Conor McGregor’s UFC fight-by-fight history
A look back at the he controversial talent’s UFC run.
Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
A look back at the he controversial talent’s UFC run.
The two fighters went at each other as fans at UFC 296.
One of the biggest fights at UFC 296 wasn’t in the octagon.
Nope, it was in the crowd. But it was between two MMA fighters who will be facing each other in the future.
Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis will face each other at UFC 297 in January, and they had words for each other at a recent press conference. Oddly, the pair were seated near each other and came to blows in the crowd — MMA Junkie reports Dana White and security broke up the melee and Strickland was forced to leave.
But the fight didn’t stop there: The two called each other out on X (formerly Twitter):
I go hard on everyone I know this, izzy mouth feeding his dog, Dricus kissing his coach and grabbing his cup. Omally talking about sharing his wife in a podcast.
You're a man, on a world stage doing this in public
And what do you pick?
"You got abused as a kid ha"
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) December 17, 2023
Now I understand why you have a 33% finish rate, you hit like a girl, also 20 January the security won’t be there to save your life when I’m on top. 🤣🤣🤣 #rentfree
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) December 17, 2023
And here’s footage of the fight:
The full incident between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis at #UFC296 tonight.
Bring on #UFC297 in January! pic.twitter.com/HQt0Uj1jiv
— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023
Mark Zuckerberg was training for a fight early next year.
For those hoping the fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk will still happen at some point, don’t expect to see it anytime soon.
In a post shared to Instagram Saturday, Zuckerberg said he had surgery to replace a torn ACL suffered while sparring as part of his training for a competitive MMA match early next year.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzMx731POlJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
It’s unclear who the Meta boss was preparing to fight, but he said the bout will now be delayed.
In August, it seemed like a cage match between Zuckerberg and Musk was finally coming together after a bunch of back and forth. Musk even offered details of a location, saying it would take place in Rome. However, a few days later, Zuckerberg called off the fight, claiming Musk wasn’t being serious.
“If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me,” Zuckerberg said.
There hasn’t been much word on the matter since, so I doubt Zuckerberg was preparing to fight Musk. But whoever he was preparing to fight, they’ll have to wait a little longer.
It’s on, says Elon Musk.
Do we really need to see this?
The answer is no. But according to Elon Musk, it’s happening.
That would be the cage match between the X (still calling it Twitter here) owner and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that’s been much-discussed over the past few months as we’ve seen Musk tweet about it and Zuck show off his muscles.
Per Musk on Friday, there will be a fight. It’ll be managed by their respective foundations. It’ll be livestreamed on Meta and X (Twitter). It’ll be in Rome. That’s all we’ve got so far as we await response from Zuckerberg.
Here you go:
The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations (not UFC).
Livestream will be on this platform and Meta. Everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all.
I spoke to the PM of Italy and Minister of Culture. They have agreed on an epic location.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023
⚔️ Gladiator ⚔️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 11, 2023
Also, Musk tweeted this earlier in the week:
Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on 𝕏.
All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023
Putting the WWE and UFC under the same umbrella is an opportunity for underpaid wrestlers and fighters.
WWE has a new owner. While the McMahon family will still retain major roles in the empire Vince built, the whole show will now be run by Endeavor.
If that name sounds familiar, it’s because Endeavor was the top bidder for majority control of the UFC in 2016. Five years later, it bought out minority stakeholders for full control at a combined cost of $5.6 billion. Now it’s adding the scripted side of combat sports at a reported price of more than $9 billion.
That’s a massive amount of cash. History suggests comparatively little will trickle down to the wrestlers themselves.
The UFC has one of the worst revenue sharing setups among major sports. While the NBA, NFL and MLB all run on deals that split accrued cash between players and ownership at roughly a 50-50 rate, the UFC’s independent contractors only take home 20 percent of the company’s revenue each year. When company president Dana White — a man Endeavor kept at the helm after acquiring the company — was asked about whether raises were forthcoming, he was quick to stomp out any notion of better wages for the guys who create the product he promotes.
“It’s never gonna happen while I’m here,” he told GQ Magazine in 2022. “Believe me, these guys get paid what they’re supposed to get paid. They eat what they kill.”
