Tag: Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor tried to lift Frankie Edgar’s spirits with some words of encouragement

It’s clear there’s some mutual respect between Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar.

It’s pretty clear that there’s mutual respect between [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag].

Following his first-round knockout loss to Chan Sung Jung this past Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 23, Edgar was criticized by many fans for his decision to step in on short notice against a dangerous contender like “The Korean Zombie.”

And McGregor, who previously said he wanted to fight Edgar in his comeback fight, came to Edgar’s defense, attempting to lift his spirits by encouraging him to keep on going.

“Remember what was told in shootouts Frankie! Stay low and keep firin!!! Forever an icon in this game! #FrankieBaby”

Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC), the former UFC lightweight champion, was all in for a fight with McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC). But according to McGregor, it was UFC president Dana White who wasn’t on board with the idea, considering that Edgar announced he’d be moving down to 135 pounds, whereas McGregor ultimately was booked to fight Donald Cerrone in a welterweight fight next month at UFC 246.

When for two-division champ McGregor was tearing through the featherweight ranks en route to winning the title, he never crossed paths with “The Answer,” and it seems unlikely they ever will.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t respect each other.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Jorge Masvidal challenges critics of potential Conor McGregor fight

“What is the big deal if this guy that’s been in the sport 16 (expletive) years goes on and gets a paycheck?”

[autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] isn’t chasing his next opponent. Over the past few months, he’s repeatedly said as much.

Seemingly open to all comers, Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) still has a preference. In a recent interview with Fansided, Masvidal was asked which he’d prefer: a fight with [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] or a UFC welterweight title shot against Kamaru Usman.

To “Gamebred,” one of those choices is more appealing than the other.

“Conor is not always going to be around,” Masvidal said. “Whoever has that belt at the time will always be there. There will always be a 170-pound champion.

“What is the big deal if this guy that’s been in the sport 16 (expletive) years goes on and gets a paycheck? I’m fighting a (expletive) killer, a two-time champion, a guy that’s a sniper with his left hand – and I’m also going to make a paycheck.”

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Should it happen, any criticism of a matchup with McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is unwarranted, according to Masvidal. The way he sees it, he’s paid his dues for 16 years to make the biggest paydays possible, and fans should understand that.

“So what’s the problem with that?” Masvidal said. “There is no problem with that. It’s just some of the casual fans who have been watching the sport for three to five years, and they think they’re (expletive) diehard fans or hardcore fans. No, I’m the one.

“It’s been 16 years I’ve been doing this, my brother. My lineage goes way, way back then. Before I was even in question to get this title shot, I had to go and get famous. You know how hard that (expletive) was? I had to get (expletive) famous, man, go viral and (expletive), before they’d even consider giving me the title.”

Before Masvidal potentially gets a crack at McGregor, the Irishman has business of his own he needs to handle. At UFC 246 on Jan. 18, McGregor takes on Donald Cerrone in the pay-per-view main event.

Masvidal has indicated his next booking is contingent on what goes down at UFC 246. If the pieces fall into place, fight fans could end up with a welterweight blockbuster down the line.

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Donald Cerrone ‘not going to talk badly’ about Conor McGregor, plans standup fight at UFC 246

“I’m going out there to put on the line and throw down and give everyone what they want to see.”

[autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] is unsurprisingly thrilled to finally get his chance to share the octagon with [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag].

After years of having the fight dangled in front of him, Cerrone (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC) signed to fight McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) in the main event of UFC 246, which takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view. “Cowboy” admitted that, even after he’d put pen to paper and it became official, he was in disbelief the matchup actually came to fruition.

Cerrone’s deal to fight McGregor also came with a new UFC contract attached. Cerrone, who is already tied for the record for most fights in UFC history at 33, is now linked to the promotion for seven more fights. The bout with McGregor will be his most financially lucrative to date – but it’s not money that’s going to send him off from the sport.

