UFC 196: McGregor v Diaz

No way the UFC don't put Conor on 200.

I'd imagine there's no way he leaves SBG either, he seems very loyal.
Perhaps at the detriment to his career, imagine him training at Tristar coming up with game plans with Firas.

Admittedly none of this was an issue 24 hours ago.

WarZ wrote: »

SBG and Kavanagh are incredibly overrated. Best gym in Ireland by a mile but it doesn't come close to some of the gyms in the US. Gunnar has taking a dive since training there, Cathal's stand up was atrocious and every other fighter looks completely out of their depth. Connor is getting by on pure talent.

I'm sorry but any coach that would step aside to allow Conor to spend a huge amount of his training time doing yoga in the park with a hipster should really be asking himself questions.

Has Ido Portal pushed John Kavanagh aside?

It's hardly a shame that SBG doesn't come close to some gyms in the States, surely? Given size, fighter pool, resources etc. But in any case, I think the assessment is off.

McGregor is the featherweight champion of the world which is absolutely huge on its own. I don't think that achievement gets the recognition it deserves. Top gyms such as Tristar and Team Alpha Male don't even have a UFC champion on their books at the moment. Then you've got the likes of Holohan (who is just outside the top 15 in his division), Daly (who should be ranked in the top 15 but is just outside it), Gunnar was ranked up until his defeat to Maia last year and now sits just outside the top 15 of a stacked welterweight division. Regardless of what people think of him Pendred was 4-0 in the UFC at one stage and only Neil Magny was on a longer win streak than him at the time. He retired at 4-2 in a stacked welterweight division. For a gym in a country the size of Ireland to produce 1 UFC champion and 3 fighters who are in the rankings mix of their respective divisions is superb IMO. You've now also got other fighters starting to come over to join such as the brilliant prospect in Amirkhani so the only way is up IMO as the gym will hopefully continue to grow.

That's not to mention that there's a conveyor belt of young talent coming through with lads such as Frans Mlambo, James Gallagher and Dylan Tuke all expected to reach the UFC in the future if things go well.

I think SBG, when everything is considered, is actually now underrated if anything. People's expectations have just rose unrealistically and completely out of all reality on the back of what McGregor has done which is an incredible feat.

He doesn't spend a huge amount of time with Portal either. He usually spends fight week with him when the heavy stuff is done and does a few bits and pieces with him outside of that. We just see an awful lot of them together because the most coverage we get to see of the camps is during fight week.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

He will be on 200 for sure and will get good money again. The question I am interested in is will his featherweight fight still be the Main Event over a heavier weight division.

Don't think there's a chance he headlines 200 now. It's either Jones v rumble depending on the outcome of the dc fight or Lawler vs whoever who headline with Conor as a possible co main. Think his stock with Dana took a serious nosedive last night.

Lawlor vs GSP is nailed on for UFC200 IMO.

Watched the fight again. Conor won the first round, but it was the first round that actually cost him the fight in my opinion. He wasted so much energy throwing punches that he was never going to land due to range/angle. I've also never seen him throw so many wild punches, it was clear he was looking for the knockout from the get go. When he did take his time and pick his shots he was landing well.

People saying he needs a new boxing coach etc is not correct in my view...his boxing is not the problem. He could very easily have picked Nate apart if he had just been smarter with his output. And as for the choke, he was clearly out on his feet...both rocked and exhausted. Almost a carbon copy of Werdum v Cain. Anyways, I'm sure he'll learn from it.

Have to say though, the way he dealt with all was great, fair play to him for that.

PS some of the the comments under Aldo's tweet are amazing :pac:

Conor has nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to regret. such balls to shoot for the stars, well he has fallen in the the gutter of 145 where he's already a king so no harm done. He looked smaller than expected next to Nate, give it a few more fights, if that's possible, and he might be at that level again and in a good position to compete

martyos121 wrote: »

Yeah, lost to the former UFC LW champ, the current one, and got finished by a perfectly timed kick. Nothing to be ashamed of at all.

Didn't say it was, I love both the Diaz brothers.

WarZ wrote: »

I don't think he'll go down to FW. He's reputation is tarnished. People now see him as someone who only dominates FW because he should probably be fighting at lightweight and its unfair. And imagine if he lost to Aldo in a rematch! His entire legacy would be over. I think he's best sticking to lightweight, having 3-4 fights and then if he wins all 4 going for a title show.

He should definitely vacate the FW belt.

That makes no sense. Why in the world would he vacate the belt?