Conor could beat Cerrone but could also lose every single other fight he faces at WW. Masvidal is a killer.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Possibly, equally there's plenty of winnable fights for him there. Lightweight is the more stacked division of the 2 by far
I'd say they're quite equal. I think WW causes way more problems for him. Usman and Covington would be bad match ups for him. Woodley would likely smother him. Masvidal and Diaz would cause him huge problems. Then you even have a guy like Maia who stylistically would likely be an absolute nightmare for him. That's not even tapping into fighters like Thompson etc. He can bully guys down at Lightweight, I don't see him doing that with hardly anybody at WW.
I'd have him as the favourite against most guys at LW when for and healthy with the right mindset. I don't think I'd have him as favourite against many of the top guys at WW though.
Cerrone is a smart first fight back for him. Records and all that aside I don't think Cerrone has ever been as good as some people make out. That all said, it brings more pressure to McGregor because I think most expect him to win this fight if he's anywhere close to the old McGregor. Personally hope he does as it'll create more exciting match ups than Cerrone winning will.
Good choice of word!
I think they're both difficult. WW has Woodley, Usman, Covington, Maia etc whilst LW has Khabib, Tony, Gaethje, Kevin Lee...
None of these will be easy!
Overeem on Grange TV (Robert Whitakker and his coach podcast). They had Weidman on recently too. My favourite MMA podcast at this stage simply because of how hilarious they are, particularly the coach. Also helps that Rob is my favourite fighter.
I find it weird how much people are sleeping on Cowboy. Just looking past him. With the way Conor exits engagements I would say he’s primed for a Cowboy head kick. I’m sure his coaches would have drilled in to him he has to exit with his hands up and from the few training videos I’ve seen looks like he has been working in a more traditional boxing style with his hands up guarding.
Think it could be an interesting fight but both have the tools to win this for me. I’m kinda edging that Conor starches him early though.
As for a future at Welterweight. Masvidal, Diaz and Thomson I think would be better match ups because they’ll stand. Maia, Usman and probably Coby just take it to the ground try and smother him. Although, I don’t think Conors wrestling is all that bad, but naturally much bigger guys are always going to have the advantage and those fights would just be a bore fests.
Much rather go back to 155 and take on what is there are see if Holloway wants some. Holloway vs McGregor. I wanna see the rematch.
See also he is trying to get Floyd out for another crack and seemingly there were talks about fighting Manny.
Think it could be an interesting fight but both have the tools to win this for me. I’m kinda edging that Conor starches him early though.
As for a future at Welterweight. Masvidal, Diaz and Thomson I think would be better match ups because they’ll stand. Maia, Usman and probably Coby just take it to the ground try and smother him. Although, I don’t think Conors wrestling is all that bad, but naturally much bigger guys are always going to have the advantage and those fights would just be a bore fests.
Much rather go back to 155 and take on what is there are see if Holloway wants some. Holloway vs McGregor. I wanna see the rematch.
See also he is trying to get Floyd out for another crack and seemingly there were talks about fighting Manny.
I somehow hadn't realised that 246 is on fecking PPV. I haven't bought a PPV on BT Sports yet and I doubt I'm going to start with this one. I don't want to miss the main event but there's not a single fight other than that on the main card that's compelling enough to justify dropping £20 on top of the monthly subscription.
It's a joke, they did it with another fight (Jones I think?) and it flopped massively. The problem is I think people will pay for a McGregor PPV, in all honesty I'm tempted as a few mates have said they will chip in as well so it only works out a couple quid each. I think they will test the waters again with this one, if it does well then I imagine all McGregor's fights go to PPV, if it flops then they may scrap it. I don't mind it as much if it's on at a decent time but it'll be at least 4am before he even fights and the rest of the card is shite anyway!
Feck had forgotten about that. Not worth £20 on top of the subscription fees as you say.
He was saying yesterday he expects to make 80mil off this fight and said he did 50mil off of Kahbib. That PPV bonuses must be nice.
This is a decent watch if got some spare time.
Always been a big fan of Cowboy, although admittedly I haven't really been following the UFC scene for the last couple of years (moved house and couldnt justify keeping up the subscription).
Wont be watching 246 unless I can find a mate who is buying the PPV and wants to split it - but I really hope Cerrone decks him. Even though McGregor is obviously the favourite, I think its always impossible to tell how well someone will do when they have been out of the game a while. I really think it could go either way - bit like a derby game where "form goes out the window" etc.
Wont be watching 246 unless I can find a mate who is buying the PPV and wants to split it - but I really hope Cerrone decks him. Even though McGregor is obviously the favourite, I think its always impossible to tell how well someone will do when they have been out of the game a while. I really think it could go either way - bit like a derby game where "form goes out the window" etc.
