The Official UFC Thread

[Gabriel_Hurl]

And Aldo us fighting Edgar for the interim 145lb title.

Why are they fighting for the interim title? That's stupid.

Because McGregor will have taken two flights outside the weight division since becoming champion and odds of him every defending 145 are increasingly slim. I think it's fair enough

Well strip McGregor of the belt then and let them fight for the title. None of this interim nonsense.

[gallsman]

And Aldo us fighting Edgar for the interim 145lb title.

Why are they fighting for the interim title? That's stupid.

Because McGregor will have taken two flights outside the weight division since becoming champion and odds of him every defending 145 are increasingly slim. I think it's fair enough

Well strip McGregor of the belt then and let them fight for the title. None of this interim nonsense.

You know that's not how it works! I thought one fight fair enough considering how active McGregor is. Then when he lost I thought, "OK, now he'll have to go back down". Now they're giving him a rematch it's ridiculous not to do something about it.

From the giant showpiece they had planned, their first in T Mobile arena, UFC 200 is starting to look like a bit of an anti climax already. Not a single title fight in sight. No Holm-Rousey rematch. All looking a bit tame but will no doubt sell out in zip time and do huge PPV numbers.

[lurganblue]

I'm surprised he's taking it at 170 again.  Stubborn man wanting to prove everyone wrong.  With a title fight straight after with the winner of edgar v aldo, he certainly knows how to make money.  Even if he loses, the money will be flying in.

[The Iceman]

I'm surprised he's taking it at 170 again.  Stubborn man wanting to prove everyone wrong.  With a title fight straight after with the winner of edgar v aldo, he certainly knows how to make money.  Even if he loses, the money will be flying in.

If he fights at 155 and loses to Diaz then he has no case to fight RDA at 155 for the belt.
If he loses to Diaz again and fights the winner or Edgar and Aldo and somehow wins then he can fight for the 155 belt...

If he wins against Diaz he can drop the 145 belt and take the big money fight against GSP or Nick Diaz at MSG and the UFCs first event since MMA was regulated in NY

I said from the very start McGregor was after the gold coins not the gold belt and he is raking it in

[lurganblue]

I'm surprised he's taking it at 170 again.  Stubborn man wanting to prove everyone wrong.  With a title fight straight after with the winner of edgar v aldo, he certainly knows how to make money.  Even if he loses, the money will be flying in.

If he fights at 155 and loses to Diaz then he has no case to fight RDA at 155 for the belt.
If he loses to Diaz again and fights the winner or Edgar and Aldo and somehow wins then he can fight for the 155 belt...

If he wins against Diaz he can drop the 145 belt and take the big money fight against GSP or Nick Diaz at MSG and the UFCs first event since MMA was regulated in NY

I said from the very start McGregor was after the gold coins not the gold belt and he is raking it in

RDA not a happy chap that he has been overlooked for UFC 200 i see. Is the event diluted a little by there being no proper belt on offer? (more to be added though I'm sure)

[The Iceman]

I don't think it is.  It isn't always about the belt its about the fights and the style matchups. There are cards now weekly or every few weeks. Most cards I'll normally only be interested in one or two fights - thats not to say the other fights won't be good but when I look at the card I don't always care if I watch the whole thing or not.  That being said UFC fight night on April 16th headlined by Nurmagomdov  vrs Tony Furgusson is stacked from top to bottom - I'll definitely watch the whole card. 
I think UFC 200 is going for that. Fights fans want to see regardless of the belts...

[gawa316]

So what can/will he do differently this time? He landed a lot of shots last time and Diaz just came back for more. Will he give him more respect this time? Diaz will be more prepared as well with having a camp behind him this time.

[screenexile]

So what can/will he do differently this time? He landed a lot of shots last time and Diaz just came back for more. Will he give him more respect this time? Diaz will be more prepared as well with having a camp behind him this time.

If he has some kind of defensive strategy he has a chance as he was well ahead in the last fight until Diaz hurt him. Otherwise I think it will be same old same old his chin is way too open for a guy of Diaz's size and power!

[The Iceman]

So what can/will he do differently this time? He landed a lot of shots last time and Diaz just came back for more. Will he give him more respect this time? Diaz will be more prepared as well with having a camp behind him this time.

If he has some kind of defensive strategy he has a chance as he was well ahead in the last fight until Diaz hurt him. Otherwise I think it will be same old same old his chin is way too open for a guy of Diaz's size and power!

The fight should stay on the feet. CMG will have better cradio and will conserve energy and not load up on every shot. I think he will try to attack Diaz's lead leg and hopefully limit Diaz's mobility and footwork.  I also think he will go after the body with the teep kicks he executed against Chad Mendes (if you watched that fight) to drain Diaz's cardio.  He has a chance right there's no doubt about it - I just don't see McGregor winning. Diaz's boxing is too good, his range and length is too hard to handle and he's only been TKO'd once by a kick to the head

Put your money on Diaz for this one

[nrico2006]

I just wonder how big a factor did the weight play in the last fight?  What weight would McGregor have been at when it was decided that Diaz was the opponent and that it would be at 170?  Was he simply not used to carrying that weight in a fight hence the blow out, or was it a combination of that and the fact that he just expected to blow through Diaz like he did with the FWs?  Surely he will have been training and getting used to carrying that weight since March, plus you would think that he won't simply go for the kill from the first bell either.  But why (other than ego) has he not pushed for the fight to be at 155?

[gallsman]

I just wonder how big a factor did the weight play in the last fight?  What weight would McGregor have been at when it was decided that Diaz was the opponent and that it would be at 170?  Was he simply not used to carrying that weight in a fight hence the blow out, or was it a combination of that and the fact that he just expected to blow through Diaz like he did with the FWs?  Surely he will have been training and getting used to carrying that weight since March, plus you would think that he won't simply go for the kill from the first bell either.  But why (other than ego) has he not pushed for the fight to be at 155?

There's no reason other than ego. He wants top best Diaz under the same conditions and keep the dream alive of a WW title shot or GSP super fight at some stage.

Diaz claimed least week that if McGregor had won, they'd have announced GSP's return for a fight against him. That fight would be far, far bigger than a title fight against Lawler.

McGregor will handle the cardio aspect of 170 much better in the summer after a camp of training for a WW fight. Diaz will be much better prepared too though.

[50fiftyball]

Flights over from New York on Thursday 7th July and back Monday 11th, £280 indirect , £330 cheapest direct return! Is this not very dear for an internal flight in America? Thinking to book it now before it gets astronomical or wait to I'm out there! Could end up dearer booking in NY?

[ballinaman]

Brazilian MMA fighter Joao Carvalho has died following his defeat to Irish fighter Charlie Ward in the National Stadium on Saturday night.

[mikehunt]

Brazilian MMA fighter Joao Carvalho has died following his defeat to Irish fighter Charlie Ward in the National Stadium on Saturday night.

An avoidable waste of life. Comparisons between someone dying on a rugby/GAA pitch is apples and oranges as the intent is to inflict as much damage as possible on your opponent. I wonder how people who were there feel. Cheering on their local favourite as his punches inflict enough damage so as to kill his opponent. I don't know anything about this Charlie Ward fella but how must he feel? Just doing his job and this happens. Organisers may think they can control the environment they fight in and maybe they can but they can't control the damage done. If it's a crime outside the ring then you'd have to question the morality of it in a "controlled environment".

[AZOffaly]

To be fair, we've had serious injuries and deaths following boxing bouts, so I'm not going to pontificate about this tragedy. I just think in MMA, refs have to be trigger happy to stop the sort of punishment being meted out.