GSP to McGregor: You’re not getting your fair share
At a conference call announcing the newly launched MMA Athletes Association (MMAAA) St-Pierre says McGregor, despite being the sport’s highest-paid star, is still underpaid, and appeals to the Irishman for his support.
Even though Conor is the most well (paid) athlete, he doesn’t have his fair share of what he should have. And I’m saying this from the top contestant to Conor McGregor, they don’t have their fair share…There’s something I think about Conor McGregor; I’ve met Conor a couple of times. You have the Conor McGregor that’s a human being and the Conor McGregor of business. The one you see in the UFC is the Conor McGregor that’s business. But the Conor McGregor that’s a human being, I know for sure he knows what’s right. Nobody is a perfect human being, but Conor is not a coward. He knows what’s right, and everybody knows what we’re doing is right. So, of course, we would like to have the biggest name in the sport on board, and we need it.
Helwani: The UFC ‘epically botched’ McGregor’s belt drop
On The MMA Hour Helwani criticises the UFC’s handling of the removal of McGregor’s belt.
They botched it. They botched it epically. They botched it because if you’re going to go ahead and strip Conor, then Holloway /Pettis needs to be for the real belt, and you say to Jose Aldo that you’re getting the first crack at the champion of this interim title, you’ve been talking about retirement, you’ve been talking about not fighting again, you’ve been talking about throwing fights, we don’t know the state of your career is, so we’re making Holloway/Pettis the real championship fight, because we just stripped the biggest draw and the biggest star of his belt. It’s a disservice to Holloway and Pettis, who are going to have an amazing fight in a couple of weeks, it’s a disservice to Jose Aldo, and it’s a disservice to Conor McGregor.
Knight: McGregor ‘has no heart’
UFC featherweight Knight says that McGregor’s naked choke at the hands of Nate Diaz shows his weakness.
Don’t get me wrong, Conor McGregor is good. He’s got awesome, amazing stand-up, but you know what it’s going to take to beat Conor McGregor? It’s going to take someone with a chin who is not scared to fight that man. You got a chin and you’re not scared to fight him – you are going to whoop his ass. He has no heart, we seen that in the Diaz fight – first time he gets a hand around his neck, he tapped in four seconds…You get him down and you put him in a bad position – you are going to see that man fold…He has no ground game and what ground game he does have, it’s limited. And about that much [pinches his fingers] heart, that’s all he’s got. A man who is going to tap in about three and half seconds to a choke, didn’t even try to pull the arm down, didn’t even try to fight the choke – that’s not a true champion to me.
I honestly think that if the Jose [Aldo] fight happened again, Jose can beat him. Jose Aldo let the man get inside his head and got him all riled up before the fight. He ran in there, did some stupid stuff and got caught…I pray that you put him in there with Tony Ferguson, because Tony Ferguson is going to treat him look like a punk.
UFC featherweight Jason "The Kid" Knight says Conor McGregor has no heart and wouldn't stand a chance against a fighter like Tony Ferguson pic.twitter.com/dVw7GBhdYq
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 30, 2016
McMann wants Rousey rematch
McMann says she wants a rematch with Rousey even if it is not for a title, saying she want to avenge her 2014 loss of the bantamweight champion in a 66-second TKO.
I can still fight Ronda even if it’s not for a championship. Avenging losses is personal for me. It’s not simply for a title. I would perfectly fine to win the title and then have them come after me and avenge my losses that way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I don’t care about the particular order. If you are an athlete in the UFC, you probably shouldn’t care about what particular order you get either simply because that decision-making process is out of your control.
Cormier: Don’t blame me for McGregor belt loss
Cormier says he is not to blame for McGregor being stripped of his belt after his injury caused the UFC to elevate the co-main event between Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway into a UFC interim featherweight title fight.
Just think about how ridiculous that is, that it’s my fault Conor McGregor got stripped. I didn’t say ‘I’m not going to fight so he can lose his belt.’ It doesn’t matter to me.
Kavanagh confirms McGregor-Mayweather talks
Coach Kavanagh confirms McGregor and Mayweather are in talks for a potential boxing fight in 2017.