This right here is one of the reasons Cowboy is loved by almost everyone.
Proper fighter. Why wouldn’t you want to see how you compare against one of the best strikers. Not like cowboy ain’t a good striker himself.
Proper fighter. Why wouldn’t you want to see how you compare against one of the best strikers. Not like cowboy ain’t a good striker himself.
I don't know if "proper fighter" is really s fair comment on other fighters.
He's a notorious choker in big fights and this obvious lack of planning for opponents is why he loses big fights and will probably lose this.
Use your strengths to your advantage would be the sign of a proper fighter for me.
I mean you say choker but it’s not like the guys he has lost to were bums. Nate Diaz, Dos Anjos, Ben Henderson, Petis, Masvidal, most recently Till, Lawler, Gaetjhe, Ferguson. That’s basically a who’s who list and nothing to be ashamed about losing to those guys.
Personally I would class someone who is willing to meet someone head on against their strongest skill set and test your own makes you more of a “fighter” than identifying a weakness such as ground game and just sitting on someone’s chest for 15 minutes.
I do agree doing that is probably smarter but it’s boring as hell and Cowboy has that mentality where he’s Going to say feck it, let’s fight.
Should add, hard to plan for fights on 11 days notice.
But he is a choker. That's every big fight he's been in and he's lost them all. It's not just me saying that it's a pretty common feeling from plenty of people.
If that's your definition of a proper fighter fair enough but in a sport of mixed martial arts where you're encouraged to use your skill set it makes more sense to actually do that and he'd probably of been more successful if he did.
No sympathy on short notice fights it's always his decision to take them at the end of the day
Isn't he just a level below them, i.e. at a level where you'd expect him to beat most of the guys in his division(s) except for the real contenders like Ferguson and Masvidal?
Not really "choker" to me if you simply lose against a better opponent - a choker is what I'd describe a better overall fighter losing to inferior opposition multiple times in high stakes fights.
Cowboys best skill set is his striking and people are speculating he has a better ground game than Conor. I think Conor has shown he actually has pretty decent defensive wrestling so Cowboy is technically going with what brung him to the dance.
On this skill set thing, Jon Jones on his run to the title and even long after he had the belt, made a point of taking fights to where people thought his opponents were stronger. He wanted to test and show his skill against supposedly superior practitioners.
Maybe so, but I'd disagree, personally I think he doesn't prepare for his opponent properly and has a history of doing so. He has a good style for fans to watch but it has failed him multiple times. I also do think he has a mentality problem on big fights just going off his record. I don't think everyone he has lost to is better than him, it's equally the style he loses in.
Benson Henderson 2nd fight - 1st round submission
Diaz - Seemed mentally broken by the third round, the famous swearing at Diaz before hand and Diaz doing it to him at the start of round 3 (before winning that round as well)
Pettis - 1st round TKO
RDA 2nd fight - 1st round TKO
Masvidal - 2nd round TKO (should of been 1st round TKO)
Till - 1st round TKO
I'd feel slightly harsh criticizing him for Ferguson and Gaejthe as they are arguably in their prime and at this point he is past his best but I personally think some of them fights he quit in and didn't fancy it once he was under any pressure. I don't think he's any worse than Diaz, Pettis or Masvidal (bare in mind Masvidal lost his next 2 after this fight) I just think he didn't fancy the occasion once they put some pressure on him, the 2nd RDA fight is a prime example of that.
I think he was an elite fighter personally, obviously he isn't now and has transitioned into a gatekeeper role which is fair enough it happens but I do think he could of won a few of them fights he lost, I appreciate he is a level below Ferguson for example or RDA at the stage of their careers but not every other one of them.
Yep fair comment but he has shown in fights he has very good wrestling (the Hernandez fight for example.) Conor is decent defensively but he has been taken down as well and does look lost at times once they get him there (Mendes, Khabib, Diaz) I'd imagine most fighters with good wrestling would try and take Conor down pretty quickly. If Cerrone doesn't want to then fair enough, my point is it's unfair to say it's not "proper fighting" just cos you are using your skills to your advantage.
Jones is an elite fighter, arguably the best ever. He has done that and it has worked but equally it's nearly backfired even for him, he arguably lost to Thiago Santos for example.
Is anyone else a bit suspicious of this fight? Like, I am 99.9% sure McGregor is winning, and he certainly isn't 99.9% better than Cerrone..... 
Cerrone gets life changing money, McGregor gets his comeback win, UFC and Dana earn a boat load of cash & it sets up future money fights... Hmmm...
Cerrone gets life changing money, McGregor gets his comeback win, UFC and Dana earn a boat load of cash & it sets up future money fights... Hmmm...
