Official Conor McGregor thread (part 2). Read warning in 1st post

Saipanne · 26-04-2016 12:53PM

I don't get the impression that people appreciate how big Conor is. Just saying. You'd swear Yair Rodriguez is just going to be as big within a week or something.

Conor is mainstream and the UFC isn't. But fair play to Dana & Co for digging their heels in, I suppose. But I don't think McGregor should be treated the same as RDA or Aldo, because he is clearly not your average top fighter. He is much bigger than that.

*rabble rabble rabble*

RoryMac · 26-04-2016 01:18PM

McGregor tried to to take on the UFC and lost, simple as that really. He probably over estimated his standing with the UFC top brass or maybe they felt they had to tighten the leash on him a little after the last year or so and were probably getting it in the neck from other fighters looking for similar deals.

I can understand why McGregor would want to cut back a bit on the media work but to try to take this stance for the fight announcement press conference was always going to lead to issues.

Miesha Tate said the UFC contract states the fighter must do 'reasonable promotion' for the fight. Obviously that term leaves room for debate on what is reasonable but it would be hard for McGregor to argue the announcement press conference wasn't reasonable.

The ball is back in McGregor's court now to take it on the chin and get the fight scheduled for one of the PPV's after 200 or dig a deeper hole for himself with the UFC and try another stunt to force them to back down. I don't think this is a fight he can win(with the UFC not Nate) so hopefully he'll see come to his senses soon.

Mellor · 26-04-2016 01:20PM

lougal88 wrote: »

Yeah well kind of backs up my first point that no matter what he does most fans will still back him. I'd be pretty annoyed.

I'm not defending McGregor, I literally don't know what should we be annoyed about?

The fight was off since before the first tweet. You get that right?
Dana, or perhaps Lorenzo pulled Conor from the fight at some point before the retirement tweet. Since then, nothing has change in regards to UFC 200. It's still off, and at no point was it back on. All of the posturing and the tweets has changed nothing.

The fight is off regardless of everything. The end result is unaffected. I think the pseudo-outrage over something that has no impact is unnecessary.

It's not just "what they read online", it's from the horse's mouth. Wasn't a journalist trying to click bait. It was McGregor self-promoting. IMO it was pretty desperate.

What do you think he was promoting?
What you you think he motive was when he said, (in a nutshell);

I'm just focusing on training. I'll get to NYC for the big conference, but training is my priority now. I'll be ready on July 9th. Your move.

I took it at a clear message that he was still in camp, and wiling to fight. I'm not sure how somebody who wants the fight to go ahead could get the hump over that.

jones 19 · 26-04-2016 01:24PM

Mc Gregor openly slagged RDA about pulling out over a bruised foot, and here he is pulling out over a private plane trip or 2, . He's lost it, random fairy tweets, confusion, he's way out of his depth on this,and why can't he train in the states ?

Saipanne · 26-04-2016 01:26PM

jones 19 wrote: »

Mc Gregor openly slagged RDA about pulling out over a bruised foot, and here he is pulling out over a private plane trip or 2, . He's lost it, random fairy tweets, confusion, he's way out of his depth on this,and why can't he train in the states ?

Is he avoiding something? Media perhaps?

Mellor · 26-04-2016 01:31PM

johnpatrick81 wrote: »

I agree, knowing the iffy nature, I'd never commit to a big trip, flights etc. Injuries alone make it too risky. However, I am sure people have. Even if 1 of his fans has their flights booked, McGregor is a d!ck IMO. This isn't injury. He signed up to the fight, fully aware of the press he was gonna have to do.

Vegas Hotels almost always have free cancellation in my experience.
Buying non refundable flights before tickets are announced is incredibly risky.

How do you know he signed up fully aware of the press? Do you know for certain that the contract details the full extent of the media tour?

RoryMac wrote:

Miesha Tate said the UFC contract states the fighter must do 'reasonable promotion' for the fight. Obviously that term leaves room for debate on what is reasonable but it would be hard for McGregor to argue the announcement press conference wasn't reasonable.

FYI, it wasn't just an announcement press conference.
It was a media tour across at least 4 cities.

Swashbuckler · 26-04-2016 01:35PM

jones 19 wrote: »

Mc Gregor openly slagged RDA about pulling out over a bruised foot, and here he is pulling out over a private plane trip or 2, . He's lost it, random fairy tweets, confusion, he's way out of his depth on this,and why can't he train in the states ?

