Non-threadworthy MMA Rumors/Quotes/Tweets/Etc., Vol. 4

[REDDzone]

The UFC has started to protect fighters. Well not started, it's a trend now for a while. Connor has been constantly protected. He's a great fighter, no doubt, but there are people who he doesn't want to fight and won't fight. Aldo I'll give him credit for taking, but now that he's the cash cow, he has refused the Khabib fight, he doesn't want to fight Aldo again because he knows he caught him with a punch that Aldo will never allow again, heck he even avoids Frankie.

Not that I think he would lose any of those fights necessarily, but he does know that some are bigger threats than others.

Can't wait for the day Khabib and Connor go at it. Win or lose, will be an incredible fight. That left versus just a monster.

Of all the sh*t I heard today that never happened, all of this never happened the most.

[Steelo Green]

The UFC has started to protect fighters. Well not started, it's a trend now for a while. Connor has been constantly protected. He's a great fighter, no doubt, but there are people who he doesn't want to fight and won't fight. Aldo I'll give him credit for taking, but now that he's the cash cow, he has refused the Khabib fight, he doesn't want to fight Aldo again because he knows he caught him with a punch that Aldo will never allow again, heck he even avoids Frankie.

Not that I think he would lose any of those fights necessarily, but he does know that some are bigger threats than others.

Can't wait for the day Khabib and Connor go at it. Win or lose, will be an incredible fight. That left versus just a monster.

Of all the sh*t I heard today that never happened, all of this never happened the most.

Of all the sentences I've ever read, this is probably the poorest. Also, yes all of this has happened.

[REDDzone]

He was protected during his rise, he got to avoid wrestlers until he got Mendes off a hunting show. After that it's been him calling the shots, not the UFC, and I don't think his picks can be seen as self-protecting.

The only example of this you could possibly give is Siver.

[REDDzone]

The UFC has started to protect fighters. Well not started, it's a trend now for a while. Connor has been constantly protected. He's a great fighter, no doubt, but there are people who he doesn't want to fight and won't fight. Aldo I'll give him credit for taking, but now that he's the cash cow, he has refused the Khabib fight, he doesn't want to fight Aldo again because he knows he caught him with a punch that Aldo will never allow again, heck he even avoids Frankie.

Not that I think he would lose any of those fights necessarily, but he does know that some are bigger threats than others.

Can't wait for the day Khabib and Connor go at it. Win or lose, will be an incredible fight. That left versus just a monster.

Of all the sh*t I heard today that never happened, all of this never happened the most.

Of all the sentences I've ever read, this is probably the poorest. Also, yes all of this has happened.

I'm not going to address this post point by point, but fighting guys like Holloway, Poirier, Mendes, Aldo, Diaz two weight classes up (x2) Alvarez, and signing up to fight RDA speaks for itself.

The dude could sign up to fight Woodley next and people would still whine about him being protected. Its asinine.

[lilfishi22]

I thought he was protected early on in his career before I bought into his hype. But my only evidence of this was that he never fought a wrestler (his supposed kryptonite) on his road to a title shot and Mendes had been calling for the fight well before his short-notice call up. But considering what Conor has done, it's hard to make this argument anymore when he's dismantled two bigger, more powerful grapplers in RDA and Alvarez.

I don't think the UFC is protecting fighters as much as fighters are protecting themselves nowadays. Everyone sees the value in being that mouthy, big personality fighter and they all want their red panty nights now. They are choosing their fights more than ever.

[Jasen777]

But considering what Conor has done, it's hard to make this argument anymore when he's dismantled two bigger, more powerful grapplers in RDA and Alvarez.

He hasn't fought RDA. And Alvarez fought like an idiot. But I'm not actually trying to be dismissive of Conor here.

[lilfishi22]

But considering what Conor has done, it's hard to make this argument anymore when he's dismantled two bigger, more powerful grapplers in RDA and Alvarez.

He hasn't fought RDA. And Alvarez fought like an idiot. But I'm not actually trying to be dismissive of Conor here.

You're right. The image of RDA getting beat on made me think Conor was the one doing it considering they were supposed to fight. Either way, I think the myth that he's been protected has been busted. He's certainly picked fights which were more high profile (Nate) over other potential replacements when his opponent pulled out but I don't think we can say his road to unifying the FW belt wasn't against other top contenders. He had to get through some very game fighters like Holloway, Poirer and Mendes to finally get in the cage with Aldo. Granted Aldo had pulled out for the Mendes fight to happen but Conor didn't have to take that fight and Mendes has nothing to lose by stepping up.

The Siver fight is the only head scratcher

[REDDzone]

But considering what Conor has done, it's hard to make this argument anymore when he's dismantled two bigger, more powerful grapplers in RDA and Alvarez.

He hasn't fought RDA. And Alvarez fought like an idiot. But I'm not actually trying to be dismissive of Conor here.

There doesn't exist a planet where Eddie beats Conor, regardless of his strategy. Its not possible for that fight to be any less competitive. Also Conor had a little bit of say in how he fought.

[NO-KG-AI]

Avoiding fighting Frankie Edgar to take bigger and more dangerous finishers, lol makes sense.

I'm sick of hearing about guys that had their chance to take fights as a replacement, but Nate was the only one man enough to take it, now they want Conor to take a step back instead of chasing bigger and more lucrative things.