This is a problem for WWE wrestlers, who fall under the same nebulous “independent contractors” designation as UFC fighters. Per Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the former headliner turned Chief Content Officer, main roster “superstars,” as they’re called, make at least $250,000 annually. That’s a lot of money, but these wrestlers also have to pay their way across the country as part of a barnstorming show; WWE reportedly doesn’t pay for lodging or transportation for the majority of its roster. In-ring injuries are covered, but personal health insurance is not.
That leaves a lot of holes from a company that brought in $1.3 billion in revenue last year. WWE counts 224 active wrestlers on its Superstars page, including members of its feeder league NXT. Even if we assume the average salary across the board is $500,000, that comes out to $112 million in salaries — or eight percent of the company’s annual revenue.
The actual number is higher than that thanks to megastar deals and various benefits, bringing in one-off talent and retaining the services of semi-retired veterans through “Legends” deals. Still, longtime wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer pegged WWE’s revenue split at less than 10 percent for talent just last year. It’s clear there’s room for compensation to grow to create a more stable future for the athletes who risk their wellbeing to prop up a company in service of their dreams of stardom.
Unionization would help these wrestlers and fighters gain leverage in an arena where they’ve traditionally had little. Fighters and wrestlers at the top of the card occasionally get to negotiate their way to big deals — White was quick to admit the biggest stars get a cut of pay-per-view sales for headlining UFC cards — but the men and women stuck anywhere below that highest tier wind up settling for less in a trade where one bad night can end their entire careers.
This would go deeper than just compensation, health care (which the UFC also provides for its fighters, though only up to $50,000 and only for injuries officially designated as specifically MMA related) and retirement planning. Despite being labeled as “independent,” wrestlers and fighters under contract have little freedom to ply their trade elsewhere.
If they’re not being utilized on screen they can’t jump to rivals like AEW or Impact until their deal expires — and sometimes these contracts can be extended for nebulous reasons. WWE talent was banned from using Twitch as a source to supplement their income before that edict was lifted last year. In many cases, the company has acted to ensure its talent can’t generate income without cutting out its own slice first. That’s a questionable strategy to begin with, but one that gets more exasperating when you consider the people it’s juicing aren’t even technically employees.
Maybe these grimy practices end with new management in place. Or maybe Endeavor, the company that effectively shrugged and kept White in charge with minimal discipline after video emerged of him striking his wife earlier this year, carves a path for Vince McMahon to re-assume his throne and enact whatever policies he sees fit. If WWE decides to crack down on outside income streams again, there’s little its independent contractors can do to fight it but wait out the end of their contracts and hope those deals aren’t extended against their will.
[We’ve barely touched on UFC fighter pay as well, where six different fighters on the UFC 286 card took home $16,000 or less in guaranteed pay despite months of training and the fees associated with it. Like the WWE, the UFC stifled fighters’ ability to monetize their careers after implementing a uniform that stripped away sponsorship opportunities.]
That’s where a union would help. Pro wrestling has certainly improved in its ability to take care of its talent in the ring and out. The horror stories that once followed the industry like a shadow have slowed to a trickle. WWE takes better care of its wrestlers now than arguably ever before.
This doesn’t mean things can’t improve, especially for the men and women in the middle and bottom of the card putting on bangers and failing to get paid what they’re worth. Putting the UFC and WWE under the same umbrella allows contractors from both sides to link up and demand more. An equitable piece of the pie for the people who put their health at risk to put on a show.
That’s an uphill battle. Unionization efforts have sputtered out before. White and McMahon know that taking care of the stars at the top of their cards can squash these organization drives out before they can even start.
But the opportunity is there. The reward is a better life for wrestlers and fighters throughout the Endeavor umbrella.
How to bet Jones’ first fight in three years.
After a three-year hiatus, an MMA legend returns to the Octagon on Saturday when Jon “Bones” Jones (26-1) makes his heavyweight debut against Ciryl Gane at UFC 285.
The fight is for the vacant heavyweight title and will be Jones’ first since February 2020, when he last defended the light heavyweight title he held for so long.
His opponent is a worthy one.
Gane (11-1) is the former interim heavyweight champion, earning that title with a win over Derrick Lewis in August 2021. He failed to gain undisputed status a few months later after losing by decision to Francis Ngannou, who just vacated the heavyweight belt in January. Now, Gane is back to claim it after winning his last fight in September. But he can he take down the GOAT?
