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UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor II (1/23/2021) - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UFC Fight Island - Etihad Arena)


Elsalvajeloco

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Final comment - there is no point in fantasy booking LW because even if this loss hurts the entire sport's bottom line, Conor still books himself. If he really wants a trilogy fight with Dustin or a rematch with a willing Khabib, they'll run it in front of a crowd DYING for live entertainment and looking for a relatable comeback angle. That gate, the numbers after the dollar sign? Those happen before the likely ending kicks in. Do you gamble Conor's standing in the sport against a guaranteed huge gate after COVID restrictions are lifted? UFC better have somebody crunching the numbers.

Conor probably angles for an obviously declining Fergusson... I would have said Gaethje but I'd lay of the the leg kick-heavy pressure fighters if I were him. Olivera's beatable. Chandler's untested. Try out the RDA fight that never happened, try Aldo at 155, see if Company Man Felder won't throw a fight on St. Paddy's Day. I don't fucking know, don't overthink it, just generate revenue.

Edited by John E. Dynamite
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I'm a big fan of Dustin so really happy to see that result. He was in the best match I've ever seen live back in 2012 and I've been rooting for him ever since. I am not sure what is next for Conor. He hasn't had a win against a legit Top 5 fighter since Diaz (although I guess Alvarez could count but that was a style mismatch), but he isn't going to fight unless its in the main event and a big match. I know he said he'd be back quickly but I don't see that happening, unless they do another Diaz fight. Its not necessarily a bad problem, he can just do "super fights" and if he wins a few then get another title match, but considering he HAS to be the draw it does make the match making a bit more challenging.

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10 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

Which is why having 165 and 175 divisions makes all the sense in the world and lets you create more superstar champions out of the densest concentrations of talent, but I digress.

I think part of it is they don't want cut divisions in half. I don't think it would hurt LW at all, but the smaller WWs would obviously move to 165. However, I wasn't that big on the idea when Frank Trigg brought it up towards the end of his career. He was a short guy and when he came back to the UFC, there was still guys that height of Trigg there but no you have guys walking the division who are six feet even, 6'1", or 6'2". He was dead trying to cut to 155, but he was too small for 170. I kinda felt for him. However, at that same time, I was thinking, "well, tough titty". He was clearly at the end of his career, and basically his last few good years fighting in the smaller shows in effort to get back into the UFC.

I know we've had a bunch of interim champs, but I always felt that everybody shouldn't have a chance at a title. That gives them valuable. Otherwise, just drop the titles altogether and let guys fight at whatever catchweight they want. 

17 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

I don't know what makes an "elite" MMA fighter and I don't want to sort out the roster than way. But I'm almost certain "elite" takes place microscopically north of where Conor is these days. And I haven't the foggiest what he can do to get back there again if he can only realistically compete in those three divisions.

I would say he probably should back off trying to be a pure boxer. Felder brought it up both intentionally and unintentionally on the broadcast. He never broke from his boxing stance (I know he threw a few low kicks himself and a wheel kick), and he wasn't trying to check those low kicks Poirier threw. Poirier threw some lazy ones as expected but the ones he landed solid....wooo. They were effective. Controlling distance works both ways. You have to cut the cage off, but you also have to stop people from getting that close to you. Poirier knew once Conor's punches were falling shorter and shorter, it was his time to move. 

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21 minutes ago, John E. Dynamite said:

Final comment - there is no point in fantasy booking LW because even if this loss hurts the entire sport's bottom line, Conor still books himself. If he really wants a trilogy fight with Dustin or a rematch with a willing Khabib, they'll run it in front of a crowd DYING for live entertainment and looking for a relatable comeback angle. That gate, the numbers after the dollar sign? Those happen before the likely ending kicks in. Do you gamble Conor's standing in the sport against a guaranteed huge gate after COVID restrictions are lifted? UFC better have somebody crunching the numbers.

I think either way, whether Conor won or lost, his next fight was gonna be when fans can come back in the US which probably was gonna be no earlier than the late summer/early fall. I think this fight was just to hold him over because like I mentioned in other threads, you cannot keep him out of the cage if he wants to fight. They have to fulfill contracts and allow him to fight within a reasonable timeframe from his last fight. With that said, the LW division was gonna go on without him even if he won tonight. When it was decided this fight wouldn't be for a title, I think the UFC brass was leaning in on the fact that you cannot allow a guy to get a title if you don't know when you logically would or could book him again. 

I think the money they're getting from this Abu Dhabi deal made it more feasible to even allow Conor to take this fight. 

