Conor McGregor News

Justin Golightly - January 27, 2018

With Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic announced, it’s hard to think about anything else. However, last year another insane superfight went down that no one ever thought could be possible. Conor McGregor took an hiatus to the UFC with their blessing, boxing Floyd Mayweather and making everyone involved an absolute goldmine of money. Just when you thought you had the spectacle out of your memory banks to make room for the craziness the UFC has planned this year, ‘Money’ Mayweather is here to remind you with his check that would make the Publisher’s Clearing House jealous.

Justin Golightly - January 24, 2018

Lightweight is on fire. Justin Gaethje is in the UFC. Eddie Alvarez is on a resurgence and carrying an unofficial ‘Most Violent’ title. Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are once again booked to fight each other, which could potentially be for the undisputed lightweight title. Everything threatens to pass multi-millionaire ‘Champ Champ’ Conor McGregor by, but his coach recently waved his finger like no like Dikembe Mutombo. The plan is for McGregor to return to the UFC in 2018. “The landscape changes so much, so quickly when different offers come in. But if you were to put a gun to my head and ask me to say what’s next, I’d say it’s the UFC and it will be this year [that Conor McGregor returns]. There’s so much happening in the division and things changing around and what have you. I can’t say who, I can’t say when but as people who follow him on social media will see, he’s back, very motivated, training a lot. He’s in the gym every day. The plan seems to be forming and getting more exact every day that [he’ll be] back in the UFC this year. When and against who, I would be just guessing.” – Coach John Kavanagh on Facebook Live.

Tom Taylor - January 22, 2018

On April 7, interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson and undefeated contender Khabib Nurmagomedov will battle for a lightweight title. Will it be the interim title currently owned by Ferguson, or the undisputed title currently owned by Conor McGregor? Dana White was incredibly unclear when asked about this at a press conference in Boston, refusing to say whether the UFC will strip McGregor of his undisputed title, but also assuring the winner of this Ferguson-Nurmagomedov fight will be the champion… Whatever the case, Khabib Nurmagomedov has some interesting ideas if he wins. For one, the undefeated grappler seems to be considering denying Conor McGregor a shot at the title upon his long-awaited return to MMA.

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

As the smoke settles from the announcement that Tony Ferguson will fight Khabib Nurmagomedov potentially for the UFC undisputed lightweight title, it turns out that this is only the beginning of what could be the biggest year for the organization of all time. That is, if half the things Dana White predicts will happen actually come to fruition. In am interview that went down right after the UFC 223 presser, White goes on to say he believes Conor McGregor, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and either Nick or Nate Diaz will fight in 2018. “I’m going to take the odds [that Conor McGregor will fight more than once in 2018]. I’m going to say yes. I’m going to make a lot of money, I’m going to say yes [that Georges St-Pierre fights again this year]. […] I’m going to take the odds again and say yes [that Brock Lesnar will return this year]. I’ll take the yes [that Jon Jones returns as well]. I’m going to go with yes [that one of the Diaz brothers fight again this year too].”

Russell Sai - January 20, 2018

Dana White dodged answering if Conor McGregor will be stripped of his undisputed lightweight title during the Boston press conference On Friday leading up to UFC 220, which takes place today. Instead, White insisted that the winner of Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov “will be the champion.” However, White did state that McGregor’s ideal plan of returning to competition in the Octagon in the third or fourth quarter of 2018 is much too long of a time without an undisputed UFC lightweight title fight.

Justin Golightly - January 20, 2018

If you didn’t catch the video when it first came out, by now you’ve probably heard the stat during the promotional whirlwind for UFC 220. Francis Ngannou has the record for the hardest punch in the world. Ngannou rocketed his huge fist into the high-tech padding and it spit out a huge number 129,161 units. With nothing to compare it to besides kickboxer Tyrone Sprong’s 114,000 units, we could only trust that wow, that’s powerful. But thanks to some research compiled by R/MMA user newbiedoobiedooo, we have some numbers that can put Francis Ngannou’s power in perspective. Franics Ngannou’s Punch Has the Strength Of: 

Justin Golightly - January 19, 2018

We are only an hour away from a press conference officially announcing Khabib Nurmagomedov’s fight with Tony Ferguson. As of right now, it’s for the interim UFC lightweight title, but there have been talks that it will eventually be for the undisputed title and that Conor McGregor will be stripped of his second title. His coach John Kavanagh —and we’re assuming the man himself — has shrugged this decision off, stating that he’ll have to be beaten in order for the UFC to crown a true champ. But being beaten is an easier said than done, even if McGregor steps into the Octagon again according to Kavanagh, who predicts a knockout if the Irishman collides with the Russian smashing machine. “I do think this is the immovable object and the unstoppable force. [Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor are] on a path to meet each other. I’m of course watching everything that he does. In his last fight, I just think when you’re facing somebody with the type of stopping power Conor has in his hands, if you stand very much upright and just kind of walk toward somebody to get a body lock, that’s a risky strategy. I find it hard to visualize anything else other than Conor knocking him out.

Justin Golightly - January 19, 2018

It’s official. It was reported, we confirmed it, Dana White backed the report up and later today there is a press conference on it. Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will try to fight once again. The word is it won’t be for an interim title, but for the undisputed title, which may be confirmed today as well. Either way, Conor McGregor and his coach believe that doesn’t matter, and the Irishman’s shadow will loom over the division until someone actually beats him. As far as the match-up, coach John Kavanagh dissected it in detail and believes Nurmagomedov will come out on top. “[Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov are both] grapplers for a start. Neither really has high level striking, so it’s going to be a grappling match. I think a lot of it will be played with Khabib on top, and I think he wins a decision. I think it goes the five rounds, I think it’s a decision to Khabib. I do think there is a really high risk of it not happening. It’s been scheduled twice and it has not happened twice. It’s very impressive what Khabib can do when he is fighting, just that pace he has and the relentless pressure, but it does require you to train in a certain way that brings on injuries. There is a reason why he is averaging one fight or less over the last couple of years because of multiple surgeries and so on. He’s got a lot of miles on the athletic clock. I would almost see as there being a high likelihood of one pulling out before the fight happens.”

Justin Golightly - January 18, 2018

The entire week we’ve been tracking the news of what will decide the fate of the UFC lightweight title. Khabib Nurmagomedov is slated to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 223 in Brooklyn, supposedly for the undisputed belt. This is news to Conor McGregor and his camp, but despite the possibility of it happening, they don’t seem to be too phased by the idea at all. In a recent Facebook Live session, Straight Blast Gym coach John Kavanagh said it doesn’t matter who wins or what belt is on the line, McGregor is still the Champ Champ. “I’m hearing this [fight news] at the same time as everyone else. I see there is a press conference that will happen tomorrow. I think Tony [Ferguson] and Khabib [Nurmagomedov], or else just Khabib, is being interviewed about the fight that Dana [White] announced in April, which was news to me as well. Maybe they’re going to say it at that. Is it an interim title fight or is it a belt fight? I don’t know.”

Russell Sai - January 17, 2018

It’s becoming much more clear that Dana White is not going to let Conor McGregor remain the UFC lightweight champion if he does not have plans of fighting until the later part of 2018. Speaking on the Toucher and Rich radio show on Wednesday, White said that the fight between Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov is going to take place. In addition, White sounds like he does have plans of stripping the belt from McGregor so the lightweight division can move along.

Tom Taylor - January 16, 2018

Over the last few weeks, we’ve all been wondering what is going to happen at the top of the UFC lightweight division. Will undisputed champion Conor McGregor return? If he does, will he defend his title against interim champion Tony Ferguson or streaking contender Khabib Nurmagomedov? If he doesn’t, will we get Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov? And when, pray tell, will the UFC strip McGregor for inactivity? Indeed, the questions go on and on… According a report from Tass.Ru, we’ll have answers to all our questions soon.

