Conor McGregor Attacks Bus of UFC Fighters, Faces Charges

By Thomas Albano

I was going to make a video for the Cheap Seats Youtube this week, after Tony Ferguson was replaced with Max Holloway for this Saturday’s UFC 223 main event, on the laughable madness that is the UFC lightweight division.

But I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t. Because on April 5, the UFC 223 card, and the promotion itself, was rocked.

The UFC was holding a media day for the UFC pay-per-view, which is headlined by UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway facing Khabib Nurmagomedov. The winner would receive the UFC Lightweight Title, which would be stripped from Conor McGregor — following a reign of about 17 months with zero title defenses — with the first strike of the said bout.

But McGregor showed up at the UFC 223 media day in Brooklyn, New York. And what we got was madness.

The Events

Early in the afternoon of April 5, McGregor, along with teammate and fellow UFC fighter Artem Lobov, and several other members of his team showed up to the Barclays Center, site of UFC 223, and raised hell. McGregor and crew began to bang on windows as a vehicle filled with UFC fighters was ready to depart the arena. Notably, McGregor threw a hand dolly and smashed one of the vehicle’s windows.

Michael Chiesa, who was scheduled to face Anthony Pettis on the main card, was cut with lacerations. He was transported to a hospital, and while he felt well, the New York State Athletic Commission deemed the lacerations, along with the weight he still had to cut, too much to handle and canceled the bout.

A bout between flyweights Ray Borg and Brandon Moreno was called off because of Borg’s suffering an eye injury in the ordeal. Several other fighters were “shaken up” by the incident, including UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas — who defends her title in the UFC 223 co-main event — who was nearly hit during the altercation. A UFC employee also suffered a broken knuckle during the violent outburst.

The attack was supposedly in retaliation to Khabib and his team confronting Lobov when the latter was alone. According to UFC President Dana White, two journalists from The Mac Life let McGregor into the facility.

The Aftermath

Following the event, White addressed the media, with no prepared statement in hand. White called McGregor’s actions “the most disgusting thing that has ever happened in the history of [the UFC].” He went on to say that McGregor has ruined professional relationships and that the former UFC featherweight and lightweight titleholder will be in jail.

Lobov’s bout with Alex Caceres was canceled because of Lobov’s participation in the attack. At 11 p.m. ET, later that night, McGregor turned himself into NYPD custody.

McGregor, according to the BBC, will be in court the morning of April 6, facing assault charges. No lawsuits have been filed against McGregor or the UFC yet, but White says he sees McGregor will be “sued beyond belief.”

Editorial

Scary to say, but it’s kind of courageous to see the lengths McGregor went to in order to help his friend. The issue — it’s affected people who had nothing to do with the McGregor vs. Khabib rivalry. Because of McGregor’s actions, five people not named Artem Lobov (and dare I say at least three people more important to the UFC than Artem Lobov) are not competing at UFC 223.

If you find yourself wanting to side with McGregor, do me a favor — put yourself in the shoes of Michael Chiesa or Ray Borg. You’re training hard, prepping for the weight cut, it may be one of the biggest fights of your career. And now, nothing. Well, something — an injury. And no fight bonus payday all because of some bull that you weren’t involved with.

And if you still don’t understand, I dare you to go to Brooklyn and tell those fighters your defense of McGregor to their face.

This is already the third consecutive UFC PPV event to not have its originally planned main event. UFC 221 saw Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker pull out because of a staph infection, and UFC 222 saw Holloway (coincidentally enough) forced out of his planned title bout due to injury.

The UFC is lucky Rose Namajunas vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk is happening at UFC 223. Imagine if that fight got canceled — the card would have lost both of its original main events and three additional cards. Not to mention, there’s the uncertainty of Khabib and Holloway’s weigh-ins (plus the combat sports world lost Canelo-GGG II this week). And how much more could the UFC 223 take before they’re forced to offer refunds?

So, what should happen as a result of this incident?