[betwidget_gambfanduel]
Jones is favored to win with -170 odds at DraftKings, and the only real question is whether his age and the move to heavyweight impacts how we know he can performance.
Jones, 35, weighed in at 248 pounds, which is 43 pounds heavier than his old fighting weight and a half-pound more than the 32-year-old Gane.
To me, that sounds more dangerous for Jones’ opponent than anybody. My suggestion for bettors is to not overthink this one — Jones is known as the best for a reason.
I’m rolling with Bones to not only win in his return, but I’ll take the +200 odds on a decision, which is how he’s won seven of his last nine fights, including the last three.
[mm-video type=video id=01gtmdsfwqgse8hb7fwk playlist_id=none player_id=01gp1x90emjt3n6txc image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gtmdsfwqgse8hb7fwk/01gtmdsfwqgse8hb7fwk-f6032af4f98da00c15f1baa8a12c4980.jpg]
An MMA great will make his last stand on Saturday, February 4. Fedor Emelianenko challenges Ryan Bader for the Bellator heavyweight title.
An MMA great will make his last stand on Saturday, February 4. Fedor Emelianenko challenges Ryan Bader for the Bellator heavyweight title at Bellator 290. Bellator 290 takes place inside the Kia Forum in California. It will be the last fight of Fedor’s career.
Bellator 290 takes place on February 4. The prelims start at 6 p.m. ET with the main card at 9 p.m. ET. Bader and Fedor should make their way to the cage around 12 a.m. ET, depending on how long the undercard fights last.
Main card
Prelims
Bellator 290 odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Ryan Bader (-350) vs. Fedor Emelianenko (+260)
Want some action on the Bellator? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO & NJ at Tipico Sportsbook.
We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
None of this made any sense.
This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.
UFC president Dana White spoke to the media on Wednesday for the first time since he was seen hitting his wife twice in public after she slapped him during a dispute at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
And you know what? He made things worse because his explanations for why he won’t be punished for hitting his wife were disgusting and just utterly stupid.
But hey, at least he talked to the media, I guess. The cowards that run Endeavor, the parent company of the UFC and the group that could issue a punishment for White if they had any standards or morals, have had nothing to say about the boss of one of their companies hitting his wife, which is just mind boggling and awful.
So let’s stick with White and what he had to say. He seemed to be actually annoyed that he was even asked about a punishment, saying:
“What should the repercussions be? You tell me. I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? I told you guys when we were going through COVID, COVID could last 10 years. I could sit it out. It’s much like COVID actually. Me leaving hurts the company, hurts my employees, hurts the fighters. It doesn’t hurt me. I could’ve left in 2016. You know what I mean? I don’t know. Do I need to reflect? No, I don’t need to reflect. The next morning when I woke up (I reflected). I’ve been against this. I’ve owned this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong.”
First of all, it’s not “much like COVID” at all and that rambling line was just amazing to hear.
Secondly, he shouldn’t even be the one talking about the punishment because he shouldn’t be the one handing out the punishment – that should handled by the weak people over at Endeavor.
Thirdly, the UFC would be just fine if he was forced to step away for a month, two months, six months… however long. To think it wouldn’t be and that his employees and fighters would be in trouble if he was suspended for any length of time is just a sign of unabashed narcissism with no hints of truth.
White then went on to say the dumbest thing possible about his “punishment”:
“What is my punishment? Here’s my punishment: I have to walk around for however long I live – Is it 10.4 years, or is another 25 years? – and this is how I’m labeled now. My other punishment is I’m sure a lot of people, whether it be media, fighters, friends, acquaintances, who had respect for me, might not have respect for me now.”
Yeah, those aren’t really punishments at all. Those are consequences. You can’t do something awful and against the law and be like “I know I robbed that bank but my punishment now is that people know I’m a bank robber and I’m going to have to live with that for the rest of my life” and then not face any repercussions for robbing the bank.
That’s not how it works. At all.
Some fighters agreed and brought up their own examples of how that explanation isn’t even close to being a good one.
When I was suspended from winning bonuses for 3 fights for cursing at the crowd and wrecking a hotel room, I think the better punishment would have been to be known as a crowd cursing hotel wrecker 😂 @danawhite https://t.co/lcIYqyt2n9
— Al Iaquinta🗽 (@ALIAQUINTA) January 12, 2023
Did White just take a lit match to the UFC’s book on rules of conduct because what would stop a fighter going forward from pointing at what White said and trying to use that as a way of avoiding punishment?
