That's a shame if true. He made loads of money fighting McGregor the first time and he has banged on about his dream of winning the title for so long...
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Might as well make a load more money if he can. The rematch is huge really, bigger than any title fight. Doesn't he also consider his interim title a title win? Swear I heard him say it in one of the Embeddeds or something.
I think he said Gaethje should have enjoyed the interim win instead of snubbing it because it means something but he also said that he wants to win the real belt. Money talks I guess.
Ah fair play, thought he said something wasn't sure what.
If I had to guess he sees Conor as a winnable fight and if/when he wins he'll get the title shot next, obviously bit of a risk as you'd like to think Conor would learn from the last fight.
I think Poirier is doing the right thing to be honest, if Conor loses the fight to Dustin I'd argue all his aura pretty much goes and he's on the way out even to his biggest fans (he'd be 1-3 in his last 4, 3-4 in 7 and his only wins are against gatekeepers mainly) there wouldn't be that money on the table again against any of the current UFC LW crop so he might as well do it and then get a title shot after.
Exactly. It's smart and shows he backs himself to clean house, and if he can't, he was never going to anyway, but in the meantime, he's made a stack that he'll not get a chance to do again unless the next fight is close, he loses, and Conor wants a decider.
Dana putting Chandler straight into a title fight also makes an absolute mockery of the sport, as usual. So why should the fighters look out for anyone but themselves and their futures.
I remember Poirier saying hundred percent he doesn't want to fight Chandler for title, he would rather fight Chucky Olives. Think that could have anything to do with it?
I disagree with this sentiment. While the UFC is by far the biggest player on the scene of course, Chandler has been around a long time and earned his dues. Maybe ideally 1 more number one contender fight would make the most sense, but ideally Dustin accepts the title shot then you have Dustin vs Oliveira. Who else are you going to put in? Gaethje (off a loss) and Dariush are your only other options really, given that Tony just got handled by Olveira in his last fight.
I think you hit the nail on the head in that he's making the wiser financial decisions that set him up for his future far better than winning the strap does. One, maybe two fights with Conor and then the title fight is shrewd and him striking whilst the iron is hot. Conor's draw and the ability to make top dollar off fighting him is fading, and Poirer is not a big draw in and of himself.
I think just as his fighting style is evolving, so to are his business and financial smarts, especially with knowing how Dana treats fighters who aren't box office.
That's all some of the guys in the division have been doing, for years! How do you think Oliveira got the title shot? Pure merit, graft and an insane streak of wins! Some guy teleports into the UFC, and bam! Here you go fella, a title shot! It puts noses out of joint and it's yet again a show of disdain on Dana's part.
Let Chandler fight once or twice more before giving him the opportunity to fight for the belt!
His plan might be to beat Conor again, making money in the process, and then sliding right into a title shot, to accomplish both.
Of course, doing that carries some risk because if he loses the next McGregor fight, he isn't getting that title shot.
Exactly, but that's what I'm saying, Chandler has essentially earned his dues too, just outside of the UFC. Instead of fighting the lower ranks of the UFC and working his way up that way, he's been fighting at the top end of Bellator (which is a mixed bag but has some decent names in there). He only teleported in to top fights based on his prior graft in the sport. He's not the most deserving contender ever by any means and certainly below Oliveira and Poirier in that regard, but is it really much worse than putting Gaethje in straight off a loss? Otherwise you have to probably go down to Dariush or fast track Islam to a title shot. As great as LW has been it's in a bit of a lull at the moment with Khabib retiring, Dustin and Conor doing there own thing and Tony seemingly on the downside of his career.
Normally I would say tge Chandler title fight is unearned but if you look around, there's literally no one else deserving of that shot (besides Poirier).
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Horrific
Pumped to see how Gillespie looks on his return.
And man, that main event... grab your popcorn and your drink before it starts, because you won't want to blink! Will Brunson finally announce himself as a real contender ? Or will the star of Holland keep growing ?
I think it will be a high paced fight but I sure hope it won't go to the ground. Both of these guys have massive knockout power
And man, that main event... grab your popcorn and your drink before it starts, because you won't want to blink! Will Brunson finally announce himself as a real contender ? Or will the star of Holland keep growing ?
I think it will be a high paced fight but I sure hope it won't go to the ground. Both of these guys have massive knockout power
Also, my thougts on a few matchups:
Chandler X Oliveira - Chandler has more power and is probably more technical but Oliveira is on a very good run so it's very tough to predict. Chandler is a battle-tested veteran and that could make a difference.
Sandhagen X TJ - Can't see anyone beating Cory right now but TJ has never been beat at Bantamweight so... a bit of a coin flip. If i'm forced to pick, I think Cory wins.
Early prediction for Miocic X Ngannou 2: The closer this one gets, i'm just not sure if it's reasonable to count out the older, more experienced fighter who already beat the opponent. But... I want to see Francis X Jon Jones, so Ngannou!
Chandler X Oliveira - Chandler has more power and is probably more technical but Oliveira is on a very good run so it's very tough to predict. Chandler is a battle-tested veteran and that could make a difference.
Sandhagen X TJ - Can't see anyone beating Cory right now but TJ has never been beat at Bantamweight so... a bit of a coin flip. If i'm forced to pick, I think Cory wins.
Early prediction for Miocic X Ngannou 2: The closer this one gets, i'm just not sure if it's reasonable to count out the older, more experienced fighter who already beat the opponent. But... I want to see Francis X Jon Jones, so Ngannou!
Didn't Cruz beat him at bantamweight?
He did, he has two defeats at bantamweight.
Edit: In fact it's three defeats, Dodson, Assuncao and Cruz.
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Yes that sounds about right.
Yes... somehow I forgot all about that and the other two defeats.
The two Cody knockouts are still fresh in my mind. TJ looked so dominant back then.
They have to restrict weight cutting. This is getting a little out of hand and I don't think we need to wait for a tragic incident to happen before they implement proper restrictions.
This is extremely stupid.
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Of course it had to be the best fight of the night...
No big loss given that it was already a terribly uninspiring card. You'd think Dana would've thought about these things in advance before allowing so many of his fighters to leave for other promotions.
I doubt he's that arsed really. The UFC is guaranteed money regardless of the card are they not? And they still generate huge interest from the actual big cards there is always going to be fillers.
The next 2 PPVs have huge fights on them and in between that you have a Till card and a Whittaker card, hardly the end of the world that got a shit one this weekend.
Prelims start in 10 minutes.
We are live!
Here we go.
Here we go.
Fuuuckkk!! Volkanovski vs Ortega fight is off. Originally next weekend, has been postponed because of covid protocols.
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Niice.
4.59
Who was on course to win?
Like how calm Yanez is. Nice 1st round.
Dawson was up on the scorecards.
Did I hear Holland say he’s gonna smoke Brunson like a blunt? 
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Holland is one annoying motherfecker .
Yeah he's an idiot. Him main eventing was his chance and he blew it. That fake celebrate even though he knew he lost was just embarrassing as well.
Aljamain sterling has been posting multiple pics with his title belt, telling everyone to stay mad. It seems as though he's steering into the skid and wants to play the heel as they build the Sterling Vs Yan rematch.
That's what I would have done. I'd be jumping up and down after the fight celebrating like I've won the world cup