The Official UFC Thread

[Fuzzman]

I've not watched Alvarez before but what I read about him I expected a much better battle but what I saw was very disappointing. Eddie hardly threw anything worthwhile at him and when he did have him down on the canvas I expected that to get a lot more interesting.
CmcG does seem very accurate with his punches but did Alvarez not leave himself very open to them? Like I've said I only watched a few of McGregors fights so I don't know a lot about this sport but personally I'd love to see a rematch between him and Aldo who looks like he has not been treated that fairly with the smash and grab of his title and then McGregor started messing around with Diaz which was entertaining but looked like a ploy to avoid defending his own belt.

Now McGregor has his two belts but is calling out to his UFC bosses that he helped create this show and he wants his cut of the business now. Money talks in these types of sports and keeping their cash cow on side means a lot more success for this business and the fighters who can retire after one big pay day. I am not dismissing McGregor and what he has done to get this far but I just fear money has taken over the real business of fighting and that's why we've saw another quick finish with neither fighter looking too bad.

[gallsman]

Alvarez is a solid, tough fighter but a bit of a jack of all trades and a master of none. He's better than me showed on Saturday but he's always had a tendency to get hit and get hurt. Big question was how McGregor's power would fare against him after it didn't carry against Diaz.

[The Iceman]

lads the fight was 100% real. The UFC and McGregor stand to lose so much more if the pull crap like that.
Alvarez isnt Diaz.  Doaz is rarely stopped (once my a head kick and he wasn't even out).  I don't know who at 145 or 155 apart from Diaz would not get KO'ed if hit clean by CMG.

[bridgegael]

Who is mcgregors hardest fight at 155?  The Russian guy?

[The Iceman]

khabib but he showed he can be rocked...and I wouldn't class Johnson as a power puncher..
anyone with great wrestling/ground game and a granite chin - I say Diaz in his true weight class of 155

[gallsman]

Ferguson would give him plenty to think about as well, although he can be hit quite easily too. McGregor would lose his size advantage advantage against him.

[The Iceman]

Ferguson would give him plenty to think about as well, although he can be hit quite easily too. McGregor would lose his size advantage advantage against him.

He is very talented and looked great against Barboza - really gutted that fight out and then looked great against RDA who is no longer on PEDs and it shows.
I'd like to see Fergusson vrs Khabib for the No1 contender spot while Diaz and McGregor fight for the belt on same card...

[gallsman]

I think that's the most likely prospect, unfair as it would be on the other two.

[Wildweasel74]

Its ok having 2 belts, but he hasn't defended the 145 one as he cant make the limit anymore, As for fighting Diaz, there are a few men a couple of notches above Diaz, why not fight them?

[gallsman]

Its ok having 2 belts, but he hasn't defended the 145 one as he cant make the limit anymore, As for fighting Diaz, there are a few men a couple of notches above Diaz, why not fight them?

I imagine the 145 belt will be going fairly soon. Shit or get off the pot?

Why fight Diaz ahead of Khabib or Ferguson? Money, money and more money.

[gallsman]

Ferguson would give him plenty to think about as well, although he can be hit quite easily too. McGregor would lose his size advantage advantage against him.

He is very talented and looked great against Barboza - really gutted that fight out and then looked great against RDA who is no longer on PEDs and it shows.
I'd like to see Fergusson vrs Khabib for the No1 contender spot while Diaz and McGregor fight for the belt on same card...

RDA was in the USADA pool for the Pettis fight where he won the title and he demolished Cowboy in about a minute. He was well on the way against Alvarez until getting caught with a haymaker. Don't think he's any more or less suspicious then anyone else in the company. Except Romero (and lesnar).

[Hound]

I enjoy watching McGregor's fights and am glad he won but I can't help but wonder are these fights for real or are they using Conor to make money which wasn't there before.
I expected this to be a decent fight as I did with Aldo but Avarez put up a very poor show and I can't help but wonder was he just paid off to lose to keep the McGregor money making machine going.
I'm far from an expert in this sport so just wondering what others out there thought?