He didn't pull put of this fight. He got pulled by the UFC.

Faugheen · 26-04-2016 01:45PM

Swashbuckler wrote: »

He didn't pull put of this fight. He got pulled by the UFC.

...because he was refusing to honour the terms of his contract. One person could have prevented this and that's Conor McGregor. Whether he pulled out or UFC pulled him is irrelevant. End of the day only one person's actions have led to this.

zpehtsfd · 26-04-2016 01:53PM

Swashbuckler wrote: »

He didn't pull put of this fight. He got pulled by the UFC.

You don't show up to pressers you get pulled. All the fighters know this and it did happen to Diaz before. Conor knew the consequences of his actions so the UFC have nothing to answer for.

RoryMac · 26-04-2016 02:05PM

Mellor wrote: »

FYI, it wasn't just an announcement press conference.
It was a media tour across at least 4 cities.

True it also included the filming of the promos for the fight in LA, according to McGregor he was prepared to go to the NY press conference which would mean some how moving the recording of his part of the promos to NY etc.

As I said I can understand him wanting to cut back on the media but the Vegas & LA trips all seem standard practice and it would be reasonable to expect him to attend.

CatFromHue · 26-04-2016 02:20PM

Swashbuckler wrote: »

He didn't pull put of this fight. He got pulled by the UFC.

suicide by cop

Depp · 26-04-2016 02:21PM

CatFromHue wrote: »

suicide by cop

christ

.ak · 26-04-2016 02:23PM

zpehtsfd wrote: »

You don't show up to pressers you get pulled. All the fighters know this and it did happen to Diaz before. Conor knew the consequences of his actions so the UFC have nothing to answer for.

Then why are they still training for 200? They played hardball, they weren't looking to get pulled. You're grasping at straws IMO.

johnpatrick81 · 26-04-2016 02:38PM

Mellor wrote: »

Vegas Hotels almost always have free cancellation in my experience.
Buying non refundable flights before tickets are announced is incredibly risky.

How do you know he signed up fully aware of the press? Do you know for certain that the contract details the full extent of the media tour?

True, maybe there has been some shadow play on the UFC's behalf. I doubt it however, seeing as UFC 200 is meant to be their biggest event ever, it was clear there was gonna be some serious promotional work involved.

McGregor was fully aware of that. If all this crap is legit, he played a sneaky move, and his bluff has been well and truly called.

Swashbuckler · 26-04-2016 02:39PM

Faugheen wrote: »

...because he was refusing to honour the terms of his contract. One person could have prevented this and that's Conor McGregor. Whether he pulled out or UFC pulled him is irrelevant. End of the day only one person's actions have led to this.

What were the terms of his contract that he didn't honour? I've heard this contract thing quite a bit. I haven't seen any article anywhere detailing the terms of his contract so presumably people don't actually know what it says?

Swashbuckler · 26-04-2016 02:42PM

zpehtsfd wrote: »

You don't show up to pressers you get pulled. All the fighters know this and it did happen to Diaz before. Conor knew the consequences of his actions so the UFC have nothing to answer for.

Nick Diaz wen't awol and couldn't be contacted. Conor, to be fair, was in constant contact trying to get leeway on the Vegas presser. Agree or disagree with his actions but the two aren't comparable in my opinion.

Depp · 26-04-2016 02:45PM

Swashbuckler wrote: »

What were the terms of his contract that he didn't honour? I've heard this contract thing quite a bit. I haven't seen any article anywhere detailing the terms of his contract so presumably people don't actually know what it says?

according to miesha tate, the contract details 'reasonable promotion' so its open to interpretation i guess!

RoryMac · 26-04-2016 02:46PM

Swashbuckler wrote: »

What were the terms of his contract that he didn't honour? I've heard this contract thing quite a bit. I haven't seen any article anywhere detailing the terms of his contract so presumably people don't actually know what it says?

According to Miesha Tate the contract says the fighter must carry out 'reasonable promotion' so there are no stipulations to be in XYZ TV studio at 9am or take part in phone call at 11pm etc.

The term 'reasonable promotion' is open to interpretation but I would imagine the UFC would class it as taking part in all official events run by themselves

Spudman_20000 · 26-04-2016 02:58PM

Depp wrote: »

according to miesha tate, the contract details 'reasonable promotion' so its open to interpretation i guess!

