McGregor-Diaz presser set for July 7
UFC announces the UFC 202 McGregor-Diaz press conference will be on July 7 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The #UFC202 Presser is coming during @UFCFightWeek! @NateDiaz209 | @TheNotoriousMMA | After #UFC200 Open Workouts!!! pic.twitter.com/C98pcNNRjK
— UFC (@ufc) June 21, 2016
Bulls trade Rose
In a multiplayer deal, the Bulls trade point guard Rose, to the Knicks. Bulls chairman Reinsdorf:
Knowing Derrick as I do makes this trade a hard one. Everyone knows him as the local kid who became MVP for his hometown team, but not everyone got to know him like I did. While he is a terrific basketball player, he is an even better person with a tremendous heart. I wish him the best of health for the remainder of his career, and I want to personally thank him for everything that he did on the court and in the community during his time with the Chicago Bulls.
Bisping: I’ll snap McGregor’s neck
Bisping says he would “snap” Conor McGregor’s neck if he ever moved up to 185 pounds.
Listen, a long time ago I had a bird that annoyed me and the bird had to go. The bird’s neck was snapped. I would also snap Conor McGregor’s neck in a similar fashion. Conor is about as high as this couch, and I’m a grand specimen – I’m 6’2 of prime British beef. Conor is Irish and about 4’2. It wouldn’t even be fair. I doubt you could even get it sanctioned. But Conor for his weight-class is amazing, he is the best, I love him, but come on.
Praises McGregor’s willingness to fight
White praises McGregor’s willingness to fight any opponent.
Conor McGregor doesn’t give a shit. I’ve been doing this for 16 years – I know who says yes, who says no, and Conor says no to nothing…People say I kiss his ass and do all this other stuff for him, but I f-cking respect the guy, who when you walk into his living room, he’s just waking up, eleven days before his fight, and he’s been training for a certain weight and certain opponent. I said: ‘These are the three options’. He says: ‘I’m going to train, let me know which one takes it’. I’ve dealt with very few men and women who say that.
Kavanagh on McGregor’s pre-196 mistakes
According to an excerpt from Kavanagh’s upcoming autobiography, the lack of cutting weight caused a lack of focus in McGregor’s team leading up to UFC 196.
Not having to cut weight for the fight against Diaz was supposedly helpful, but in hindsight it was undoubtedly a hindrance. Cutting weight may not be much fun, but it does serve as a reminder that you’re preparing for a fight. It focuses the mind and has been an enormous part of what we’ve been doing. Without that ritual, things were just weird. It left us all in an unusual state of mind. The routine we had established was suddenly absent. The need to cut weight gets the fighter in the zone and lets them know that a fight is on the horizon. If a person is starving, they’re in survival mode. It focuses the mind and taps into the reptilian part of the brain. When Conor is cutting weight, he views his opponent as an obstacle in the way of his next meal. It’s a primal thing. On the other hand, when you’ve eaten a good dinner, all you want to do is relax in front of the TV. The fire in your belly is replaced by food. Being stuffed isn’t conducive to maintaining a competitive mindset.
Kavanagh says another mistake was to stay in Ireland as long as they did, delaying the trip to the United States until just two weeks prior to fight night.
Two weeks isn’t quite long enough to spend in the US before a fight like that. We need at least three, ideally four…There were mistakes made and, as the coach, I’ll take ownership of them. We should have travelled out sooner. We should have maintained the same level of meticulous preparation and competitive mindset that we had become accustomed to. We won’t be tucking into desserts, driving around in flashy cars and f-cking about.
Wears Arai helmet
Rossi is spotted at Misano wearing an Arai Ram 4, camouflaged as an AGV one, with stickers on top, based on the design he used last year. Rossi has always been associated with AGV. The Japanese manufacturer spread the photos through social media.
Tweets support for Conlan
After Conlan posts an image of boxing boots that McGregor has sent him, McGregor tweets his support.
