxing from the early 20th century, those things were a bigger part in the boxing game than they are today. We’re bringing an old-school boxing approach.
Kavanagh: McGregor won’t train with Freddie Roach
Kavanagh says McGregor will not be using boxing trainer Freddie Roach for the Mayweather fight.
I will say this: Mayweather has proven himself to be perfect against guys who have trained purely in boxing. I was asked very early on, ‘Are you going to bring in Freddie Roach? He’s the greatest boxing trainer in the world right now.’ OK. I’m an evidence-based guy. I don’t make decision based on emotions. Has Freddie trained somebody to fight Mayweather before? Yes. And a southpaw. A hard-hitting southpaw! And the plan didn’t work…Obviously, Freddie Roach is incredible. I’ve been trying to immerse myself in the boxing world, and Freddie has been called one of the last great guys to understand it all — trainer, cutman, psychologist to the young fighters, technician — but he did come up short in his approach to Mayweather.
Test 10 – please ignore
While reviewing a video of him beating Marcus Brimage, McGregor says he is now a different class of fighter.
Funnily enough, looking back at these old fights, every fight I think: ‘I’d kill that guy now. I’d kill the guy that killed that guy’.
On the meaning of his victory.
That’s Ireland’s first ever time to grace the Octagon. See that flag, that’s the first time that flag has ever been raised in the Octagon…That was the beginning of me taking over. It’s a beautiful thing. I’m rich. I’m rich now.
https://youtu.be/4e2CkjVHkjY
Test 9 – please ignore
While reviewing a video of him beating Marcus Brimage, McGregor says he is now a different class of fighter.
Funnily enough, looking back at these old fights, every fight I think: ‘I’d kill that guy now. I’d kill the guy that killed that guy’.
On the meaning of his victory.
That’s Ireland’s first ever time to grace the Octagon. See that flag, that’s the first time that flag has ever been raised in the Octagon…That was the beginning of me taking over. It’s a beautiful thing. I’m rich. I’m rich now.
Kavanagh: Holloway will defeat Aldo ‘convincingly’ this weekend
Coach Kavanagh says Holloway will have no trouble beating Aldo in the upcoming main event at UFC 212 to become the undisputed featherweight champion.
I’ve said it since Conor fought him: apart from Conor, Max Holloway is the second-best guy at 145 [pounds]. I think Holloway will win convincingly. There are a lot of similarities in both of their styles, in terms of being busy strikers who are used to guys trying to take them down. Max is maybe a little bit more dangerous when it comes to submissions. He’ll go for guillotines and stuff on takedowns, whereas Aldo is almost exclusively about defending the takedown. I think Max has grown a lot too. Even since Conor fought him he has improved. Aldo tends to do better against short, stocky wrestlers. He seems to have the perfect game for that. I don’t know if there’s somebody of that style who could possibly beat him. He’s almost perfect for that style. But here he is again, in against somebody he very rarely faces: a taller, striking-based opponent. We might see Aldo having to struggle and look for takedowns. I actually think that will be Aldo’s approach, that he’ll try to grapple. But I think Holloway will either defend them, make him uncomfortable with submission attempts, or else he’ll be able to keep it on the feet and win a decision. I think that’s how it’ll play out: Holloway by decision.
McGregor, on old fights: ‘I’d kill that guy now’
While reviewing a video of him beating Marcus Brimage, McGregor says he is now a different class of fighter.
Funnily enough, looking back at these old fights, every fight I think: ‘I’d kill that guy now. I’d kill the guy that killed that guy’.
On the meaning of his victory.
That’s Ireland’s first ever time to grace the Octagon. See that flag, that’s the first time that flag has ever been raised in the Octagon…That was the beginning of me taking over. It’s a beautiful thing. I’m rich. I’m rich now.
https://youtu.be/4e2CkjVHkjY
White: 50-50 split for McGregor-Mayweather is ‘pretty fair’
White says a 50-50 purse split for the proposed boxing match between McGregor and Mayweather would be fair. He also says that there is a 75% chance of the deal being made, and that the fight could produce somewhere between 2.5 and 4 million pay-per-view purchases.By comparison, Mayweather-Pacquiao was split 60-40 in Mayweather’s favour and totaled a record $500 million in pay-per-view purchases and was viewed by 4.4 million households. White:
We haven’t even got there yet. We haven’t even talked percentages yet. … Floyd can think whatever, but the machine that the UFC has and Conor McGregor alone is a machine by himself. I think that 50-50 is pretty fair. I’m very bullish on this fight. I think it happens. These guys are gonna have to come up with something way out of left field for this fight not to happen.
