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.”
Jose Aldo reacts to Conor McGregor supporting his drop down to 135 pounds.
Support from former foe [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] has warmed [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag]’s heart.
Two-time UFC featherweight champion Aldo, who lost his 145-pound title to McGregor in 2015, took a lot of criticism for his decision to move down to 135 pounds.
Plenty of pictures have been spread online highlighting how drained and gaunt Aldo has looked ahead of his fight with Marlon Moraes on Saturday at UFC 245.
And while many fighters have shown their concern toward Aldo and questioned his decision to drop to bantamweight, McGregor was one of the few people to defend him, saying that Aldo looks on top of things.
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An appreciative Aldo was asked by TSN for his thoughts on McGregor’s support, a feel-good moment in the MMA community.
“Of course I took it to heart, the great champions know what it takes to sacrifice things for us to achieve things, the other people, the other fighters only dream of so it means a lot to me that it comes from him. He’s a champion of two weight classes. He knows the sacrifices that I had to make and I really take the compliment, the comment to heart.”
UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Dana White explains why Conor McGregor is likely to see a title shot before Justin Gaethje is he wins at UFC 246.
[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] lashed out at Dana White after the UFC president said [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] would fight for the lightweight title next if successful in his return to the octagon against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246.
Gaethje (21-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) has been pushing for a title shot at 155 pounds after putting together three consecutive first-round knockouts, the most recent of which came against Cerrone at UFC on ESPN+ 16 in September.
Much to Gaethje’s confusion, though, he could be upstaged by McGregor’s (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) one performance on Jan. 18, despite the bout being contested at welterweight. White pointed to McGregor’s resume and accomplishments in the sport, as well as Gaethje allegedly turning down fights, as the reason for “The Notorious” being a win over “Cowboy” away from challenging for the gold.
“C’mon guys, look what Conor’s done over the last however many years,” White told ESPN on Thursday. “Then he loses to Khabib (Nurmagomedov) in a fight that was – when you talk about bad blood – it’s like the next level of bad blood. Gaethje was on his way up, too. We’ve offered Gaethje a lot of fights that Gaethje hasn’t taken, either. So Conor’s in line next for (a title) fight if he beats ‘Cowboy.'”
Gaethje recently told MMA Junkie his intention was to wait for the winner of the Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson lightweight title bout, which is scheduled for April 18 in Brooklyn. He was also open to the possibility of being a replacement fighter, but would want the cost of his training camp covered.
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It appears as though McGregor has jumped ahead of him for both those scenarios. White revealed the Irishman has the intention of beating Cerrone and preparing himself to step in should the ill-fated Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson matchup be called off for a fifth time.
“Conor wants to fight three times this year and he’s hoping that if he beats ‘Cowboy’ he can turn right around and fight Khabib,” White said. “But that timing and math isn’t going to work out. But you know Conor. Conor thinks the way Conor thinks. His thing is, ‘I’ll fight ‘Cowboy,’ I’ll beat ‘Cowboy’ and I’ll be ready to fight Khabib at 155 if anything happens.’ Because we’re going into Khabib-Tony again. So in Conor’s mind, Conor would be ready for that fight.”
Although White is saying this now, there’s still more than a month until McGregor fights Cerrone, and more than four months until Nurmagomedov fights Ferguson. The landscape has the potential to change dramatically over that time frame, and White said his focus is on the first step, which involves getting McGregor back in the octagon at UFC 246.
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“We’re getting through this one first,” White said. “We’re getting through the ‘Cowboy’ fight, and the level of disrespect shown to ‘Cowboy’ through this whole thing, apparently everybody forgot. ‘Cowboy’ lost two in a row? ‘Cowboy’ has lost two in a row before and come back and gone on unbelievable runs. So let’s not count ‘Cowboy’ out.”
On this date in MMA history four years ago, Conor McGregor became featherweight champion with a 13-second KO of Jose Aldo at UFC 194.
(This story first published on Dec. 12, 2017.)
Months of buildup. Dozens of interviews. Thousands of miles traveled and multiple countries visited on a press tour that seemed to go on forever. Then 13 seconds in the cage.