1. Strip Conor of the UFC Lightweight Title (OFFICIALLY and ASAP) – They have stated that McGregor would be stripped once the main event of UFC 223 starts. My question: what happens if there’s a weight issue with one Khabib or Holloway? What if there’s a last-minute cancelation again? Even if something causes the planned main event of UFC 223 to not go on, McGregor should be stripped. He hasn’t defended the title in 17 months, and the UFC needs to show priority and appeal to morals and ethics in times like these.
2. Blacklist MacLife reporters – If it’s true that McGregor was let in via two reports from The MacLife website, those reports should lose their credentials and be blacklisted from MMA events (let alone UFC events).
3. McGregor revoked of fighting license – I don’t see how it can be any less of this ultimate punishment. If he gets just a slap on the wrist, it’s honestly kind of disgusting.
   If Mike Tyson gets a license revoking for the biting of Evander Holyfield’s ear, if Jon Jones gets an indefinite suspension for a hit-and-run of a pregnant woman, then surely McGregor deserves quite the punishment.
   With McGregor’s superstardom, the UFC can’t just outright fire him. There will be some promotion (Bellator maybe? Maybe not considering the Marc Goddard incident from back in the fall) who’ll try to grab him up immediately upon availability. And the UFC has lost the likes of Ronda Rousey, Jon Jones and Georges St Pierre, so they’re already suffering from star-power loss at it is.
   But the revoking prevents anything like that and prevents a payday for McGregor.
   And if for some cruel reason, this ends up being all a work for promotion for an eventual Conor-Khabib showdown (just for you conspiracy theorists out there), the UFC gets to face quite a roadblock.

   In conclusion, this may have been career-suicide for Conor. It’s sad to see he’s fallen off the deep end.

   On Wednesday, April 4, White stated it would be great for Conor to show up to UFC 223. My how time changes things.

5 Questions for MMA in 2018

Jan. 20 provides a big kick-off to the MMA schedule for this year — both the UFC and Bellator will be holding their first events of 2018 on this night.

At UFC 220, Stipe Miocic looks to become the first UFC heavyweight to defend his title three consecutive times, but he’ll have to get through a rising contender in Francis Ngannou. In the co-main event, Daniel Cormier looks to defend the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against Volkan Oezdemir.

Meanwhile, at Bellator 192, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Chael Sonnen kick off Bellator’s Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament that will determine a new heavyweight champion, while the co-main event sees Douglas Lima defend the Bellator Welterweight Title against Rory MacDonald.

There’s a lot of anticipation as to what 2018 will bring the MMA community, and here are five things we want answers to.

1. Does Conor McGregor ever fight again?
At the press conference to announce the main event of UFC 223, UFC President Dana White described the bout between interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov as simply “for the championship.” When this bout was first announced, many saw it as Conor McGregor’s fate being sealed and him being stripped of the UFC Lightweight Title being inevitable. However, despite White saying the winner of Ferguson-Nurmagomedov was “the undisputed champion” and that the division needed “to move on,” he avoided questions regarding if McGregor was officially removed as champ.

McGregor has not made a single defense of the UFC Lightweight Championship in the 14 months he’s been champ, and he didn’t make a single defense of the featherweight title before being stripped of that title in late November 2016. After headlining several of the biggest selling UFC pay-per-view cards, as well as all the money earned from the boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, there were people that assumed he wouldn’t return to the UFC. And despite McGregor hinting at a return to MMA, many still question if McGregor will be seen in the UFC again.

2. What is the fate of Jon Jones?
“The only person that can beat Jon Jones is himself.” That’s what we all said heading into the big UFC 214 pay-per-view headlined by the highly anticipated UFC Light Heavyweight Championship rematch between Jones and Daniel Cormier. And when Jones scored the knockout over Cormier, and he collapsed inside the cage with emotion after being awarded the title, it felt like Jones had turned over a new leaf and was back to the Jon Jones of old that earned respect and popularity on his way to the top.

But then it all came crashing down sometime later when it was revealed Jones tested positive in both his pre and post-fight drug tests for the anabolic steroid Turinabol. Jones, to this day, maintains his innocence, and he reportedly passed a polygraph recently.

Jones was provisionally suspended in August, with his win over Cormier being overturned to a No Contest (and Cormier being awarded the title back). Jones has a hearing with the California State Athletic Commission scheduled for next month, and it is where we expect to hear about Jones’ punishment (if any).

Jones faces up to a four-year ban from MMA (with a retroactive start to the suspension, it will mean that Jones faces suspension until mid-to-late Summer 2021). If Jones is suspended that long, he will have just turned 34 upon return. And if he is suspended for more than a year, and considering his several controversies as UFC champion, will he even be employed by the UFC upon return? It’s doubtful.