White cusses out ‘Two-faced’ De La Hoya
White expands on his earlier post questioning Oscar De La Hoya’s motivations.
I’m saying ‘What the f-ck, Oscar?’ Listen Oscar De La Hoya and I have had a good relationship through time. I’ve been supportive of every event that he does. Bob Arum and I don’t get along. If Bob Arum and I had the two last fighters on earth I wouldn’t make a fight with that scumbag. What is [Oscar] doing. Why would you say something like that? It makes him sound as though he has no confidence whatsoever in Triple G versus Canelo, which I have said publicly is a good fight..He seems completely insecure…And talk about two-faced and contradicting and the list goes on and on..hating…Oscar, what the f-ck is going on with you? Are you nuts? Are you out of your mind? Have you lost your f-cking mind?
Asked about McGregor-Mayweather:
We’re moving. I’m confident that this thing can get done. Obviously, there’s still some hurdles. It’s a crazy deal to make. Here’s the other thing: Any time people come out and say this fight shouldn’t happen, or this fight is ridiculous. When two people get in there, with the punching power of a Conor McGregor and the fighting style of a Floyd Mayweather, who knows what the hell’s gonna happen? Am I saying that this is going to be the greatest fight in the history of the world? Hell, no. I have no idea. This could be one of those fights where the press conference is a thousand times better than the fight…but nobody can judge a fight until a fight is over.
Aldo coach: Aldo wants to fight, even box, McGregor
Pederneiras, Also’s coach says that Aldo will fight McGregor in MMA or in boxing.
It was just difficult because after his fight with Frankie {Edgar], he wanted Conor. But Conor wouldn’t accept the fight, and after that, Aldo started to think about retirement…[Jose] wants to be a world champion in boxing. He thinks he can do it. He wants to fight Conor again, though. Maybe win the 155-pound championship. If Conor came back, he would need to fight [Aldo]. He was fighting at 145 pounds and Aldo won the interim title. Conor left and went to 155. If he was the champion at 155, would Conor leave for another division again? Leave the sport? I don’t know. If he goes to 170 pounds, Aldo says he will go to fight anybody at 170, to be the next contender for Conor. He just wants to fight Conor and that’s it…We want a fight with Conor McGregor. But it’s hard to get. We know that. We know he doesn’t ever want to fight Aldo again. Maybe in boxing. Maybe he’d accept a boxing match. When we were meeting with Dana, he told us, ‘Conor does not want to fight you. I tried everything to put him into a fight with you. I can’t put a gun to his head.’ That’s the word, from Dana to us. Dana told that to Aldo, directly.
Holloway: McGregor not the champion any more
Holloways says McGregor’s time as UFC champion has passed.
Conor was the 2015 champion. We’re in the year 2017. It’s about defending your whatever. Conor’s just not that guy. That’s why the fans love him. He’s always looking for the bigger and better picture, and always looking over the fence…We’ll see what happens [between Mayweather and McGregor]. Mayweather is not just some common dude. He’s the best guy that ever done it. At the end of the day I’m not gonna knock Conor. Go for it. Do it man.
Ferguson to Kavanagh: ‘Maintain your lane bitch’
Kavanagh joins criticism of Ferguson for not accepting a short notice fight with Michael Johnson after Khabib Nurmagomedov pulled out of UFC 209,
if a late notice change of opponent puts you off then MMA will be a difficult sport for you considering how common it is. Tennis perhaps?
— Coach JK (@John_Kavanagh) May 30, 2017
Leading to Ferguson to respond:
Trainers like you callin’ themselves coach. When all they do is ride coattails and try to claim. Maintain your lane bitch.
Trainers Like You Callin' Themselves Coach. When All They Do Is Ride The Coattails & Try To Claim. Maintain Your Lane Bitch #SitDownBeHumble https://t.co/362b5zNQNn
— Tony Ferguson (@TonyFergusonXT) May 30, 2017
‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ originally called ‘Donda’s Boy’
Rory Farrell, who co-hosts The Joe Budden Podcast along with Budden himself, says that MBDTF was originally called titled Donda’s Boy. Donda was Kanye’s late mother who died as a result of complications from surgery in the fall of 2007. Farrell, who was interning for Def Jam at the time, says he learned of the project’s original title when attending a label meeting for the release of Kanye’s then-upcoming album. Kanye arrived to the meeting accompanied by a small boy, who was wearing the same suit. However, Kanye said he wouldn’t have the meeting until everyone was dressed better. The next day, staff members showed up wearing suits. Farrell:
Everyone comes into the office looking like a terrible funeral. I went to H&M, I had no money. I looked a mess, a lot of execs I won’t name looked worse than me. He comes in, the child opens up his Louis Vuitton bag, throws a blanket over the conference table. Takes out two goblets—the medieval wine glasses. Pours him either white wine or water, it was in one of those unmarked bottles. And Kanye says, ‘I’m parched. We can begin now.’ He then takes out his laptop and starts playing My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. At this time, it was called Donda’s Boy, I don’t know if that ever went out but it was called Donda’s Boy and the idea was [that] he was going to do 10 tracks, and each track was going to be 10 minutes [long]. ‘Runaway’ was 20 minutes at the time, Pusha wasn’t on it.