Excactly. We can argue on here until the cows come home in relation to promotional duties, but lots of fighters have voiced support for McGregor in relation to his stance.

Ariel reported that even most of the fighters that showed up to the 200 Vegas conference didn't care that he wasn't there (with the probable exception of Aldo and RDA I'd assume, surprise surprise).

You also have most MMA journalists scratching their heads at the decision to pull Conor from the card, including guys around the sport a long time like Rogan, Schaub and Ariel.

We can't know exactly what is in fighter contracts, but Meisha says her's states "reasonable promotion".

I guess it comes down to each individual's interpretation of what is "reasonable".

You can argue that Conor has done more than his fair share of promotion, including cramming a bunch of last minute conferences and interviews for the first Diaz match, 11 days before the fight. You could also argue that UFC 200 is a stacked card and other fighters, including Diaz, could carry more of the promotional load. And you could also reasonably argue how much promotion is really required for UFC 200. Does it really need the hard sell?

zpehtsfd · 26-04-2016 03:04PM

.ak wrote: »

Then why are they still training for 200? They played hardball, they weren't looking to get pulled. You're grasping at straws IMO.

Well if Conor was playing hardball then he overestimated his ability to sway the UFC. Didn't take a genius to figure out that if they pandered to Conor then it sets precedent. He should have known that and fulfilled his contract obligations. It's all too convenient to lay blame on the UFC. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.

Also if he stopped training for UFC 200 it would admit defeat and the sympathizers would be silenced, which is what he doesn't want to happen. It's all a BS charade and Conor is intent on having the last say.

JustShon · 26-04-2016 03:07PM

There's an awful lot of tinfoil hats being worn in this thread.

Depp · 26-04-2016 03:09PM

JustShon wrote: »

There's an awful lot of tinfoil hats being worn in this thread.

they were on special offer in the reebok store!

lougal88 · 26-04-2016 03:11PM

Mellor wrote: »

lougal88 wrote: »

Yeah well kind of backs up my first point that no matter what he does most fans will still back him. I'd be pretty annoyed.

I'm not defending McGregor, I literally don't know what should we be annoyed about?

The fight was off since before the first tweet. You get that right?
Dana, or perhaps Lorenzo pulled Conor from the fight at some point before the retirement tweet. Since then, nothing has change in regards to UFC 200. It's still off, and at no point was it back on. All of the posturing and the tweets has changed nothing.

The fight is off regardless of everything. The end result is unaffected. I think the pseudo-outrage over something that has no impact is unnecessary.

It's not just "what they read online", it's from the horse's mouth. Wasn't a journalist trying to click bait. It was McGregor self-promoting. IMO it was pretty desperate.

What do you think he was promoting?
What you you think he motive was when he said, (in a nutshell);

I'm just focusing on training. I'll get to NYC for the big conference, but training is my priority now. I'll be ready on July 9th. Your move.

I took it at a clear message that he was still in camp, and wiling to fight. I'm not sure how somebody who wants the fight to go ahead could get the hump over that.

Seems pretty clear that you are defending McGregor.
I know the fight was off before the first tweet. I'm annoyed about the lame tweet that he was back on the card when clearly that was just bollix.
What were his intentions with that?
Personally I'm staying in Dublin the night of UFC 200. I was hoping to watch the card live in a pub. I'm thinking that probably wont happen now as many casual fans wont go to a live screening if he isn't on that card. But that's just a personal thing and is neither here nor there.
Yeah well, I'm with you there. I don't know what his intentions were apart from getting some attention that he wasn't getting elsewhere. Why use Twitter as a medium for making announcements? Because the media eats it up.
He was only willing to take the fight on his own terms, which he had to know the UFC would not bend to.
I'm just fed up of it and I hope this is the end of it now. At least until he inevitably tweets more nonsense.

Faugheen · 26-04-2016 03:12PM

Spudman_20000 wrote: »

You can argue that Conor has done more than his fair share of promotion, including cramming a bunch of last minute conferences and interviews for the first Diaz match, 11 days before the fight. You could also argue that UFC 200 is a stacked card and other fighters, including Diaz, could carry more of the promotional load. And you could also reasonably argue how much promotion is really required for UFC 200. Does it really need the hard sell?