That was how the saga of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] finally ended on Dec. 12, 2015. You couldn’t have missed the months of pre-fight hype if you tried. But the fight itself came and went in less time than it would take you to run to the kitchen and get a fresh beer out of the fridge.
Just like that, one era ended and another began. The jester had become king, and the king had become the past. After that, the featherweight division – and arguably the UFC itself – would never be quite the same.
Somehow, this all started with Dennis Siver. In January 2015, McGregor traveled to Boston to meet the stoically inoffensive German featherweight in the main event of UFC Fight Night 59.
Did this seem like it was even intended to be a serious challenge to the streaking McGregor, who’d stormed into the UFC two years prior and reeled off four straight wins while his fame snowballed into an unstoppable force? Not really.
What it seemed like was a setup. Especially after the Irishman had proven his drawing power in a win over Diego Brandao at a UFC Fight Pass-only event from Dublin, the UFC clearly wanted to be all the way in the McGregor business. So it booked him opposite Siver, a good-but-not-great featherweight who seemed to be slowing down in his mid-30s.
“This fight in Boston,” UFC President Dana White said a couple weeks prior, “if (McGregor) wins, he’s going to fight for the title.”
Of course he won. That was the whole point. But a second-round TKO of Siver didn’t make quite enough noise to please McGregor, so after the fight he leapt over the octagon fence and made a beeline for UFC featherweight champion Aldo, who was sitting at cageside.
The confrontation was brief, but tense. With beefy security types quickly intervening between the two men, McGregor leaned toward Aldo’s face with the wide-eyed stare of a madman. Aldo couldn’t stop grinning. The whole thing was just so funny, he explained later.
“He is a fool, and just kept opening his mouth,” Aldo said. “It just made me laugh.”
This would become Aldo’s standard response to McGregor’s many provocations.
At the event, he showed off a poster depicting McGregor as a court jester. “Go Joker, Go…” it read. “Make me laugh.”
Jose Aldo
After four years as the only featherweight champion the UFC had ever known, it hardly even needed to be said that, at least for the purposes of this metaphor, Aldo was the king.
The fight was set for UFC 189 in July. To promote what it expected to be a blockbuster affair, the UFC took both fighters on a two-week media tour that traveled from Brazil to the U.S. to Ireland, all so fans could work themselves into a frenzy as the two men jawed at one another from opposite sides of a dais.
Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor
Aldo may have started out trying to dismiss McGregor’s antics as harmlessly idiotic, but by the end, he was nearly boiling over. In Dublin, McGregor reached over the podium and seized Aldo’s UFC title belt, holding it over his head as the Irish fans cheered and Dana White tried to restrain the enraged Aldo.
With that image alone, the media tour seemed to have served its purpose.
White later claimed the UFC had spent more money promoting that fight than any other in UFC history. That made it sting all the more when, a few weeks before UFC 189, Aldo withdrew with a rib injury.
The UFC president didn’t take the news well. He accused Aldo and his camp of overplaying the injury, making a bruised rib sound like a broken one. He appeared on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” alongside McGregor to criticize Aldo’s record of pulling out of title fights. Instead, White said, former title challenger Chad Mendes would step in on short notice to fight McGregor for the interim featherweight title.
As for Aldo?
“If a man is scared for his life, we cannot force him to step in and face me,” McGregor said on ESPN. “I feel he is afraid. The doctors have cleared him to fight. It’s a (rib) bruise, but he has still pulled out.”
Even with the late change of opponents, UFC 189 was an unqualified success. The UFC pulled out all the stops with its production, both on pay-per-view and in the arena, with Sinead O’Connor singing McGregor’s entrance music live inside MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Conor Mcgregor and Chad Mendes at UFC 189. (USA TODAY Sports)
And, after a shaky first round in which he was easily taken down by Mendes and bloodied on the mat, McGregor rebounded to knock out an exhausted Mendes in the final seconds of Round 2.
Now the Irishman was the interim champ, and to the tune of more than 800,000 pay-per-view buys, according to reports. The live-gate figures also broke a U.S. record for MMA, according to UFC officials, with just north of $7 million flowing in through ticket sales.
But the fight with Mendes left some doubts. Yes, McGregor had finally defeated a strong wrestler, but one who took the fight on short notice. Plus, his takedown defense was clearly lacking. After being given such a well-manicured path to the title, was McGregor really ready for a focused and prepared champion like Aldo?