Kanye ‘stressed out’ over making new music
An insider tells HollywoodLife.com that West is stressed about his return to the world after his November 2016 meltdown.
Kanye is stressed over new music and how he is going to make his return to the rap and pop culture world…He has obviously stayed lowkey since his meltdown. But now he’s stressed on what to do to get back in the limelight without making it look like he has lost a step…It’s looking like it will be a little bit before we see the return of Yeezy on our radios and award shows.
Ferguson to Diaz: ‘You’re delusional, I’m not in cahoots with McGregor’
Ferguson responds to Diaz’s claims that he, McGregor and their manager, Audie Attar, were working together to book a big money fight while McGregor purses a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather. In May Diaz said:
I heard Tony’s manager talking, saying that I need to get a fire up under Conor McGregor’s ass if I want to fight him for the third time. Like, I gotta do what? You guys should fight each other, motherf-cker. You guys have the same manager. You guys are working together against me.
To which Ferguson says:
He smokes a lot of good weed, I guess, because he’s got a lot of time on his hands just to do that. The dude’s delusional, man. Obviously I’m not in cahoots with McGregor. If you think that I am, then you’re f-cking high as f-ck. Straight up, he’s smoking that wacky tobacky, because I’m not. I don’t like the dude [McGregor]…Look, this guy was the last person that fought the guy that I want to get to.
Arum: Pacquiao ‘is there’ to fight McGregor if Mayweather fight falls through
Arum, Pacquiao’s manager, says that McGregor can fight his client if Mayweather negotiations break down, although he thinks a fight will happen is Dana White is persistent.
If McGregor is still looking for an opponent, Manny Pacquiao is there…[As for the Mayweather negotiations] Be patient, don’t give in. Dana’s a good negotiator, and he’ll get the thing done. But he can’t be pushed around by Mayweather and his people.
Farrell: I ‘should check in’ on Conor McGregor’s baby
When asked if the Irish are treating McGregor’s baby like the messiah, Farrell says:
I don’t know man, I haven’t checked in…there’s a point to what you’re saying. I should check in.
When asked if the baby will become the Irish Prime Minister:
We don’t have a Prime Minister, man… You Americans and your lack of education.
When the interviewer he says he’s Australian, Farrell jokes:
I know. I heard the accent.
Nelson: Mayweather fight has ‘been on McGregor’s radar for a long time’
McGregor’s training partner says the Irishman has been thinking about a Mayweather fight for years.
He’s been talking about this for a long, long time. This is not just new now, It’s been on the radar for a long time. I think it’s going to generate a lot of money for both guys and that’s why it’s going to happen. It’s not really [a surprise]. He’s become one of the biggest stars in the world when it comes to sports. And I think this is what he hunts for. It makes sense for Mayweather as well. Just with the way Mayweather is. You know, Mayweather likes the coins as well.
Dillashaw coach: Thousands of years ago, Conor McGregor would probably be the king
Ludwig, TJ Dillashaw’s coach says he has a hard time coming to grips with all the trash talk and bravado that is produced by people trying to emulate McGregor.
I’m not a smart person, but I need to dumb myself down in order to understand what’s going on in mixed martial arts…Look what Conor’s been able to do,. That motherf-cker might fight [Floyd] Mayweather. That is huge. I’m a Conor McGregor fan, that guy is making some big things happen. But there’s a very select few people that can pull that off, it shouldn’t be everybody acting mad and talking stupid. You know, people are trying to talk like Conor, but he doesn’t swear, he’s really articulate, he’s funny. The guy’s a genius at what he’s doing. I’m all for that. And he performs, he loves the limelight. I’m all for it. I want to see how far he can go as a human. I think if we were f-cking thousands of years ago, he would probably be the king. He’d be running shit. Tell me that guy couldn’t be running a country. He’s probably running Ireland.”