Takes Master Camp riders to Misano
The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp riders spend the day on the nearby Misano circuit for some asphalt laps on Yamaha YZF-R3 bikes. The pupils ride against Rossi, the VR46 Academy Riders and other guests, before being given some clear track time for themselves in a timed practice session.
Again another great day together with the riders of the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp. This time we found ourselves at the Misano World Circuit, and these were three hours of very intensive training. Some of the VR46 Academy riders have followed the Asian riders on the track and at the end of the day I saw them riding really well. I too have crossed some of them on the track during training and I was impressed with how well they are picking up on our teachings. [Friday] is the last day of Master Camp. We will end this very exciting week in a really nice way: on track with minibikes!
McGregor, Diaz face off
McGregor and Diaz face off after the Tickets On-Sale Press Conference. McGregor asks White to let them go face-to-face, but White keeps them apart. McGregor:
Let’s go face to face. I wanna see his eyes.
https://www.facebook.com/danawhite/videos/824124121023103/
Promises trilogy fight with Diaz
McGregor says that if he wins against Diaz, he will fight him a third time.
I’ll beat Nate, get that win back, dominate my division again, and then we’ll retalk for the trilogy fight with Nate. I believe this will be a trilogy fight.
https://www.facebook.com/UFCUnitedKingdom/videos/1053499451352671
UFC 202 Tickets On-Sale press conference
White, McGregor and Diaz appear at the UFC 202 Tickets On-Sale Press Conference.
ESPN Magazine nude photoshoot
McGregor appears nude in ESPN Magazine for its Body Issue. In the article McGregor talks about his life and work.
I dreamt every day of making it as a fighter, every damn day. Sitting on in the car park, on my lunch break, early mornings. I always visualized climbing the ladder of the fight game and reaching the pinnacle…You grow up where I’m from, you must learn how to defend yourself as a young man. I was no different. I got into it to learn how to fight, and that’s why I walked into my first combat gym. I’m just a kid that defied the odds. I’m just a kid that ignored the doubt. I’m just a kid from a little place in Dublin, Ireland, that went all the way, and I’m going to continue to go all the way…The McGregor clan, we are warriors all through. We are famous all through the world for our fighting capabilities of all generations. So I have no doubt that’s stood to me and that led me down this path and gave me what I have.
If I only had to focus on boxing, hell, I’d be neck and neck with Floyd right now….Many people who practice in only one discipline of fighting are lying to themselves. You can’t fight fully. It’s limited. It’s not the full circle. You’re afraid of everything else. You’re just doing this one single thing. But we practice in everything.
Apologises
Van Heerden apologises to McGregor.
After a Good Sleep you all made me think!! I Apologize for my Tweets should have kept it to myself Conor .M did me a Fav in the End #Sorry
— Chris van Heerden (@TheHeat001) July 5, 2016
Van Heerden upset about McGregor video edits
0 0 Mark Devlin Mark Devlin2016-07-05 13:04:452016-07-05 13:12:52Van Heerden upset about McGregor video edits
Aldo: I’ll catch McGregor ‘in the street’ to get rematch
Aldo says he’ll do whatever it takes to get a rematch with McGregor. When asked if he would retire before a rematch with McGregor:
No way. Only if he stops fighting. As long as he’s in the UFC, this fight will happen. That’s a fact. We will get the belt back and be champion again…We’ll move up. The UFC will do this fight. It doesn’t matter at which weight. I don’t care…[Even if he walks away] We catch him in the street. No matter how, we will fight. [expletive] it.
Edgar: McGregor should be forced to defend featherweight title
Edgar says that McGregor should be forced to fight a featherweight to defend his title.
I think [McGregor] should have to defend it. He got to go do what he wanted to do and go up a weight class, or do whatever. It didn’t work out for him, and he should have to come back and defend it. But he calls the shots a little bit more than other guys, and I can’t hate him for wanting to get revenge and all that stuff. But of course it’s at my expense, so I’m looking at it a different way.
Hosting UFC 200 after-party
McGregor announces he is hosting a UFC 200 after party in Las Vegas on July 9.
Jones: McGregor forgets the UFC created him
Jones says that McGregor should not get a stake in UFC if it is sold.
No. No I don’t. The UFC has created Conor McGregor. I think sometimes he forgets that. But, he is a magnificent talent and we’re all glad to have him as a part of the sport. He’s bringing a lot of attention, and just so much more recognition. And at the end of the day, when he wins, we all win. So, I’m grateful for him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=7yQABKvmVJs
Jones: ‘Foolish’ McGregor and Rousey believed hype
Jones says it’s important not to believe that you are unbeatable.
I know that I can be beat and I think that’s why I haven’t been beat, where some of these guys really start to believe their hype. Ronda Rousey, they were saying she’s the best fighter of all time and best athlete in the world, stuff like that and I was happy for her to hear those types of accolades, but once I realized that maybe she was starting to believe it herself, I knew she was in a dangerous spot. Conor McGregor saying these things about just being the baddest dude and ‘I’ll beat anybody at any weight class,’ that’s foolish stuff. When you believe the hype to that level, that’s when you’re in danger…People always ask if I’m competing with with Conor or Ronda. I’m not at all. I think there’s enough room in the sky for many stars. We all bring so much different things to the table, different demographics and viewership so I’m just grateful to be a part of of the conversation again of being top dog.