If the leader can duck out of serious matters with no repercussions at all then what should stop everyone else in the organization from doing the same in the future?
Again, this really comes down to Endeavor not having the guts to act like adults and lay down some sort of punishment of their own. Not one person over there could say something publicly about this and offer some sort of punishment? Nobody could even come out and at least say something like “We here at Endeavor do not stand for domestic abuse and do not approve of what Dana White did.”
Really?
How sad.
But not surprising, unfortunately.
– Here are the 13 most ridiculous things from the NFL season, including Aaron Rodgers’ weird hair and Tom Brady’s goofy shirt.
– The trailer for Netflix’s PGA Tour documentary series ‘Full Swing’ is here and it’s spectacular.
– Get ready for the NFL playoffs by checking out our latest power rankings.
– Remember former Laker, Smush Parker? He’s attempting to pull of something pretty cool.
[mm-video type=video id=01gph7c0sd1j4pry0egw playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=01gp1x90emjt3n6txc image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gph7c0sd1j4pry0egw/01gph7c0sd1j4pry0egw-37363c5488e61cb1b4064b86f2ff7d7c.jpg]
Endeavor has had since Monday to comment on the video of Dana White hitting his wife. On Friday, a company spokesperson told For the Win that the silence will continue.
UFC president Dana White has rightfully been under fire all week after a video surfaced of him hitting his wife, Anne, during an altercation at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico last weekend.
Endeavor, the company that owns the UFC, has had since Monday to make a statement on this very serious matter and, well, it doesn’t look like that will ever happen. Apparently the company is fine with the cowardly path it has taken since the video came out last Monday night.
I’ve emailed Endeavor’s PR team every day this week trying to get a statement and finally on Friday I was able to talk to Maura McGreevy, the senior vice president of corporate communications, on the phone. She was quick to say that Endeavor has officially “declined to comment” on the situation and wouldn’t expand any more on the situation, if White would face any sort of punishment or if the company would ever say anything publicly on the matter.
So there we are. The president of a company that Endeavor owns was seen on video hitting his wife twice in public and Endeavor has nothing to say about it.
That is extremely disappointing – as well as disgusting – because the silence seems to be giving a sense of power to the large number of UFC fans on social media who don’t think White did anything wrong and shouldn’t be punished.
The silence also is telling us all a lot about Endeavor, a company full of human beings who should all be ashamed of themselves.
Dana White’s quotes from 2014 on domestic abuse are why he should be gone
Dana White’s words from 2014 speak volumes now.
UFC president Dana White has been quiet since talking to TMZ on Monday about the video that emerged over the holiday weekend of White hitting his wife, Anne, at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but his words from 2014 on domestic abuse have since resurfaced and they should have an impact on his future with the fight company.
White went on Fox Sports Live in September of 2014 and spoke about the video of former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice hitting his then fiancee which led to his suspension from the NFL.
Here is what White had to say about what should happen when a man puts his hands on a woman.
From MMAFighting.com:
“There’s one thing that you never bounce back from, and that’s putting your hands on a woman. Been that way in the UFC since we started here. You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman.”
It feels like that isn’t the case with the UFC, however, as White hasn’t been punished and the owners of the UFC, WME/Endeavor, haven’t responded to multiple emails from FTW looking for a public comment on a CEO of a business that they own hitting a woman twice in public.
There was this from that same interview in 2014:
“It’s a tough one,” White said on FOX Sports Live. “First of all, the video is horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. You’re talking about a guy who’s been in the fight business since he was 19 years old. It is the most disturbing thing you will ever see. The thing that’s just as bad as the punch is that he shows no remorse after he does it. You know, if you did something in anger and you go, ‘Oh my god. What did I do?’ There’s none of that with this guy. I don’t know all the ins and outs of what Roger Goodell did or knew, or how it was handled, but it’s definitely bad. I can tell you this: I wouldn’t want to be Roger Goodell.”
White’s video was horrifying, too, and I’m stunned no other companies that are in business with White, including ESPN and TBS, have said anything about this yet.
What White said in 2014 speaks volumes now and it should lead to a severe punishment.
Sadly, though, it seems like all the powers that be are just going to remain quiet.