3. What will happen to the UFC’s U.S. TV deal?
The UFC’s current television deal in the United States with Fox expires late this year. The window of exclusive negotiations with Fox is up, and the UFC is now fielding offers from other outlets.

With a growth in popularity over the last couple of years, it’s no surprise the UFC will want more than the $200 million/year TV deal offered by Fox during the exclusive negotiating window (especially considering owners WME-IMG bought the company for a little over $4 billion after UFC 200 in Summer 2016). But the UFC has reportedly scared away some outlet representatives with a request for $450 million/year.

There’s currently not much of an update as to who is in the “lead” to likely hold the UFC’s TV rights after 2018, but there is some potential that if the merger between AT&T and Time Warner goes through, the UFC could make a deal with Turner.

As  Sports Business Daily’s John Ourand describes: “I have an inkling that once the AT&T deal gains approval, Turner’s David Levy will sign a big-time media rights deal that would put the UFC on all AT&T platforms. Imagine UFC fights on truTV, pay-per-view cards on DirecTV, mobile programming on AT&T Wireless, and over-the-top rights on Turner’s planned sports service.

“A caveat: If the AT&T deal is rejected (or if it takes too long), the UFC will cut a deal with Fox for around $250 million that will see Fox give up shows like Ultimate Fighter that UFC will shop elsewhere. Amazon showed early interest in picking up a streaming package, but it ultimately will pass on a UFC deal.”

4. Will Bellator make strides in 2018?
Bellator MMA’s first event will feature the start of the road to determining a heavyweight champion for the first time since 2016 (and even then, the title hasn’t been defended since 2014). Over the last couple of years, Bellator has managed to secure multiple UFC veterans like Sonnen, MacDonald, Wanderlei Silva, Gegard Mousasi, Roy Nelson, Matt Mitrione, and Benson Henderson. In addition, they’ve secured deals with Fedor Emelianenko, one of the most legendary figures and champions MMA has ever seen.

In addition, Bellator has been looking to build stars of their own with the likes of Bobby Lashley, Douglas Lima, Michael Chandler, the Freire brothers, AJ McKee, Eduardo Dantas and James Gallagher. Of course, Bellator is still far from becoming true, active competition against the UFC, but it seems to support itself as a good alternative product.

But if things go right for Bellator this year, could this be the year it gets to a bigger and better status than it is right now?

5. Will the Ali Act be extended into MMA?
The Ali Act, established in 2000, protects boxers from things such as exploitation and match fixing, and it mandates promoters disclose fighter payments and contracts. What the Ali Act also does, however, is give the control over championships and contender ranking systems to independent sanctioning bodies (ex: WBA, WBC, IBF etc).

As stated in a 2016 article from ESPN, “The UFC currently utilizes its own rankings system voted on by media, although a majority of reputable outlets do not participate, in part because athletes outside the UFC are not ranked. Additionally, the UFC does not refer to the rankings when booking championship fights.

“Some view this as a positive, as boxing’s champions have arguably been watered down by multiple sanctioning bodies with dozens of titles. An MMA promoter’s ability to award its own belt, as well as dictate the distribution of title shots, results in the most lucrative matchups — or, fights fans want. Others, however, see it as another power shift toward promoters.”

Basically, if this act is extended into MMA, while it may be beneficial for fighters (who are currently employed as independent contractors and don’t have an official, highly-developed union), there’s the possibility the world of MMA and how events like UFC pay-per-views and Bellator events are booked upside down and inside-out.

#DefendOrVacate: Is It Time to Strip McGregor?

By Thomas Albano

The main event of April’s UFC 223 was recently announced as current interim UFC Lightweight Champion Tony Ferguson facing off with the No. 1-ranked contender in the 155-pound division, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

What is unclear to the MMA community, however, is what championship is on the line at UFC 223 exactly. The description of the headline bout given by the UFC mentions Ferguson as the interim champion; however, the UFC hasn’t exactly confirmed that title as being on the line. Meanwhile, some Asian sports sites, including FOX Sports’ Asian outlet, are reporting that McGregor will be stripped and the Ferguson-Nurmagomedov bout will be for the vacant title.

A press conference for this bout — along with UFC 222’s main event with UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway and challenger Frankie Edgar — will be held Jan. 19 at 5 p.m.

The Fighting Irish
There’s simply no denying the rise of Conor McGregor. He’s certainly won fans over for his mouth — the way he taunts opponents and expresses ego, brashness, and confidence.