Thanks to @TheNotoriousMMA and @Reebok for sorting me out with these new boots! Can't wait to wear them in Rio #GOLD pic.twitter.com/NPHqD52k8A
— Michael Conlan (@mickconlan11) June 17, 2016
Looking good Michael!! That gold medal is yours my brother! #OlympicChampion #Rio2016
Thank you @Reebok! https://t.co/fFhmuCvZ37— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 18, 2016
Cerrone wants to fight Diaz
Despite trading insults with McGregor in the past, Cerrone says that he would rather fight Diaz.
I’d rather fighter Diaz over Conor. Everyone talks about that as the money fight, but people don’t understand. They’re like, ‘If you get that fight, that’s the money fight.’ [But] I’m under contract. I get paid the same whether I fight Patrick Cote or I fight Conor. He might make more money because he got pay-per-view. I didn’t do a good job promoting myself and making myself big and get pay-per-view money. I get the same $80,000 to fight anybody.
Edgar’s plan: Beat Aldo, fight McGregor at MSG
Edgar says that when he beats Aldo in UFC 200, he wants to fight McGregor in UFC 205, on November 12 at Madison Square Garden. McGregor would have to fight at 145 pounds.
You can’t write something better than that. Why wouldn’t Conor want to fight at MSG? There’s definitely a big Irish contingency in New York and it could be possibly biggest fight UFC history. At 145, he has everything to lose. At 170 he has nothing to lose, even though Nate is a ’55 pounder and they decided not to cut weight, so they can market going up two weight classes which is ridiculous since he’s a 55 pounder … at ’45, if he loses, he has nothing. He has a hard time making the weight. If he goes to 55 he’s not going to be in the title talks for awhile..
On Aldo:
I’m going to show up July 9 to fight. Whoever it may be. Obviously I want it to be Jose Aldo I think he deserves it and that’s the fight I want. Based on the fact I was close to beating him last time, so there’s a little revenge in the air and whatnot. To be so dominant for this long, and then to lose like that, Conor is worst guy to lose to in that fashion. He already let the world know before and he let the world know after. He digs better than anybody. Some guys get through it and some guys don’t.
Cormier: Lesnar bigger star than McGregor
Cormier says UFC 200 will be a bigger draw than UFC 202 because Lesnar is a bigger star than McGregror.
I think UFC 200 will undoubtedly be the most successful pay-per-view in UFC history. You have nine former or current UFC champions on the card. You have one of the fights just to start, the first fight of the night, might be either Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Lauzon or Takanori Gomi vs. Jim Miller. These are sick fights, and they’re the ones who are opening the curtain. T.J. Dillashaw is on the card against Raphael Assuncao. Cat Zingano vs. Julianna Pena, two fireballs. And then when the main card starts, Cain Velasquez, who has been in the main event of every fight card he’s been on for the last six years, is fighting to open the night against Travis Browne. How sick is that? The return of Brock Lesnar. Conor McGregor is a massive star in the UFC, as is Nate Diaz, but I can’t imagine people would say that Brock isn’t the biggest star UFC has ever seen.
Spars with Wallace
Wallace, a Newry middleweight who has claimed six all-Ireland titles, says that he had just wrapped up a sparring session with McGregor at the SBG gym in Dublin.
I think he is a very skilful operator, his boxing skills is of very high level. He definitely has what it takes to be a boxer. I’m privileged to be given the opportunity.
https://www.facebook.com/conor.wallace.92/posts/1224977910880981
Edgar: McGregor smart not to fight at featherweight
Edgar says McGregor is ‘smart’ not to fight at 145.
At 145 he has everything to lose. At 170, he has nothing to lose. I mean, even though Nate is a 155-pound guy, and he decided not to cut weight so they could go around and market the fact that he’s going up two weight classes; which is ridiculous because he is fighting Nate Diaz who is a 55 pounder. If he loses at 70, well then, ‘Oh, he was too big, he’s fighting guys bigger than him.’ At 145, he loses then he has nothing. He loses his title, then what? He has a really hard time making that weight anyway, and if he goes to 55, he is not going to be in the title talks for a while, Conor is a smart guy. The way he promotes himself, the fights he gets, he’s a very smart guy, good coaches around him and they are making the right decisions for his career.
