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Look at the bright side: We’re one step closer to Conor McGregor vs. Frankie Edgar
By Zach Arnold | December 20, 2015
If you missed the Fox UFC broadcast from Orlando on Saturday night, you didn’t really miss much. Rafael dos Anjos obliterated Donald Cerrone in 66 seconds to retain the UFC Lightweight title belt. It was a great showing by the champion. It also derailed the momentum for a Cerrone fight with Conor McGregor. I suspect both UFC & Team Conor are not thrilled by this.
We’re one step closer to Conor McGregor vs. Frankie Edgar. It’s a fight the fans want to see. It’s a more marketable fight than a McGregor vs. RDA fight.
There was so much talk between McGregor and Cerrone. It was a fight worth tens of millions of dollars for UFC. Now it’s gone.
One of the interesting points made by Donald Cerrone in his trash talking leading into the Orlando fight was about USADA and the IV ban. He pointed out the obvious: a lot of physiques for top fighters has changed. It’s created more chaos. USADA busted Mirko Cro Cop but Mirko was sloppy. Most MMA fighters who use drugs are not the smartest about hiding it. Combine the USADA testing, the IV ban, and the focus on weight cutting and what you have is an environment that is dramatically changing the fight product we are watching.
There was a California State Athletic Commission meeting this past Thursday in Los Angeles with representatives from the Association of Boxing Commissions, UFC, and Bellator in regards to what to do about IV vans and weight classes. ABC’s proposal is to do away with the modern weight classes and go with 10 pound increments up to 205 pounds. Rather than go with 230 pounds or 235 pounds as Cruiserweight, you would have a 225 pound weight limit and the current Welterweight limit of 170 pounds would be abolished.
I share the same sentiments as John McCarthy that changing the weight classes alone would not have a real impact on preventing extreme weight cutting. A fair amount of fighters have damaged their endocrine systems by cutting weight irresponsibly.
The most interesting note from Thursday’s meeting was Andy Foster’s suggestion that California’s commission attempt to pass an emergency rule/regulation through the state’s Office of Administrative Law to ban the use of IVs by all fighters for California bouts.
Topics: CSAC, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
McGregor vs. Edgar needs to happen next. After that, if McGregor wants to jump back and forth between Featherweight and Lightweight, I am okay with that. But I think deep down, he believes he needs to stay at Featherweight. That 10 pound difference is huge. RDA would hurt McGregor badly right now.
The ratings were not good. But then what do expect going up against the juggernaut that is Star Wars opening weekend. They couldn’t have put a card on a worse weekend.
The idea that RDA is too big for Conor is so silly. RDA has lost to Guida, Stephens, and Tyson Griffin, all of whom fought or fight at 145. They are the same height and McGregor has more reach (I think) and is faster and a much better striker. Donald Cerrone is the same dude who Nate Diaz embarrassed and who Edson Barboza was killing before his lack of a chin did him in, and who lasted 2 minutes against Anthony Pettis. Cerrone is slow, soft to the body, and doesn’t move his head well, and gets rocked to the head in every fight. Aldo or Conor would drub RDA and Cerrone tomorrow.
“The idea that RDA is too big for Conor is so silly.”
I hope he is, goose for the gander.
Doesn’t mcgregor seem a little large for fw?
Even other then just his head?
“It was a fight worth tens of millions of dollars for UFC. ”
Thats the bright side for me. Dont really care for “marketable” fights, not at the championship level at least, and although Cerrone is good I’ve never got the impression that he’s reliable or great. mcgregor/RDA is more marketable with me, although I can see how it wouldn’t be “marketable” with the UFC. Ahem, ahem. But thats out of weightclass anyway. mcgregor/edgar is a good fight.
If Conor v Edgar is the fight that fans want to see, why is the implication that Conor v Cerrone disappearing off the radar is a huge hit to UFC’s pocketbook? Wouldn’t fans rather buy the fight they want to see than the fight that in comparison they don’t want to see?
Because this site LOVES to dwell on the negative and shout as loud as possible, that the sky is falling every time things don’t go perfectly. Portray everything in the worst light. Same shit, different week. The song is the same. The UFC is doomed because ____ – insert whatever reason. Chuck, Tito & Randy are leaving. Brock quit. GSP retired. Steroids Scandal. Reebok ripoff. Ronda lost. Now? McGregor vs Cerrone is off. Yawn. Time marches on and there’s always another big name coming up, or another big fight to market.
Regarding the new USADA regulations, weight classes and ban of IV’s…
…perhaps it’s time to revisit the issue of same day weigh ins? Move weigh in’s up to say 1pm to 2pm the day of the fight, giving fighters four to eight hours to partially hydrate without IVs. At 25 to 30oz per hour, they could only be safely rehydrating 3 to 6lbs of water. If that’s all you can rehydrate, there’s no point in dropping 20 to 25lbs anymore the five days before.
Those opposing this are going to say that fighters will still drop the 25lbs, weigh in, and then fight only partially rehydrated during the night (25%? 33%), obviously then fighting at less than peak strength, endurance and agility. Yeah, that’s going to be the case. And maybe even more at risk for brain injuries. My thoughts would be that if this is the case, the positive is we would get more finishes during the events. Rather than say 48% of cards ending in a finish, maybe it goes up to 60%. More excitement. This is a good thing.
If the above isn’t enough, then perhaps the UFC does a four day prior ‘check in’ before the event. When fighters arrive a few days before, weigh them in. They need to say 4% above the weigh in weight. So a 170 fighter, would need to be at 177.50 days before. Only 6.5lbs over weight (which shouldn’t be a big deal over a couple of days)
With the drug issue in the UFC being better then it was a year ago…. I believe this big issue for 2016 is going to be weight cutting. It might not happen next year but we will get much closer to same day weigh in or at least limits on how much a fighter can gain back.