You could also argue that none of the other fighters are getting paid anywhere near as much as McGregor is (including Diaz). Why should they hamper their training (to use McGregor's logic) when they're not getting paid as much as him?

To address another point, of course most of the fighters are going to say they're not bothered with McGregor being there. They know that if UFC bows to his demands then all of the fighters have Dana by the bollocks.

StringerBell · 26-04-2016 03:17PM

.ak wrote: »

Then why are they still training for 200? They played hardball, they weren't looking to get pulled. You're grasping at straws IMO.

Not training for 200, training for fight night on May the 8th, the rest I agree with, they didn't think they would really be pulled, played hardball and got called on their bluff.

Swashbuckler wrote: »

What were the terms of his contract that he didn't honour? I've heard this contract thing quite a bit. I haven't seen any article anywhere detailing the terms of his contract so presumably people don't actually know what it says?

To do promotional work, to come shoot the commercial and do the media that he refused to do, seems pretty cut and dried. If he was honouring his contract how could the UFC legally pull him from a card that he has a contract to appear at?

zpehtsfd · 26-04-2016 03:20PM

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Nick Diaz wen't awol and couldn't be contacted. Conor, to be fair, was in constant contact trying to get leeway on the Vegas presser. Agree or disagree with his actions but the two aren't comparable in my opinion.

They had a private jet ready to bring Conor and the team out to Vegas for the presser. Diaz would have been lucky to get a a bit of floor space on a cargo plane on his own. They both failed to show up and got pulled. Watching the presser and tweeting nonsense is worse then going awol. imo

Swashbuckler · 26-04-2016 03:24PM

StringerBell wrote: »

Not training for 200, training for fight night on May the 8th, the rest I agree with, they didn't think they would really be pulled, played hardball and got called on their bluff.

To do promotional work, to come shoot the commercial and do the media that he refused to do, seems pretty cut and dried. If he was honouring his contract how could the UFC legally pull him from a card that he has a contract to appear at?

The UFC can do whatever they like. How many times have fighters who have a contract been cut from the organisation. What are the fighters gonna do? Talk to their union rep?
From what I've read in previous posts, the terms of contract are very non specific and open to debate. McG was proposing that he would be in Vegas five weeks before the fight at which point he felt he could fulfill his promotional duties. Stupid tweets aside, that seems reasonable to me.

Swashbuckler · 26-04-2016 03:26PM

zpehtsfd wrote: »

They had a private jet ready to bring Conor and the team out to Vegas for the presser. Diaz would have been lucky to get a a bit of floor space on a cargo plane on his own. They both failed to show up and got pulled. Watching the presser and tweeting nonsense is worse then going awol. imo

What difference does the private jet make? Correct me if I'm wrong but it was a two week promotional tour. Not just a quick press conference. There's no comparison. Diaz has a history of being unreliable. Conor has broken his back promoting for the past few years.

JustShon · 26-04-2016 03:28PM

zpehtsfd wrote: »

They had a private jet ready to bring Conor and the team out to Vegas for the presser. Diaz would have been lucky to get a a bit of floor space on a cargo plane on his own. They both failed to show up and got pulled. Watching the presser and tweeting nonsense is worse then going awol. imo

They all got private jets according to Dana, he was asked about it at the press conference.

RoryMac · 26-04-2016 03:30PM

zpehtsfd wrote: »

Well if Conor was playing hardball then he overestimated his ability to sway the UFC. Didn't take a genius to figure out that if they pandered to Conor then it sets precedent. He should have known that and fulfilled his contract obligations. It's all too convenient to lay blame on the UFC. The whole thing stinks to high heaven.

Also if he stopped training for UFC 200 it would admit defeat and the sympathizers would be silenced, which is what he doesn't want to happen. It's all a BS charade and Conor is intent on having the last say.

It seems clear(to me anyway) that he did overestimate his ability to sway the UFC, all the twitter stuff was an attempt to create public pressure on the UFC to back down and I'd guess he thought they'd never pull him from the card.

The UFC top brass have used this as an opportunity to pull him back inline and show that even though at the minute he is their biggest star, he works for them and needs to be at work when they want him there

Official Conor McGregor thread (part 2). **Read warning in 1st post**

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Official Conor McGregor thread (part 2). Read warning in 1st post