“I’m stoked,” Cerrone told MMA Junkie on Friday. “My contract is good with the UFC anyway, but it’s not the money fight everyone thinks. It’s like, ‘Oh, you’re fighting Conor, you’re set for life.’ It doesn’t work like that. I did get a little bit more money, so that’s cool. But it’s not like I’m done and I can just retire after this and buy a yacht and see you guys in the Caribbean.”

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The fact Cerrone and his team were able to reach terms with the UFC and get the fight done is no shocker. However, the matchup being scheduled to take place in the welterweight division certainly caught many off guard. The idea to fight at 170 pounds rather than lightweight was apparently McGregor’s, and neither the UFC nor Cerrone objected.

Although Cerrone has fought many more times than McGregor at 170 pounds, he said he doesn’t think the weight class impacts how the fight will play out.

“I think it’s better for both of us,” Cerrone said. “I think you’re going to get a healthy, full training camp for both of us. Smart move on both of us. … He’s a big boy too. Don’t let the weight fool you. He’s a big boy. He’s going to be heavy. Everyone says Conor’s a 45er. No, he made 45. He’s coming in big, so don’t think Conor is going to weigh in at 150 pounds and ‘Cowboy’ is going to be a monster. Yeah, right. It’ll probably be dead even.”

It’s been more than three weeks since the finalization of Cerrone vs. McGregor became public. Since then, McGregor has been nothing but friendly. The clips of the press conference exchange between the two from 2016 were immediately played on loop after the news broke, and Cerrone said it was entertaining to see that.

That exchange happened a long time ago, though, and both men have endured a lot – both in and out of the cage – since. Cerrone said he’s not surprised McGregor hasn’t gone on the verbal offensive (yet), but feels any trash talk toward him would be reaching, anyway.

“I’m kind of a straight shooter,” Cerrone said. “I’m not a guy that talks (expletive) much. I don’t do anything crazy out in the public or outlandish that he would have bad things to say. What crazy thing can he come up with that he can say?”

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If you flip the script, though, Cerrone has a lot of ammunition he could fire McGregor’s way in the lead up to UFC 246. The Irishman’s personal mishaps in recent years are well documented, and Cerrone could easily throw the past in McGregor’s face as promotional fodder for the matchup.

Cerrone, though, said that’s not his style.

“I’m not going to talk badly about him,” Cerrone said. “I don’t really care. He does his life and whatever he wants to do he can. I’m just as wild and crazy as him, but in a different way. The media keep asking me, ‘What do you think of the trouble he gets in?’ The guy lives under a microscope. Anything he does people want to blow up and make a big deal about it. That’s his life. I would never even dig at something like that. Hell, no.

“Only God damn thing I’m talking about is fighting only. Anything outside of it – that’s you. You do what you want to do. You want to meet me in the cage and fight – fighting that’s a whole different thing – but I’m not going to bring up anything from the past or anything he’s done outside the octagon. What the dude has done inside of the cage, and what he’s done for the sport is amazing. I’m honored to fight a guy like him and it’s going to be one hell of a battle and I’m looking forward to it.”

When talking about fighting, Cerrone said he intends to deliver the action in the octagon that every fan is hoping for. Although Cerrone seemingly has a stylistic advantage over McGregor on the ground, he said his plan is stand and trade. Cerrone and McGregor have netted some of the most brutal knockouts in the sport throughout their career, and Cerrone’s hope is to add one more memorable moment to the highlight reel – win or lose.

“I’m going to go out there and stand up with him because that’s what everyone wants to see,” Cerrone said. “Someone said earlier that’s like fighting not to win almost, but hell no. I’d rather go down in history as having the greatest fight ever and losing than fighting to just win and winning. I’m going out there to put on the line and throw down and give everyone what they want to see. To me, that’s what I want my legacy to be. I don’t want to be the guy that took the easy way and just ran the whole fight and tried to point fight. Hell, no. I’m going to stand and try to throw down.”

