Dana White: Conor McGregor retirement would have USADA implications
If Conor McGregor truly plans on retiring, it would set off a domino effect beyond just a change in the main event of UFC 200.
There would be a new featherweight champion, of course. UFC president Dana White has already indicated that should the reigning titleholder end his career, McGregor's belt will be vacate and awarded to the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo fight at UFC 200.
But there are also implications involving USADA's anti-doping testing that would potentially complicate McGregor's return.
According to USADA policy, McGregor most notify the UFC in writing of his retirement intentions. Up until that point, he is still subjected to USADA testing, and refusal to participate is a violation of policy.
In the event McGregor followed through on his threat to retire, and then later decided to return, he would be subjected to testing for a four-month period before he would once again be allowed to compete.
On Wednesday's edition of the FOX Sports 1 show UFC Tonight, White said he's yet to receive a formal retirement notice from McGregor.
"If Conor McGregor is truly retired, he would have to take four months off before, it would take you four months to come back, because of USADA. You can't just say, now that you have random drug testing, after however long you're out, just say ‘okay, now I'm back.'"
If Conor McGregor truly plans on retiring, it would set off a domino effect beyond just a change in the main event of UFC 200.
There would be a new featherweight champion, of course. UFC president Dana White has already indicated that should the reigning titleholder end his career, McGregor's belt will be vacate and awarded to the winner of the Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo fight at UFC 200.
But there are also implications involving USADA's anti-doping testing that would potentially complicate McGregor's return.
According to USADA policy, McGregor most notify the UFC in writing of his retirement intentions. Up until that point, he is still subjected to USADA testing, and refusal to participate is a violation of policy.
In the event McGregor followed through on his threat to retire, and then later decided to return, he would be subjected to testing for a four-month period before he would once again be allowed to compete.
On Wednesday's edition of the FOX Sports 1 show UFC Tonight, White said he's yet to receive a formal retirement notice from McGregor.
"If Conor McGregor is truly retired, he would have to take four months off before, it would take you four months to come back, because of USADA. You can't just say, now that you have random drug testing, after however long you're out, just say ‘okay, now I'm back.'"
I think the oddsmakers set it around that number taking into consideration that OSP just fought in February and Jones hasn't been active since Jan. 2015 (15 months). Some people buy into "Ring Rust" and the more active a fighter is, the better odds of winning. I personally do not buy into that theory.
Jones is the more all around fighter and I would be shocked if he didn't dominate Saturday ...
Bones was -350 vs Cormier. So it isn't even really much higher than that. That is the crazy part to me. It isn't like they're pricing in the ring rust, because if they were then he wouldn't be that huge vs Cormier.
So I see your point but the original line seems to contradict it. Maybe this guy is underrated? Doesn't seem to have any significant W's.
I don't follow the undercard much anymore really. Just the top 3-5 guys in a weight class and guys who used to be at that level.
Time will tell in the next couple days what the number will do ... it usually stays pretty flat till after weigh-ins. Also the casual MMA bettor tends to wager on their favorite fighter / bigger name. Jones is a Huge fan favorite and A lot more $$$ could pour in on him Friday night / Saturday afternoon.
On the other hand, OSP is def no slouch. #6 ranked Light Heavyweight ... throws bombs ... pretty decent wrestling game ... won 16 of his last 19 ... 12 first round finishes and 10 KO's.
With that said I still think Bones puts on a clinic ............
On the other hand, OSP is def no slouch. #6 ranked Light Heavyweight ... throws bombs ... pretty decent wrestling game ... won 16 of his last 19 ... 12 first round finishes and 10 KO's.
With that said I still think Bones puts on a clinic ............
Yep!
he goes to 145, he gets manhandled by Frankie Edgar. He goes to 155 and he gets walked through by RDA.
http://m.bleacherreport.com/article...st-important-discipline-in-mma?is_shared=true
Of all the aspects of fighting that a fighter can and must utilize in an MMA match, it is without question that possessing the ability to grapple is the most valuable tool available to those who have it.
It is no coincidence that hoards of wrestlers pour into the sport with great success. The UFC is littered with fighters, spanning the length of its existence, who broke in with wrestling backgrounds and developed their individual games while always utilizing their best skill in the cage. From Severn through Couture and Lesnar through Edgar, wrestling has always played an integral role in championship careers.
How could anyone make the argument that the ability to get your opponent to the ground and physically control him or her once there will ever become obsolete in MMA? If your opponent spends an entire fight attempting to break free of your control, then he isn’t mounting any offense himself, and he’s bound to lose the fight.
Obviously, this is mixed martial arts, and fighters will always look to submit their opponents where available. If, in the course of a fight, a fighter attempts a submission, then he or she has mounted an offense whether it’s successful or not. We’ve seen the early answer to this, it’s called the lay-and-pray. This is a tactic that will get you booed by fans and blackballed from major organizations if done with consistency.