29 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I'm a big fan of Dustin so really happy to see that result. He was in the best match I've ever seen live back in 2012 and I've been rooting for him ever since. I am not sure what is next for Conor. He hasn't had a win against a legit Top 5 fighter since Diaz (although I guess Alvarez could count but that was a style mismatch), but he isn't going to fight unless its in the main event and a big match. I know he said he'd be back quickly but I don't see that happening, unless they do another Diaz fight. Its not necessarily a bad problem, he can just do "super fights" and if he wins a few then get another title match, but considering he HAS to be the draw it does make the match making a bit more challenging.

Yeah, I'm thinking Diaz III because I'm not sure if I believe Dana has a matchup lined up for Nate. Conor losing tonight opened that door back up again.

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@Elsalvajeloco, I think we'll get Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz III. Will it be at Welterweight like the first two or Lightweight? Would Conor fight Tony Ferguson with Ferguson's bad 2020 thinking he's on the decline? Ferguson took one of the worst beatings I've ever seen in MMA by Justin Gaethje and was dominated by Charles Oliveira.

Edited by The Natural
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4 hours ago, The Natural said:

@Elsalvajeloco, I think we'll get Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz III. Will it be at Welterweight like the first two or Lightweight?

Whatever weight they want it to be at.

Quote

Would Conor fight Tony Ferguson with Ferguson's bad 2020 thinking he's on the decline? Ferguson took one of the worst beatings I've ever seen in MMA by Justin Gaethje and was dominated by Charles Oliveira.

I am not saying that he is, but Ferguson looked washed in his last two fights. Against Gaethje, I could understand that. However, he couldn't do ANYTHING against Do Bronx. Conor would explode his face. 

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One thing I thought (and I could be completely wrong) is that in his walk out Mcgregor was trying so hard to be his old self, like the walk, dancing etc but it was all forced or an act. I honestly don’t think he cares anymore. 
 

A friend of mine reckons that he doesn’t trust Kavanagh or his team anymore but goes with it out of loyalty and this is what we get. 

Edited by peterien
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At 32 & being so comprehensively beaten on his feet, it feels like the definitive end of the McGregor era. Shame he pissed away so much of his peak years. I was at MSG to see him beat Alvarez in '16 which was the absolute peak, and he was never the same after the Mayweather fight that followed. Looks old; demeanour has changed; financially taken care of for life.

Khabib tells it as it is. Absolutely no value in him facing anyone in that division. GSP/Khabib or nothing? Almost certainly nothing? The only way Khabib gets a challenge is moving up a division, and he has never ever shown a desire for that.

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12 hours ago, jaedmc said:

Yeah it felt like that last minute was step by step ideal way to get the choke, and she just kind of went with it. 

Ribas told Nunes to "stop ducking me." 

Nunes is at her watch party going "Guys, seriously guys, listen to me, I don't even know this woman."

Ribas needs to be careful what she asks for; Amanda would tear her to pieces.

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Dave Meltzer:

The UFC 257 show no doubt did enormous PPV numbers with 11.1 million Google Searches. This would have been the highest except for maybe McGregor vs. Khabib and Ronda Rousey's fight with Holly Holm as far as general public interest in a show. It was also notable that Amanda Ribas was the only thing that trended not involving the main event, No. 9 yesterday at 100,000.  Ottman Azaitar trended on Friday with 50,000 based on being fired. It was almost surely one of the largest PPVs in history and if McGregor doesn't fight again, it will likely be the largest of 2021.  

There was a huge problem because of the interest as ESPN Plus went down for a number of people. For most who were shut out, which Dana White said was mainly a West Coast program, it wasn't until the third match on the show when it was working again.   

White also conceded after the show that Khabib Nurmagomedov is probably not coming back, saying Nurmagomedov told him that none of these guys are even close to him, referring to Michael Chandler and Poirier (who Khabib beat in a one-sided fight).  He didn't indicate what he would be doing about the lightweight title.

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Shocked to see McGregor get knocked out, definitely didn't expect that. I had never been the biggest Michael Chandler fan but may have become one after that epic post-match promo. Was hard not to feel good for him getting that kind of definitive win after finally getting to UFC. Nice big win for the always impressive Marina Rodriguez as well

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16 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal, this show did 1.6 million buys. It breaks down to 1.2 million buys domestic and 400,000 international.

Thanks, @Elsalvajeloco.

So:

1. UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor, October 2018. 2.4 million buys.

2. UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor, January 2021. 1.6 million buys.

2. UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor 2, August 2016. 1.6 million buys.

3. UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz, March 2016. 1.317 million buys.

4. UFC 100: Lesnar vs. Mir 2, July 2009. 1.3 million buys.

4. UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor, November 2016. 1.3 million buys.

5. UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans, May 2010. 1.05 million buys.

Edited by The Natural
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