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In the weeks since the UFC 246 main event was booked, UFC president Dana White has said McGregor will likely get a lightweight title shot with a win. No such comments have been made about Cerrone, though, and he said he hasn’t been given any assurances about next steps. A UFC title remains part of Cerrone’s goals, however, and despite entering the matchup on a two-fight skid, knows the significance of the opportunity in front of him.

“I don’t get into the politics anymore,” Cerrone said. “That’s why I got a (expletive) manager because they can get in there and do the dirty negotiating. All I do is show up and fight and do what I love and have fun. … The goal hasn’t changed. I’m going to get that belt. That’s the last thing I’ve got to do for my legacy so I’m still on the path, still going to keep going and that’s why this sport’s hard. You got to be on top of your game at all times. I had a couple slips but hell, I’m back.”

McGregor is back too, though, and he appears to be motivated and hungry to make a big run in 2020 and restore the legacy which has been somewhat tainted in recent years. Cerrone said he loves that, because he wants the best version of “The Notorious” available when they finally share the octagon next month.

“(I’m expecting) the same hungry kid there’s always been,” Cerrone said. “He’s coming to knock my head off. There’s a lot weighing on this fight so I’m probably going to get the best Conor McGregor out there.”

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A look at how the UFC’s champ-champ era has been a struggle

The results of Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, and Amanda Nunes’ dual UFC title reigns haven’t been great.

The moments we’ve seen fighters carry two UFC title belts over their heads have been nothing short of magical. They’ve provided a truly memorable and special feel, but the fallout of those scenarios has been utterly disappointing.

Four fighters in UFC history have held belts in two divisions at the same time. The results of those reigns, however, have been borderline disastrous.

After Henry Cejudo relinquished his flyweight belt on Thursday, three of those four iconic dual-champ figureheads have had their champ-champ status ended without losing the gold in the cage, and that’s kind of a problem.

Let’s look at how it’s all unfolded …

Conor McGregor

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] was the original champ-champ. After beating Jose Aldo for featherweight gold at UFC 194, McGregor added the lightweight title to his collection with a knockout of Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 at UFC 205. It took just 14 days for the UFC to strip him of the 145-pound strap, then he would have the 155-pound belt taken away 17 months later while he occupied himself with a Floyd Mayweather boxing match and the extensive time off that came afterward. McGregor didn’t defend either title and hasn’t touched UFC gold since.

Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier at UFC 230. (Getty Images)

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag]’s dual-champ reign was probably the most successful of all, because he actually made a title defense while in possession of both. While holding the light heavyweight strap, Cormier moved up to heavyweight and knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 in July 2018. He defended the heavyweight belt against Derrick Lewis at UFC 230 in November 2018, but would never return to 205 pounds. The UFC made a title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in December 2018, and just one day before the fight took place, Cormier announced he was relinquishing the gold in a, “You can’t fire me, I quit” type of moment.

Henry Cejudo

Henry Cejudo after UFC 238.

[autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]’s time as a simultaneous two-division champ lasted six months, but he did not compete during that window. After defending his flyweight title against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC on ESPN+ 1 in January, Cejudo moved up to bantamweight to fight for the vacant strap after Dillashaw failed a drug test and was stripped of the belt. Cejudo would joins the history books with a memorable finish of Marlon Moraes at UFC 238 in June to take the 135-pound belt, but he suffered a shoulder injury in the bout and is still recovering from surgery. With a clear intent to fight the bigger names at bantamweight, the UFC and Cejudo mutually agreed he would give up the flyweight belt so the division could move forward.

Amanda Nunes

Amanda Nunes after UFC 245.

[autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag], of course, still holds dual-champ status. The longtime women’s bantamweight queen got her second belt when she knocked out Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 to claim the featherweight title, but it’s been nearly a year since that fight, and she’s yet to defend the 145-pound belt. After defending the 135-pound title against Holly Holm in July, Nunes was adamant about defending her other title next. She couldn’t find a willing foe at featherweight, though, and that’s going to continue to be a frustrating dilemma as long as both titles are in her possession.

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Jorge Masvidal credits Conor McGregor: ‘That’s a bad motherf*cker’

It takes one to know one.

