The MMA thread

[Raoul]

It was a good read. The bit about Khabib and Kadyrov in particular is something that's going to keep coming up in the future as he isn't going to be able to criticize other fighters who he claims are mocking him, his country or religion, while he himself is yucking it up with tyrants.

 

[Kaush949]

Theres not too much into Mcgregor being off. You cannot simply be off for 2 years, drinking or ahem 'partying' and expect to come back being the same.

He can of course recover but only with discipline and focus.

His major issue was conditiining which impacted his decision making and movement. Refer to khabib's takedown in 2nd. Rookie mistake to not circle out of harms way. He simply has to be moving away from cage and stand and bang in center of octogon.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

This thread makes for very reflective viewing of the grand scale upon which Conor, and by proxy (almost) Khabib, operate on.

What it's done for Khabib has gone far beyond the sport now and I've seen chats away from this site between people who have zero interest in UFC or MMA talking about Khabib and supporting him for what they see as upholding their own pride as Muslims. He is now a cash cow in his own right off the back of this fight for wholly different reasons to Conor. Many Muslims will now, I believe, tune in just to follow Khabib as he is now essentially an avatar millions have latched on to.

I've seen three live chats in varying live rooms I've been in totally unrelated to sport with people who are part of those communities that I've known of (not as friends but sharing a common interest over a long period of time) enough to get to know their banter, and this is the first time I've ever seen them deviate from the usual, which is generally content specific to the particular room for the particular interest I am there for. Although I can't understand the text, as it's usually French, I see Khabib this and Khabib that and many words that are clearly praising him.

Much like how this thread still hasn't got back to normal post-fight, the same is going on across multiple fora and chatrooms still being flooded with Khabib and Conor talk. It's safe to say they have transcended their own sport and people are following the pair of them as individuals now and will, for the time being, be tuning in to watch either of them fight totally irrespective of who it's against. Of course, what this equates to is $$$$ for the UFC, and you can bet Dana's avarice is at an all time high as figures out how to maximise the profit from both Khabib's new fanbase and Conor's infamy to even further heights.

Khabib, for the time-being, will be untouchable, and I bet they will bow to his demands because they don't want all those potential earnings going elsewhere. The headline, and the elevation to martyred deity, writes itself if the UFC were to cut Khabib now - the warrior who stood by his principles and even forwent his fight purse and told the evil empire to stick it. That's a narrative that would take his new employees at Bellator to a transcendent level as an organisation and generate even more followers for Khabib.

This fight has been about more than just fighting in the octagon for quite some time now, and the next steps could take it even further off on a tangent should the UFC lose him. They're [UFC] many things, but they are not stupid, and greed and profiteering is paramount to them; they will be aware of all this and mete out the bare minimum punishments they can to make it look like they are doing something in the face of criticism for letting an event like this end in shambles.

I think the talk of PPV buys where Conor is the draw are now off the mark - Khabib is going to generate serious buys in his own right and if he is paired up with exciting fights (Ferguson or a Conor rematch) his earning potential via advertising it correctly, is going to explode. The UFC can now beam Khabib to millions upon millions of Muslims as a hero of the people - to their eyes, just another enormous market to capitalise off of, and it will work. The sport will, for a while, have many tuning in for no other reason than to support Khabib and that translates into serious $$$$$.

This thread is usually reserved for regulars with the odd interjection from other posters, but since the fight, it has been non-stop with practically the entire spotlight shone firmly on both fighters. I can't recall so many pages being taken up by a sole fight like this, and it shows how much interest there is in what's going on with both of these fighters. Even with a sullied ending, the UFC has once again managed to come out on top with anticipation of both fighters' next moves at what will be a career apex.

If we're looking at it from a purely money-making exercise, the immediate rematch is an absolute no-brainer and will make a lot more than the first did due to all the additional factors that will come about from the rematch. Ferguson is going to get shafted, as although he is the logical step and the missing link in all of this, pitting what are now two star earners for the organisation against each other in a story that just needs i's dotted and t's crossed, is just too easy and too great an opportunity for them to pass up.

I think this effect extends beyond just religion or nationality but reaches across boundaries to all Cultures of Honour. I've heard people not Muslim or Russian but also from cultures of honor praise Khabib immensely this week for his actions. I think UFC 229 is probably going to be written about in social psychology papers on cultures of honour because Khabib's actions and statements really epitomize the logic inherent in these types of cultures where its all about respect, honor and your name. McGregor almost represents the opposite of what a culture of honour stands for - saying, doing anything to make the most money.

 

[Raoul]

Partying with Kadyrov

 

[Raoul]

First of a series. Interesting to see Rockhold and DC behind the scenes.....

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Damn Kharitonov just savaged Roy Nelson. Brutal stuff. Mitrione vs Bader is starting soon.

 

[Raoul]

Damn Kharitonov just savaged Roy Nelson. Brutal stuff. Mitrione vs Bader is starting soon.

I don’t think Roy fully recovered from the early illegal knee.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

I don’t think Roy fully recovered from the early illegal knee.

Aye, that was a brutal shot. It looked like Nelson had recovered pretty well as he fought decently in the middle of the round, but it surely had a lingering effect on him.

 

[RedTiger]

Read this post on another Internet forum I sometimes frequent and I thought it was one of the most detailed, informative breakdowns of the McGregor v Khabib situation that I’ve read (even if it is heavily influenced from a McGregor standpoint):

That was a good read.

 

[Maxin]

My favorite Dagestani fighter after Khabib.

And third favorite Russian fighter after Khabib and Fedor

 

[Raoul]

And third favorite Russian fighter after Khabib and Fedor

Fedor was great about 5 or 6 years ago. Still entertaining to watch some of his recent fights as well.

 

[George Owen]

some good fights on Bellator. Bader has been great lately.

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[Fortitude]

Unless Khabib has no fights left on his UFC contract which i very much doubt given his own comments yesterday. Then he won't be fighting for any other promotion in the US or Europe until his contract is fulfilled. He could probably go fight somewhere in Asia and obviously Russia against the UFC's wishes but they would only be smaller MMA organisations.

The UFC don't tend to let fighters under contract fight elsewhere unless they don't want them any more and have decided to cut them for whatever reason.

You're not wrong, but my comment was an 'in the event of' scenario. If they some how manage to flub it, Khabib's newfound celebrity will be taken elsewhere and make money for someone else.

No doubt about it. There are suddenly people all over the place, including in this thread, defending Khabib on religious or honor grounds, and of course Conor has always had his fans all over, including here. People are simply going to choose a side and argue on behalf of them with little to no knowledge of MMA or the fight game in general.

And it's crazy that this will all turn into tangible funds to fill coffers, eventually.

Clearly, mixing sport with politics and religion *is* big business, if done right.

Conor has also elevated himself to the level of ultimate heel in UFC history now, too, with an almost Mayweather-like level of hate from those who will tune in hoping to see him get battered, from which he'll make even more money.

I think this effect extends beyond just religion or nationality but reaches across boundaries to all Cultures of Honour. I've heard people not Muslim or Russian but also from cultures of honor praise Khabib immensely this week for his actions. I think UFC 229 is probably going to be written about in social psychology papers on cultures of honour because Khabib's actions and statements really epitomize the logic inherent in these types of cultures where its all about respect, honor and your name. McGregor almost represents the opposite of what a culture of honour stands for - saying, doing anything to make the most money.

I agree with you - it's a transcendental event in the UFC's history and so many, who have never previously had any interest in the sport of now latched on and will follow a portion of it avidly by proxy of watching their man fight in future events.

The honour aspect really is quite phenomenal and just the perfect narrative for Khabib going forward, despite his antics of the past making him not so much the poster boy for what he is now thrust into.

 

[stevoc]

Read this post on another Internet forum I sometimes frequent and I thought it was one of the most detailed, informative breakdowns of the McGregor v Khabib situation that I’ve read (even if it is heavily influenced from a McGregor standpoint):

Khabib:

The narrative that Khabib is some principled, respectful, professional man of honour is laughable.

Kadyrov believes in extrajudicial murders of gay people. Shortly after an estimated 56 people were murdered in a single night by Kadyrov's goons, Khabib showed up with Kadyrov to that kids MMA fight where 8 year old kids battered each other.

That's not any type of "principles" I can relate to.

Conor gets a ton of abuse for a lot he does (much of it justified) including his perceived casual racism towards Nate and Floyd.

Khabib isn't above casual racism either. On the conference call for Khabib-Ferguson, lets not forget Khabib said this:

"I think you're a cleaner. You make no money fighting so I think you clean houses"

You can't get more casually racist that calling a Mexican a cleaner and FYI Ferguson took it as racist in his reply to him: "yeah I'm a Mexican beaner I don't give a f*** what you say".

In terms of trash talk, the short term memories of people are astounding.

Khabib "I don't like trash talk" Nurmagomedov. The same Khabib that laid into Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis endlessly when he was injured in 2014 and early 2015. Calling Pettis a "paper champion playboy", Cerrone an "alcoholic fake Cowboy". When Pettis lost his belt, Khabib taunted him on The MMA Hour saying "Pettis is a prelim fighter, enjoy the prelims."

Why trash talk a man while he's down? Why revel in someone else's defeat?

He's not above weigh in antics either. He pushed Abel Trujillo at the weigh ins despite coming in overweight at 158.5 lbs himself.

He has a history of looking for trouble and starting/finding brawls.

He gave an interview a day before the WSOF event saying if Nate and Nick showed up to support Jake Shields that it would kick off. He ironically called the Diaz brothers "thugs" and made a disparaging comment about their parents

That's without getting into all the stuff he said about our country.

Conor was right about him.

Anyone who thinks it's ok to murder gay people or provide political cover for dictators who do it, IS backwards - regardless of religion.

He supports leaders who would gladly wipe western culture off the map and is 100% misogynistic to boot - he gave an interview saying girls make fighters weak.

Girls can be fighters too last time I checked.

I hope nobody is buying into this "humble" routine he has going on. His shilling for Kadyrov alone tells me all I need to know of his character. If Conor takes money from Putin and shills for him too, then I'll say the same of Conor too.

As for Zubaira Tukghov - the guy is just back from a 2 year USADA ban, popped for Ostarine, publicly says he's gonna jump Conor, then tries to jump him. Delighted Conor cracked him with a counter left.

The UFC is the least of Zubaira's worries. The NSAC are going to hammer everyone not named Conor or Khabib because that's the only way they can show strength. They dished out 5 years to Nick Diaz for weed, so I'm confident they'll hand out some crazy bans for undercard fighters like Zubaira for jumping the megastar who brings fortunes to the state of Nevada.

Don't know if all of that is true about Khabib but even if some of it is, along with the shit he said about Ireland and the ridiculous story he made up about McGregors Grandfather. Then it really is rich when he complains about McGregors trash talking.

 

[Raoul]

One of the multitude of reasons the UFC isn't likely to hold any more significant events in Russia

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[George Owen]

Partying with Kadyrov

Feel a bit sad for Khabib, seeking love and acceptance form guys like Putin and Kadyrov. Not the brightest human being.

reminds me of:

 

[Raoul]

Feel a bit sad for Khabib, seeking love and acceptance form guys like Putin and Kadyrov. Not the brightest human being.

reminds me of:

Yes...both bad moves from each of the fighters although in Covington's case it won't hurt him since the UFC is an American organization and Dana a massive Trump supporter.

 

[Pat_Mustard]

some good fights on Bellator. Bader has been great lately.

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That guy really needs to fight more frequently. He's clearly talented, yet he turned pro in 2012 and has only fought 7 times.

Completely dominant performance by Bader in the main event. He'll likely be a strong favourite in the final, but I hope Fedor gets past Sonnen tonight then wrecks Bader.

 

[Oldyella]

That guy really needs to fight more frequently. He's clearly talented, yet he turned pro in 2012 and has only fought 7 times.

Completely dominant performance by Bader in the main event. He'll likely be a strong favourite in the final, but I hope Fedor gets past Sonnen tonight then wrecks Bader.

Was boring fight I thought. Proper bad old days for grappling, just take him down and do nothing with it. Mitrione had nothing though, TD defense was awful. Sure hes done better in previous fights, maybe Bader being a LHW meant more speed and gas in the tank?

 

[Raoul]

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Was boring fight I thought. Proper bad old days for grappling, just take him down and do nothing with it. Mitrione had nothing though, TD defense was awful. Sure hes done better in previous fights, maybe Bader being a LHW meant more speed and gas in the tank?

