The Official MMA Thread: UFC FIGHT NIGHT IN RIYADH - ISRAEL ADESANYA VS. NASSOURDINE IMAVOV: RETURN OF THE KING OR RISE OF THE IMAVOV - 2/1 @ 9AM EST

[Vincent Van Goat]

Man scrap that card. Main event was the only reason to tune in. Who is even in the co main?

The dude that almost got found guilty of rape vs Khaos Williams

 

[steevoo1]

The dude that almost got found guilty of rape vs Khaos Williams

Yeah, just scrap this joint man. No one in the top 10 taking that fight. Dober, Dariush, Gillespie or even an Arnold Allen, who's a big FW and had his fight with Stephens get scrapped from this last weekend, can build off an RDA name. Can't get anything meaningful, then nah im good.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Yeah, just scrap this joint man. No one in the top 10 taking that fight. Dober, Dariush, Gillespie or even an Arnold Allen, who's a big FW and had his fight with Stephens get scrapped from this last weekend, can build off an RDA name. Can't get anything meaningful, then nah im good.

Semi related note, man I remember Lazzez the dude who beat Alahassan, he is supposedly the Middle Eastern Conor, I want to see that cat fight again. Apparently he had a fight booked for October but it got cancelled. Dude can scrap for sure

Regarding this weekend's event, ESPN gotta keep pumping out these cards no matter what lol. I realized yesterday that really it seems like ESPN wanted to turn the UFC into the NFL. Every weekend there's going to be something

It obviously has its pros and cons but some of the cons I really don't care for. Like it's so easy to forget performances, good performances because there's an event every week. It makes things at times a bit less special and not enough time to digest and appreciate a great performance. It also pushes this culture of less time for healing/training, ultra emphasis on fighting on short notice and as much as possible

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Yes that lazzez dood looked sharp, he’s definitely on my radar

 

[xbiker47]

Sucks Nunes fight now off for December

 

[Fong$tarr]

Sucks Nunes fight now off for December

She is going to wash Megan anyways. Gives Megan another month or so to not get beat up.

 

[Cashflow]

 

[xbiker47]

Excited to see Felder back, Dana must have paid him well cause I thought he was basically retired.

 

[SORIANOTRON]

Damn props to felder, winnable fight for him even on the short notice.

doubt he got a bump in pay but adding RDA to his resume will bode well for him going forward

RDA def on his way out, lets see how he look.

 

[spiderjericho]

Sucks Nunes fight now off for December

They’ve been having issues with injuries. Wonder if they cancel that card?

With the loss of the Usman/Burns fight...and now that championship fight gone, that card doesn’t meet the criteria of a PPV card.

 

[xbiker47]

They still have a title fight at 135 on that December Card

 

[jayt1202]

With them not being as highly concerned with the number of PPV buys in the ESPN era and also having the BW title on that card there is no way it gets cancelled.

Also props to Felder for taking the fight on short notice.

 

[spiderjericho]

Sucks for ESPN then. That card isn’t selling headlined by Yan/Sterling.

Forgot they added that fight. Not a bad place to put Chandler/Ferguson.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Helwani: First, let's establish the fact that the McGregor vs. Poirier fight isn't a done deal, sources say. Nothing has been signed.

McGregor isn't the issue, by the way. He's in and eager to resume his career, I'm told. Now, if you've been paying attention, you won't be surprised to hear that securing Poirier remains a hurdle. He's the reason the Tony Ferguson-Poirier fight didn't happen on Oct. 24, and he might be the reason the McGregor-Poirier fight doesn't happen on Jan. 23. That's not to say he's doing anything wrong, per se, rather, he's just trying to get a deal that he's comfortable with and the two sides are still apart. That's the fight biz.

As a result, the UFC has said it would be willing to replace Poirier with Gaethje (or even another fighter), sources say. Of course, for this to happen, McGregor would have to be on board, and I'm not sure if he is, to be honest. That's because Gaethje is coming off a loss and because of things Gaethje has said about McGregor (specifically about McGregor as a father) in the past.

At this point, McGregor might be Poirier's biggest ally. If McGregor says he'll only fight Poirier, the UFC will have to work much harder to figure things out with Poirier. However, if McGregor says he's open to other options because he just wants to fight, Poirier might be in trouble. Ultimately, I'll say right now that they'll figure things out with Poirier and the Jan. 23 fight will get done. That's just a guess, because this can go sideways at any minute. But, because Poirier will realize this is too big an opportunity to pass up and because McGregor wants it, I'll say it will get done.

 

[whtascene]

Pretty insane that Felder is taking the fight for 5 rounds, i guess his cardio should be good since he was training for a triathlon.

 

[OTG]

According to multiple sources speaking to MMA Fighting, both McGregor and Poirier have come to terms on a deal to book the fight for the upcoming UFC 257 card on Jan. 23 with the card expected to take place in Las Vegas.

While the fight has been in the works for several weeks, negotiations were still ongoing to strike a deal with the athletes. Late Monday night, it appears all sides have agreed.

However, according to sources, McGregor would still prefer returning earlier and it appears he’s pushing for the Dec. 12 date now that Nunes vs Anderson has been scrapped for the main event at UFC 256.

 

[spiderjericho]

Wonder what their first quarter looking like especially with all the fights they moved?

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Conor without fans would be wild

I still have my doubts unfortunately that this fight will happen lol

 

[OTG]

Conor without fans would be wild

I still have my doubts unfortunately that this fight will happen lol

me too, hopefully conor keeps pressuring to get the december 12 date.

 

[spiderjericho]

I can’t believe they won’t try for a gate. It doesn’t make sense after the Davis fight and recent other sporting events.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

I think it depends on the state. Idk if Vegas is allowing crowds in arenas like Texas is

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

I have a feeling khabib really will return probably next October after Ramadan

 

[steevoo1]

Ali also said Cejudo would fight again after he retired.

Only fight I see Khabib come back for is Tony, if he ends up with the belt. GSP said no chance he's fighting at 155 and Khabib said he won't go up.

I don't think he's coming back.. but no one is fully retired until they pull out the testing pool lol.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Cejudo isn’t retired in fact schaub just had cejudo at his show in Arizona and he said cejudo is waiting to come back he’s just waiting for the right amount of money

cejudo will be back at some point whenever Dana needs him

difference is Dana likes khabib and needs khabib compared to cejudo lol. Dana practically begging him to come back and didn’t even make him vacate the belt. When cejudo “retired” they made a title fight like the next week lol

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Location tbd but isn’t quite official official