The amount of money these previous champions are making from the one fight against McGregor far outweighs what they earned before that.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/conor-mcgregor-remains-most-valuable-asset-in-ufc-s-short-history-1.2866472

Dave Hannigan in today's Times has an article that touches on the Fuzzman

That's just our inherent Irish begrudgery.

Like when Ireland beat the All Blacks. Francis was in the studio, and while he went on to heap great praise on the Irish, the very first thing he said was something like "well one thing for sure, that New Zealand team isn't as good as we thought it was".

Alvarez had a huge amount more to gain by beating McGregor. He "only" got $500k as base pay for fighting McGregor, the base pay on a Champions Contract - he would have got the same amount for defending against anyone.  (He also got a share of the PPVs which obviously was greater because of fighting McGregor than fighting anyone else).

But a win against McGregor would have meant a re-match and that would have given him a base of at least $1m, probably $2m. Plus a higher share of the PPVs. Whereas now in his next fight, he'll be lucky to get a base pay of $250k.
So it's utter nonsense to suggest he didn't give his best. His interviews the following day clearly show how gutted he was, and how annoyed at himself he was for not fighting a more clever fight. He was the genuine undisputed lightweight world champion, but got outclassed by the better man.

This is the list of estimated earnings (without PPV points)

Conor McGregor: $3,590,000 ($3,500,000 to show, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $40,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Tyron Woodley: $590,000 ($500,000 to show, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $40,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Eddie Alvarez: $540,000 ($500,000 to show, $40,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Frankie Edgar: $400,000 ($190,000 to show, $190,000 win bonus, $20,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Stephen Thompson: $350,000 ($270,000 to show, $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus, $30,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Chris Weidman: $285,000 ($275,000 to show, $10,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk: $260,000 ($110,000 to show, $110,000 win bonus, $40,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Yoel Romero: $215,000 ($130,000 to show, $30,000 win bonus, $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus, $5,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Jim Miller: $151,000 ($61,000 to show, $61,000 win bonus, $9,000 from Alves for missing weight, $20,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Karolina Kowalkiewicz: $130,000 ($100,000 to show, $30,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Tim Boetsch: $123,000 ($54,000 to show, $54,000 win bonus, $15,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Donald Cerrone: $88,000 (UFC paid out despite bout being cancelled)

Jeremy Stephens: $77,000 ($57,000 to show, $20,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Miesha Tate: $60,000 ($50,000 to show, $10,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Raquel Pennington: $57,000 ($26,000 to show, $26,000 win bonus, $5,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Khabib Nurmagomedov: $57,000 ($26,000 to show, $26,000 win bonus, $5,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Rafael Natal: $56,000 ($41,000 to show, $15,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Thiago Alves: $56,000 ($45,000 to show, $9,000 fine for missing weight, $20,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Michael Johnson: $47,000 ($32,000 to show, $15,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Liz Carmouche: $43,000 ($19,000 to show, $19,000 win bonus, $5,000 Reebok sponsorship)

Vicente Luque: $34,500 ($16,000 to show, $16,000 win bonus, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

Belal Muhammad: $14,500 ($12,000 to show, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship)

Katlyn Chookagian: $14,500 ($12,000 to show, $2,500 Reebok sponsorship) 

[lurganblue]

Hard to get my head around this wanting an equity stake in the UFC talk from McGregor.  Just cant see that happening any time soon.  Of course he's in a postion to earn lots more money from them but how can a current fighter have a stake in the company? That just wouldnt work.

[gallsman]

Hard to get my head around this wanting an equity stake in the UFC talk from McGregor.  Just cant see that happening any time soon.  Of course he's in a postion to earn lots more money from them but how can a current fighter have a stake in the company? That just wouldnt work.

Yeah, there's be a pretty big conflict of interest right there!

[Franko]

Hard to get my head around this wanting an equity stake in the UFC talk from McGregor.  Just cant see that happening any time soon.  Of course he's in a postion to earn lots more money from them but how can a current fighter have a stake in the company? That just wouldnt work.

I thought the inference here was that, with this child on the way, he was angling at retirement?  No?