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Conor McGregor & Harumafuji: Bar fights and mafia revenge plots

By Zach Arnold | November 29, 2017

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I built a name reporting on the largest crime families in combat sports. Skip Bayless has made tens of millions of dollars trolling athletes for saying nothing good happens at a bar or night club. The wrong guy made millions of dollars but he keeps finding suckers who prove his shtick right.

Conor McGregor is now apparently the target of one of the most powerful Irish mafia figures and is being advised to find safety elsewhere.

Chael Sonnen has correctly identified the disease that has penetrated Conor McGregor’s brain. Conor McGregor has become his own biggest fan. Of the many differences between Conor McGregor & Ric Flair, Flair understood when to put over the local rival while still getting what he wanted in the end.

Conor McGregor is on the reckless path of either dying young or going broke, possibly both. That’s a combat sports story as distinguished as The Old Testament. McGregor is on the path of having someone else writing the end of his career, kind of like famous Sumo champion Harumafuji.

Harumafuji got caught up in a timeless Japanese fight scandal: beating the crap out of a young boy and losing a career over it. Shame matters in Japan, even in 2017. You lose your career or, at a minimum, lose your hair when you shave it off when a disgraceful incident goes public.

Harumafuji’s career is over and he can’t be a stablemaster in retirement. That’s the least of his worries. Civil & criminal investigations are in play. Sumo also has a history of attracting rather colorful characters who are ready to go for the throat.

I’m having flashbacks to Asashoryu, the former Sumo champion who was offered a lot of money to go into Japanese MMA. I wrote an article ten years ago about K-1 making a big push for Asashoryu. It’s possible that Harumafuji could get an offer from RIZIN but it will be nowhere as lucrative as the offers Asashoryu received.

Just like Conor McGregor’s bar troubles are receiving worldwide attention, Harumafuji’s resignation capped off a month of heavy Japanese media coverage. One man lost his career but may have managed to save his freedom. The other man has plenty of earning power left but may never fully realize or appreciate the tenuous position he is in.

Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

7 Responses to “Conor McGregor & Harumafuji: Bar fights and mafia revenge plots”

  1. Nepal says:

    Zack,

    Very happy to see you have most of the links back.

    Where else in MMAdom can you go to such a one stop MMA article shop.

    However, please drop fightlinker. No point in having something like that click bait site in the side bar. Getting rid of it is addition by subtraction…like dropping Ricky Henderson.

  2. Nepal says:

    Sadly, i dont have any. I really only go to your site and to the links. Actually mmapayout some times.

  3. Chris says:

    History shows that being a pro fighter does not make your invincible or bullet proof. Hopefully McGregor starts making some smarter choices. If not, he has no one but himself to blame.

  4. Fedor Gracie says:

    Don’t spread fake news BS.
    Harumafuji doesn’t have a young boy thing
    like they have in Hollywood.

    That young boy you are referring to is a
    rishiki who will turn 28 yrs old in 2 months!

    And most adults can’t say they haven’t wanted
    To beat the shit out of some snot who
    is texting while you’re talking to him.
    Totally justified.

    FREE Ama!!!

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