Justin Golightly - January 16, 2018

Conor McGregor is doing all types of jiu jitsu on Instagram. Khabib Nurmagomedov is saying he won’t settle for an interim title and meanwhile a huge UFC card is in the works for Russia. Everyone is wondering is Conor McGregor really won’t come back until September and who he will fight whenever he does indeed return. No other name has been paired with his lately in the UFC other than Nurmagomedov’s. Just recently, acclaimed coach and ground game mastermind John Danaher gave his insight into the potential match-up. “What’s interesting about those two fights, is you have basically polar opposites. […] With regards to Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the feeling one gets if they did fight — it would be a complete shutout in one of two directions. It’s either like a man beating up a child on the ground, or it’s just a flush knockout. The guy unable to cover distance properly and walking into a left hand and just being catastrophically KO’d. You feel like there’s potential for it to go on both directions. That’s a fight I don’t think goes the distance. It’s one way or the other. And Khabib has been hurt coming in, but he dealt with it well.”

Justin Golightly - January 13, 2018

As chaotic as the MMA world is right now, the UFC’s lightweight division is still ridiculous. Eddie Alvarez jsut got off an extremely violent win over Justin Gaethje and is waiting for a huge fight. Khabib Nurmagomedov is back and on warpath. Tony Ferguson is the interim lightweight belt holder and still recovering from elbow surgery. Meanwhile, the undisputed champion Conor McGregor is still counting his money and waiting on the right time to show back up. With his future up in the air, Joe Rogan thinks the UFC will strip him make big fights in his absence. “Here’s my prediction: My prediction is Conor [McGregor] doesn’t fight for a while. They strip Conor. Tony [Ferguson] and Khabib [Nurmagomedov] fight for the [undisputed UFC lightweight] world title. […] What I believe is gonna happen is, Conor’s gonna vacate. I think they’re going to strip him.”

Justin Golightly - January 11, 2018

Khabib Nurmagomedov hasn’t stopped campaigning for a huge fight ever since he dominated the dangerous Edson Barboza at UFC 219. Dana White has said that the next fight will be against Tony Ferguson, but that whether it’d be for the interim lightweight title or the undisputed title, would be up to Conor McGregor. However, things aren’t as clear as they appear. Whether it is a tease or just to stir up some the rumor mill by adding to the trash talk, coach John Kavanagh recorded himself studying Khabib Nurmagomedov fights on his Instagram live.

Justin Golightly - January 10, 2018

All the talk of last year was the showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. Today, another billionaire shared the stage with a millionaire at the Pendulum Summit as it took over the Convention Centre Dublin. English business magnate Sir Richard Branson met with the UFC’s self-proclaimed ‘Champ Champ’ and presented him Pendulum’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement award. Of course, with two entrepreneurial icons of that caliber on stage, it couldn’t be just any normal presentation. 🏟 #PendulumSummit

Tom Taylor - January 9, 2018

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is always in the news – and not always for the best reasons. Despite the controversy that so often surrounds him, however, McGregor continues to do good work in his community, using his platform to help wherever he can. In fact, McGregor recently visited the Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in his native Crumlin, Dublin, Ireland, and had a pretty touching experience as a result. He shared this story on his official Instagram account.

Tom Taylor - January 8, 2018

Ever since UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor came up short against Floyd Mayweather Jr.in the boxing ring earlier this year, we’ve been wondering what his next move will be. While that next move is still very much up in the air, his coach John Kavanagh is hoping it’s a return to the UFC’s Octagon – not the boxing ring. “I’m just happy to see him back, just regular training,” Kavanagh said in an interview with BBC Sport (h/t MMAFighting.com), referencing Conor McGregor’s return to MMA training “He had a lot going on in his life. A lot of stuff outside of fighting was going on in his life and he seems to be getting the hang of all that. Now he’s back training almost every day now and I think 2018 will be another big year for us. Exactly what that is, I don’t know yet, but the plan is forming. Stay tuned.”

Chris Taylor - January 6, 2018

Conor McGregor’s coach responds to Tony Ferguson’s “defend or vacate” request! Since claiming the promotions interim lightweight title by submitting Kevin Lee at UFC 216, Tony Ferguson has been busy campaigning for Conor McGregor to defend or vacate his lightweight strap.