We finally got the chance to find out that December. Atop a star-studded fight card that featured Chris Weidman defending his middleweight title against Luke Rockhold (while Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza battled beneath them to see who had next), Aldo-McGregor was the unquestioned headliner.
Before the event, White predicted another record-breaker, saying that UFC 194 was on track to be “the biggest thing we’ve ever done.” Sure enough, live gate figures topped $10 million, according to UFC officials, breaking the U.S. record set by McGregor’s previous fight.
At the weigh-ins, a grinning Aldo and a skeletal McGregor had to be separated by White. The arena practically shook with the raucous cheers of the Irish fans, and all with still a day to go before the fight itself.
Asked for prediction before the fight, McGregor explained that he saw himself slipping Aldo’s right hand and coming back with his own powerful left.
“I see him KO’d inside one (round),” McGregor said.
More than 16,000 fans packed MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas that night. More than a million more watched on pay-per-view.
McGregor entered first, grinning his madman’s grin as he draped himself the Irish flag. A tense and serious Aldo followed a few moments later. The longtime champion looked especially nervous as he waited in his corner, head down, swaying from side to side.
Only referee John McCarthy, standing quietly with his arms crossed, seemed capable of underplaying the magnitude of the moment. When McCarthy gave the pre-fight instructions and offered the fighters the chance to tough gloves, neither man moved.
“Conor looks extremely loose,” UFC commentator Joe Rogan said, as McGregor crouched in his corner, mouthing words that were immediately lost in the din of the crowd. “And Aldo looks like he’s feeling the pressure of this moment.”
At the signal to fight, McGregor bounded out to the center of the cage, his lead right hand extended as Aldo stalked forward. McGregor fired a straight left, and Aldo replied with a counter left hook that came up short. McGregor stabbed a kick at Aldo’s thigh, forcing him back, but only for a moment.
Then it was if Aldo had had enough. He came forward pumping his left, missing with his right and landing his left – just as he walked directly into McGregor’s stiff left hand.
The instant the punch landed, it was as if Aldo’s feet stopped working, while his forward momentum carried his upper body on ahead. He crashed to the mat, rolling onto his side as McGregor stood over him and pounded at his unguarded head with two straight left-hand hammerfists.
Conor McGregor and Jose Aldo
By the time McCarthy shoved him off to stop it, only 13 seconds had gone by.
“Unbelievable,” Rogan said. “The first punch he threw. Slept him.”
As Aldo was being helped to his feet, McGregor celebrated atop the cage before jumping down and jogging around the perimeter, once again draped in his flag.
“The first man to beat Aldo in over a decade,” UFC commentator Mike Goldberg said. “The fastest title fight finish ever, bettering Ronda Rousey’s 14-second armbar.”
Aldo could only stalk the cage, covering his face with a towel as he shook his head. When he came to the center of the cage for the official announcement, he traded a few words with McGregor before standing with his hands on his hips, staring at the mat while blood leaked from a cut on the bridge of his nose.
“He’s powerful, and he’s fast,” McGregor said of Aldo in the post-fight interview. “But precision beats power, and timing beats speed. And that’s what you saw there.”
By the time the post-fight press conference rolled around, McGregor was already talking about his next goal – the UFC lightweight title. His coaches later admitted that the cut to featherweight was a brutal one for him, and one they might prefer him never to make again. But in the immediate aftermath, McGregor was adamant about becoming – and staying – a two-division champion.
“I’ll tell you one thing that won’t be happening,” McGregor said. “If I got up to that lightweight division, there is no way in hell that I am vacating my belt. That is not happening. There will be a belt on one shoulder and a belt on the other shoulder.”
And there was, at least for a time. By then, no one was laughing at the joker anymore.
“You can’t accuse somebody and stop them from making a living when they haven’t even been charged of anything.”
UFC president Dana White says he hasn’t heard criticism of his booking of [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] into a fight amid multiple reported allegations of sexual assault.
In late March, The New York Times reported McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) was being investigated in Ireland for sexual assault. In mid-October, the outlet reported a second sexual assault allegation, for which McGregor was investigated. This accusation came from a different accuser. Irish laws prevent publications from printing the names of those accused of sexual crimes, which is why they came to light in a U.S.-based outlet.