As a result, knowledge of submission defense becomes as important as the submission itself (it’s for this reason I refute the argument that some make that Brazilian jiu-jitsu will someday become obsolete, but that’s a different argument).
So, armed with a collegiate wrestling pedigree and good submission defense, a fighter can carve a bountiful place for himself inside the UFC without a great standup game, or at least while he develops one. The same cant be said about crisp standup with poor grappling ability. How many pure boxers or kickboxers even attempt to come into the MMA without grappling ability? Now, how many succeed? I can think of Cheik Kongo and Pat Barry off the top of my head. A rather small list when compared with the list of wrestlers.
As younger fighters continue to grow in MMA schools rather than commit to a single fighting discipline, as is happening at a growing rate in the U.S., they will undoubtedly be taught the importance of the grappling game in addition to the standup. No MMA school would ever sway from that stance. It would be improper teaching.
What’s more, consider the fact that while the sport of MMA is growing across the pond in the U.K., fighters coming up over there have little to no exposure to wrestling or any grappling based style within the country. While we’ve seen elements of success in British fighters like Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy, none have ever captured a UFC Championship, and they always seem to have a glaring hole in their game if the fight hits the ground. Hardy got his championship shot, but Georges St-Pierre exposed his weakness in that area for all five rounds.
Wrestling is the most important discipline in MMA. At this stage, It’s not a theory but a time-tested fact.
Of all the aspects of fighting that a fighter can and must utilize in an MMA match, it is without question that possessing the ability to grapple is the most valuable tool available to those who have it.
It is no coincidence that hoards of wrestlers pour into the sport with great success. The UFC is littered with fighters, spanning the length of its existence, who broke in with wrestling backgrounds and developed their individual games while always utilizing their best skill in the cage. From Severn through Couture and Lesnar through Edgar, wrestling has always played an integral role in championship careers.
How could anyone make the argument that the ability to get your opponent to the ground and physically control him or her once there will ever become obsolete in MMA? If your opponent spends an entire fight attempting to break free of your control, then he isn’t mounting any offense himself, and he’s bound to lose the fight.
Obviously, this is mixed martial arts, and fighters will always look to submit their opponents where available. If, in the course of a fight, a fighter attempts a submission, then he or she has mounted an offense whether it’s successful or not. We’ve seen the early answer to this, it’s called the lay-and-pray. This is a tactic that will get you booed by fans and blackballed from major organizations if done with consistency.
As a result, knowledge of submission defense becomes as important as the submission itself (it’s for this reason I refute the argument that some make that Brazilian jiu-jitsu will someday become obsolete, but that’s a different argument).
So, armed with a collegiate wrestling pedigree and good submission defense, a fighter can carve a bountiful place for himself inside the UFC without a great standup game, or at least while he develops one. The same cant be said about crisp standup with poor grappling ability. How many pure boxers or kickboxers even attempt to come into the MMA without grappling ability? Now, how many succeed? I can think of Cheik Kongo and Pat Barry off the top of my head. A rather small list when compared with the list of wrestlers.
As younger fighters continue to grow in MMA schools rather than commit to a single fighting discipline, as is happening at a growing rate in the U.S., they will undoubtedly be taught the importance of the grappling game in addition to the standup. No MMA school would ever sway from that stance. It would be improper teaching.
What’s more, consider the fact that while the sport of MMA is growing across the pond in the U.K., fighters coming up over there have little to no exposure to wrestling or any grappling based style within the country. While we’ve seen elements of success in British fighters like Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy, none have ever captured a UFC Championship, and they always seem to have a glaring hole in their game if the fight hits the ground. Hardy got his championship shot, but Georges St-Pierre exposed his weakness in that area for all five rounds.
Wrestling is the most important discipline in MMA. At this stage, It’s not a theory but a time-tested fact.
McGregor's full statement ...
I am just trying to do my job and fight here.
I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote.
I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting.
There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.
50 world tours, 200 press conferences, 1 million interviews, 2 million photo shoots, and at the end of it all I'm left looking down the barrel of a lens, staring defeat in the face, thinking of nothing but my incorrect fight preparation. And the many distractions that led to this.
Nothing else was going through my mind.
It is time to go back and live the life that got me this life.
Sitting in a car on the way to some dump in Conneticut or somewhere, to speak to Tim and Suzie on the nobody gives a fuck morning show did not get me this life.
Talking to some lady that deep down doesn't give a fuck about what I'm doing, but just wants some sound bites so she can maybe get her little tight ass a nice raise, and I'm cool with that too, I've been giving you all raises. But I need to focus on me now.
I'm coming for my revenge here.
