E30 – Bellator NYC Review, McGregor-Mayweather Analysis/Debate
- Bellator NYC – Feedback from our live coverage
- Is James Gallagher the poor man’s Conor McGregor
- Tons of McGregor-Mayweather analysis and discussion and quite a bit of disagreement
• Chael Sonnen did to Wanderlei Silva exactly what I suspected. That was the one fight on the card that I pretty much nailed down in my pre-fight predictions during the Bellator NYC Special Edition MMA Fancast Podcast. It was hard for me to hear exactly what Chael said in regard to Fedor in the post-fight interview with Jimmy Smith in the ring, but it sounded to me like he was calling Fedor out. Does that mean that this fight will, or even should, happen? I would think not. McGregor-Mayweather Analysis
• I am curious to see what Wanderlei decides to do at this point. It was pretty clear to me that he is only a shell of the fighter that he once was and, after a four-year layoff, it is clear that his better days are behind him. That being said, he is still a draw for a promotion that is still heavily dependent on big draws as opposed to having world-class fighters headlining.
• Some people say they have grown tired of the whole “Chael” schtick. I will just come out now and say that I am not one of those people. Are there moments that I grow tired of some of the things that he says? Absolutely. At the same time, there are also moments that he comes up big and shows his genius. Case in point: (video of the sweet potato comment from the presser)
• For the amount of anger that Wanderlei showed at the presser and throughout the entire promotion of this fight, I did not see a fighter that was so eager to get his hands on Chael. Also of note, it was incredibly disappointing to see a complete lack of readiness to even come remotely close to anything that resembled takedown defense from Silva. It was as if he were in a boxing match and was completely taken by surprise that someone was going to shoot on his legs in an effort to secure a takedown.
• It is sometimes very difficult for me to tell when Chael is being sarcastic and sincere. He is sarcastic most of the time, at least it seems to me, that when he is being sincere I am waiting for the next line or how he is using the sincerity as a set-up.
• Neiman Gracie made the most of the opportunity to be on the PPV portion of the card with a very nice performance against Marfone.
• It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for Gracie. The welterweight division in Bellator is not the deepest division in the world and it begs the question of how many fights until he is in title contention.
• Matt Mitrione made a household name of himself with a legendary win against a legend. A double knockdown? Are you kidding me? The difference in the fight had little to do with anything except Mitrione’s shot knocking Fedor to his back and Fedor’s shot only knocking Mitrione to his butt, which then led to a race to get up and on top of the other first, which Meathead won.
• Mitrione is such a down to earth guy, how can you not love him? He’s just a cool, personable guy and that was on display very clearly in the cage during the post-fight interview with Jimmy Smith. That said, what is on the horizon for him? Does he have a reasonable next fight? Roy Nelson?
• Scott Coker made a reference that there was going to be an upcoming announcement concerning the heavyweight division and that they were going to be focusing on it. With not current champion, is a 4-man tournament on the horizon?
• What is next for Fedor? Does he continue to fight? Does he go back to Russia to fight? I would like to see him discontinue his fighting career as I feel he can only tarnish his legacy and I would hate to see that happen.
• Brent Primus was loudly booed at MSG. Very unfortunate. There was nothing random or undeserving of his win. He caused the injury to Chandler that led to the fight being stopped. They guy scores a monumental upset and it is unfortunate for him that it was greeted by a chorus of boos.
• Speaking of that injury to Michael Chandler… wow! Ouch! I have not seen replays of the cause of the injury, but here is what I did see – very early in the fight, Primus threw a leg kick at Chandler to his thigh. At that point, Chandler started reaching repeatedly to his thigh. And things just went downhill for him from there. It was as if there was some type of nerve damage or something. To me, it looked as if he didn’t have feeling in his leg and that is why he kept turning over his ankle. Regardless, it was hard to watch – it reminded me of a horse with a broken leg trying to run.
☐ Scott Coker to UFC: You’re putting Conor McGregor ‘in harm’s way’ in Floyd Mayweather fight – McGregor-Mayweather Analysis
As a fellow fight promoter, rival Scott Coker disagrees. According to Bellator’s CEO, there actually could be long-term repercussions that could affect the UFC’s biggest superstar.
“Obviously, it’s gonna be a big money maker for everybody and that’s why they’re doing it. But you’re putting your fighter in harm’s way, so what’s the long-term impact on that? I’m not sure. But I’ll tell you this: It’ll be a lot of fun to watch,” Coker told MMA Fighting. McGregor-Mayweather Analysis
☐ Conor McGregor is a ‘free agent’ for Mayweather fight sponsorships, not tied to Reebok – McGregor-Mayweather Analysis ☐ MayMac 10 city tour – McGregor-Mayweather Analysis ☐ McGregor tells Dana White that he wants Khabib after Mayweather fight – McGregor-Mayweather Analysis ☐ Preview of UFC International Fight WeekUFC 213 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. The night before, The Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale takes place at T-Mobile Arena and airs on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
Embed from Getty Images
But in the buildup to both events, “International Fight Week” will be in full swing around T-Mobile Arena on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.