While there has been criticism of the promotion’s matchup of McGregor against Donald Cerrone at UFC 246 on Jan. 18, White told Yahoo Sports he’s heard none of it.
“I didn’t even know (about the criticism),” White said. “He hasn’t been charged with anything. You can’t accuse somebody and stop them from making a living when they haven’t even been charged of anything.
“Conor McGregor has made a lot of bad decisions in the past several years. He has paid for it. He walked into court and plead guilty to punching that guy in the face in Ireland. He paid for the slapping of the phone out of the thing. He attacked the bus and paid for that.”
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The UFC president reiterated multiple times throughout the interview his belief that if McGregor were to get charged with a crime, things would be different. However, at this time, McGregor hasn’t been charged. So White indicated he doesn’t see any reason to prevent the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion from competing.
“He’s obviously done some things,” White said. “He’s been charged and paid and done everything he’s supposed to do. These other things, first of all I don’t even know. Has it said that he’s the guy that’s being accused?”
“Listen, if he was being charged with something right now. It would be a different story. The New York Times have wrote those stories, but those are no other stories out there about Conor McGregor.”
There were some great wars in the Octagon over the last decade.
The UFC has one heck of a decade, both inside and outside the Octagon. And we still have one really good night of fights heading our way as three championship belts will be on the line Saturday night at UFC 245 in Las Vegas.
There were some amazing fights and this list was hard to whittle down to just 10 but here we are. From historic victories to bloody battles that will never be forgotten, we have a little bit of everything here.
10. Cub Swanson vs Doo Ho Choi, UFC 206, 2016
This one was only a three-rounder but what an incredible three rounds it was in Toronto. Swanson and Choi traded serious blows over and over and over again and had fans screaming for it to be an instant classic and one of the best fights of the year in 2016, which had some really darn good fights. I still don’t know how Choi ate all those punches but, man, what a fight.
9. Miesha Tate vs. Holly Holm, UFC 196, 2016
UFC 196 was an incredible night for rear-naked chokes, as Nate Diaz used one to beat Conor McGregor in the main event and Miesha Tate used one to beat Holly Holm and win her only UFC belt in the co-main event. Just when it seemed like all Holm had to do was stay away from Tate over the final few minutes of the fifth round and she’d win the fight, Tate suddenly took Holm’s back and choked Holm out for the biggest, and most emotional, win of her career. It was great to see such a legend of the sport finally get her belt.
8. Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum, UFC 236, 2019
Adesanya and Gastelum met in what might be the fight of 2019 as they had an epic 5-round brawl that ended with Adesanya winning the interim middleweight belt via unanimous decision.
7. Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen, UFC 117, 2010
Silva, one of the greatest to ever enter the Octagon, and Sonnen, one of the greatest talkers to ever enter the Octagon (who has also had a legendary career) squared off in a classic in Oakland. Sonnen controlled much of the fight but just when it looked like he might cruise to a win, Silva showed his greatness and pulled off a stunning submission via triangle choke with 1:50 left in the final round. Just incredible.
6. Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor 2, UFC 202, 2016
McGregor and Diaz ran it back just months after their first fight in which Diaz choked out McGregor in the second round of an epic main event at UFC 196. This rematch went five incredible rounds and was won by McGregor via decision, though it felt like it really could have gone either way. Will we ever see a trilogy fight?
5. Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 1, UFC 165, 2013
Jones left on a stretcher and was hospitalized after Gustafsson gave him everything he could handle as Jones won via decision in what was 5-round war. Check out this photo of the two fighters in the hospital after the fight for proof of what a battle this one was. My goodness.
4. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II, UFC 125, 2011
Maynard almost knocked out Edgar, who was the lightweight champ at time, in the first round and Edgar said after the fight that he didn’t remember much from the first round because of the punishment he took. They then went on to go all five rounds in a fight that was ruled a draw and was instantly dubbed as legendary, and rightly so.
3. Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald, UFC 189, 2015
These two warriors put on an absolute show in Las Vegas which ended with Lawler getting the win via TKO a minute into the fifth round of what was a bloodbath.
