Will the Mayweather and McGregor Fight Happen?

According to Fox Sports host, Colin Cowherd, the UFC superstar and boxing legend will finally be fighting this September in Vegas. The news broke this morning on Cowherd’s show The Herd.

“My intel is that Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather is going to happen. It changed late last week. I got a call, then somebody else sent me something yesterday and Saturday (saying) ‘we’ve booked rooms in Vegas’.”

If this news is true, it will be an exciting matchup that will draw a ton of revenue and publicity. Once this matchup speculated a few months ago, many people weren’t sure how the two would fight since McGregor is a UFC fighter and Mayweather is a Boxer. However, all signs point to it being a boxing match. This definitely gives Mayweather the advantage, but McGregor is a talented fighter and you can bet he will be ready for the challenge.

Last Sunday, McGregor sat down with Sportscenter anchor, Kenny Mayne to discuss his relationship with the UFC and the possible fight with Mayweather. Not too long ago McGregor was taken off the UFC 200 fight due to him not wanting to participate in any promotional events. After he heard this news, he posted on his twitter account that he was retiring. In the interview with Kenny Mayne, he says that he did not realize how much impact his tweet would have.

“All said and done, there were times (I thought), ‘I should have just jumped on the damn flight.’ But sometimes you’ve got to do what’s right for you and not what’s right for everybody else — especially if you’ve done what’s right for everyone else a million times over.”

When McGregor was asked about Mayweather he said knows he will not want to fight in a Mixed Martial Arts fight and what Mcgregor describes as a true fight. However, he has no problem fighting in a boxing match, and will set time aside to prepare for it. This fight would sure be spoken about all summer long and would be something everyone will enjoying watching. I hope this happens!

UFC 200 Has Two New Faces

 

Last week, UFC president Dana White announced that there will be two new faces headlining UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas. It will be a light heavyweight title battle between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones. Jones who is 22-1 returned to the ring last weekend for the first time in over a year. He took on Ovince Saint Preux and defeated him easily in an unanimous decision by all the judges. This showed that Jones long layoff did not affect him at all.  He missed significant time because he was arrested for a felony hit-and-run charge.

A few months ago, Jones was luckily able to avoid significant jail time after reaching a plea deal. Cormier was supposed to face off against Jones at UFC 197, but was not able to due to injury. You can be sure this time around  these two will spark a competitive match that will draw many viewers.

Last month, UFC planned a Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz rematch for UFC 200, but that was taken off the table once McGregor refused to fly to Las Vegas for promotional reasons. After McGregor realized he was no longer headlining the match in Vegas he posted on his twitter account that he was retiring from mixed martial arts. This shocking news had the social media world buzzing for awhile. However, a few days later he posted on twitter saying he was not retired and still wished to headline the match. Dana White remained true to his word and would not allow McGregor to fight after he refused to fly to Vegas. White, did however offer to keep Diaz on the event, but he wanted no part in the match unless it was a rematch against McGregor. Even though we won’t get a Diaz vs McGregor rematch, we will still get an entertaining fight between two greats in Cormier and Jones. Is it July yet?

UFC Returns to New York City

 

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Recently, the New York State Assembly finally lifted the state’s 19 year ban on mixed martial arts. Now, the UFC is eager to put on a show that will be one of the biggest events in company history at the famous Madison Square Garden.  The first match in New York City won’t likely be until November, so the UFC has some time to decide on who will get this awesome opportunity. There are a ton of intriguing options, so today we look at the top 3 options UFC could book for it’s anticipated New York debut.

Miesha Tate vs Ronda Rousey

Despite Rousey suffering her first UFC defeat against Holm, she is still UFC’s most marketable female fighter, with a hosting stint on Saturday Night Live and a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover appearance as proof of her ongoing popularity. She is slated to make a return to the sport in November, and it could very well be against Bantamweight Champion, Miesha Tate.  Tate has already lost twice to Rousey, once back in Strikeforce and then again in the UFC in 2013. This fight would have the potential to draw a massive crowd to MSG and on pay-per-view, especially since it could possibly be Rousey’s first fight since losing to Holm at UFC 193.  With the Women’s Bantamweight Title on the line and Rousey’s return, this would sure make a hot ticket.

Conor McGregor vs Frankie Edgar

Conor McGregor is one of the most dominating fighters in UFC and a matchup with a talented fighter like Frankie Edgar to defend his Featherweight title would be sure to draw a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Edgar has a great combination of speed and footwork to make the fight extremely entertaining. McGregor versus Edgar has long been discussed by fans as a potential blockbuster fight, and New York’s large Irish population coupled with Edgar’s roots in New Jersey would make it an easy sell for the UFC.

Jon Jones vs. Anthony Johnson or Daniel Cormier

What would be better than having Jon Jones, a native New Yorker fight at the UFC’s first event in the Empire State?  This would be an awesome selection. Jones will be taking on Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 on April 23. A match that everyone will be watching as Jones looks to recapture the Light Heavyweight Title. If he defeats Cormier it would seem that Anthony Johnson would be the next in line to take on Jones. However, if Cormier ends up beating Jones, it would not be out of question to book the trilogy at Madison Square Garden. Either way, there would be an intriguing matchup for Jones.

These were just a few possible match ups for one biggest events in UFC history.  To check out the rest of possibilities for the New York City showdown, please read this article.

Two Huge Upsets on the Same Night in Vegas

Last night, marked one of the wildest nights in MMA history. Conor McGregor and Holly Holm, two heavily favored fighters were both upset in dramatic fashion. Miesha Tate defeated women’s bantamweight champion Holly Holm by submission in the fifth round of their fight. Soon after there fight ended, Nate Diaz took on brash-talking Conor McGregor and Diaz submitted McGregor in the second round to win the welterweight fight.

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Ireland Native, McGregor, who won the featherweight championship back in December decided to jump weight classes soon after his victory. He opted to move up to 170 pounds (lightweight division) to fight replacement foe Diaz because of lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos’ foot injury. Well, let’s just say moving up in weight class did not go too well the talented McGregor.

Diaz, a former UFC lightweight title challenger was able to get the best of McGregor early on. McGregor tried take Diaz down with one his unique moves but Diaz was able counter and turn to his jiu jitsu specialty and deliver a deadly chokehold, which forced Mcgregor to tap out only 4 minutes into the second round. After the match, Diaz said  “I knew I had it, my jiu jitsu’s always there when I hit the ground. I’m a warrior. There’s a new king, right here.” Diaz was very excited about his gut wrenching performance to take down the former featherweight champion.Miesha Tate vs Liz Carmouche

As for the other upset at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Tate took down Holms in the final minutes of the final round crushing hopes of everyone possibly witnessing a Holm’s rematch with the great Ronda Rousey. This was Holm’s first fight since defeating Rousey back in November. Holm was able to give Tate a couple of punches and kicks in the early rounds, but Tate eventually responded with kicks and moves of her own and then would mount Holm from behind to take home the championship.

These were both devastating losses for both former champions, but we will see how these two respond to adversity. If you ask me, I am sure they will use this as motivation and will be back out there sooner than people think.