And it’s clear he backs it up inside the MMA cage — he’s 21-3 as a professional. He won the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 194 in December 2015, knocking out then-long-reigning champ Jose Aldo in just 11 seconds.In November 2016, McGregor became the fourth UFC fighter to win titles in two different weight classes — and the first to hold the two titles simultaneously — when he defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to win the lightweight title.

McGregor has also headlined four of the six highest-selling pay-per-view bouts in the UFC’s history, including his two bouts with Nate Diaz in 2016.

And then, of course, there’s the Money Fight. McGregor spent much of 2017 campaigning and negotiating for a boxing match with retired boxing icon Floyd Mayweather. Despite all the doubts, the fight actually happened last August. And while McGregor lost, the fight earned praise, with McGregor — in his first-ever boxing match — taking the former multiple weight class champion into the 10th round.

The Downfalls
So there’s no denying that McGregor is a drawing power for both his mouth and fighting. His personal desires, mouth and drawing power, however, has caused some problems in his true employer, the UFC.

McGregor’s two-title reign was very short-lived. Just two weeks following UFC 205, due to several factors (including McGregor’s focuses outside the featherweight division, the UFC wishing for McGregor to do the same, and a change to the main event of UFC 206), the UFC stripped McGregor of the UFC Featherweight Title.

McGregor made not one defense of the said title. After defeating Aldo, McGregor’s intentions turned towards the lightweight title and then-champion Rafael dos Anjos. The two were scheduled to meet at UFC 196 in March 2016 for the lightweight title, but dos Anjos got injured sometime before the fight. Nate Diaz replaced him and the fight was conducted at welterweight. McGregor suffered his first UFC loss, and he focused on getting revenge on Diaz rather than his featherweight crown.

After the Diaz feud, McGregor pursued the lightweight title once again. This left a waiting line of several featherweights pushing up the ranks and wanting McGregor — including Aldo (then-interim champion), Holloway and Edgar. Now, because of McGregor’s pursuit of the Money Fight and all the money he’s made, the same can be said for the lightweight division. For the past year or so, the likes of Nurmagomedov and Ferguson have pushed for fights with McGregor. And lightweights have been clashing and fighting their way up the ranks — all for a champion who’s inactive. While McGregor goes about with his desires and draws with the big bucks (and the UFC, as a company, gains money, image, and publicity), a division and its combatants suffer.

McGregor’s Status
McGregor reportedly wants to return and defend the title in either August or September, but UFC President Dana White is supposedly unwilling to wait that long. Considering McGregor was stripped of the featherweight title almost exactly a year after winning it and no title defenses, it’s kind of shocking to see McGregor still lightweight champ 14 months later with zero defenses.

McGregor has said he will come back, but considering all the money he’s garnered from his mega fights the past couple of years, no one would be surprised if he never stepped foot in the UFC Octagon again. If he’s truly done, what is the legacy of Conor McGregor?

McGregor’s competed in some of the biggest fights in UFC history. He’s gained fame and fortune with his hype ability. He’s brought the eyes of many a casual fan on the UFC.He’s done things few to none other UFC fighters have done before. He’s gained money and fame other MMA fighters can only dream of.

McGregor should certainly go down as one of the greats. In fact, he may just be one of, if not the, greatest fighter of all-time when it comes to the lower weight classes — the ones he competed in. To solidify him as the G.O.A.T., however, is polarizing. It becomes even harder to classify McGregor as such when one opens the debate surrounding the G.O.A.T. title to every weight division, every era of the UFC, and other successful MMA promotions like PRIDE, Strikeforce, and Bellator.

And what hurts McGregor in many eyes is the fact that despite holding two UFC titles, he hasn’t made a single defense since winning his first in 2015. Sure, maybe some of the issues among McGregor, the UFC and the titles could stem from the UFC’s focus on pay-per-views as “mega cards” with more than one title fight, and the focus in MMA (or even combat sports in general) on “super fights,” but those a whole other stories.

Editorial

As a champion, McGregor’s job is to defend. And there are the champion cliches: It’s harder to be the hunted than the hunter. It’s harder to be chased than be the chaser. It’s not as enjoyable when you have the target on your back.

It’s harder than it looks to defend a title — ask any champion in any sport. But it’s part of what makes someone’s career and legacy. McGregor’s legacy is certainly made, but the show must go on.