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[REDDzone]

Its funny because I'm not a Conor fan. Besides his most recent bout, to which I was indifferent, I have rooted against him in every single UFC fight that he's had lol. I'm sure I come off as a fan though because I feel like there are so many unfounded claims against him that I can't help but argue with the people making them.

[Jasen777]

The only example of this you could possibly give is Siver.

He fought good guys, but there's a reason the UFC gave him Poirier instead of Lamas, Brimage instead of Elkins, Siver instead of Guida, etc for example. And that if Aldo hadn't gotten injured he would have gotten the title fight without facing either Mendes or Edgar. Now I don't think it matters as I don't think any featherweight can handle his left hand, but it's at certainly at least possible the UFC was hesitant to match him up with wrestlers (either because they didn't know if he was ready for them or because they thought putting him against strikers would make more exciting fights).

[REDDzone]

You're reaching IMO. Brimage was Conor's debut on the prelims of a UFC on Fuel card, lol. Brimage was on a three fight win streak and coming off the show. I remember people at the time saying Brimage was a tough fight for someone making his debut (Conor had a little bit of a following after his epic mmahour interview). Doubt the UFC is putting too much effort into protecting a ufc on fuel prelim fighter.

I also recall people thought Conor's train was going to come to an end vs Poirier. He opened as a decent size dog for that fight IIRC.

As I said, Siver is the fight in the pack that stinks.

[Marcus]

I also recall people thought Conor's train was going to come to an end vs Poirier. He opened as a decent size dog for that fight IIRC.

That was me. For sure thought Diamond would have put it on him.

[Jasen777]

Jose Aldo wants to start a career in boxing

It seems that the new trend among UFC stars is to look for fights inside a boxing ring.

With Conor McGregor aiming for a clash with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather, and Nate Diaz applying for a boxing license in Nevada, current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo says that his “biggest dream” is to become champion in both sports.

"First of all, it’s not about money. I want to keep it clear. Thank God the UFC and MMA gave me a lot of stuff,” Aldo told TV Combate on Sunday night. "Yes, I think about having a career in boxing, but I want to start from the bottom, start from zero. I want to get ranked and one day fight for a belt. I don’t want to fight just to fight, for money, to go after big fights and challenge a great champion.

"I respect every boxer, but I want to start from the bottom. I want a career in boxing. That was my biggest dream, to one day become champion in MMA and boxing. That is my biggest dream.

[lilfishi22]

You're reaching IMO. Brimage was Conor's debut on the prelims of a UFC on Fuel card, lol. Brimage was on a three fight win streak and coming off the show. I remember people at the time saying Brimage was a tough fight for someone making his debut (Conor had a little bit of a following after his epic mmahour interview). Doubt the UFC is putting too much effort into protecting a ufc on fuel prelim fighter.

I also recall people thought Conor's train was going to come to an end vs Poirier. He opened as a decent size dog for that fight IIRC.

As I said, Siver is the fight in the pack that stinks.

+1

- Holloway was also another up and comer who was expected to be similarly matched to Conor making it an appropriate fight.
- He was expected to fight Cole Miller next which was fitting considering he was a vet of almost 30 fights at that point but had to pull out due to injury. They gave him Brandao instead who at that time had some notoriety from his TUF days and he was considered a dangerous fighter.
- Then he had a full camp against Poirier who I thought was well-rounded and dangerous enough everywhere to give Conor serious problems and would be the one to derail the hype train. I really thought that.
- Then IIRC, he was looking for a title fight but Aldo already had a title fight lined up against Mendes and was expected to take some time off after his fight. This meant Conor either sat until Aldo was ready to take a fight or he took another fight against to make his case stronger. At this point, you could make the case that he could've matched up against Edgar.
- He took on Siver instead who I always thought was a sacrificial lamb to boost Conor's star power to GSP/Silva levels by headlining a Boston card. It was a very safe fight and allowed Conor to look good as well.
- Aldo was suppose to be the next fight but had to pull out due to a fractured/bruised rib. This is where I think Conor's toughest test came about. Mendes was a perennial #1 contender, extremely dangerous stylistically and had a strong camp behind him. So Conor took the replacement fight that was more dangerous than any previous replacement fighters he could've conceivably fought in the past (Lamas, Elkins, Guida).

So even if you think the UFC had protected him from wrestlers up to that point, he still took on his toughest test with flying colours before he got to the real belt.

[REDDzone]

MMAHour listen: At the part where Ariel called Rampage's ex girlfriend. Its so awkward that I've had to pause it twice just because I can't even deal with the awkwardness lol.

[cowboyronnie]

I was grocery shopping while listening but did Eddie Bravo spend the last 10 minutes of the Fight Companion insisting that we "ask questions" about what's on the side of the Sun not visible to us at any moment?

[Jasen777]

I was grocery shopping while listening but did Eddie Bravo spend the last 10 minutes of the Fight Companion insisting that we "ask questions" about what's on the side of the Sun not visible to us at any moment?

A teapot.

[lilfishi22]

That was probably the most frustrated I've seen Joe. Usually he loves playing the devil's advocate but this time he's full blown against Eddie's conspiracy theory and distrust of mainstream media.

[REDDzone]

I think Joe wanted to get out of there before Eddie went full flat earth. I think then he knows he will have a hard time sticking up for Eddie against Callen, etc. Eddie has flirted with the flat earth stuff a ton, but never fully went there as far as I know.