He's from a rich family to be fair. Don't get me wrong I'm sure he'll make a good amount but it's not like he's struggling already.Is anyone else a bit suspicious of this fight? Like, I am 99.9% sure McGregor is winning, and he certainly isn't 99.9% better than Cerrone.....
Cerrone gets life changing money, McGregor gets his comeback win, UFC and Dana earn a boat load of cash & it sets up future money fights... Hmmm...
Fair enough. I don't know though, something just seems off about this.
Not to downplay Cerrone, but this is a warm up fight to see where McGregor is at. He should have taken a fight or two like this prior to his Khabib fight after being out so long.They want him to look good so have matched him up with possibly the best fighter stylistically to do so. It's the fight game of course so anything can happen but everything has been set for Conor to look good. Unlike other fighters who lose consecutive fights Cerrone's rep stays consistently high due to his fan friendly fight style.I'm not so sure Conor or the UFC can afford for him to lose.
C,mon! Jones is pretty much a certifiable combat genius who does what he wants because he can, and more importantly, it isn't in lieu of victory.
Unless you're talking about other fighting geniuses, it's not really a yardstick to measure others by, is it, especially if they are taking a route that leads to [potentially] avoidable losses - should also not here, whenever Jones is truly in trouble out will come the elbows, knees, Greco and tying up.
If you read back through my posts regarding Cerrone, you'll see I'm inclined to agree with you that this isn't a gimme for Conor for a multitude of reasons, but at the same time, Cerrone is an incredibly stupid fighter who plays into the hands of opponents over and over again instead of doing what would be prudent to get the fights over and done with in as efficient and damage preventative manner as possible and will very probably do what he shouldn't vs Conor, too and make things worse than they could've been for himself.
I don't think it's brave or bold because it is a constant hiding to nothing for Cowboy and you would think he'd have a level of introspection to his losses and tidy up the weakspots and naive things he is prone to do, especially in high pressure fights. I don't get how you consider what he does to not be choking when it goes like clockwork to the point it is generally called before he even fights and rarely goes another way.
This fight has been picked very carefully by Conor and his men. He needs a win against credible opposition and Cerrone fits the bill perfectly! A man with records and good standing, but also a fighter who loses big fights.
He has a history of it and Conor’s camp know this.
A fully focused Conor blows Cowboy away. I think all his recent behavior has dampened people to how good he can be.
The big question going into the fight is which Conor we will get. If we get Conor in any sort of form, he should beat Cowboy.
I would go as far as to say that if he doesn’t, he is finished.
He has a history of it and Conor’s camp know this.
A fully focused Conor blows Cowboy away. I think all his recent behavior has dampened people to how good he can be.
The big question going into the fight is which Conor we will get. If we get Conor in any sort of form, he should beat Cowboy.
I would go as far as to say that if he doesn’t, he is finished.
Jones at one point was like every other fighter an unknown commodity who himself made the point of saying they say I can’t beat a person this way so I want to find out. Cowboy backs his skill set that he has enough to match everyone it’s not like he’s going to say Ok Conor has a greta left so I wanna feel how good this left is. He’s obviously going to prepare to avoid that.
Anyway my point I was making, Cowboys best asset is his stand up. I don’t actually think Conor’s wrestling or Jits is that poor that Cowboy has a genuinely massive advantage over him but like in every fight things happen, anyone can catch anyone in anything And Cowboy has enough about him that one mistake and it’s over. However for me like I said earlier Cowboys best chance for me is catching Conor on an exit if Conor is going to stick to that Bruce Lee/ Taikwando entry/exit with his hands down.
From the videos I’ve seen though looks like Conor is going to just get in close with a more traditional boxing style hands up and box.
On Cowboy I think it’s more he is genuinely a slow starter and at the top level he has been caught. He often likes to watch the first round and just gauge what’s coming and at the highest level he’s been caught out. I do get the media put it as choking and it’s the perceived logic but personally I think that’s a little harsh and it’s more that he has just been found wanting at the highest level.
I've halved the time of watching these by Skipping the Pennington bits
Cerrone has a better ground game. It's not speculation it's fact. His BJJ is high level.
That said he's getting stopped at weekend.
Cowboy will aim to go toe to toe from the off and McGregor will knock him out in the first. I really hope it ends up more competitive but I'm struggling to see it ending up differently.
Jones has been taking the piss with his matching people in their own style since he got back, really, which is the point where he seemed bored with his opponents and decided to make his own entertainment and challenges out of them. Cormier and the Gus rematch, both fights where he really wanted to make a statement out of them to prove his words weren't delusional, were when I think we last saw Jones take his opponent deadly seriously. Still, if he's ever in trouble now, he knows where victory lies and he will not take a loss if it's a matter of switching up or get chewed up. Cowboy will, because he doesn't have those real time ring smarts and he gets too embroiled in scrapping to think clearly.