On Twitter, I’ve come across some comments that pretty much state even fans of McGregor are starting to get tired of the games. I love Conor personally, but I believe someone who may be considered G.O.A.T. should defend at least once. So, yeah, I am getting tired of it.

Sorry, Conor. #DefendOrVacate (or strip)

Other Notes:

• UFC 223 takes place on April 7 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
• The press conference for the UFC 222 and UFC 223 main events will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan 19.
• The press conference will be followed by the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 220, which takes place on Jan. 20 from Boston, Massachusetts.
• UFC 220’s main event will feature Stipe Miocic defending the UFC Heavyweight Title against rising contender Francis Ngannou. In the co-main event, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier defends against Volkan Oezdemir.

 

UFC 214 Predictions

We’re less than a day away from the start of the biggest MMA event of the year thus far, let alone the summer — UFC 214. The card is stacked with notable names in the undercard, and two exciting main card bouts with three title fights. It will all culminate with the long-awaited re-match between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones.

With that in mind, let’s get into my predictions for the event.

Quick Predictions:
– UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: (c.) Daniel Cormier def. Jon Jones via fourth-round TKO to retian.
– UFC Welterweight Championship: Demian Maia def. (c.) Tyron Woodley via split decision to win the title.
– For the vacant UFC Women’s Featherweight Championship: Cris Cyborg def. Tonya Evinger via second-round TKO to win the title.
– Donald Cerrone def. Robbie Lawler via third-round KO
– Jimi Mauwa def. Volkan Oezdemir via second-round TKO
– Jason Knight def. Ricardo Lamas via split decision
– Renan Barao def. Aljamain Sterling via unanimous decision
– Brian Ortega def. Renato Moicano via split decision
– Andre Fili def. Calvin Kattar via second-round TKO
– Alexandra Albu def. Kailin Curran via first-round submission
– Jarred Brooks def. Eric Shelton via unanimous decision
– Drew Dober def. Josh Burkman via second-round submission

Thoughts:

Cormier vs. Jones: This is the re-match fight fans have been waiting about two-and-a-half years for. Ever since Jones’ troubles caused him much time away from the Octagon since early 2015, Cormier has made his way to the top of the UFC’s light heavyweight division and defended his crown twice (along with a third, non-title win over Anderson Silva). Now, some will say that Jones is a much better fighter than Cormier, and it’s reasonable considering he unanimously decisioned Cormier in their January 2015 encounter. But, keep in mind, Jones has fought just once since that first fight with Cormier — an interim light heavyweight title fight against Ovince Saint Preux in Spring 2016, and it was a unanimous decision win where many thought Jones was not the Jones we’re used to seeing in the cage.

I will call this one of my old classic cases of “prove me wrong.” Yes, Jones is a great fighter, but he’s had a lot of personal struggle over the past couple of years. At least Cormier has been the active fighter. Jones will have to prove me wrong and show me he has no true ring rust.

(Also, on a side note, even if Cormier wins, I think he’ll get his in the next title defense — maybe against Manuwa if he wins? As for Jones, well, if Brock Lesnar does somehow find a way back to the UFC, I can see Jones living up to his word and stepping up to face Lesnar, even if he surrenders the light heavyweight title to do so).

(I also just had a thought of a December or January card that looks like this, should I be wrong and Jones wins but steps up and faces Lesnar:
(c.) Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, or Nate Diaz
(c.) Michael Bisping vs. (ic) Robert Whittaker
For the vacant LHW Title: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jimi Manuwa
Jon Jones vs. Brock Lesnar
Heavyweight Main Card Opener
Bantamweight Prelim Main Event

Woodley vs. Maia: With Tyron Woodley, there’s one of two things that will happen — he can finish a guy off quickly or cause a massive brawl (i.e. his title win vs. Robbie Lawler), or the bout can drag (i.e. his last title defense vs. Stephen Thompson). Woodley’s looking for the big money fight with the likes of someone such as Georges St-Pierre, but he shouldn’t be overlooking Demian Maia. Maia has been one of the hottest welterweight contenders for a while now, and he’s on a seven-fight win streak. With UFC President Dana White recently proclaiming the winner of this bout gets GSP, I think Woodley’s head is getting a little too big. If Woodley can’t finish Maia off quickly and Maia can get Woodley to the ground, and I think he can, Maia may sneak away with this one.

