“I want to stay humble, but I have to talk because the other guys talk too much, and... I understand the crazy power the UFC PR machine has.”
--Khabib Nurmagomedov
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- It isn’t difficult to like Khabib Nurmagomedov as an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) choker, but it’s difficult to accept his manners and unrestrained tantrums.
Even Mike Tyson admitted in a “twit” his notoriety as a ring monster paled in comparison to what Nurmagomedov displayed minutes after humiliating Conor McGregor via submission (neck crank) at 3:03 of Round 4 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 6, 2018.
Perhaps wanting to explode owing to his pent-up rage against McGregor’s pre-fight misdemeanors and abuses, Nurmagomedov, an undefeated Dagestani champion who wrestled bears as a child and has never lost so much as a round in the UFC in 27 brawls, couldn’t control himself as he leaped out of the cage and attacked McGregor’s cornermen that erupted into an ugly melee.
Nurmagomedov may have decisively defeated and exposed the “dimwit” McGregor and made a good account of himself as a champion, but fans will remember not his impressive performance that night, but how he destroyed the image of UFC with his cheap stunt and abrasive behavior.
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Flashback on August 26, 2017 in the same Octagon, we had but a little sympathy for McGregor when Floyd Mayweather reduced him to a slick-moving punching bag before stopping him by 10th round technical knockout (TKO).
It was a mismatch of epic proportions and I have been insisting before the fight there was no way for any UFC bully to roll past a scientific boxer in a match governed by boxing rules and regulations.
We were all taken for a ride when the duel was hyped successfully as "The Money Fight" and "The Biggest Fight in Combat Sports History" and fans went gaga over the lopsided rumble.
In losing to Mayweather, McGregor showed some restraint and professionalism before and after the fight which made many of his fans love and adore him more.
But in his brawl against Nurmagomedov, even some of his countrymen living in the United States were embarrassed with his unsportsmanlike behavior when he showed up at Barclays Center in Brooklyn just after the conclusion of a UFC 223 media day on April 5, looking to confront one of that weekend's main event fighters and threw a steel dolly through the window of a bus carrying the fighter he was targeting, lightweight champion Nurmagomedov, as well as several other fighters and UFC staff--some of whom were injured in the attack.
This was McGregor’s lowest point and we offer no sympathy for his destruction in his bout against Nurmagomedov.
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The genesis of the notorious drama came when Artem Lobov, a friend and training partner of McGregor's, spoke to reporters in his native Russia and was critical of Nurmagomedov. "Khabib pulled out six times already. He always pulls out of fights," Lobov said in Russian, according to a translation on MMAimports.com. "If something hurts a little bit, his a-- or whatever, he pulls out. He can't even make weight. He doesn't give a s--- about his fans, that everyone flew from Russia--even getting a visa is a pain, and travel expenses--all in order to see him, and he doesn't show up. And it's not once, not two, three or four times.
Latest news said McGregor and Nurmagomedov were both facing being banned from UFC after the brawls erupted at the end of their Lightweight Championship.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) was reportedly preparing to file complaints against the pair after ugly scenes which marred Nurmagomedov’s fourth-round victory.
Commission chairman Anthony Marnell and his colleagues have initiated a full investigation and will be looking at film footage and interviews with all those involved.
Nurmagomedov issued an apology in his post-fight press conference but scorned McGregor’s behavior in the build-up to the fight.
"Bruce Lee was an artist and, like him, I try to go beyond the fundamentals of my sport. I want the public to see a knockout in the making."
-- Sugar Ray Leonard
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- I reviewed the ninth round when Floyd Mayweather Jr. assaulted Conor McGregor like a truncheon-toting dispersal cop swarming over a hapless rallyist several times on Youtube and found a glaring element.
McGregor, 29, survived the violence but Mayweather, 40, finally bundled him out in the 10th stanza with double left hooks as referee Robert Byrd jumped in to protect the Irishman from further cruelty.
Back in ninth round. The gory scene unfurled at 1:59 when Mayweather caught McGregor's face with a wicked right as the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) buzzsaw backpedaled.
Another thunderous right to McGregor's face at 1:52 changed the program from tango to battery.
A Maywheather uppercut further mangled the tattooed customer at 1:43.
The manhandling worsened at 1:28 as Mayweather smelled blood. At 56 to 55 seconds, the fight became a scene in a Manila city jail riot.
The last 10 seconds was full of brutality as McGregor clung for dear life.
EXHAUSTED
Mayweather failed to knock out (KO) the exhausted McGregor but finished the job in the next round for a technical knockout (TKO).
If Manny Pacquiao was the one who mobilized the ninth-round mauling in the same pace and intensity, any of the two--Mayweather and McGregor--would have collapsed like a heap of thrash.
To slaughter a defenseless prey uninterrupted for two minutes was peanuts for a heavy bomber like lefty Pacquiao.
McGregor would have suffered Ricky Hatton's fate as he stood in front of his attacker and did not duck; he neither bob nor weave, a dream angle for Pacquiao.
A killer puncher, Pacquiao would have committed murder
It may be recalled that when Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) and Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs) squared off on May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas, the unbeaten American ran away with a 12-round unanimous decision in the richest duel in the history of prizefighting.
Against the taller McGregor (0-1 0 KO), Mayweather was more aggressive and banged at the mixed martial arts (MMA) king from all angles without letup.
Mayweather's success and juggernaut started in the sixth canto when he peppered McGregor with left jabs and right straights to avert a work rate deficit.
Against the shorter Pacquiao, 38, Mayweather was never a menace as he elected to stay away from Pacman's bombs using his signature bicycle in both legs.
"God only made one thing in this world that's perfect-and that's my boxing record."
--Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- There was no need for Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0, 27 KOs) to run away to seal another win.
As boxing's Albert Einstein, Mayweather's mass-energy equivalence was his potent jab-straight combo, enough to wreck ambitious mixed martial arts (MMA) boss Conor McGregor (0-1, 0 KOs) via 10th round technical knockout (TKO) on August 27 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight at 1:05 of round 10 with McGregor under heavy fire and on the verge of being ravaged like a pork and beans can.
Mayweather, 40, proved that McGregor's thrash talking and braggadocio could not be translated to victory.
If McGregor, 29, nicknamed "The Notorious", was the best the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) could offer, then boxing remains the top manufacturer of scientific athletes in combat sports.
Mayweather demonstrated why boxing is called poetry in motion.
He allowed the talkative Irish visitor, unfamiliar with pitfalls in squared jungle, to come in like a traffic attendant and tire him out.
CONTROL
Mayweather controlled the fight from the opening bell, frustrating the taller debuting boxer with his signature footworks and blistering jabs that mostly found their marks on McGregor's face.
When McGregor was ripe for a knockout, he unleashed a horrific combination and avalanche of uppercuts and hooks to make a final statement.
"I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see. I owed them for the Pacquiao fight. I had to come straight ahead and give the fans a show. That's what I gave them," Mayweather said.
“He’s a lot better than I thought he’d be. He’s a tough competitor, but I was the better man tonight. Our game plan was to take our time, go to him, let him shoot his shots early and then take him out down the stretch. We know in MMA he fights for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, he started to slow down. I guaranteed to everybody that this wouldn’t go the distance.
“I want to thank all the fans from Ireland and all the fans around the world for coming to see this event. I couldn’t do any of this without the fans."
GAME PLAN
Flod added: “Our game plan was to go straight ahead. I said numerous times that I wouldn’t back down and that’s what I did. A win is a win, no matter how you get it. Rocky Marciano is a legend and I look forward to going into the Hall of Fame one day.
“This was my last fight tonight. For sure. Tonight was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with. Conor you are a hell of a champion.”
McGregor didn't know what hit him. He appeared to be in denial stage when he quipped, “He’s composed, he’s not that fast, he’s not that powerful, but boy is he composed in there. I thought it was close though and I thought it was a bit of an early stoppage. I was just a little fatigued. He was just a lot more composed with his shots.
“I have to give it to him, that’s what 50 pro fights will do for you.
“I’ve been strangled on live TV and came back. When you’re in here in the squared circle, everything is different. Let the man put me down, that’s fatigue, that’s not damage. Where was the final two rounds? Let me walk back to my corner and compose myself.”
"Boxing is real easy. Life is much harder."
-- Floyd Mayweather Jr.
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Aside from his power and durability, Conor McGregor can't convince oddsmakers that he has what it takes to upset Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Like Angel Manfredy in 1998, oddsmakers predict that McGregor (21-3, 18 KOs) will be swallowed whole by Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) when they clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 26.
Manfredy, hard-hitting like McGregor, was highly-touted when he mauled Calvin Grove, Jorge Paez, and the legendary Arturo Gatti one after the other. But against Mayweather Jr., he was blasted to bits in two rounds.
His reputation as a heavy bomber and giant killer had no match against Mayweather's dizzying speed and excellent footwork.
As a mixed martial arts (MMA) terror, McGregor's duel with boxing's most celebrated superstar will be his debut in the square jungle.
The loquacious 29-year-old Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mainstay from Dublin will be fighting the 40-year-old undefeated world boxing champion in the later's backyard.
It's like Tiger Woods challenging Michael Jordan to a three-point shooting contest.
COMPARISON
In terms of defense, endurance, speed, and experience, McGregor pales in comparison.
McGregor, who logged most of his wins as a featherweight and lightweight, will face the man who opitomizes the art of boxing to hit and not to get hit in the jr. middleweight category.
Shane Mosley, Victor Ortiz, Manny Pacquiao, Marcos Maidana, and Saul Alvarez could unload bombs like McGregor but were all wiped out by the first boxer in history to equal the 49-0 world record established by heavyweight Rocky Marciano.
McGregor's takedown defense is impressive, but against a scientific fighter like Mayweather, it won't help him in a boxing match.
According to FightMetric, McGregor has defended just 57 percent of his strikes during his UFC career, worst of any current male champion.
Mayweather, on the other hand, owns a boxing-best plus-24.5 plus/minus rating, per CompuBox and landed 43.4 percent of his punches, while his foes landed only 18.9 percent.
