Conor McGregor News

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.”

Russell Sai - January 18, 2018

At this moment, which fighter would you like to see matched up against Conor McGregor? Many say that UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson makes the most sense. Many others are still hot on the idea of a Nate Diaz trilogy. However, according to Dana White, there are a ton of people that are intrigued by a Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov scrap.

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.”

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.”

Tom Taylor - January 14, 2018

Over the last few weeks, we’ve all been wondering what the hell 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… Speaking on FS1 in the wake of Sunday night’s action packed UFC St. Louis card, UFC President Dana White attempted to give the fans a clearer picture of all of this madness.

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 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

The people of Ireland I love you 🍀❤ A post shared by Conor McGregor Official (@thenotoriousmma) on Jan 8, 2018 at 12:46am PST

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.”

Justin Golightly - January 6, 2018

#OnThisDay in 2012: @TheNotoriousMMA became double @CageWarriors champ! 📽 https://t.co/TMZIENdJ5x pic.twitter.com/Su3KfnZK9p

Russell Sai - January 5, 2018

It’s quite clear that UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is not very fond of Showtime Sports Executive Stephen Espinoza. During the Mayweather vs. McGregor world tour press conference, McGregor felt that he was being set up by Showtime at every chance they got. “The Notorious” called out Espinoza, calling him a “weasel” after his mic was turned off for a period of time during the first stop of the tour in Los Angeles.

Justin Golightly - January 4, 2018

It looks like Khabib Nurmagomedov’s convincing and violent marketing campaign has paid off. He was talking to Dana White in between dominating Edson Barboza at UFC 219, even waiting on him at his car to speak with him in the parking lot. Everything with Conor McGregor is still up in the air, so the UFC is now moving on with or without him. The plan right now is for Nurmagomedov to finally fight Tony Ferguson. It will depend on McGregor if that fight is for the interim or the undisputed UFC lightweight title. “As long as Conor [McGregor] is willing to fight by March, we could do Khabib [Nurmagomedov] versus Tony [Ferguson]. We could do Khabib versus Tony and then the winner fights Conor for the title. Or, Conor doesn’t want to fight and wants to sit out until next fall, then we would have to make Khabib vs. Tony for the title – not the interim title.”

Tom Taylor - January 4, 2018

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has yet to defend his title. Given that he won that title all the way back in November of 2016, that’s really starting to bug a lot of fans. In fact, there are widespread calls for the UFC to strip McGregor of his lightweight belt. While many fans would like to see McGregor stripped, however, it hasn’t happened yet. The leading theory to that end is that UFC President Dana White wants the belt to stay around the waist of his Irish cash cow for as long as possible.

Justin Golightly - January 2, 2018

Throwback to 2015 when Conor McGregor predicted that Khabib Nurmagomedov would one day have the Lightweight title. pic.twitter.com/pzJT9U6WoR — UFC India (@UFCIndia) December 31, 2017

Russell Sai - January 2, 2018

Conor McGregor was described as “obsessed” after he lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. Coach John Kavanagh even mentioned that the loss to Diaz stung much worse for the current UFC lightweight champion than the Mayweather loss did. However, according to Dana White, the loss to Mayweather seems to be growing on “The Notorious.” “Conor wants that fight again really bad,” White said recently on FS1 (transcribed by Damon Martin for MMA Weekly). “I told Conor what you did was amazing. I was sitting there with my partner Lorenzo [Fertitta] and I kept saying, ‘Oh my god, we found this kid in Ireland four years ago. He’s going into the sixth round with Floyd Mayweather. He’s going into the seventh round with Floyd Mayweather.’