MMA General Discussion and Fight Announcements 7.0

[m9]

Cerrone is definitely not a good matchup for Connor, striking a side, he has legit top notch wrestling and BJJ. He'll just take Connor down and submit him.

McGregor is a big dude, but I think 155 has some giants that cut weight from like 185-190. He no longer has the size advantage there, if I'm him, I'd go back to 145. There are some interesting fights for him down there such as Holloway or Ortega.

Conor looked completely drained at 145lbs, the weigh-ins were gross. Nobody should be advocating for guys to cut that much weight.

As for Cerrone, he's a decent wrestler but he's nowhere near a "top notch" guy in that regard. He's gotten much better over the years but he won't use his wrestling offensively such as Khabib, Kevin Lee, or other high-end wrestlers like that.

 

[SuperScript29]

Conor looked completely drained at 145lbs, the weigh-ins were gross. Nobody should be advocating for guys to cut that much weight.

As for Cerrone, he's a decent wrestler but he's nowhere near a "top notch" guy in that regard. He's gotten much better over the years but he won't use his wrestling offensively such as Khabib, Kevin Lee, or other high-end wrestlers like that.

I get it, but at 155 Connor is definitely outmatched in size by a lot of fighters. Throw a wrestler type with size in there to fight him, and his chances for success are very slim.

I wish the UFC realigns their weight classes, I wrote this in another thread, but I wish they did the following:

140 Featherweight (Mix of 135 and small 145)
150 Lightweight (Mix of big 145 and small 155)
165 Welterweight (Mix of big 155 and small 170)
180 Middleweight (Mix of big 170 and small 185)
200 Light Heavyweight (Mix of big 185 and small 205)
240 Heavyweight (Mix of small HW and big 205)
270 Super Heavyweight (Big HW+)

 

[m9]

I get it, but at 155 Connor is definitely outmatched in size by a lot of fighters. Throw a wrestler type with size in there to fight him, and his chances for success are very slim.

I wish the UFC realigns their weight classes, I wrote this in another thread, but I wish they did the following:

140 Featherweight (Mix of 135 and small 145)
150 Lightweight (Mix of big 145 and small 155)
165 Welterweight (Mix of big 155 and small 170)
180 Middleweight (Mix of big 170 and small 185)
200 Light Heavyweight (Mix of big 185 and small 205)
240 Heavyweight (Mix of small HW and big 205)
270 Super Heavyweight (Big HW+)

I think the size is only an issue in terms of wrestling. Cerrone is big, but he's also not that fast and Conor can definitely hit him. I think it's very similar to the Diaz fight in terms of a challenge though, and yeah since he lost to Diaz once and barely beat him the 2nd time Cerrone isn't easy. I do think Conor will be the large favorite though, as he should be.

As for the weight classes, my main issue is that the UFC should clean up the weight-cutting & the divisions at the same time. Guys are going to keep cutting weight to fit into these divisions, and I don't want 170lb guys now trying to get into that 165lb division. I think they can add another division and move the other divisions around a bit.

The added solution is extremely simple to me in that the UFC should just hire someone and their job is to figure out what weight guys can fight at. 90% of the job would take care of itself, but the 10% of fighters who are missing weight, dropping out when cuts go bad, or almost killing themselves on the scales will be the main focus. It would be incredibly simple and will probably end up saving someone's life. This is a much more important issue than testing fighters for cocaine, marijuana, or traces of whatever substance did or didn't get into their supplements.

 

[pistolpete11]

Cerrone is a good striker, is bigger than Conor, and he has a legit submission game. That doesn't seem like a fight McGregor would be interested in

If I'm McGregor, the fight I'm pushing for is Diaz 3

It's a relatively low risk fight against a big name he knows he can beat, and with a victory it gives the UFC an excuse to give him another title shot

I honestly don't think Nate is an easy fight for Conor. Obviously he lost to him once already and some people thought he lost the second one, too (I don't, but I don't think it is a ridiculous opinion either). Nate has a great chin and great cardio. Both are not good things for Conor.

I think Nate and Cowboy are actually pretty comparable matchups for Conor. Cowboy's striking is more varied, but Nate's got a better chin and cardio. They also both suffer from "putting on a show" a lot, too. If either of them took Conor to the ground, Conor's in trouble. But I bet both would just stand and strike with Conor.

Cerrone is definitely not a good matchup for Connor, striking a side, he has legit top notch wrestling and BJJ. He'll just take Connor down and submit him.

McGregor is a big dude, but I think 155 has some giants that cut weight from like 185-190. He no longer has the size advantage there, if I'm him, I'd go back to 145. There are some interesting fights for him down there such as Holloway or Ortega.

I'm with @m9. Conor is too drained at 145lb. Him at the weigh ins was disgusting. 155lb is perfect for him. Cowboy's a tweener that would have really benefitted from the 165lb division, IMO. I'm also not sure how much longer Max or Ortega are going to be at 145lb either. It's easier to cut when you're young.

So for all of us wondering why the UFC is still going forward with PPV, the UFC has re-negotiated their deal with PPV distributors. Instead of a 50/50 revenue split with the distributors, the UFC will now get close to 70% .

PPV buys can keep falling but they'll still make money. And the distributors had to agree because the alternative would be the UFC leaving and putting the PPVs on Fight Pass.

Interesting. Always wondered how the PPV was distributed.

 

[m9]

So for all of us wondering why the UFC is still going forward with PPV, the UFC has re-negotiated their deal with PPV distributors. Instead of a 50/50 revenue split with the distributors, the UFC will now get close to 70% .

PPV buys can keep falling but they'll still make money. And the distributors had to agree because the alternative would be the UFC leaving and putting the PPVs on Fight Pass.

This makes a ton of sense. Crunching the numbers last year in this thread I couldn't figure out how continuing on PPV made sense for the UFC anymore, and then I saw eventually Dave Meltzer put out an article saying the same thing. Jumping up to 70% is a pretty huge difference but unfortunately means the PPV model isn't going anywhere for now.

 

[m9]

Speaking of TV/PPV deals, still haven't heard anything on the UFC TV deal in Canada. Have to think they're going to save it for UFC 231 in Toronto and announce details at that time.

 

[Rocko604]

 

[Rocko604]

This makes a ton of sense. Crunching the numbers last year in this thread I couldn't figure out how continuing on PPV made sense for the UFC anymore, and then I saw eventually Dave Meltzer put out an article saying the same thing. Jumping up to 70% is a pretty huge difference but unfortunately means the PPV model isn't going anywhere for now.

The UFC is going to squeeze every last nickel they can get out the PPV model. With this 70/30 split, the UFC can still make money with 100-150k buys. Anything above 200k is gravy now. If they can get McGregor and Jones fighting once, twice a year each, they're laughing. Once McGregor retires, or leaves the UFC, then we'll see them do away with PPV.

 

[m9]

The UFC is going to squeeze every last nickel they can get out the PPV model. With this 70/30 split, the UFC can still make money with 100-150k buys. Anything above 200k is gravy now. If they can get McGregor and Jones fighting once, twice a year each, they're laughing. Once McGregor retires, or leaves the UFC, then we'll see them do away with PPV.

They can make money on PPV at 100k-150k with the 50% cut, but the reality was the numbers make it very clear that they would make more money by having those cards on Fox/ESPN based on what those companies were paying for that level of card. With a 70% split they probably get closer to even but it may even still work out to be better on Fox/ESPN, but since they got 70% across ALL of the PPV's this is way better for them.

 

[Avs_19]

This would be great. Both having Nick back fighting again and then also the match up itself. I'll wait until contracts are signed and the fight is close before getting too exciting though. Dana likes to throw random stuff out there and the Diaz brothers are very unpredictable so who the hell knows what will actually happen. One difference between this and the Nate rumours is that apparently Nick hasn't been great with his money so unlike Nate, he might actually need to fight pretty soon.

 

[m9]

Fun fight. No idea what to expect out of Nick Diaz at this stage, but I look forward to betting Masvidal.

I was considering going to that card as well. Hopefully they keep announcing fights, I have a feeling it's going to be a big card.

 

[Peter Griffin]

Speaking of TV/PPV deals, still haven't heard anything on the UFC TV deal in Canada. Have to think they're going to save it for UFC 231 in Toronto and announce details at that time.

Is the TSN deal for sure ending at the same time as the FOX deal? I did a quick search and could only find an article saying that TSN and the UFC signed a multi- year deal in December of 2014. A four year deal would seem logical though.

 

[m9]

Is the TSN deal for sure ending at the same time as the FOX deal? I did a quick search and could only find an article saying that TSN and the UFC signed a multi- year deal in December of 2014. A four year deal would seem logical though.

I believe it is up.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

Number one HW contender fight along with Overeem as the co-main at 6am on Fight Pass Saturday morning. Can't say that makes a whole lot of sense to me.

 

[MaxV]

Number one HW contender fight along with Overeem as the co-main at 6am on Fight Pass Saturday morning. Can't say that makes a whole lot of sense to me.

It makes sense if you look at where they are fighting.

 

[pistolpete11]

It makes sense if you look at where they are fighting.

It's too good of a fight to be on that card.

 

[m9]

You need main events for these cards. People are thinking of the TV side but it's more important to have a good fight or two for the live crowd or nobody will show up.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

You need fights that people will show up for, but you have a HW division that is on life support, and you have a number one contender fight on a pay site at 6am that virtually no one will tune in to watch. Makes it tough to sell the winner. No guarantee we get DC/Lesnar or DC/Jones at HW, so that pretty much only leaves this winner. Not to mention they're not big draws, so if it were me I'd get two names, two exciting guys, just inside the top 10, and have them headline. They'd be an equal or bigger draw, but they're not guys in immediate title contention that you're trying to expose to as large of an audience as possible. My guess is casuals have barely even heard of Blaydes.

 

[m9]

I think Tito over Chuck was the easiest money there's been on an MMA fight in 5 years. In at -185 after the fight was announced and he should have been -500.

 

[1specter]

I think Tito over Chuck was the easiest money there's been on an MMA fight in 5 years. In at -185 after the fight was announced and he should have been -500.

That was actually painful to watch. I've never really felt sad over a KO but this was like watching a dying dog get put down.



Just awful. I'm not sure how Tito can even really feel good about this, he kept punching when it was clear Chuck was out cold too, scumbag.

This honestly should've been illegal.

 

[Jasper]

Chuck looked like he was moving in quicksand. Unbelievably slow even considering everything.

 

[m9]

Brutal.

I think it will be lucky to do 200k.

Just to add, I think it's absolutely insane and kind of sad how delusional some people are when it comes to things like this. I hope both of these guys have saved their money and are doing okay because if they think this fight is going to do anything close to what they're suggesting they are sadly mistaken.

I think Chuck wants a fight, and Tito is probably the easiest fight out there that people will care about. So yeah, different motivation for him.

I do think Tito takes this fight rather easily. He's been active recently and Chuck hasn't. I see he's around a -200, which sounds about right.

Even the stacked Bellator PPV cards only did 100k.

It's not going to go well, and it wouldn't surprise me if they see the trends and it doesn't even happen. I'm sure Tito has another random injury left in him.

These were my posts when the fight was announced and they thought they would do 1.5 million buys. I doubt it hit 100k, though with all the discounts they did I doubt we see the real #.

No surprise Tito won easily, though credit he didn't pull out with an injury.

 

[Avs_19]

I haven't seen the fight yet but it sounds like it went really bad, which isn't all that surprising. There are times when you might be able to say Dana or anyone else shouldn't tell someone to retire but they absolutely made the right call with Chuck. He was done back in 2010 and shouldn't have been back in there.

 

[1specter]

I haven't seen the fight yet but it sounds like it went really bad, which isn't all that surprising. There are times when you might be able to say Dana or anyone else shouldn't tell someone to retire but they absolutely made the right call with Chuck. He was done back in 2010 and shouldn't have been back in there.

Check the streamable I posted above

 

[Peter Griffin]

Chuck looked like a 50 year old who hasn’t fought in almost 10 years. How anyone thought this was a good idea I have no clue.

Best part about the fight was the commission guys having no clue what Tito was up to when doing his celebration.