If the odds were good enough, I’d put a few quid on it for next year. I’m not breaking any news saying that there’s conversations going back and forth for the last year or so. Is it getting any close? I don’t know, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me that it’s going to happen. He’s 49-0. I’m sure he wants that 50th fight. It’s a nice number. Right now, ask the average guy on the street, who do you want to see Mayweather fight, what fight’s going to get the most interest, and it would be a superfight with Conor. Certainly stranger things have happened in combat sports than a Mayweather-Conor fight. I wouldn’t be surprised by it, so who knows? It’s one of the many options that are there for Conor, so let’s see how the next couple of weeks go.
Will leave business to concentrate on Presidency
Trump announces that he will be leaving his business to avoid any perception of conflict of interest.
I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses. Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!
Romney: Trump’s vision ‘connects with the American people’
Romney addresses the press after his dinner with Trump and Reince Priebus.
We had a discussion about affairs throughout the world. These discussions I’ve had with him have been enlightening, interesting, and engaging. I’ve enjoyed them very much..I was also very impressed by the remarks he made on his victory night. By the way, it’s not easy to win. I know that myself. He did something I tried to do and was unsuccessful in accomplishing. he won the general election. And he continues with a message of inclusion and bringing people together. His vision is something that connects with the American people in a very powerful way…The people he has selected for his cabinet are solid, very effective people…I happen to think that America’s best days are ahead of us…and what I’ve seen with these discussions with President-elect Trump, give me increasing hope that President-elect Trump is the very man who can lead us to that better future.
WATCH: @MittRomney addresses reporters following dinner with President-elect @realDonaldTrump. #Breaking #KellyFile pic.twitter.com/eWakmDTnuU
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 30, 2016
Agent backs McGregor’s equity demand
Attar, McGregor’s agent, supports his fighter’s demand for equity in UFC. The two pay-per-view events McGregor headlined in 2015 brought in over a quarter of the UFC’s pay-per-view buys — the equivalent of $50M in earnings; in 2016 McGregor has doubled his pay-per-view buys accounting for $100 million in earnings.
When you’re starting to get more and more information on the economics of the sport, and when you really start to learn how much Conor drove that business and that growth, it’s a fair question for any businessman to ask: if he’s getting his fair share. Especially since there’s a precedent now where active athletes in other sports are getting ownership in a company you’re helping drive to the next level.
McGregor and Attar have yet to speak with Ari Emanuel and WME-IMG’s other top execs since they joined Dana White at the company.
We want to understand if that’s going to be different now. The time has come for all of us to sit down and have that discussion.
Carrier: Trump saves 1000 jobs
Carrier announces that the company has reached a deal with Trump and Pence and that 1000 jobs out of 2000 will be kept in Indiana. Trump and Pence will visit the plant on Dec 1 to make an announcement.
We are pleased to have reached a deal with President-elect Trump & VP-elect Pence to keep close to 1,000 jobs in Indy. More details soon.
— Carrier HVAC (@CarrierHVAC) November 30, 2016
Says flag burners should be jailed, lose citizenship
Trump says people who burn the flag should be jaileed or lose their citizenship.
Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag – if they do, there must be consequences – perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
Threatens to ‘Terminate’ Cuba Deal
Trump tweets that he may terminate President Obama’s deal with Cuba.
If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2016
Criticises CNN reporter
In a series of retweets Trump criticises CNN’s Zeleny’s stance on voter fraud.
"@FiIibuster: @jeffzeleny Pathetic – you have no sufficient evidence that Donald Trump did not suffer from voter fraud, shame! Bad reporter.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
"@JoeBowman12: @jeffzeleny just another generic CNN part time wannabe journalist !" @CNN still doesn't get it. They will never learn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 29, 2016
Criticises McGregor taking time off for pregnancy
Ferguson criticises McGregor for taking time off for his girlfriend’s pregnancy.
