Conor McGregor is the man!

No, that's Rafael Dos Anjos, he went full retard and sparred full contact two weeks before the fight and busted his foot up. Or so he says. I've seen pics of a cast on a foot, but the pic is only from the calf down, you don't see who's body is attached to the cast. Maybe it's a legit broken foot, maybe he's ducking him IDK, all I know is no smart fighter would go full contact that close to a fight and risk injury. At least wear proper sparring equipment geez! HAHA

Frankie Edgar was offered the fight too but he has a torn groin.

 

Stranger things have happened

 

So now it's sounding more like he's going to go straight for Lawler after he beats Diaz. Get your popcorn ready!

 

You're right, he didn't beat him... YET, but he will, no doubt. Lawler is a great fighter, not taking anything away from him, but his style plays right into the hands of Conor's and he's a lot slower too, so I don't see him keeping the belt. His best days are behind him, too many wars, too much mileage.

 

Thanks for sharing. Haven't watched all of it, just a few minutes. So Aldo WAS in a camp training and STILL turned the fight down, that's even worse than I originally thought lol

 

I agree with you on that

 

Fair question. I can see how you might think i'm contradicting myself. Let me clarify what i'm getting at here.

Reality is, nobody really know if Dos Anjos is truly hurt or not, except him and his camp. And nobody really knows if he's scared of Conor or not, except for him, only he can know that. But what I DO know from decades of following the sport is that Brazilians are known for their stupid training practices. Look at the Chute Boxe camp and how they knock each other out in training, treating each sparring session as if it's the real fight. Who does that? Sure, you want to get a good test in training and you want to push each other, but they take no precautions and as a result they hurt each other regularly.

I've seen far too many fight cards get destroyed because a Brazzo had to pull out due to injury. On the flip side, not all injuries being reported are really injuries. Sometimes the UFC or the fighers themselves will use injury as a way to manipulate the match ups so that they get someone they want. Sometimes I believe it's Dana White and Co. pulling a fast one to get the more marketable fight that people want to see, which means more PPV buys and more butts in seats. Sometimes it's the fighter using it as a way to delay fighting someone who they know they might lose to. Sometimes it's just so they can get a more marketable fight for themselves to earn more money. There are lots of reasons really.

Regarding being "scared". I don't buy into the notion that at this level they are incapable of being scared of someone. They are human, and all humans have the fear emotion programmed in to them from birth, it's not as if these guys are robots. I get that they will sign on the dotted line and they will get in there with someone regardless of this fear, that's called courage. But at the end of the day, sometimes these guys get scared, some fighters will be honest about that and tell you the truth, but most will not because of the macho persona they need to put on as a professional fighter. Look at Mike Tyson, most guys lost before they ever stepped foot in the ring with him, why? Because they were SCARED! They knew in their heart that they had nothing for that guy and inevitably were going to lose. Sure they went in the ring anyways, but they got KO'd because they didn't' fight with confidence. Buster Douglas wasn't scared, he fought with heart and confidence and won. Other reasons were at play there on Tyson's part which played a role, but that's a whole other topic.

I believe what's going on with Conor is guys aren't excited about fighting this guy. He's on fire right now and his confidence is through the roof. It makes sense that guys would try to delay a fight with him, ESPECIALLY if they are holding a belt, because they have a lot to lose. A guy like Nate Diaz has NOTHING to lose, so he steps up on 10 days notice and collects a check.

 

I think Dos Anjos is a beast, no doubt, but like most of the Brazzos, they're a beast when they know they are better than their competition. When they are matched with someone with better skills, and believe me, they know when someone is better than them, they aren't nearly as confident because they know they aren't going to be able to bully them. Let's face it, Dos Anjos hasn't faced anybody on Conor's level, none of the guys he beat are as good as him, that's a fact.

Conor would destroy everybody he's beaten. So having said all that, if he isn't truly hurt then it only makes sense that he would try to delay a fight with him to see if someone else can destroy some of Conor's confidence and maybe derail the matchup opening the door for another fighter who's more beatable. I know I know, everybody is beatable, but right now it doesn't appear as though it's his time to lose. He will eventually, but right now is his time.

 

I like that matchup, it would be interesting to see, but the UFC won't make that fight right now because it won't sell PPV buys like some other fights they could make. I think Wonderboy is a great fighter and would love to see it, but he needs to make more of a name for himself before they'll match them two up. If Conor beats Diaz, then he's going straight for the belt and will fight Lawler, a much bigger draw. That will give time for Wonderboy to KO someone with a bigger name, or who knows, he may lose to a wrestler who will dry hump him to a decision and derail his hype train. For example Guida vs. Pettis, I could see something like that happening to him.

 

I'd like to add, to be fair, that it's not just the Brazilians who do this. Many American (and others) fighters use this tactic as well. I'm not singling them out, but they do have a track history.