McGregor wishes Schwarzenegger well after heart surgery
McGregor issues a heartfelt message to Schwarzenegger, who underwent successful heart surgery a couple of days ago.
What an inspiration and true legend you are Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is great to hear you are back in good health my friend.
What an inspiration and true legend you are Arnold @Schwarzenegger!
It is great to hear you are back in good health my friend ❤ https://t.co/mc5fxytZaC— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) March 31, 2018
Cena: McGregor promotes better than anyone else
Cena says professional wrestlers are the greatest salesmen (and women) in the world but the boxing match between McGregor and Mayweather may have been even better promoted. Cena says McGregor was so good at convincing combat sports fans to shell out $100 for his “Money” bout, that similar tactics in pro wrestling would put everyone else out of business.
He would do fantastic. Hell, he would put me out of work. He gets the entertainment aspect of sport, and I think he gets it as good, or better, than anyone else. The way he promoted the fight against Mayweather… that’s what we do. He did it as good, or better, than us.
St-Pierre rejects McGregor ‘money fight’
St-Pierre has been linked with a mega-money fight against McGregor ever since he signed up for a new four-fight deal with the UFC in February 2017. Although St-Pierre says he is well aware of the huge payday a fight with McGregor would bring him, he says he is only interested in fights that will add to his legacy in the sport.
The thing is about Conor McGregor, money wise, I believe he’s the one who can put more money on the table. However, legacy wise, I don’t think he’s the guy (to fight). He’s the main guy; he brought the sport to a different level. He’s the most charismatic guy. He sells; he’s the biggest seller in the sport. If you talk about legacy, if I come back, for legacy, that’s what interests me the most – more than the money. Money, yes it’s good. But if I come back, it’d be more for legacy a legacy match.
McGregor to lose UFC lightweight belt to Ferguson-Nurmagomedov winner on April 7
UFC president White confirms that current lightweight champion Conor McGregor will lose his title to the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 on April 7 in Brooklyn, New York.
That’s exactly right: As soon as one punch is thrown, it’s on for the full title and it’s only fair. They’ve both worked their way up to No. 1 and No. 2. They deserve a shot.
White says the lightweight division will move on in McGregor’s absence, in the same way McGregor’s featherweight title was stripped when he failed to defend it in nearly a year after knocking Jose Aldo out in 13 seconds.
This is good news for the fans. I always hear about, ‘What will you do if this guy leaves …’ This is a sport first. People leave, they’ve made money and moved on. It happens.
McGregor defies ‘Beast from the East’ as he trains in the snow
McGregor posts a clip to Instagram of himself outside on an exercise bike, despite the snowy landscape and freezing temperatures, to show that he won’t let the ‘Beast from the East’, as the recent weather phenomenon is called, stop him from training.
McGregor: Mayweather rematch will not happen
McGregor takes to Instagram to say that talks between him and Mayweather, to meet in an MMA rematch, have ended unsuccessfully, as Mayweather has decided to remain in retirement.
I am happy for Floyd and his recent announcement that he is out of these current fight negotiations. It is the reason I never seeked the rematch in the first place. I was happy for him in retirement. My game is a very unforgiving one. It is not like other games. I understand completely him staying retired. I will now carry on in my negotiations and see where it goes. Have a great retirement Junior. Now come here and give your old man a hug for old time’s sake. I’m proud of you son. Yours truly, Senior.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfWLCi1HhO-/?
Nurmagomedov: McGregor’s UFC career is over – ‘100%’ getting stripped
Nurmagomedov says the fact that McGregor hasn’t stepped inside the Octagon in over 15 months is proof that he won’t be fighting in MMA ever again. He says McGregor’s team is focused on a rematch with Floyd Mayweather … instead of a real fight against him or Tony Ferguson — who he’s facing at UFC 223 in April. Nurmagomedov also says his contract for the Ferguson fight explicitly states they are fighting for the ‘real belt’ — which means the UFC is “100%” stripping Conor of his lightweight title.
I don’t think he gonna come back. When’s the last time Conor compete in MMA? Long time. He’s boxing guy.
Kavanagh: McGregor should fight Nurmagomedov or Ferguson before Diaz
Coach Kavanagh says that a trilogy fight with Diaz was appealing after UFC 202, but is losing appeal since McGregor has continued to elevate himself while Diaz has been sitting on the sidelines.
Conor’s had an MMA fight and a boxing fight since and we haven’t seen Nate since. So I started changing and you could see it amongst the fans who … are the most important factor in all of this because they pay for the Pay-Per-Views… But you can see it was clearly becoming they wanted to see either Khabib or Tony in there rather than [Nate], probably for the same reason that we didn’t: Nate didn’t keep busy. So I don’t think it would be quite right for that to happen before the winner of [Khabib]-Tony, because Conor, [Khabib], and Tony have kept busy and Nate hasn’t…I think Nate should get one in in the meantime. Him vs. Woodley. I hear there are rumors of that or him against a good lightweight, and if the MMA gods smile, it would be a victory for him. Conor fights the winner of [Khabib-Tony] and then you’ve got this amazing superfight for New Year’s Eve.
Malignaggi: McGregor won’t risk an ‘a** whooping’ from me
Malignaggi continues the war of words which started after his acrimonious departure from McGregor’s Mayweather match training camp, and after a video clip from one of their training sessions was released. Malignaggi is keen to settle the score with McGregor but doesn’t believe he’ll get the chance.
I don’t think McGregor is going to fight me, to be honest. I can keep baiting him or what-not but he has the sparring video and that video is not going to come out so he’s going to have the advantage over time. I don’t think he is going to fight me. He had his a** whooped in the sparring session and he has the whole world believing he didn’t so he’s not going to take a chance on that image and perception being changed.
Bisping: McGregor would ‘destroy’ Mayweather in 35 seconds in the UFC
On his podcast, Bisping says Mayweather would be beaten easily by McGregor in the Octagon.
I honestly can’t see Floyd Mayweather fighting mixed martial arts and certainly [not] in the UFC. If he does fight in the UFC it’s going to be against Conor McGregor…Conor McGregor in an MMA fight will f****** destroy Floyd Mayweather like he’s never seen…It takes so long to learn – so long to put the pieces of the puzzle together, so long to learn the grappling the transitions from the striking to the grappling. Conor McGregor would literally have a field day with Floyd Mayweather. I don’t know what [Mayweather]’s doing, he’s maybe trying to stay relevant, maybe he’s trying to hype his next boxing match, maybe he’s trying to get a rematch with Conor McGregor in the boxing world, I don’t know what he’s doing. But I will tell you this, everybody does have their price and apparently there was rumours floating round that a billion dollars was the price for a few fights in the UFC and a f****** billion dollars goes a long way. It would certainly be a record breaking pay-per-view, I don’t know if it’ll be more than McGregor vs Mayweather in a boxing ring but it certainly has the potential.
Malignaggi: McGregor would be stupid to risk another asswhooping
Speaking at the launch of Ultimate Boxxer – an entertainment company bidding revolutionise the fight game through eight-man, one-night elimination tournaments, Malignaggi says he will probably not get the chance to fight McGregor.
I don’t think McGregor is going to fight me, to be honest. I can keep baiting him or what-not but he has the sparring video and that video is not going to come out so he’s going to have the advantage over time. I don’t think he is going to fight me. He had his a** whooped in the sparring session and he has the whole world believing he didn’t so he’s not going to take a chance on that image and perception being changed. He’d be stupid to – if I was him, I’d be stupid to risk that perception changing because right now perception is reality. The reality wasn’t that but if that perception is reality, he’s going nowhere near me.
In negotiations for next fight
McGregor says he is in negotiations for his next fight.
I’m currently in negotiations to face my next opponent. We have many options. There’s the current interim lightweight champ. There’s an undefeated Dagestani and maybe a big Russian event. There’s obviously the Diaz trilogy. Of course the Mayweather fight is there. There’s many options, so we’re just at the table at the moment.”
McGregor: Mayweather will ‘earn respect’ by fighting in MMA
McGregor says he would respect Mayweather for fighting in MMA.
If he does do it, I know he’s flirting with it, I would have respect for him. I think it would get his earned respect then, if he was to step in [the Octagon]. He’s engaging, we’re engaging, so we’ll see…Of course, I’m seeing all the stuff Floyd’s putting out, all the stuff in the media. If it is [just hype], it will follow him for the rest of his days that he did not do it…I said I would do it and I stepped up and I done it. His time now. I went into his game, he should come into mine.
McGregor ‘delighted’ for Rousey joining WWE
McGregor says he is delighted Rousey is joining WWE.
I’m delighted for her, absolutely over the moon for her. She looked like she really enjoyed herself at the event, and I was very, very happy to see her. She’s a pioneer for the game, and she’s came through it all and faced big wins, and big, big losses. And she came through it. And it’s great to see her represent herself and mixed martial arts and have fun in WWE.
White: McGregor will face Ferguson or Nurmagomedov, not Diaz
White says McGreogr will not fight Diaz for his comeback fight, and that he will likely fight Ferguson or Nurmagomedov.
I think people would rather see Conor come back and either fight Tony [Ferguson] or Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. Whoever wins — and the Nate Diaz fight isn’t going anywhere. We can do that thing any time.
Carter: Unreleased Prince music ‘coming soon’
Carter, in his role as Prince’s estate advisor, says unreleased material will be released ‘soon,’ but does not give details as to when, or which label might release the songs.
He was a guy who practically lived in a recording studio, and once we started going through [the unreleased material] we really started finding some gems. I heard some music the other night that was pretty mind-blowing and we’re getting some stuff mixed right now. We’ve got great projects in the works that I’m excited to talk about. So the answer is yes, there will be unreleased Prince music coming soon.
Mayweather shows off $100 million McGregor fight check
Mayweather posts a picture of an uncashed $100 million check that he received in August 2017 as part of his payment for fighting McGregor.
It’s proven I’ve got the Midas touch.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BebLFV_AWqX/
Kavanagh: McGregor will be back in the UFC this year
During a Facebook live interview to promote Wimp 2 Warrior, Kavanagh says McGregor will return to UFC in 2018.
There’s so much happening in the division and things changing around and what have you. I can’t say who [he’ll fight]. I can’t say when [he’ll be back]. As people who follow him on social media will see, he’s back, very motivated, training a lot. He’s in the gym every day. The plan seems to be forming and getting more exact every day that [he’ll be] back in the UFC this year. When and against who, I would be just guessing.
Ferguson: McGregor turned down fight
Speaking on The MMA Hour, Ferguson says McGregor turned down a fight with him before he was offered his upcoming UFC 223 showdown with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
As far as what they told me in the contract, that’s what they were telling me. They were saying, ‘Look, you’re fighting for the undisputed title.’ That was after they told me I was going to fight Conor McGregor and then just a whole bunch of s*** went down and I was like, you know what, I just got to deal with this. What happened was they offered me a fight with a fighter who didn’t want to fight…I don’t know if it was a contract issue or what it was, the dude doesn’t seem interested to defend his belt against the number one and defending interim lightweight champion. Now I’m the champion because he didn’t want to defend it. Defend or vacate so my campaign actually worked.
Nurmagomedov says he might deny McGregor a title shot
Nurmagomedov says if he wins against Ferguson at UFC 223, he may deny McGregor a shot at the lightweight title upon his long-awaited return to MMA. He says he is more interested in his legacy than his bank balance.
I’m gonna make humble Conor. I’m gonna beat Tony and I’m gonna say to Conor, ‘Hey, you have to go into the [contender] line,’ because you have to deserve this. He has only one fight at 155 [pounds]. I am 25-0 at 155. Undefeated. Undisputed…I’m going to take this belt, and we’ll see what happens…Fighters try to make money with Conor but I’m not in this sport to make money. I can make money with other stuff in Russia, like a lot of money. I come here to make history, for my legacy.