Cyborg vs. Evinger: It’s Tonya Evinger’s UFC debut, and what a debut it is — facing off with Cris Cyborg for the vacant women’s featherweight title. Evinger is great, but Yana Kunitskaya has shown she can be beat (despite the result being overturned to a No Contest). Evinger also has losses on her record to current UFC stars Alexis Davis and Sara McMann. Cyborg, on the other hand, has been unstoppable for a while now, and she finally has her division in the UFC and a chance at the title. I don’t think it’d be right to say it’s now or never for Cyborg, but she is certainly hungry, so now is the perfect time.

Lawler vs. Cerrone: Other than the main event, this is the bout on the card I’m most looking forward to. Both men can start out slow, but both have tremendous power that can end a fight rather suddenly. It might just be my status as a Cerrone fan, but I can see this fight being like Cerrone’s UFC 206 bout with Matt Brown — Lawler wins the first two rounds, but one sudden shot in the third from Cerrone ends it.

Manuwa vs. Oezdemir: Manuwa is currently ranked sixth on ESPN’s light heavyweight rankings, and he’s ranked third in the UFC’s rankings of the division; meanwhile, Oezdemir is fifth in the UFC rankings. Oezdemir has an impressive track record; I wouldn’t write off Oezdemir completely, he does own a win against Saint Preux. But I can see this being Manuwa’s fight to lose. And because of that, as well as what could be riding for him, I don’t see Manuwa losing. Don’t be surprised if he calls out the Jones-Cormier winner, too.

Lesnar Back to the UFC?

By Thomas Albano

A report came out today that current WWE Universal Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar is reportedly back in the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) Testing Pool, and rumors have begun to circulate that Lesnar may attempt a full-on UFC comeback.

In addition, to fuel that rumor, there is heavy speculation that Lesnar may be dropping the Universal Championship at SummerSlam in August.

The speculation and reports first began when an MMA insider with the Twitter account @TalkMMA claimed that he had been told about Lesnar’s return to the USADA pool by two sources.

I just had a 2nd person tell me that Brock Lesnar is back in the USADA testing pool. Rumor around WWE is Brock is dropping the belt at SS.

— #Dizz © (@TalkMMA) July 19, 2017

However,Jeff Novitzky, UFC vice president of athlete health and performance has refuted this report.

“If he ever re-entered the program, he’d have to serve [the duration of the suspension] before he’d be able to compete,” Novitzky told MMA Fighting.

Lesnar made a one-time return appearance at UFC 200 in July 2016, when he took on Mark Hunt. Originally winning via unanimous decision, Lesnar tested positive for a banned substance. His win would be overturned to a No Contest, and USADA would suspended Lesnar until July 15, 2017.

Lesnar previously teased a return to the UFC in early 2015, when he was reportedly in negotiations with both the UFC and WWE (this was right before WrestleMania 31, which Lesnar headlined as the defending WWE World Heavyweight Champion). Despite the UFC offering him a contract worth “ten times more” than his previous deal, he took a three-year deal with the WWE, which supposedly extends to WrestleMania 34 on April 8, 2018.

Supposedly, Lesnar was allowed to perform the UFC 200 bout with WWE’s approval, or there may be a clause in his contract that allows him to do functions such as UFC bouts when he wants to.

Since his suspension from the MMA cage, Lesnar has been involved in several high-profile bouts within the past year in WWE. From SummerSlam 2016 to the most-recent event (Great Balls of Fire 2017), Lesnar has feuded with the likes of Randy Orton, Goldberg and Samoa Joe. At WrestleMania 33, Lesnar defeated Goldberg in the co-main event to win the WWE Universal Championship, the main championship of WWE’s Raw brand.

While the UFC executive’s quote deals a blow, many still hope with this new rumor of a return, Lesnar could be able to perform at the next UFC event in Madison Square Garden, which is currently scheduled to be UFC 217 on Nov. 4. However, as Novtizky noted, Lesnar officially retired from MMA back in February; when a retirement happens, the USADA suspension clock essentially freezes.

As reported by Fightful.com’s Sean Ross Sapp on Twitter, Lesnar would need to complete the suspension and re-enter the testing pool before being allowed to fight again.