I flew an entire team to Portugal and to Iceland to make my adjustments in preparation and fix my errors I made with the weight and the cardio prep.
With the right adjustments and the right focus, I will finish what I started in that last fight.
I will not do this if I am back on the road handing out flyers again.
I will always play the game and play it better than anybody, but just for this one, where I am coming off a loss, I asked for some leeway where I can just train and focus. I did not shut down all media requests. I simply wanted a slight adjustment.
But it was denied.
There had been 10 million dollars allocated for the promotion of this event is what they told me.
So as a gesture of good will, I went and not only saved that 10 million dollars in promotion money, I then went and tripled it for them.
And all with one tweet.
Keep that 10 mill to promote the other bums that need it. My shows are good.
I must isolate myself now.
I am facing a taller, longer and heavier man. I need to prepare correctly this time.
I can not dance for you this time.
It is time for the other monkeys to dance. I've danced us all the way here.
Nate's little mush head looks good up on that stage these days. Stuff him in front of the camera for it.
He came in with no shit to do that last one. I'd already done press conferences, interviews and shot the ads before RDA pulled out.
Maybe I'll hit Cabo this time and skull some shots pre-fight with no obligation.
I'm doing what I need for me now.
It is time to be selfish with my training again. It is the only way.
I feel the $400million I have generated for the company in my last three events, all inside 8 months, is enough to get me this slight leeway.
I am still ready to go for UFC 200.
I will offer, like I already did, to fly to New York for the big press conference that was scheduled, and then I will go back into training. With no distractions.
If this is not enough or they feel I have not deserved to sit this promotion run out this one time, well then I don't know what to say.
For the record also -
For USADA and for the UFC and my contract stipulations -
I AM NOT RETIRED.
I am paid to fight. I am not yet paid to promote.
I have become lost in the game of promotion and forgot about the art of fighting.
There comes a time when you need to stop handing out flyers and get back to the damn shop.
50 world tours, 200 press conferences, 1 million interviews, 2 million photo shoots, and at the end of it all I'm left looking down the barrel of a lens, staring defeat in the face, thinking of nothing but my incorrect fight preparation. And the many distractions that led to this.
Nothing else was going through my mind.
It is time to go back and live the life that got me this life.
Sitting in a car on the way to some dump in Conneticut or somewhere, to speak to Tim and Suzie on the nobody gives a fuck morning show did not get me this life.
Talking to some lady that deep down doesn't give a fuck about what I'm doing, but just wants some sound bites so she can maybe get her little tight ass a nice raise, and I'm cool with that too, I've been giving you all raises. But I need to focus on me now.
I'm coming for my revenge here.
I flew an entire team to Portugal and to Iceland to make my adjustments in preparation and fix my errors I made with the weight and the cardio prep.
With the right adjustments and the right focus, I will finish what I started in that last fight.
I will not do this if I am back on the road handing out flyers again.
I will always play the game and play it better than anybody, but just for this one, where I am coming off a loss, I asked for some leeway where I can just train and focus. I did not shut down all media requests. I simply wanted a slight adjustment.
But it was denied.
There had been 10 million dollars allocated for the promotion of this event is what they told me.
So as a gesture of good will, I went and not only saved that 10 million dollars in promotion money, I then went and tripled it for them.
And all with one tweet.
Keep that 10 mill to promote the other bums that need it. My shows are good.
I must isolate myself now.
I am facing a taller, longer and heavier man. I need to prepare correctly this time.
I can not dance for you this time.
It is time for the other monkeys to dance. I've danced us all the way here.
Nate's little mush head looks good up on that stage these days. Stuff him in front of the camera for it.
He came in with no shit to do that last one. I'd already done press conferences, interviews and shot the ads before RDA pulled out.
Maybe I'll hit Cabo this time and skull some shots pre-fight with no obligation.
I'm doing what I need for me now.
It is time to be selfish with my training again. It is the only way.
I feel the $400million I have generated for the company in my last three events, all inside 8 months, is enough to get me this slight leeway.
I am still ready to go for UFC 200.
I will offer, like I already did, to fly to New York for the big press conference that was scheduled, and then I will go back into training. With no distractions.
If this is not enough or they feel I have not deserved to sit this promotion run out this one time, well then I don't know what to say.
For the record also -
For USADA and for the UFC and my contract stipulations -
I AM NOT RETIRED.
Everything he states is his own damn fault. He forgot he's not as good at fighting as he is at running his mouth. Get rid of the garbage...
called legit fighters pussies for pulling out for legit injuries, then pulls out for something all big name fighters have to do. Get over it or move on, douchebag...
called legit fighters pussies for pulling out for legit injuries, then pulls out for something all big name fighters have to do. Get over it or move on, douchebag...
Duh, it never happened.