Danis training with McGregor
Danis posts Instagram images of him training with McGregor at the SBG Ireland gym in Dublin.
We’ve been in contact for a while and the time was just right. He’s one of my idols and you don’t pass up opportunities like this. He has one of the greatest minds and skillsets ever in the sport.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGmh8g8mEc0/
Posts support for Ireland’s Euro 2016 team
McGregor posts video support for the Irish Euro 2016 football team.
Here is that rallying cry from @thenotoriousMMA to Ireland ahead of the start of #euro2016. We are here to take overhttps://t.co/wvOs5K8O4s
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 13, 2016
Rogan: UFC right to rematch McGregor-Diaz
Rogan says that the UFC made the right decision in rematching McGregor with Diaz.
The emperor has been stripped down, okay? So now, he’s been exposed, someone has beaten him. So here’s the thing, what do you now? Do you want to make money? Because if you want to make money, you make the biggest fight you can right now while he’s been exposed. And the biggest fight for sure is (a rematch with Diaz). And when I say exposed, I don’t mean he’s not talented. I mean exposed meaning he’s a human and that he can lose. And that happens with every fighter. They lose and once they lose people go ‘oh, you can be beat. So, this is not an invulnerable perfect fighter who is unbelievable durable who can take punishment like no man. We’re talking about a guy who got dinged up (and) shot for a sh***y wide open takedown, got taken down, got demolished on the ground and got choked unconscious – quickly afterwards. But, you’ve got to put him in against Nate again. Because, that’s the big money rematch and if this guy turns out to be a guy who is going to win some and lose some and the beginning of his career he’s the unbeatable and wild Celtic warrior character, uhhhh, that’s all gone.
Hopes to meet Verstappen in Assen
Rosis says he is hoping to meet Verstappen at the Netherlands GP in Assen.
I always follow Formula One. Max Verstappen is a driver who I have followed since his time in go-karts, where he won several titles and showed how strong he was right away. It’s amazing what he has done and he is still very young. His speed is incredible and what he did in the race in Barcelona was fantastic. He had a bit of luck because of the collision between the Mercedes of Hamilton and Rosberg, but that shouldn’t detract from what he did. If I can meet him in Assen at the Dutch GP, then I would be really happy!
MotoGP ‘Will never be safe’
Following the death of Luis Salom, Rossi says that MotoGP will never be safe.
If I thought a little bit I could give to you a minimum of 10 corners, Motegi, Turn 4, for example. It’s something where every year we go and we say ‘we need more run-off.’ You check the situation. You cannot extend the run-off area, this is the reality,” he added. During the season you have a lot of points where if something happened with the bike you don’t have enough space. I remember in Jerez some years ago, Roberto Locatelli had the accident at the exit of Turn 10. The steering was stuck to the left and he went into the wall on the left in a place that is straight. In a place where it’s straight, it’s impossible to have 100 metres of run-off area. We’d have to race in the desert. Maybe Qatar is the only place where that’s OK, [but Marc] Marquez tried a start this year and he locked the front and he went to the left. It’s very difficult to have 100% safety. Unfortunately it’s something that you cannot fix.
New chassis could be raced at Assen
After post-race testing Rossi says that a new chassis could be used in the Netherlands GP. After evaluating some new Michelin rear tyres, Rossi runs once on the new frame. Testing will continue through Tuesday.
The first impression was good. Tomorrow with more time I will test the chassis more deeply. Tomorrow can be an important day because we have some interesting things; the chassis, the swingarm… some things like this arriving from Yamaha. So it will be interesting to understand if we are able to improve a bit. What you expect from a new chassis is more a less then same: Try to make the corner fastest usually. This is the target!
Rossi, Marquez shake hands
Marquez and Rossi shake hands after the race.
Respect.#RossiVsMarquez https://t.co/gnWA5yV4aQ
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) June 5, 2016
Diaz slaps White
Diaz posts video to Instagram of him slapping White, saying.
Getting deals done today.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGQJYQVOPpo/