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Machida Vs Hendo could beThis is actually a good fight card
or Machida's headkicking Hendo. Either ending would be sad for me.
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or Machida's headkicking Hendo. Either ending would be sad for me.
Lol, ain't nobody mad. I just agree with Nate.
Connor has a ridiculous push. Cart blanche. Not every fighter can be white, racist, speak English, and beef with Mayweather you know. But to Connor's credit, dude has to keep winning. If he had lost to Aldo, his hype train woulda ended last year already. Still, Connor's push is unprecedented. Never seen UFC shyt on the entire UFC roster just to prop up Connor. That didn't happen with all those UFC champions you listed. They stayed in their lane, made their mark, became household names.
Again, if RDA beats McConnor.... how does that raise his stock? Oh, you beat a FW, and? Especially in Robbie's case. You beat a FW, you should be ashamed of yourself! On the flip side, if RDA and Lawler were to somehow lose...... lol. You lost to a FW, exposed!!! I can only imagine RDA and Lawler woulda got paid more than Connor, they got more on the line. But I doubt that.
Since Nate has defeated Conor, I hope the UFC will ride the Nate wave. He is DEFINITELY also about the money, a trait that UFC loved in Connor, and happily gave him plenty of it.
But we're just going in circles. You think Connor's push is business as usual. I think it's worth noting.
The axe murderer
For I am death and I ride on a pale horse
Mousasi lookin from behind the scenes likeMachida Vs Hendo could be
"oily daniel son will catch this fade"
Screwface Exchange
All Star
Lol, ain't nobody mad. I just agree with Nate.
Connor has a ridiculous push. Cart blanche. Not every fighter can be white, racist, speak English, and beef with Mayweather you know. But to Connor's credit, dude has to keep winning. If he had lost to Aldo, his hype train woulda ended last year already. Still, Connor's push is unprecedented. Never seen UFC shyt on the entire UFC roster just to prop up Connor. That didn't happen with all those UFC champions you listed. They stayed in their lane, made their mark, became household names.
Again, if RDA beats McConnor.... how does that raise his stock? Oh, you beat a FW, and? Especially in Robbie's case. You beat a FW, you should be ashamed of yourself! On the flip side, if RDA and Lawler were to somehow lose...... lol. You lost to a FW, exposed!!! I can only imagine RDA and Lawler woulda got paid more than Connor, they got more on the line. But I doubt that.
Since Nate has defeated Conor, I hope the UFC will ride the Nate wave. He is DEFINITELY also about the money, a trait that UFC loved in Connor, and happily gave him plenty of it.
But we're just going in circles. You think Connor's push is business as usual. I think it's worth noting.
It's not only about bizness all u guys sound mad that Diaz doesn't get the Connor push and I'm jus like. Why wld u push a guy who every time he gets on da mic is putting down the company and basically saying fu to Dana.
It's like if I show up to work and tell my boss go suck my sick bytch and then ask her hey why don't u ever give me a raise or a promotion?
If Diaz wants a push, wants to be treated like Connor then walk the walk. Say u luv ufc, Thank dana and ufc. Do extra media trips and events not jus the minimum in ur contract.
And I remember randy couture, changing weight classes. I remember dana letting chuck liddell go fight in pride b4. So other company guys have been hooked up b4. It's jus that we haven't seen this in awhile as GSP, Anderson and some of the previous guys never got this strong a backing. And the timing has been rite as Ronda was Killin da media gm, she got knocked so now all da media jumped on da nxt big thing, Connor.
But your right, we are jus Goin round in circles. Let's agree though that hopefully this means we see more of Nate in the ring, no more layoffs and see him treat this seriously and go get dat belt.
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Amare's Right Hook
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The axe murderer
For I am death and I ride on a pale horse
Damn
The axe murderer
For I am death and I ride on a pale horse
Stephen Thompson on why he took a 'big risk' fight against Rory MacDonald
'Wonderboy' is putting his six-fight win streak on the line against Rory MacDonald - who is coming off of a KO loss. He tells FOXSports why, in this exclusive.
Stephen Thompson (R) is riding-high and risking lots when he takes Rory MacDonald on in June.
Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
By Elias Cepeda @EliasCepedaMar 8, 2016 at 2:40p ET
Stephen Thompson's life has been changing in some subtle and not so subtle ways, since he stopped former world champion Johny Hendricks earlier this year. The striking phenom is going on international media tours and this past weekend met his next opponent -- Rory MacDonald -- at a big press conference event promoting their bout.
The South Carolina fighter described the flashy Vegas scene in his typical humble way. "It was pretty cool to be there for the fights and everything. I'd never done a press conference on that level, before," he told FOXSports, Monday.
"I'm just glad I got asked a question! (laughs) Some guys get brought to these things and don't get any questions asked to them. That's rough! I was worried no one would ask me anything."
They did, and we had a few more questions for "Wonderboy" this week -- namely why in the world did he decide to fight Rory MacDonald instead of easier bouts or trying to hold out for a title fight. More on that in a bit, however.
First, Thompson reflected on what it felt like to not just extend his win-streak to six, but to also beat the best opponent of his career in Hendricks. Before he took on the "Bigg Rigg," Thompson admitted to us that Hendricks was the best wrestler and fighter he'd ever been paid up with in MMA.
When they actually fought, however, Thompson made it look pretty easy, as he kept Hendricks off of him and made him pay dearly on the feet with strikes. During earlier conversations, Thompson broke down how takedown defense for savvy strikers can begin before contact is ever made between the two (below).
Thompson used stance-changes, level changes, and many other technical edges to keep Hendricks guessing and making it difficult for him to get a bead on his legs to begin takedowns, to say nothing of finish them. The welterweight contender was always confident, but he had to admit that it felt good to prove he and his team right.
Rory MacDonald (L) and Stephen Thompson face off during the UFC Unstoppable launch press conference at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 4, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
"I knew he would have problems getting his hands on me, just because until you've faced someone with this style every day, it is really hard to get used to it," he continued.
"You think he's in one stance, then he's in another. You think he's about to attack, then he doesn't, then it throws you off."
"So, I knew it would be hard for him to get to me, but it was so satisfying to see and feel everything we've been working on for years turn out the way we planned and wanted it to."
Now, onto MacDonald. The TriStar protege is certainly one of the best fighters in the world, pound-for-pound.
Still, he's coming off of a loss in his epic title rematch last July against champion Robbie Lawler. Usually, fighters off of wins -- to say nothing of huge win streaks, the type of which Thompson is currently riding -- fight others who are coming off of wins.
Considering he's just dominated a former world champion, Thompson fighting MacDonald would seem to be a much bigger opportunity for the Canadian than for the American. A win for MacDonald against the red-hot Thompson will put him right back in que, quickly, for a title shot.
If Thompson wins, all of his wins over the past few years will fade from people's memories, and he'll likely have to start from square one in pursuit of a title shot. Furthermore, MacDonald is pretty much as good as the current champion, without the win-streak or title to gain from facing him.
Thompson concedes that he's taking a big risk putting his streak on the line against someone so elite, who doesn't have the title he covets. It seemed better than the alternatives, however.
"Yeah, it is a risk. I wanted the title shot after the last fight. I felt I deserved it and could make it a great fight. I was really hoping for that," Thompson said.
"So this fight is a risk, but the way I look at it is that every fight in the top five is a risk. Yes, Rory is probably the most well-rounded guy in that top five, before the champion. He's got great boxing, amazing jiu-jitsu. This is a very hard fight.
"But I also didn't want to sit around and wait for a fight. You look at Tyron Woodley - he's the only guy in front of me and he's been waiting for that title shot. I don't even know when he's going to fight, again. I don't know if he is playing hardball, if the UFC is playing hardball, but I didn't want to deal with that."
Thompson would rather fight top fighter after top fighter than sit around and not collect pay checks. As a competitor, Thompson also wouldn't mind the feather in his cap of being able to beat someone as great as MacDonald.
"I'd rather fight and take a risk than have to wait around and go back and forth like [Woodley] has had to," he continued.
"I'm looking forward to proving, again, to everyone that I'm ready for a title fight. More than that, though, I think this is about proving something else to myself. Rory is a great fighter and a really good guy. I trained up at TriStar with them, mostly Georges [St-Pierre], and so they know me. But I've improved so much since then,"
Thompson plans to go back to being friendly with TriStar and MacDonald once their fight is over, no matter the result. "I talked to Rory before the press conference last week. I told him he was still cool with me," he detailed.
"So, we're going to fight, but afterwards we'll shake each other's hands and hopefully still be cool with each other."
http://www.foxsports.com/ufc/story/...-big-risk-fight-against-rory-macdonald-030816
FrankyFourFingers
Raised in Ruins
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Veteran
The Luke Thomas fight breakdown is great too (especially his covering Conor's first round BJJ and Nate's second round work to the mount). I'm a huge fan of Jack Slack and Luke Thomas, best two in the business at breaking down fighters, their patterns and the fights in general.
Also, did I see a dude say Conor beat a bunch of non-top 10 guys? I get not liking the dude and I know everyone likes to discredit the Mendes win but Conor also walked through Poirier and Holloway on his way to those two fights; both dudes are legit.
Connor cleaned out his division, only one he hasn't fought and beat is Frankie. Made that division relevant, it was one of the worst drawing divisions in the sport, it was dead. Broke all kinds of gate records, Connor is a legend.
Comparing somone with his accomplishments in and out the ring to Matt Serra is pure hate and nothing else
Comparing somone with his accomplishments in and out the ring to Matt Serra is pure hate and nothing else
LMAO. If I gotta go get a 209 tattoo, I'ma get a way better one than that!
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All Star
I think that's the biggest thing right there. Connor made Mma fans casuals every1 aware of him, his fights and that division. He made network news and opening news update on ESPN.
Meanwhile, an accomplished beast like Mighty mouse has cleaned out his division twice over and no1 outside of Mma stans and pundits even know who he is nor give a damn. He could be fighting on the prelim of a card for free on cable TV and still barely ne1 will take notice. Mighty and Dana need another Connor to wake up that division get ppl giving a damn again.
Kenny West
Veteran
that's dana's fault for never adhering to any type of structure or code with this matchmaking. he only follows the money. connor pushes that envelope but joe silva & them been running this shyt like a circus for a minute
What's his legacy in the ring?
Beat a bunch of fighters not in the top 10. Beat Chad Mendes on two weeks notice. Flash knockout of Also. Got slapped up by Nate.
The most impressive thing on his resume is Aldo, but if he doesn't do it again he'll be looked at like Matt Serra with more fanfare.
We're talking legacy here. You're defending the legacy he's built. I'm saying it ain't much of a legacy. Dude is Matt Serra right now. Dude is Chris Wiedman after that first win over Silva right now.
Sure it's a legacy, but it's not impressive when compared to others in the sport
you don't even know wtf you talking about. KO'd Siver on the most successful UFC fight night card of all time, Porier was top 10 (5 even?) at the time of his KO, Max is #4 right now, Ko'd #1 contender Mendes, KO'd 1# P4P, Is the current champion, just headlined the most successful UFC ppv of all time breaking his own record..... who's legacy is better at 27 outside of Jones and BJ? despite what you may say if he were to die today he's UFC hall of fame no questions asked
