RE: Mayweather/McGregor, Dana White's just following the money. McGregor's trash-talk got the blogosphere buzzing over the potential for this match and it took on a life of its own. The boxing figureheads are aghast at the prospect of prizefighting's GOAT fighting an exhibition bout against a cage brawler, but even they agree this is a match the public were demanding. Just gate and PPV (ignoring sponsorships), this fight should bring in more than $500 million USD. How could you not want a piece of that action?
And before you write off McGregor, let me give you a few 'facts' in the way of numbers.
Mayweather is 40 years old. He scored half of all his professional knock-outs before he'd turned 22. He's fought seven times since he last knocked out an opponent (ko or tko). All seven of those contests went 12 rounds. He won all seven on points but two of them were by split decision.
McGregor is aged 28. In the time since Mayweather last KO'd an opponent, McGregor has fought 12 times, won 11,** nine by ko/tko, five knock-outs in the first round. Mayweather hasn't had a 1st round knock-out in more than 20 years.
To put that in perspective, over the most recent 60 months, McGregor has KO'd as many as Mayweather has fought. Mayweather, in the meanwhile, KO'd none.
Mayweather fights at very nearly his walking-around weight. He's rarely been over 160 lbs. McGregor has cut as much as 27 lbs to make 145, so when he steps in the ring with Mayweather, his true weight will be nearer light heavyweight than super welterweight.
At this stage I doubt Mayweather could knock out his baby mama (again). McGregor has never gone more than five rounds, and that only once, but those are 5-minute rounds, vice boxing's 3-minute rounds. How long McGregor can maintain his customary striking tempo with two minutes shorter rounds is an unknown, but there is little question a 12-year younger man will make better use of the minute between rounds. And the momentums of their respective careers are headed in exactly opposite directions.
I'm not predicting that McGregor will win, just that I think it is shortsighted to give him no chance at all. Make no mistake, he earns his living with his fists. The fact that he does so under the rubric of MMA rather than Prizefighting has everything to do with McGregor's notion of what true "fighting" is and not any lack of pugilistic skill. I don't think anyone without intimate knowledge of McGregor's preparations and game plan has a clue how the fight will progress, but there are indications it will be ...unconventional. The one thing I do know (or think I do) is that the longer it goes, the uglier it will become.
**Statistically, undefeated strings in MMA are much rarer/shorter because there are far more ways to lose than in boxing. It bears mention that Fedor Emelianenko's repute as GOAT is based largely on a "mere" 29-fight undefeated streak (compared to Marciano & Mayweather's 49-0). Anderson Silva's 16-win run is the greatest to date in the UFC.
RE: Fedor/Mitrione, the irony is that Matt Mitrione got his dream fight, the fight of a lifetime (against Emelianenko) because his UFC opponent (the soon-to-be Mr. Ronda Rousey) didn't get penalised for an eye poke so severe it broke Mitrione's eye socket. Fedor might have been past his "best if used by" date, but he's only two years older than Mitrione. And who knows how epic the fight might have been if not for the freak double-knockdown.
And, oh, the President of Chechnya has his own MMA league, Akhmat MMA. And he's challenged the UFC to a tournament.
All fights will be
to the death. THUNDERDOME!
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