[autotag]Jorge Masvidal[/autotag] has made it clear he wants to “rearrange” [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag]’s face. However, the UFC’s “BMF” champion also is willing to tip his cap to McGregor for what he’s accomplished.

Speaking on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast, Masvidal (35-13 MMA, 12-6 UFC) admitted that McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) is a “bad motherf*cker” in his own right. In fact, Masvidal indicated that’s what makes the potential matchup all the more appealing.

“I want to rearrange his face,” Masvidal said, when asked if he wants a fight with McGregor. “I wouldn’t mind collecting a nice check and whooping his ass, because that’s a bad motherf*cker. You know? Take nothing from the man. He’s got two belts at 145 pounds and 155 pounds – not easy weights to win at. Both times that he won the belt, it was unquestioned. It was no opposition. It was no fighting really. It was just he went in there, did what he wanted, and came home with the belt. So I would definitely like to fight him.”

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McGregor’s next fight is booked, while Masvidal’s is not. So it seems “Gamebred” will be keeping a close eye on the UFC 246 headliner between McGregor and Donald Cerrone on Jan. 18. The winner could potentially be Masvidal’s next opponent.

“We’re working on it,” Masvidal said of his next fight. “Hopefully by Jan. 18 – we’ll have a date set after Jan. 18.”

In the lead-up to, and aftermath following, his UFC 244 “BMF” title-earning victory over Nate Diaz in November, Masvidal stressed two things. One: He would happily take a fight against McGregor. And secondly, he’s not going to beg for a fight against him.

It seems Masvidal could get the fight on his terms, as UFC president Dana White has indicated a potential matchup is possible down the line. Additionally, White said in a recent interview that McGregor told him he wants to fight Masvidal.

Time will tell.

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UFC pay-per-view prices return to $64.99 beginning with ‘UFC 246: Conor vs. Cowboy’

The UFC’s pay-per-view pricing enjoyed a minor drop in cost for most of 2019, but that will change beginning with the new year.

The UFC’s pay-per-view pricing enjoyed a minor drop in cost for most of 2019, but that will change beginning with the new year.

When the UFC shifted the promotion’s pay-per-view distribution to ESPN+ in March 2019, the pay-per-view pricing dropped from $64.99 to $59.99, presumably to assist consumers with offsetting the $4.99/month charge to subscribe to ESPN+.

However, MMA Junkie has learned from ESPN+ officials that the pricing will return to $64.99 beginning with UFC 246, which takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

“ESPN+ is an incredible value to UFC fans, and this price change represents a return to the price that UFC fans traditionally paid, prior to ESPN+ decreasing the price for pay-per-view events for most of 2019,” an ESPN+ spokesperson told MMA Junkie.

For current non-subscribers to ESPN+, the pay-per-view and a one-year subscription to ESPN+ are being packaged together for $84.98, a similar increase from the current rate of $79.98.

According to an ESPN+ spokesperson, the UFC’s first year on ESPN+ featured more than 730 hours of programming, including 200 hours of live event coverage, as well more than 530 hours of original programs and on-demand content.

UFC 246 features a welterweight headliner between former dual-division champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and fan-favorite [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] (36-13 MMA, 23-10 UFC).

The latest UFC 246 lineup includes:

  • Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone
  • Diego Ferreira vs. Anthony Pettis
  • Claudia Gadelha vs. Alexa Grasso
  • Holly Holm vs. Raquel Pennington
  • Andre Fili vs. Sodiq Yusuff
  • Maycee Barber vs. Roxanne Modafferi
  • Drew Dober vs. Nasrat Haqparast
  • Maurice Greene vs. Aleksei Oleinik
  • Aleksa Camur vs. Justin Ledet
  • Grant Dawson vs. Chas Skelly
  • J.J. Aldrich vs. Sabina Mazo
  • Askar Askarov vs. Tim Elliott
  • Brian Kelleher vs. Ode Osbourne

Kamaru Usman warns Conor McGregor against title pursuit at 170: ‘He must want to die’

Kamaru Usman sends Conor McGregor a stern warning about moving to 170 pounds.

[autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] has sent [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] a stern warning.

Speaking to TMZ, UFC welterweight champion Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC), who took out arch-rival Colby Covington in the fifth round this past Saturday at UFC 245, does not think McGregor (21-4, 9-2 UFC) would fair well with him in the cage.

Former featherweight and lightweight champ McGregor recently tweeted “145. 155. 170.” seemingly implying his intentions of perhaps targeting a third UFC title at welterweight.

But Usman thinks a potential fight between him and McGregor would be a one-sided beating.

“He must want to die,” Usman said. “I mean like, what? He must want to die. This is not ’45, ’55. Like I will – you saw what Khabib (Nurmagomedov) did to him. Like, I’m – oh, my God. It wouldn’t even be fair if I fought Conor.”

McGregor returns to action at UFC 246 on Jan. 18 when he takes on Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. Angling for an eventual rematch with UFC lightweight champ Nurmagomedov, McGregor reportedly also has his eye on “BMF” champ Jorge Masvidal, as well.

Whatever comes next for the sport’s biggest star, Usman wants McGregor to understand that picking up a title at welterweight won’t be easy as long as he’s on top.

“Much respect to Conor for what he’s done for this sport and transcended it but nah, this ain’t what you want,” Usman said. “You just sit down, little man, sit down. Learn to walk before you can run because I would hurt that guy.”

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How is this the actual Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone official poster for UFC 246?

Is this all the UFC could come up with?

[autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] is set to make his octagon return at UFC 246, where he’ll face [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] on Jan. 18 in Las Vegas. Love him or hate him (and there’s been plenty of reason this year for the latter), it’s a big deal.

You’d think the UFC would want to make every effort to hype the return of its biggest star, go all out with the promotional materials. Like the official poster, for example. Really come up with something special.

Don’t mail it in on this one.

And yet, we got just a simple, non-symmetrical split image of both men that, for some strange reason, cuts off part of their faces.

Take a look:

Now, compare this with what my man @BossLogic threw together in just “a little spare time today.” This is a fight poster:

What do you think about the official UFC 246 poster? Vote in our poll:

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The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov unimpressed by Conor McGregor-Donald Cerrone booking: ‘It’s like the minor leagues’

Khabib Nurmagomedov says the upcoming Conor McGregor-Donald Cerrone fight will have no bearing on the next challenger for his title.

A sizable chunk of the MMA world is getting excited about the UFC 246 clash between [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] on Jan. 18, but don’t count UFC lightweight champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] among that group.

“The Eagle” recently talked to the media at a press conference for regional Russian MMA event GFC 22 in Krasnodar, and was asked for a prediction for the upcoming McGregor-Cowboy clash.

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But, rather than offering a stylistic breakdown of the matchup, Nurmagomedov (28-0, 12-0 UFC) instead made clear his own view about both the matchup, and the respective records of both McGregor (21-4, 9-2 UFC) and Cerrone (36-13, 23-10 UFC).

“I think Cerrone lost seven or eight of his last 10 fights (actually six). The other one (McGregor) is going into his fourth year of no victories,” he said (via translation by RT Sport).

“It’s like the minor leagues – it doesn’t really matter who wins there.

Nurmagomedov also played down suggestions of a potential rematch with McGregor, and laid out specific criteria for the Irish star to earn his way back to a title shot.

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“I’m surprised that Dana White is saying that if Conor beats Cerrone and I beat Tony Ferguson, there will be a rematch,” he said.

“I decide who I’m going to fight next. To fight me he has to cut weight first, down to (lightweight), and win 10 fights in a row like I did. Then we’ll think about a rematch.

“But for now, he can fight second-rate fighters who lose seven out of 10 fights at (welterweight).” But to think he deserves the lightweight belt, while I’m champion that won’t happen, so everything’s alright. Don’t worry.”

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