2. Holly Holm vs Ronda Rousey, UFC 195, 2016
Ronda Rousey was one of the biggest stars on the planet when she went down to Australia and suffered her first loss in stunning fashion thanks to a devastating left head kick by Holm. That’s why this one is so high in these rankings. Rousey was never the same after that loss, as she fought only one more time (a loss to Amanda Nunes), which is incredible when you think about how big she was in the sport before that kick to the head by Holm.
1. Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua, UFC 139, 2011
If you remember this fight then you know why so many big-name fighters in the video above were in such awe of the performances put on by Henderson and Rua. Henderson got the win via decision but really, but men deserved to take something from that unbelievable 5-round battle. What. A. Fight.
Jorge Masvidal would love to get in the ring with the retired Floyd Mayweather Jr., who recently declared he would fight again in 2020.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. continues to live free in the heads of MMA fighters.
The retired boxer recently declared on social media that he would return to the ring in 2020 in some kind of collaboration with UFC boss Dana White. That has no doubt perked up the ears of some of the UFC’s biggest stars, including Jorge Masvidal, who obviously smells a boatload of moolah.
“Me versus Mayweather. I want cash money,” Masvidal told TMZ Sports. “I got children, and those children got needs.”
Masvidal, who won a technical decision over Nate Diaz in November, recently called out Canelo Alvarez in an attempt to lure the Mexican superstar into a crossover bout. But with Mayweather seemingly an active fighter again and Alvarez expressing little interest, Masvidal has his eyes set on the undefeated boxer.
“I love to fight and one of my first loves growing up was boxing, and then I fell in love with wrestling and then UFC came about,” Masvidal said. “I was like, ‘Wow, I can do them both of them at the same damn time.’ I fell in love with the UFC, and that’s all I’ve done, the MMA. But I can box my ass off.”
White recently said that that should a collaboration with Mayweather become reality, the fight will most likely take place in the fall. Whatever form it may take, it is certain to be a financial bonanza. Masvidal’s colleague Conor McGregor had a reported guarantee of $30 million and might’ve taken home as much as $85 million in his boxing match with Mayweather in 2017. Even sniffing a fraction of that would presumably make Masvidal a happy camper.
“Not saying I’m a better boxer than Mayweather but man,” Masvidal said, “I’m gonna be in there with bad intentions, trying to hurt him. I’m a well-conditioned athlete who’s not going to fade. I’m not going to fade in the eighth of ninth round (as McGregor did). I’m going to be there for the whole night.
“I want to get into the biggest, toughest, roughest fights that I possibly can and make a paycheck for them as well, get compensated for my skills.”
Justin Gaethje, how do you really feel about a possible Khabib vs. McGregor rematch?
[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] is letting the public know how he really feels.
On Wednesday, Gaethje responded to recent comments made by UFC president Dana White.
When speaking on the state of the UFC lightweight division, White indicated that a rematch between champion [autotag]Khabib Nurmagomedov[/autotag] and [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] could be on tap, should both men win their upcoming fights against Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone, respectively.
“If Conor can get through ‘Cowboy’ and if Khabib can get through Tony, then we’d be looking at a rematch between Conor and Khabib down the line here pretty soon,” White said in an interview with BT Sport released Tuesday.
Not long after the video of White’s comments hit Twitter, Gaethje responded and voiced his disapproval.
Lol at @danawhite “if Conor gets through Cowboy”… what a crock of sh*t.
If White’s alleged plans hold true, the proverbial monkey wrench will be thrown in Gaethje’s pathway to a title shot.
In an interview with MMA Junkie last week, Gaethje said he planned to sit out and wait to fight the winner of Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson. He believed he was the No. 1 contender.
“I don’t see it like that,” Gaethje said, when asked if he felt like the odd man out. “I think I’m the next guy in line. The title fight is set, and somebody needs to fight the winner of that fight. So that’s me. I got in this sport for one reason, and that was to fight for a world title.”
McGregor vs. Cerrone is scheduled to headline UFC 246 on Jan. 18 in Las Vegas. Three months later, Nurmagomedov vs. Ferguson serves as the main event for UFC 249 in Brooklyn, N.Y. on April 18.
Donald Cerrone is adding a wrinkle to his preparation for his fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 246. So will it pay off?