That dude does not want any part of me. That dude got beat by No. 5 in the world, Nate Diaz. And everybody’s talking about him being the best and I’m like ‘Dude you got beat by No. 5. I’m No. 3 and No. 2. I’m the only name you haven’t thrown out there in the wind. It’s just like a fart though and it’s going to come right back at you and hit you hard!..You’ve got a little pass from me. Go enjoy your family time. Do your thing, enjoy your life, you have some money so go ahead and go spend it. And while you’re doing that, I’m going to stay over here, wrecking this shit with my crew. And we’re going to go on to the next stage which is, when you come back, we’re going to wreck your ass…When I had my baby and all my stuff, I didn’t take a leave of absence. I manned up! I did my thing and I fought. I’m just here doing what I have to do.
WWE taunts McGregor’s Billy Strut
WWE posts to Twitter to show that McMahon, not McGregor, originated the Billionaire “Billy” Strut.
.@UFC star @TheNotoriousMMA's adopted billionaire strut is great, but it pales in comparison to that of the genuine article – @VinceMcMahon! pic.twitter.com/OA5ptoUm9W
— WWE (@WWE) November 27, 2016
Aldo ‘knew’ McGregor’s belt would be stripped
Aldo says he plans to defend his title in February or March, most likely against the winner of December’s interim title bout between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis at UFC 206. After that, Aldo is targeting a rematch with McGregor.
I think both are very tough fights for him, either at lightweight with Khabib [Nurmagomedov] or a rematch with me. So he chose to let go of mine. It’s no problem. Of course, first I want to do a [title] defense and then, yes, I will want to pursue a fight with [McGregor]…I think I’ve always been the champion, and I will always be the champion. As long as I’m at featherweight, no matter what happens, I’ll keep being the champion. So this, for me, was something that was already certain. The minute I lost, I knew, the next day, the belt would be mine again. It was just a matter of time…That was a fact I knew would happen, that he would drop a belt, my belt or the lightweight. It’s a tough fight for him at lightweight, with Khabib [Nurmagomedov], or a rematch with me, so he preferred to drop mine (belt). No problem…I lost that fight because of an accident. I knew that I would win a rematch, that I would be champion again. It’s not my fault that he’s such a pu–y he was never the champion. I don’t see myself losing to anyone in this division or any other [division]….Of course, [it was] not the way I wanted, but I’m happy because I know I’m the champion…now we’re already making the arrangements to fight in the future. I think maybe in February or March we’ll be fighting hopefully. I don’t want to wait too long because it’s been a while since my last fight. I don’t want to go too long without fighting.”
Kavanagh: Woodley ‘not Goliath’
Kavanagh says McGregor could beat Woodley:
…I don’t see what other people are saying, ‘There’s no way Conor can touch this guy.’ There is. No one is perfect. There’s openings there. Of course, he’s a bigger man, he’s got more power and you’ve gotta be super careful. But Conor trains with big guys like this…He’s not enormous. He’s not some Goliath man. He’s a little bit bigger. Conor would have reach on him, he would have technique on him in the striking, for sure. He’d have to of course deal with that power. … I certainly don’t in my head go, ‘Oh my God, no. We couldn’t possibly beat him.’ It’s a doable fight.
Releases McGregor fight poster
Despite his next bout being more likely to be with Tony Ferguson for an interim title, Nurmagomedov releases a mock up of a poster for a fight with McGregor in Russia. Asked whether he will fight Tony Ferguson in his next bout:
100%. There are already negotiations, 90 % sure it will happen. Why? Because Conor is pregnant, he has to give birth, and then recover until summer. I can’t wait until summer, I have missed out on 2 years of my career, I don’t want to miss out long periods of time again.
Says he would have won popular vote if illegal votes deducted
Trump says he would have won the popular vote if the people who had voted illegally had been deducted. He also says that if he had to contest the election based on the popular vote, he would have been able to win by concentrating on the three or four largest states.
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4–
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
states instead of the 15 states that I visited. I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 27, 2016
Trump’s government ‘a who’s who of really despicable people’
Hammill comments on Trump:
I’m in total denial. I’m glad I have [my new show ‘Pop Culture Quest,’] to take my mind off what’s going on. Because if you look at what’s being assembled for our government it’s like, yikes. It’s a who’s who of really despicable people…It’s tempting to say, ‘Well, I’m moving to Canada, I can’t stand it. But in other ways, it’s a challenge to stay and defend your country and do what you think is right and not retreat and hide under the covers. It’s not gonna be easy, that’s for sure.