Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I want to say this, as this is not taking ANYTHING away from Khabib but I'm not a Conor McGregor super fan who worships every step he takes and blindly agree's with every word that spews out of his mouth. I respect the tremendous amount of accomplishments he's done for himself and MMA. He's upped the ante tremendously in the world of MMA and he's made so many things happen for himself personally. However, I think McGregor just didn't look like himself in this fight. He didn't seem as fired up as he usually is, looked tentative, flat footed and just didn't seem like he had any fire in him at all. Where Khabib had so much more to gain and had much more to prove.
Conor has made his millions of dollars, won belts in two divisions simultaneously, fought Mayweather for more millions, has his whiskey out, has money in many other areas. Conor has left his mark and legacy and at this point, it seems like he doesn't have that fire anymore. I can't see Conor really fighting for the love of fighting anymore, he's not that type of individual any longer. Khabib, Ferguson, Pettis, Gaetjche and so many other individuals I can name drop fight for the love of the sport (of course payment is great as well).
Seriously, if that melee would have turned into a large-scale riot with lots of serious injuries, maybe even deaths, UFC would have been the first target for the lawyers.
Excellent point and thankfully local law enforcement was beefed up big time for the fight after the Vegas strip concert shooting last year that left 58 dead. Their presence and immediate response to the melee contained it.
So no suspensions for any of Conor's conduct in the past, but we suspend Khabib? I'm not okay with that double standard. Conor has done as bad and worse as what Khabib did last night.
Really? Conor has jumped out of the octagon and attacked people in the crowd? And had one of his entourage jump into the octagon after a fight and attack his opponent?
I can only hope the people in charge of the promotion take this chance to reassess the situation seriously - and won't do away just by slapping on fines and doing sad basset hound eyes at post-fight pressers.
For starters, it would be nice to have someone explain to them the basics of cultural differences. I watched both pre-fight pressers and weigh-ins, and I couldn't believe how Dana was totally oblivious to Habib's reactions to Connor's "trash talk". This is not WWE, the fighters don't have assumed personas, and personal attacks on one's family and/or religion are perceived an insult in some cultures. For chrissakes, vendetta (blood feud) is still a thing both in Dagestan and Chechnya, while trash talking is not. If you bring these people in to make money for your promotion - at least take the time to do your homework.
Really? Conor has jumped out of the octagon and attacked people in the crowd? And had one of his entourage jump into the octagon after a fight and attack his opponent?
...I must have missed that one.
Khabib revealed his true self. He's a thug.
Yep you missed a lot of what Conor's done.
- thrown bottles at another fighter
- climbed a cage during a Bellator fight doing the exact same thing Khabib did. In fact, Conor interrupted medical attention received by another fighter
- and let's not mention the ****ing bus dolly incident which was CRIMINAL. He attacked a bus with civilians with 40 of his coked-out Irish buddies, hospitalizing a fighter who had glass in his eye and damaging another who had to pull from the bout. Another fighter on the bus received therapy afterward because she was so shook up from it.
I could go on if you want. You just clearly haven't done your homework on Conor.
Also someone from Khabib's entourage attacked Conor, it's not like Khabib ordered him to do it. You'd have to have your head so far up Conor's ass to think there's an equivalence between Khabib fighting one of Conor's entourage, and Conor committing a crime, attacking a bus full of innocent people. Not to mention, as I said, Conor did THE SAME THING at a Bellator event.
The guy Khabib attacked was Dillon Danis, a Bellator fighter, elite submission grappler, and training partner/coach of McGregor who's honestly a giant douchebag. I've heard from those in the know re: jiu jitsu circles in NY about what a piece of garbage that guy is. He's been yapping at Khabib for months.
Am I condoning what Khabib did? No. But what Conor has done in the past is worse, but he receives no punishment because he's the superstar of the UFC. It would be such a crock of **** for them to all of a sudden use other fighters to set an example, but not Conor.
You also have to understand that Khabib comes from a crazy part of the world. Conor insulting his nation, his father, his religion, insinuating that people close to him were involved in 9/11 terrorist attacks, it's a matter of honor for him. That's how it is for people from Dagestan. Again, not condoning it.
I can only hope the people in charge of the promotion take this chance to reassess the situation seriously - and won't do away just by slapping on fines and doing sad basset hound eyes at post-fight pressers.
For starters, it would be nice to have someone explain to them the basics of cultural differences. I watched both pre-fight pressers and weigh-ins, and I couldn't believe how Dana was totally oblivious to Habib's reactions to Connor's "trash talk". This is not WWE, the fighters don't have assumed personas, and personal attacks on one's family and/or religion are perceived an insult in some cultures. For chrissakes, vendetta (blood feud) is still a thing both in Dagestan and Chechnya, while trash talking is not. If you bring these people in to make money for your promotion - at least take the time to do your homework.
Yeah, Dana just doesn't give a crap. He'll pretend to be disgusted, then in two months announce a rematch and use the brawl footage in promo trailers. He just cares about the money.
