While the rematch was unlikely to happen, any hopes of seeing Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor 2 crashed and burned when Dustin Poirier finished McGregor in the second round of the UFC 257 main event on Jan. 24.

Poirier became the first fighter to stop McGregor via strikes after compromising the Irishman’s mobility with leg kicks. It was something Nurmagomedov’s coach, Javier Mendez, saw coming moments into the UFC bout.

“When I saw Dustin start going for the leg kicks, I go, oh my god, Conor’s stance is not made for checking properly, leg kicks like that. Especially calf kicks. So, I thought that was going to be a major problem. And then when he hit Dustin with the good shot and Dustin took it, that’s when I kind of knew, oh boy, things are gonna change. And sure enough, they did. And it was a great game plan from Dustin to work the leg kicks, calf kicks. And it was a bad judgement on Conor’s part to not be prepared for that,” Mendez recently told Submission Radio.

“I don’t understand how you cannot be prepared for something like that, when that’s what everyone’s going to. Khabib, I told him, I reminded him every day that Justin (Gaethje) is coming after your legs, Justin’s coming after your legs. Every day I was telling him that. And you would think that you would be reminded also because that’s a big weapon. Until fighters learn how to deal with it, it’s gonna be a big weapon, guys, big weapon,” Mendez said.

Judging from McGregor’s performance, Mendez believes “The Notorious” would have been easily defeated by Nurmagomedov in a rematch.

“He would’ve got smashed. Khabib’s gotten better. He would’ve gotten smashed. He would have gotten smashed. Straight up. Khabib’s better. He’s better than he was when they fought two years ago. Conor didn’t appear to be better. He’s regressed a little bit. Khabib’s gotten way better. He would have gotten smashed,” said Mendez.

With McGregor’s loss to Poirier, Mendez believes that door on a rematch with Nurmagomedov has permanently closed.

“You’re never gonna get that rematch. Just like you’re never going to get the Tony (Ferguson) and Khabib fight. That’s never gonna happen either. It’s not gonna happen. I mean, Khabib doesn’t need it. He seems fulfilled. And like I said, I think the only juicy part for him is what his father wanted, GSP. I’ve said it many times. And who knows, maybe that’s out of the question now. Maybe GSP doesn’t want it, maybe Khabib don’t want it now. I don’t know, cause I never talked to Khabib about what he wants, I’ve always listened to him,” said Mendez.

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According to Mendez, a fight against Georges St-Pierre was the only fight that could have lured Nurmagomedov back into the Octagon. Even if McGregor had beaten Poirier, Mendez isn’t sure if it would have mattered.

“I didn’t even know if he [Conor] would’ve done great that Khabib would even fight him, cause he’s gotta ask his mother’s permission first. You guys gotta remember, the key thing is, he’s gotta ask his mother for permission too. And I didn’t see GSP being offered. And I thought the only way he was gonna come out of it was if GSP was in that picture. But based what it happened, I don’t see why he would want to come out and fight anybody. Why? Fighting the best is not gonna motivate him. He’s not looking at the money aspect of it. But if they can put GSP, if they can put GSP on the table, maybe there’s a chance there,” he said.

“And I’m not saying it will happen, because I don’t know, but I’m just saying GSP might be the only one. I’ve always thought it was GSP, because that’s what his father wanted, and I think if they can get that one worked out and he can get his mother’s permission, I think that one could work. But I don’t think anybody else is gonna work. Period”

“If he asked my opinion, I would say hold out for GSP, or retire. That’s what I would tell him. But he’s never asked me, so that conversation never took place,” Mendez said.

Article source: https://www.mmaweekly.com/khabib-nurmagomedovs-coach-conor-mcgregor-rematch-never-going-to-happen

UFC bantamweight Casey Kenney faced widespread backlash Thursday after he made “utterly degrading” sexual comments about fellow UFC fighter Megan Anderson and has issued an apology to the women’s featherweight title challenger with whom he’ll share a card at UFC 259.

Kenney came under fire for his words on “The Timbo Sugarshow” podcast co-hosted by Tim Welch and Sean O’Malley. Kenney was asked by Welch if he would “smash” Anderson – meaning have sex with her. He answered the question openly.

“Probably not, man,” Kenney said, laughing. “She’s not too … well, I mean, if it came down to it, and it was like 5 a.m., 4, she’s a 5 a.m.-er, 4 a.m.-er. Just us two hanging out, like, ‘F*ck it, let’s do it.’”

That portion of the interview was shared on Twitter and seen by Anderson. She quote-tweeted it and indicated discomfort at having to share the March 6 card with Kenney.