On Wednesday, fans can attend a live taping of FS1 weekly show “UFC Tonight,” as well as a live taping of FS1’s “TUF Talk.” Both events will take place at Park Theater at Monte Carlo, adjacent to T-Mobile Arena. The “UFC Tonight” taping will take place at noon PT local time. The “TUF Talk” taping begins at 7:30 p.m.
Also on Wednesday, fans can attend open workouts for fighters appearing on the TUF 25 Finale and UFC 213 cards. Doors open at 12:30 p.m., and the first fighter will work out at 1 p.m. The TUF 25 Finale is headlined by a lightweight fight between Michael Johnson and former WSOF champion Justin Gaethje. UFC 213 is headlined by a women’s bantamweight title fight between champ Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. In the co-feature, Robert Whittaker meets Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title.
Additionally, there will be a “Women of UFC” panel discussion at Park Theater at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday moderated by Megan Olivi. The panel will feature current strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, upcoming featherweight title challenger Cristiana Justino, former bantamweight champion Miesha Tate, and current strawweight contenders Michelle Waterson and Paige VanZant. The show will make its way to UFC Fight Pass that day, as well.
On Thursday, fans can attend a “UFC Legends” panel discussion at Park Theater. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. PT and the session starts at 3 p.m. with participants yet to be announced. At 4 p.m., the ceremonial weigh-ins for the TUF 25 Finale take place at Park Theater. And at 7:30 p.m., also at Park Theater, the UFC’s 2017 Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place. The free ticketed event will open its doors at 6:30 p.m.
On Friday, fans can attend autograph sessions with more than a dozen fighters and fight personalities in the lobby of T-Mobile Arena. Between 9-11 a.m. PT, fans can meet Joseph Benavidez, Misha Cirkunov, Tony Ferguson, Cody Garbrandt, Jedrzejczyk, Anthony Johnson, Julianna Pena, Stephen Thompson, James Vick, Waterson, and Octagon Girls Luciana Andrade, Chrissy Blair and Vanessa Hanson.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the UFC’s “Fan Experience” will take place in Toshiba Plaza outside T-Mobile Arena. Additionally, doors open for the UFC 213 ceremonial weigh-ins at 1 p.m. at Park Theater and the first fighter will step on the scale at 2 p.m. Immediately after, the TUF 25 Finale kicks off at 3 p.m. inside T-Mobile Arena.
On Saturday, there are more than two dozen additional autograph and meet-and-greet opportunities in the T-Mobile Arena Lobby. From 9-10:30 a.m. PT, fans can meet UFC Hall of Famers Urijah Faber and Tito Ortiz, heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic, Ferguson, Claudia Gadelha, Kevin Lee, Raquel Pennington, Dustin Poirier and Tate. Additionally, Octagon Girls Red Dela Cruz and Brooklyn Wren will be on hand, as will play-by-play voice Jon Anik and Olivi.
From 10:30 a.m. to noon, fans can meet UFC Hall of Famers Don Frye, Forrest Griffin, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Bas Rutten, featherweight champ Max Holloway, Jorge Masvidal, Rose Namajunas, Francis Ngannou, Vick and Waterson, plus Octagon Girls Arianny Celeste, Brittney Palmer and Jamillette Gaxiola.
The UFC Fan Experience also will take place Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. in Toshiba Plaza leading into UFC 213, which starts at 3:30 p.m. inside T-Mobile Arena. At 10 p.m. PT, the UFC’s official after-party for UFC 213 will take place at Hakkasan inside MGM Grand Las Vegas. McGregor-Mayweather Analysis
The TUF 25 Finale lineup includes:MAIN CARD (FS1, 9 p.m. ET)
Michael Johnson vs. Justin Gaethje
TBA vs. TBA – TUF 25 final
Marc Diakiese vs. Drakkar Klose
Steve Bosse vs. Jared Cannonier
Brad Tavares vs. Elias Theodorou
Marcel Fortuna vs. Jordan Johnson
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 7 p.m. ET)
Angela Hill vs. Ashley Yoder
C.B. Dollaway vs. Ed Herman
Jessica Eye vs. Aspen Ladd
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6 p.m. ET)
Teruto Ishihara vs. Gray Maynard
Juliana Lima vs. Tecia Torres
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko – for women’s bantamweight title
Yoel Romero vs. Robert Whittaker – for interim middleweight title
Curtis Blaydes vs. Daniel Omielanczuk
Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum
Jim Miller vs. Anthony Pettis
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
Travis Browne vs. Aleksei Oleinik
Brian Camozzi vs. Chad Laprise
Gerald Meerschaert vs. Thiago “Marreta” Santos
Jordan Mein vs. Belal Muhammad
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Rob Font vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
Cody Stamann vs. Terrion Ware
James Bochnovic vs. Trevin Giles
McGregor-Mayweather Analysis