I think you're right in that it's also on him that things got this out of hand. Dana just lets Conor run amok, saying all kinds of horrible vile things at these press conferences. As you said, these are matters of life and death in Dagestan and Chechnya, and that's why Khabib reacted the way he did after the fight.
So I want to say this, as this is not taking ANYTHING away from Khabib but I'm not a Conor McGregor super fan who worships every step he takes and blindly agree's with every word that spews out of his mouth. I respect the tremendous amount of accomplishments he's done for himself and MMA. He's upped the ante tremendously in the world of MMA and he's made so many things happen for himself personally. However, I think McGregor just didn't look like himself in this fight. He didn't seem as fired up as he usually is, looked tentative, flat footed and just didn't seem like he had any fire in him at all. Where Khabib had so much more to gain and had much more to prove.
Conor has made his millions of dollars, won belts in two divisions simultaneously, fought Mayweather for more millions, has his whiskey out, has money in many other areas. Conor has left his mark and legacy and at this point, it seems like he doesn't have that fire anymore. I can't see Conor really fighting for the love of fighting anymore, he's not that type of individual any longer. Khabib, Ferguson, Pettis, Gaetjche and so many other individuals I can name drop fight for the love of the sport (of course payment is great as well).
Honestly, I think you're dead wrong. You're doing what people do after every time someone loses, creating a story. "ah man, he didn't look like himself...he looked slow...he looked flat-footed...he didn't have the fire..."
No, the fact is McGregor wasn't able to withstand Khabib's wrestling. Conor knew this was the fight of his life. He didn't promote it like other fights because of how deadly serious he was taking this camp. Conor wanted to ****ing win, he just couldn't handle Khabib's pressure. There was nothing off about his footwork or striking or anything else. He looked like he usually does.
Not only that I was listening to Rogan and Schaub talk about McGregor on Rogan's podcast. Apparently McGregor has turned down other opportunities (movies, etc.) because he still wants to be loyal to the fight game. This guy's a warrior who's locked in. We have plenty more to see from him.
McGregor went two years without a real fight (I dont count Mayweather) and I thought he did really good in winning the 3rd round. I had heard it was the first time Khabib had lost a round. The thing about a Khabib fight is once hes on top you know youve lost the round becuase youre not getting up. I just wish McGegor fought in a fight to warm up, two years is a long time.
As for the thrash talk, if you cant handle that you shouldnt be in the fight game. Khabib camp should be punished for what they did after that, there could have been deaths in the crowd if a riot ensued. Anything by both fighters outside the cage, in the arena should be punished with fines.
MMA needs to nip this in the bud. Fine Khabib and prevent him from defending his title for a year. Otherwise, what happens the next time he loses it - he bites someone's ear off?
Khabib may be a great, undefeated fighter, but he's no professional.
Outside of the Conner fight, Khabib is one of the most respectful fighters in the UFC. He would shake hands with the opponent after the fight or even call for stoppage when he is mauling the guy too badly just to prevent further injuries. Imo for Khabib its not really about the money, its about honor, he still lives in his parents' house in Dagestan... And its not like Khabib just randomly went off on some Joe-shmoe in the audience. Dillon Denis should've been escorted off the premises and shouldn't even be allowed to be there in the first place. In what other sport does a coach from an opposing team would try to instigate a fight with the other side? If your defense is "sh*t-talk is part of the game to sell the fight", why was he still talking sh*t after the fight is already over? This was obviously personal.
This ultimately rests on the UFC. They let Connor run amok for years with no repercussions, and even encouraged other fighters to mimic his antics for $$$. Sure Connor's popularity might have brought more eyes on the UFC, but Connor is bad for long term survival of the sport.
Outside of the Conner fight, Khabib is one of the most respectful fighters in the UFC. He would shake hands with the opponent after the fight or even call for stoppage when he is mauling the guy too badly just to prevent further injuries. Imo for Khabib its not really about the money, its about honor, he still lives in his parents' house in Dagestan... And its not like Khabib just randomly went off on some Joe-shmoe in the audience. Dillon Denis should've been escorted off the premises and shouldn't even be allowed to be there in the first place. In what other sport does a coach from an opposing team would try to instigate a fight with the other side? If your defense is "sh*t-talk is part of the game to sell the fight", why was he still talking sh*t after the fight is already over? This was obviously personal.
This ultimately rests on the UFC. They let Connor run amok for years with no repercussions, and even encouraged other fighters to mimic his antics for $$$. Sure Connor's popularity might have brought more eyes on the UFC, but Connor is bad for long term survival of the sport.
Conor was making offensive comments about his dad, his religion, etc. Dillon (conor's cornerman) yelled a comment at Khabib after the fight and that triggered the outburst from Khabib. The fight was already extremely personal between Conor and Khabib.
I agree about the UFC getting stricter on Conor but that is their current cash cow.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