I guess MMA is a line of work where you can publicly talk about whether you’d have sex with a coworker in an utterly degrading way and face zero consequences.

Disgusting behavior and it’s unfortunate that he’ll be fighting on my card in March. https://t.co/hJd1OuHIyD

— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) January 28, 2021

I guess MMA is a line of work where you can publicly talk about whether you’d have sex with a coworker in an utterly degrading way and face zero consequences.

Disgusting behavior and it’s unfortunate that he’ll be fighting on my card in March.

The UFC did not immediately respond to MMA Junkie’s request for comment about Anderson’s concerns.

Within 90 minutes of Anderson’s response, Kenney apologized directly to her.

“I’m sorry this upset you,” he wrote. “I will be more careful with my words. I was just answering a question and thought it was all a joking matter. I see I was wrong and I’m sorry. Best of luck with training camp and your fight.”

Anderson, 30, is set to challenge dual champion Amanda Nunes for the women’s 145-pound belt as part of a title triple header on the UFC 259 pay-per-view. Kenney, 29, will look for his fourth consecutive win in the biggest fight of his career against former UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ufc-casey-kenney-apologizes-megan-anderson-sexually-degrading-remarks

The first real chapter in what became the legend of Randy Couture went down at UFC 15 on Oct. 17, 1997.

There are many reasons why “The Natural” is a UFC Hall of Famer. He was the first man to win UFC titles in different weight classes, and his five combined UFC title reigns — three at heavyweight, two at light heavyweight — remains a company record. Couture also created one of the all-time great moments in UFC history when he came out of retirement to defeat Tim Sylvia and win the heavyweight belt at UFC 68 at age 43.

Couture made his MMA debut at UFC 13, winning two fights in one night to claim the heavyweight tournament. But his first real legendary moment was he scored what at the time was considered a major upset of an undefeated Vitor Belfort at UFC 15, which was held in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

And it only made sense Couture spoke to Burt Watson on a new edition of Legend 2 Legend about the bout, which Couture won via TKO in 8:16.

A young Belfort was called “The Phenom” for a reason. He was considered a superstar in waiting, having won all four of his previous fights, including three in the UFC, via TKO or KO, with the longest bout lasting 77 seconds.

But Belfort made Couture, who walked first, wait in the cage for 10 minutes before officials had to order him out of his locker room. And in his head, that told Couture that Belfort was doubting himself.

“I’m in the cage, they play the entrance music, and nobody comes out of the tunnel,” Couture told Burt Watson. “And I stayed in the cage for about 10 minutes. And there was no opponent. … And in my mind right away I thought ‘he’s just scared.’ This is something that somebody who is scared to come out and compete would do. That’s what I thought.

“That’s an old boxing trick, you freeze the guy out, you make him stand there and wait, and you get in his head that way. I thought it had the opposite effect. For me, in my mind, he was intimidated. He was scared.”

From there, the fight was on, and the result sent reverberations around the sport that was then known as “No Holds Barred.” After defeating Belfort, Couture then went out at UFC 19 and defeated Mark Coleman to win the heavyweight belt and claim the first of his five titles.

To hear more from Couture on one of the first truly legendary moments in UFC history, check out the video above.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/legend-2-legend-randy-couture-vitor-belfort-iwas-intimidated-ufc-15

By MMA Junkie Staff
January 28, 2021 11:05 pm

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Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/mma-junkie-radio-3126-special-guest-sam-alvey-jake-paul-vs-ben-askren-more

Michael Chandler is living the dream.

Following his first-round finish of Dan Hooker in the co-main event of UFC 257, Chandler cut an epic promo, honoring one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Ric Flair.

And it appears “The Nature Boy” took notice, giving Chandler a call to congratulate him on his impressive promotional debut. A giddy Chandler shared the clip on his Instagram, thanking the pro wrestling legend for the praise.

“Are you kidding me?! Just got a personal zoom call from @ricflairnatureboy to congratulate me on my win at #ufc257 Living an actual dream. Thank y’all for being on this journey with me. Stay the course. Eventually all your hard work will pay off, you just still have to be standing there with arms wide open when it does. WOOOOOOOOOO! See you at the top! Huge thanks to @theathleteassist for making the connection for me.”

A post shared by Michael Chandler (@mikechandlermma)

Chandler, who entered the UFC lightweight title picture with his big win over Hooker, immediately called for former interim champion Dustin Poirier next. Though the retired Khabib Nurmagomedov is still the official UFC 155-pound champion, Chandler is hoping to face Poirier for the vacant title that’s expected to be on the line once the promotion accepts his retirement.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.

Article source: https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/01/ric-flair-calls-michael-chandler-after-the-nature-boy-inspired-promo