"Conor may attend the Habib-Pore match"
In two and a half months, the current UFC lightweight champion Habib Nurmagomedov will hold his second title defense. At the tournament in Abu Dhabi, the Russian will face off with the owner of the time belt Dustin Pornier and will try to strengthen the legacy he often spoke about lately. However, the battle with the American may not be the most significant event of the day, because it is possible that Conor Macgregor will visit the battle.
Given the tense relationship between the two athletes and the huge number of Habib fans in Abu Dhabi, coming to this country could be a risky step for McGregor. More recently, the Irishman allowed himself rude comments about the wife of the Russians, which caused the anger of the Muslim community. However, UFC President Dana White believes that this is unlikely to stop Conor.
“MacGregor may appear there. Personally, he did not tell me about it. I don’t want to make loud statements, but Conor may attend the Habib-Dustin match, ”said White in an interview with ESPN.
At the same time, the head of the promotion expressed the opinion that the ex-UFC champion in two weight categories may have fans in the Middle East.
“I know that this nation takes any words seriously, but Nurmagomedov won that fight, despite all the trash from the Irish. These athletes dislike each other, but this is a business. I don’t see any problems if Conor arrives in Abu Dhabi, ”White concluded.
Recall that in April 2018 the Irishman in Brooklyn attacked the bus in which his Nurmagomedov was located. And in October, at the end of the in-person fight, the Russian jumped out into the gym and provoked a brawl, following which the athletes themselves, as well as people from their entourage, received lengthy disqualifications.
At the same time, White added that he currently has no information about McGregor’s future career. According to him, a few days ago, he spoke with the Irish, but could not get an unequivocal answer about his plans for the future.
“We have a good relationship. We will accept him when he is ready to return. But while I do not know when this will happen. We need to understand that McGregor has achieved success, he earns tons of money, his whiskey is in great demand. <...> Conor is in such a position that either he chooses a rival or goes out of battle forever, ”White quotes Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Jones's Win-win series
It also became known that, at the present time, White intends to hold talks with the Nevada Athletic Commission (NSAC) and to achieve the cancellation of the only defeat in the career of the legendary John Jones.
At the moment, the record of the current UFC light heavyweight champion is 26 fights. He won 24 of them, conceded in one, and one more was declared invalid due to the failure of the American doping test. In this case, the only failure is dated December 5, 2009, when Jones was disqualified in a fight with Matt Hamill, a famous deaf fighter.
Jones reigned supreme throughout the entire first round and in the third minute Hamill hit the floor with a beautiful cast. For a minute, he beat his opponent, but Judge Steve Mazzagatti did not react. At one point, John lost a bit of control and struck several forbidden elbow strikes - from top to bottom at a right angle (12 to 6 Elbow), which caused a deep cut on Matt's face. The referee first took one point from the future champion, and then stopped the battle altogether, awarding the victory to his opponent.
Subsequently, many admitted that in that episode Mazzagatti made a grave mistake and in fact forced Jones to break the rules. And the referee himself managed to note a number of controversial decisions and become one of the most hotly criticized in the history of mixed martial arts. In light of this, White’s decision to restore justice does not seem strange.
Supported him in this endeavor and well-known commentator Joe Rogan. On his Twitter page, he wrote that he was 100% in solidarity with White’s opinion.
“The rule about elbow strikes at right angles is one of the dumbest in single combats. At a minimum, this fight should be declared not successful. He (Jones. - RT ) was superior to his rival in all respects, ”Rogan said.
Operation Jan and the new fight for Lawler
Meanwhile, the fourth lightest weight UFC rating number, Peter Jan, underwent an operation on his arm. In June, he won his fifth consecutive UFC victory and strengthened his position in the organization. In this case, the athlete himself admitted that the injury seriously hindered him, both in preparation for the battle, and in the fight with the American.
“Hello everyone, I'm fine! The operation went according to the doctor’s plan, in 1.5 - 2 months I will be in the ranks. <...> Now we will plow even harder. All patience and believe in yourself, everything will work out, ”the athlete wrote on his official Instagram page.
Thus, in the fall the athlete will be able to begin training and may well return to octagon before the end of 2019. At the same time, it is possible that this fight will take place at the second tournament in Moscow in the history of the UFC, and a victory in it can guarantee Jan a meeting with the current lightweight champion Henry Sehudo. True, for this he needs to deal with one of the top athletes of the division.
At the moment, only three fighters are in the ranking above Yana. In this case, the candidacy of Rafael Assunsau is most likely to disappear, because he will hold his next fight in mid-August and risk not having time to recover by the end of the year. Aljamaine Sterling and Marlon Moraes remain, but the last of them only recently lost to Sehudo and could not win the belt.
The UFC is unlikely to provide him with the opportunity to fight again for a title fight in such a short time, with the result that the most obvious option is a meeting between Jan and Sterling. At the same time, the Russians had already hurried to express their readiness to fight with the Americans, pushing the leadership in the right direction.
At the same time, one of the most anticipated battles of the summer may occur in the near future in the Absolute Fight Championship. White stated that a fight will take place between the ex-welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and the former owner of the time belt Colby Covington at the UFC Fight Night tournament in Newark. The battle will be the main event of the show, one of whose participants will be the Russian Ramazan Emeev.
In recent years, Covington has become one of the most talked about organization fighters, in a negative light. So, he was remembered for his racist comments about Brazilians, whom he called “dirty animals” during the show, as well as other scandalous antics. At the same time, Nurmagomedov also got it. So, the American firmly commented on the Russians' jump into the gym after the end of the fight with McGregor, calling him a “sheep lover”.
The victory over Lawler could be an opportunity for Covington to get a fight for the title. In June 2018, he defeated Rafaela Dous Anjus and received a temporary belt, but he did not fight with the absolute champion. Colby repeatedly challenged Tyrone Woodley, but at the right moment he himself refused to go into the cage, referring to the operation. The UFC leadership turned out to be extremely dissatisfied with the actions of the American and deprived him of the right to claim the duel for the honorary title.
Subsequently, Woodley lost the belt to Camara Usman, with the result that Covington turned his full attention to the Nigerian. He repeatedly tried to disrupt the athlete's training and offered to meet in the octagon, but he was injured.
As for Lawler, in recent years, one of the most entertaining fighters in UFC history has not often pleased his fans with success. In the last four battles, he suffered three defeats and is unlikely to be able to immediately secure a meeting with the champion. And this is despite the fact that his loss to Ben Askren is very controversial. So, referee Hurb Dean stopped the fight, believing that Robbie lost consciousness as a result of the suffocating technique, but the athlete could continue the fight.