I thought he was quite close to getting the finish at one stage with ground and pound and later when he threatened with a kimura, but it was pretty dull to watch for sure. Mitrione's TD defence and ground game have always been sub-par from memory but seem to have regressed even more lately. Even Roy Nelson was working him over on the ground in his last fight. A shame as he can be quite exciting when he's able to keep it standing.

 

[2cents]

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[Paxi]

What time is the Fedor fight at UK time?

 

[Berbaclass]

What time is the Fedor fight at UK time?

Main card starts at 2AM I believe.

 

[Nucks]

Don't know if all of that is true about Khabib but even if some of it is, along with the shit he said about Ireland and the ridiculous story he made up about McGregors Grandfather. Then it really is rich when he complains about McGregors trash talking.

This guy you replied to, should probably have a gander at the history of Kadyrov regarding Islamists, before he makes claims like "wipe western civilization" off the map. Considering it was Kadyrov and his father who switched sides during the 2nd Chechen civil war. Which side did they switch to? The side of secularism. The militias they helped form and lead during the first civil war, were infiltrated by Islamists in the mid 90's and began to take over leadership in the lead up to the 2nd civil war, at which point the Kadyrovs switched sides, to fight against the Islamist take over of their country.

Kadyrovs father was later assassinated by Islamists, and Kadyrov participated in destroying the Caucasus Emirate (the precursor to ISIS) that attempted to invade and conquer Chechnya, Dagestan, and some other Caucasus countries. Is the guy intolerant? Absolutely. Does he seek the destruction of western civilization and the implementation of Sharia law? Pretty sure he had a pretty good chance to do that and he didn't, what with Islamists taking over the Chechen militias which fought the Russians to a stalemate in the first civil war, and then the invasion of the Caucasus Emirate into Chechnya and Dagestan, which he stomped out.

 

[stevoc]

This guy you replied to, should probably have a gander at the history of Kadyrov regarding Islamists, before he makes claims like "wipe western civilization" off the map. Considering it was Kadyrov and his father who switched sides during the 2nd Chechen civil war. Which side did they switch to? The side of secularism. The militias they helped form and lead during the first civil war, were infiltrated by Islamists in the mid 90's and began to take over leadership in the lead up to the 2nd civil war, at which point the Kadyrovs switched sides, to fight against the Islamist take over of their country.

Kadyrovs father was later assassinated by Islamists, and Kadyrov participated in destroying the Caucasus Emirate (the precursor to ISIS) that attempted to invade and conquer Chechnya, Dagestan, and some other Caucasus countries. Is the guy intolerant? Absolutely. Does he seek the destruction of western civilization and the implementation of Sharia law? Pretty sure he had a pretty good chance to do that and he didn't, what with Islamists taking over the Chechen militias which fought the Russians to a stalemate in the first civil war, and then the invasion of the Caucasus Emirate into Chechnya and Dagestan, which he stomped out.

Thanks for the background information but i wasn't actually referring to Khabib's connections to Kadyrov in my post. I was talking about his shit talking to other fighters.

 

[2cents]

This guy you replied to, should probably have a gander at the history of Kadyrov regarding Islamists, before he makes claims like "wipe western civilization" off the map. Considering it was Kadyrov and his father who switched sides during the 2nd Chechen civil war. Which side did they switch to? The side of secularism. The militias they helped form and lead during the first civil war, were infiltrated by Islamists in the mid 90's and began to take over leadership in the lead up to the 2nd civil war, at which point the Kadyrovs switched sides, to fight against the Islamist take over of their country.

Kadyrovs father was later assassinated by Islamists, and Kadyrov participated in destroying the Caucasus Emirate (the precursor to ISIS) that attempted to invade and conquer Chechnya, Dagestan, and some other Caucasus countries. Is the guy intolerant? Absolutely. Does he seek the destruction of western civilization and the implementation of Sharia law? Pretty sure he had a pretty good chance to do that and he didn't, what with Islamists taking over the Chechen militias which fought the Russians to a stalemate in the first civil war, and then the invasion of the Caucasus Emirate into Chechnya and Dagestan, which he stomped out.

Kadyrov isn't secular, he's pretty much introduced sharia to Chechnya, has banned gambling and alcohol, enforced the head-scarf, etc.