Lesnar retired with 5 months to serve of a USADA suspension. He has to re-enter the testing pool & fulfill that time before fighting in UFC

— Sean Ross Sapp (@SeanRossSapp) July 19, 2017

Now, as this Forbes article states: “Lesnar has yet to undergo any USADA drug tests in 2017, but there is also speculation that he could receive yet another exemption in order to bypass the fourth-month notification requirement (for retired fighters to notify UFC of their intent to come out of retirment) and make his way onto the MSG card, much like he did for his UFC 200 fight against Hunt. While that would be unprecedented, the thought is that Lesnar is such a draw (he helped UFC 200 generate an estimated 1.2 million pay-per-view buys) that anything is possible because, well, money talks.”

So, let’s hypothetically say Lesnar does come back for a UFC bout. If he re-enters the testing pool ASAP, his suspension could be up right before Christmas. While that would be too late for the tentative UFC 217 at MSG in November, there would still be one more pay-per-view event to go for the UFC in the calendar year. Currently scheduled for Dec. 30, 2017, is UFC 219 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC has been having a supercard event around New Year’s time every year since 2011 (with the exception of 2014). In fact, Lesnar headlined the 2011 card right before heading back to WWE. With that in mind, if Lesnar does come back for at least one more fight, maybe Lesnar is a headliner for the final UFC card of 2017.

Maybe what the UFC can do is something like they’re doing with UFC 213 and 214 this month. That would be UFC 217 in November (regardless of if it’s in NY or Vegas) and UFC 218 in early December can be treated like 213 this month — pretty good cards but not too stacked.

Then, UFC 219 — the final card of 2017 — they go all out with a massive card akin to UFC 200 or UFC 205. I’m talking Lesnar’s return, three title bouts, and a massive undercard. Now, what could main event this bout? Maybe not Lesnar considering he didn’t main event his first return bout at UFC 200.

BUT, Conor McGregor supposedly wants to return and have one UFC bout in 2017, defending his Lightweight Championship. And I could see it happening at this event — it could be against Khabib Nurmagomedov, against Tony Ferguson, or even a trilogy bout with Nick Diaz (yes, this time at lightweight and with the title on the line).

Either way, the sound of it looks sick. So, maybe patience needs to win out here. And maybe, if Lesnar comes back, it should be for the end of this year, not November.

McGregor vs. Mayweather costs HOW MUCH?

By Thomas Albano

So, if you want to watch that big Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor superfight on pay-per-view, you’re going to have to cough up quite a bit of dough. Lance Pugmire of the LA Times has revealed the price of the event will be $89.95 ($99.95 for HD broadcasts).

The @FloydMayweather @TheNotoriousMMA pay per view price will be $89.95 — same as the Pacquiao fight – $10 more for HD.

— Lance Pugmire (@latimespugmire) July 10, 2017

To compare, a normal UFC PPV is about $50 ($60 for HD broadcasts). A pay-per-view boxing card can vary in price depending upon things like star power, title bouts, etc. And so, with one of the best in boxing against arguably the face of the UFC today, there’s no surprise this pay-per-view is more expensive than normal.

But…THIS much of an increase? I get it’s two big names, but this one fighter being taken out of his discipline and put into the other’s.

And then, the Mayweather tax situation happened.

Mayweather: *holds a cheque* “That’s a 100 million dollars,”

McGregor; “That’s for the taxman.”

😂😂😂😂 #MayweatherMcGregor #maymacworldtour pic.twitter.com/EU7zQgEDkJ

— Quentin (@QuentzG) July 11, 2017

For those of you who want a simplified summary, a Law360 report recently revealed that Mayweather still owes the IRS taxes from 2015, not to mention he has had run ins with the government agency plenty of times over the decade. ESPN just recently reported (a little while ago as of this article’s posting) the IRS’ claim that Mayweather still owes them $22.2 million from 2015.

Mayweather has asked the IRS to hold off payments until after the fight with McGregor, when he’ll have enough cash on hand to pay everything off. The government, meanwhile, argues that Mayweather has the ability to pay via selling off or liquidating assets; Mayweather just doesn’t want to, they say (which is believable when you consider how much money Mayweather has earned over his career).

So, this guy wants to avoid his tax paying and then use fight fans’ and loyal taxpayers’ money to pay off his own debts? As a member of the MMA community and an MMA journalist, I’d like to take a stance in that I don’t want to purchase this bout to help someone pay off Uncle Sam when he has the means to do so already and just doesn’t want to.