[autotag]Donald Cerrone[/autotag] will be closing out his training at Roufus Sport ahead of the biggest fight of his standout career.
Cerrone headlines UFC 246 on Jan. 18, when he takes on returning former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] in a welterweight bout.
Speaking on “The Luke Thomas Show,” head coach Duke Roufus revealed Tuesday that Cerrone will pay a visit to his gym after Christmas in preparation for his fight with McGregor. Roufusport is home to the likes of former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis, lightweight contender Paul Felder, and former welterweight champ Tyron Woodley.
The move to Milwaukee is so Cerrone can train with those fighters and work more closely with former kickboxing world champion coach Roufus in preparation for McGregor’s striking.
Having dropped his last two fights to Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje, respectively, Cerrone finds himself with his back against the wall. It’s not unfamiliar territory for the 36-year-old veteran, only this time the magnitude of the fight – and the money and opportunities that come with a win over a star like McGregor – should add motivation for Cerrone at this point in his career.
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So is the move to Roufusport a good one? Well, for starters, he wouldn’t be short of training partners to drill with. The likes of the Pettis brothers, Felder, and UFC welterweight Belal Muhammad might not mimic the exact style of McGregor, but they would certainly give Cerrone some good sparring rounds.
Working with an experienced coach like Roufus, who boasts a decorated kickboxing background, as well as the experience of cornering numerous championship fights, Cerrone will find himself training under the tutelage of a coach that has pretty much seen it all in combat sports.
“Cowboy” should be in good hands. But what do you think? You can vote in our poll below.
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.
Paul Felder wants Conor McGregor out of the lightweight rankings, so guys like him can continue their ascent toward title contention.
WASHINGTON – [autotag]Paul Felder[/autotag] hopes [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] stays at welterweight so he stops clogging up the 155-pound division.
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champ McGregor, who was stripped of his lightweight title due to inactivity, has only competed once in the octagon over the past two years, failing to re-capture 155-pound belt in a fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.
But McGregor’s position in the lightweight rankings has remained high, and numerous fighters have called him out for a fight in order to move up the ladder. However, McGregor wasn’t interested in taking up any of the offers.
Instead, he is set to return at welterweight, when he takes on Donald Cerrone at UFC 246. McGregor mapped out a plan that starts with Jan. 18’s fight, followed by Jorge Masvidal, who’s a 170-pounder, eventually leading to a rematch with UFC lightweight champion, currently Nurmagomedov.
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And since McGregor’s next few fights appear to be at welterweight, Felder (17-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) wants McGregor (21-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) out of the rankings, or at least pushed down a few spots, so guys like himself can continue their assent towards title contention.
“That’s what I’m hoping, because he wants to fight at 170 and he’s hunting that Jorge Masvidal fight, then let him do that,” Felder told MMA Junkie. “Take him lower down the rankings so that guys like me and Dan Hooker, who are putting in work at 155 pounds, guys like Justin Gaethje, get him out of our way and let us fight for the belt in those big fights.
“If he’s still in the rankings in the top three, top five, guys are going to want to fight him, guys are going to want to call out. They’re going to wait to try to fight him and it just mixes things up. It muddies stuff up for us.”
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Felder will headline UFC Auckland when he takes on Dan Hooker on Feb. 22. A win over a fellow streaking lightweight, could place him in the upper echelon of the division, where guys like Justin Gaethje are waiting for their shot at the champion.
But Felder is surprised to see that Gaethje is opting to wait for a title shot, and should things go his way in Auckland, he would love to jump into a No. 1 contender spot.
“I’m surprised that an active guy like Justin wants to wait but he’s put in the work,” Felder said. “Let him do his thing. I don’t see that happening. I don’t see him just being able to sit around and wait for a title shot. Poirier is still looking for a fight. Depending on how things go on Feb. 23 it could be a quick turnaround and maybe a No. 1 contender spot could open up. I would love to fight Dustin. I have nothing but respect for that guy. But as you’ve seen I can have nothing but respect for a guy and it won’t stop me from getting in your grill and letting you know that I’m here to smash your face.”
At the weigh-ins, a grinning Aldo and a skeletal McGregor had to be separated by White. The arena practically shook with the raucous cheers of the Irish fans, and all with still a day to go before the fight itself.