Will train with McGregor in Las Vegas
Wallace will travel to Las Vegas after McGregor spoke to Ireland’s bantamweight world champion boxer Michael Conlan about sourcing a tall southpaw with a substantial reach to mimic Nate Diaz. Wallace:
I’ve watched a lot of videos of Nate. He’s a tall southpaw and he’s very dangerous with the right hand. I’ve been watching what he does and I’ll be trying to do exactly that to help Conor to prepare for the fight. He’s doing all the right things now that he didn’t do the last time — sparring southpaws and working on a lot of different stuff that he didn’t work on the last time. He knows Nate’s strengths and weaknesses now so I think you’re going to see a different result.
https://www.facebook.com/conor.wallace.92/posts/1237040033008102
Kavanagh: McGregor 3.0 is stronger, more focussed
McGregor and Kavanagh talk about the fighter’s training program in a profile in the Irish Examiner. McGregor starts training at 1pm, with intense workout for over an hour. After lunch he spars with partners brought over from all around the world, finishing with more cardio in the evening. McGregor:
[For UFC 196] I was waking up late and training late, showing up here at maybe 2pm and still being here till one in the morning. Like a buzzing light. Buzzzz. I was never fully on and I was never off. I was just there. That’s not what this game is about. You need to be…[clicks fingers]…On.
Kavanagh admits he did not pay enough attention to McGregor’s training, and that the Diaz loss has helped them focus.
After the Aldo fight, I’ll admit in terms of training Conor, my foot went off the pedal altogether. I got caught up with stuff in the gym…It was supposed to be only for a week or two but it turned into six or seven and then I realised ‘We’re just two weeks out from this and I’ve barely done a session with Conor.’ Now it’s every day. We’re here at 1pm. Sharp…The only reason it didn’t happen for Conor in round two was because he got tired. That’s one thing that will not happen in this contest…The Conor that’s going out there on August 20 is an absolutely new model. This is Conor 3.0 compared to what went up against Diaz in March. And I’ve said it to Conor, whenever he’s fought his next few fights and he calls it a day, we will look at the first Diaz fight as the absolute most positive thing that ever happened to us because it taught us so much.
Learned from 2015 mistakes
Marquez believes his consistency in 2016 — he is the only one of this year’s title hopefuls who has scored in every race — is a direct result of last year’s struggles.
It’s a conversation for a pub. We are not even halfway through the season and I don’t even have a one-race advantage over the guy in second – although it’s obviously important to have this gap, especially over Valentino…All human beings learn, and what better way to do it than from your own mistakes. I’m one of those people who can be told 20 times that there’s a wall in front of me, but until I hit it head-on, I don’t believe it’s there.
Lesnar manager: McGregor can’t switch to WWE
In an interview with ESPN, Lesnar’s manager, Hayman, says that McGregor cannot switch between UFC and WWE.
I would love for Conor McGregor to be a Paul Heyman guy…Conor McGregor could not walk between these two worlds or these two universes like Brock Lesnar. It’s just not a possibility. It’s what makes Brock Lesnar unique.
Rajoy rejects Sturgeon’s EU bid
Rajoy responds to Sturgeons meeting with EU officials by dismissing her hope that Scotland could join the EU after Brexit
I want to be very clear: Scotland does not have the competence to negotiate with the European Union. Spain opposes any negotiation by anyone other than the government of the United Kingdom,” he told a news conference following a summit of European leaders in Brussels.
“I am extremely against it, the treaties are extremely against it and I believe everyone is extremely against it. If the United Kingdom leaves … Scotland leaves,” he added. Madrid has a troubled relationship with the separatist inclinations of Catalonia.
Sturgeon said she was not surprised at the Spanish position, adding:
I have a duty as first minister to find a way to give effect to the democratic will of Scotland.
Sturgeon meets EU leaders to discuss Scotland remaining in the EU
Sturgeon holds talks with Juncker and Shulz in an attempt to try to keep Scotland in the EU after Brexit.
My objective at this very early stage is firstly to raise awareness of the fact that Scotland voted differently in this referendum to the UK as a whole and that there is an aspiration and desire in Scotland, cross-party, to protect Scotland’s relationship with the European Union and our place in the European Union. And secondly, to begin the process of mapping out and exploring what the options for Scotland might be. I’m very aware that this is a long process ahead of us. It’s likely to be a difficult and challenging process, but I’m determined that we take every possible step to protect Scotland’s interests at every stage of it.
If there is a way for Scotladn to stay, I am determined to try and find that way. All of the options are on the table. As I say, I don’t underestimate the challenges, but I have been heartend that I have found a willingness to listen.
Jucker said that although he would gladly hear Sturgeon’s case, he was not in a position to enter into talks on Scotland’s future separately from the UK.
Scotland won the right to be heard in Brussels, so I will listen carefully to what the first minister will tell me but we don’t have the intention, neither Donald Tusk nor myself, to interfere in the British process. That is not our job.
Schulz said he had “listened and learned”.
Comments on post-Brexit newspaper sales increase
Highfield comments on the increase in newspaper circulations in the week after the UK’s Brexit referendum.
i’s growth is evidence of the continued power of print. [The paper has] provided valuable, balanced context for readers making the most important decision of a generation because it had not endorsed either side in the vote.
UFC 202 Undercard announcements
UFC makes two announcements regarding UFC 200, which features McGregor-Diaz as the main event. In the welterweight class, Condit will return after a title loss to face Maia in a 170-pound fight. Johnson and Teixeira will fight in the light heavyweight class,