 

[Raoul]

At the end of the day it doesn't matter how religious or secular Kadyrov is, as he is still a totalitarian strongman who works for an authoritarian strongman. So all of the usual human rights abuses against political opponents, journalists, random people who criticize him, gays etc are all going to be in play and anyone who associates with him will come under scrutiny of supporting his policies. That's why the UFC would be wise to steer clear of Russia to avoid the spectacle of having totalitarian dictators in the front row of their events.

 

[oneniltothearsenal]

Don't know if all of that is true about Khabib but even if some of it is, along with the shit he said about Ireland and the ridiculous story he made up about McGregors Grandfather. Then it really is rich when he complains about McGregors trash talking.

TBF a lot of them comes from the media phone call for UFC 223 and Ferguson really starts in on the mad shit-talking

• “I’m working out right now, what are you doing, Khabib? Stuffing your face full of Tiramisu? It’s not even Tuesday dog.”

• “I’m the only Mexican you can’t be friends with, and I’m gonna feck you up.”

• “He’s a fecking cake eater. He’s a silver spoon cake eater, and I’m about to take that spoon from him and beat him over the head with that shit.”
• “Tiramisu, dog. Fat head. Fat head. You eat it two times before every dinner.”

• “At the end of the day, you gotta have everyone powder your ass with baby powder and comb your own hair.”

• “You’re on a mute, I can’t hear you. Everything you say goes in one ear and out the other. I can’t hear anything you fecking say. I can’t understand you. You mumble.”

start 5 minutes in:
https://themaclife.com/featured-posts/list-insults-tony-ferguson-threw-khabib-nurmagomedovs/

 

[stevoc]

TBF a lot of them comes from the media phone call for UFC 223 and Ferguson really starts in on the mad shit-talking

• “I’m working out right now, what are you doing, Khabib? Stuffing your face full of Tiramisu? It’s not even Tuesday dog.”

• “I’m the only Mexican you can’t be friends with, and I’m gonna feck you up.”

• “He’s a fecking cake eater. He’s a silver spoon cake eater, and I’m about to take that spoon from him and beat him over the head with that shit.”
• “Tiramisu, dog. Fat head. Fat head. You eat it two times before every dinner.”

• “At the end of the day, you gotta have everyone powder your ass with baby powder and comb your own hair.”

• “You’re on a mute, I can’t hear you. Everything you say goes in one ear and out the other. I can’t hear anything you fecking say. I can’t understand you. You mumble.”

start 5 minutes in:
https://themaclife.com/featured-posts/list-insults-tony-ferguson-threw-khabib-nurmagomedovs/

I've heard that one before actually, but thats not the only time he's talked shit to other fighters. Generally the shit he talks is usually fairly mild but the nonsense he made up about McGregors Grandfather alone means he can't take the moral high ground by saying Conor went too far with his trash talk.

 

[rotherham_red]

I've heard that one before actually, but thats not the only time he's talked shit to other fighters. Generally the shit he talks is usually fairly mild but the nonsense he made up about McGregors Grandfather alone means he can't take the moral high ground by saying Conor went too far with his trash talk.

What did he say about his grandfather?

 

[RedTiger]

What did he say about his grandfather?

Said his grandfather was in the British Royal Navy (he was actually in the merchant navy) and that makes him a traitor to the Irish.

 

[stevoc]

What did he say about his grandfather?

He said McGregors grandfather was in the British Navy and killed Irish people. Not sure what conflict he imagined this happened in, because i'm pretty sure the Merchant Navy never fought in any war against Irish people. Khabib obviously doesn't understand that a merchant navy isn't military.

 

[Grylte]

6 sec KO at the Bellator event tonight

 

[Maxin]

6 sec KO at the Bellator event tonight

I think that was last night

 

[Pat_Mustard]

I think that was last night

It was. I think Bellator having two big events on consecutive nights has caught a few people out, and they just assumed the respective main events were on the same card. Luckily for my mate, who texted me earlier wondering why Ladbrokes wasn't letting him put a bet on Mitrione to beat Bader

 

[Pat_Mustard]

I have an irrational dislike for Benson Henderson.

 

[Grylte]

Ah... I was confused by that, yeah.

 

[Grylte]

This co main event is a pretty good fight.
Both are good good fighters

 

[Pat_Mustard]

Fedor