Plus, the last time a boxing pay-per-view cost $100, it was Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, billed as the “Match of the Century” and then as one of the worst bouts of the century. So, that’s the same price as Mayweather vs. an MMA fighter who has never had a boxing bout before…brilliant.

So, to recap, here’s what this is like…

“Oh I wonder what the price of McGregor vs. Mayweather is going to be”
*Price revealed*
“What?!? For a boxer coming out of retirement vs. someone who has never had a pro boxing bout before. I mean, OK I gu-”
*Mayweather tax situation revealed*
“Oh no! He’s not getting away with this on my dollar! I’ll find a way to stream this PPV”
*That’s illegal*
“So…what Mayweather is doing isn’t right, but I can’t do that?”
*Yes*
“So, I’m supposed to not buy this pay-per-view?”
*But this is a Once in a Lifetime kind of fight*

AUGUST 26TH @FloydMayweather vs @TheNotoriousMMA #maymacworldtour pic.twitter.com/5vY3TQaZz8

— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) July 11, 2017

So, there’s really no win here for fight fans, is there? It’s like when someone is trying to decide who to vote for and everyone in their life clutters together and rants no matter who they pick.

This situation just wants me to hope McGregor proves me and everyone else wrong and KO Mayweather.

McGregor vs. Mayweather – FINALLY

By Thomas Albano

So, after months of chatter, months of negotiations and months of anticipation, it will finally happen.

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor and boxing icon Floyd Mayweather will be having a boxing match on Aug. 26 in Las Vegas. It’s a pay-per-view bout that is certain, with all the hype, build-up and star power, to rake in millions upon millions of dollars.

Mayweather is undefeated inside the squared-circle at 49-0, retiring in September 2015. Mayweather has won 15 world titles and is a five-division world champion.

McGregor is 21-3 in MMA, and he is the only man in the UFC to have ever held two divisions’ titles at the same time (and only one of three to ever hold two different division titles at all). But, McGregor has never had a professional boxing bout.

A lot of people doubted this fight would ever happen, but you know what? It got done…somehow. So, here we are.

Did the UFC want this fight to happen? Probably not. Is the UFC’s reputation damaged if they lose? I don’t think so.

Boxing and MMA are two different sports. The science surrounding boxing and the science surrounding MMA are different. In boxing, you don’t have to worry about kicks, getting taken down to the ground and submissions. But, of course, in boxing you have the bigger gloves.

Now, we can talk more in-depth about how both sports can stand on their own because boxing can still have some exciting bouts (see Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko) and some MMA bouts can bore you to tears (see Kimbo Slice vs. Dada 3000).

Plus, MMA already has a victory over boxing. In 2010, former boxing champion James Toney faced UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at a UFC bout. With no ground experience, it went TERRIBLY for Toney. He easily got taken down, and he was defeated in about four minutes.

In fact, I’d argue if Mayweather was facing McGregor in an MMA bout, McGregor would wreck him up badly. But, it’s not. McGregor will not be allowed to kick, grab or takedown Mayweather. Of course, normal boxing clinches are fine.

But, Mayweather is still the clear favorite. How clear? Well, Forbes reports Mayweather as a -1100 favorite, while McGregor is a +700 underdog.

Many people have speculated outcomes, and the top three are the following: McGregor gets KO’d or TKO’d, Mayweather dances around the ring en route to a decision win, or Mayweather dances around the ring and causes McGregor to snap and perform MMA moves en route to a DQ.

While I can see all three happening, especially that third, I’m hoping for the sake of everyone who buys this event, that we see something special in the bout. It’s special enough considering the crossover sport nature of this bout, but I’m hoping we can really see some good competition.

McGregor is really training hard for this bout. So, who knows? Maybe we can see something shocking and McGregor can pull off a win.

And if McGregor does win, does that cement his status as one of the best athletes in the game? Maybe, but I just wish he could defend his title.

I won’t lie, I’m kind of rooting for McGregor considering he’s the more entertaining athlete in my opinion, and he backs his talk up in his action. Plus, as some of you can probably tell, I’m not a fan of Mayweather’s strategy of just doing the bare minimum and then avoiding contact to get the decision.

If McGregor puts on a good showing, and he defends his UFC title, then I will say he can be in the argument of greatest general athlete in the world, not just MMA, today.

Until then, I’m anticipating what this fight will bring.