You mentioned Conor's left and Cerrone not going in there intent on getting hit with it, but do you honestly believe he's going to circle away from it continuously as he should or engage and needlessly put himself in harms way? A lot of people, myself included, expect an explosive first round; the prudent thing for Cerrone to do is make Conor work extremely hard and test his already flakey tank to see what he's got in his first fight back in an age. Cerrone won't do that, will he? why? Being tactical in the stand-up wouldn't make it any less manly or less of a crowd-pleaser, it'd actually make him a smart fighter!
I'd put money on Conor's prep being superior to Cerrone's or at least executed better and smarter, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see some teep kicks aimed at Cerrone's notoriously vulnerable liver, also intended to get him to block centrally to open up his head... the other way round, do you envisage a tactical plan of any kind from Cerrone? You mentioned exit strategy and counters, but do you see Cerrone working a plan to get inside Conor's guard for that to happen? These just feel like big leaps with Cerrone to me.
Funny I think this is more of a contest than others do whilst appearing to be down on Cerrone, but he is, to me, a frustrating fighter who is too game at the wrong things for his own good, which makes him not very smart. I actually think he could win this fight convincingly if he'd make Conor work and over-exert himself. Cerrone's tank is much better than Conor's and he can fight at volume with no issues, he's better in the clinch and I'd also favour him for strength in terms of wrestling, I also think he can work better on the outside with leg and calf kicks and make Conor frustrated and over-committal, which would lead to more wider looping shots he could start to pick apart - by the middle of a second round, he could also look to get the fight to the floor (Conor being gassed), but I don't think he'll do any of those things because he's Cowboy, the crowd-pleaser, who won't think on his feet or go in there with a plan he adheres to.
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Probably the most undeserved title shot in years. Imagine the outrage if Conor just fought Khabib after a 2 fight losing streak and missing weight in a previous title fight.Should be a great fight though. Whittaker was scheduled to fight Cannonier and Costa they're saying they don't want to rush back. Adesanya wanted to fight so I don't see a huge problem with this one considering the circumstances. Yoel has a good argument because he last three losses with massively close decisions against Whittaker and a close one against Costa. I'll look past Yoel's recent losses considering the circumstances and the fact this should be an awesome fight. I do get the point you're making @Oggmonster but I think it's a case of Adesanya wanting a fight and Yoel being the only one ready right now and them knowing at 42 this is probably his last shot. I think they would rather do this than rush Till or somebody into the title fight or rush Costa back too soon. Costa surely has to fight the winner in the summer. Gastelum losing to Till the way he did probably stopped that rematch from happening too.
Cannonier should of gotten the fight ahead of Romero really, he's won 3 in a row and as you say he was scheduled to fight. It should be a great fight but he's still 1-3 in his last 4 (and missed weight twice.) Even if they were close decisions he still lost all 3, there's plenty of fighters who have probably lost 3 close fights and they didn't get title shots. I just find it weird fans give him a pass cos they like him compared to someone like McGregor for example.
To me it seems people are happy to turn a blind eye to the matchmaking when it benefits a fighter they like and get up in arms when it's someone they aren't as keen on. I remember people in here arguing Joanna should get a title fight after being 1-3 as well!
Not really arguing with most of that but I just think it comes down to the circumstances and Adesanya wanting to fight right now and them not wanting to rush Costa back. I'm not convinced at all Cannonier should be fighting Adesanya tbh but get the idea that he's currently ready and riding a three fight win streak. Had also forgotten about Yoel's weight issues.
For the record it's not me favouring him as I'm not really a fan of his. Great fights but certainly not a big fan of his or anything to be blinkered and turn a blind eye to anything. Looking at it it looks like it was Yoel or Cannonier, apparently Till may be stepping in against Cannonier.
Yeah not at all saying you specifically just reading around on Twitter etc seems no one is that arsed cos Yoel is a bit of a **** figure (don't quite get why myself he's quite obviously a huge drugs cheat and cheats in general...) yet if it was a less popular fighter people would be up in arms saying Dana is favouring them etc.
I don't think Cannonier is that level, Adesanya would probably win it pretty easily but in fairness he has earnt it, him vs. Whittaker was arguably a number 1 contender fight for him and it's not on him that the fight isn't happening. I'd of said it's more fair doing Cannonier vs. Adesanya and Romero vs. Till but that might just be me.
Fair play to Adesanya cos it is a risky fight but I'd say this is as bad as any other matchmaking the UFC have done in recent times.
I didn't think the Costa fight was close at all. Costa seemed to absolutely pummel Romero, it's just the soldier is a tough mother fecker and a mad man to boot.