Comments Thread For: SHO's Espinoza Wonders if UFC Really Want Mayweather-McGregor

You HONESTLY think Floyd has the balls to even allow kicks? Hahah. No ! thats why this fight should never be made but if I was Conor I'd kick him and choke him out anyways

How does he deserve it? He arguably lost to Diaz twice and has been cherry picking his whole career I can name a handful of mma guys who would make him tap quick . He's a hypebeast that the UFC formed he's getting payed more then everyone already he doesn't deserve more. Because, for the moment at least, he is a massive draw. His star power survived the Diaz fight.

Interesting.....

Definitely. I hear boxing fans saying all the time where the next star in MMA is coming from. The reality is a "star" in MMA isn't anything like a star in boxing. They got a shorter life span + they are created via the competitive upward trajectory that the UFC has. Chuck Liddel was the man at one time & things were gonna be in the toilet when he was gone. Randy Couture was the man at one time & blah blah blah. Brock Lesnar.....GSP....Ronda....Conor....I might be missing a name or two, but the story is the same the lifespan of a star in MMA doesn't last as long as it does in boxing & the UFC actually can throw a guy into the meat grinder of the UFC & create a guy people give a f#ck about. They've done it over & over. And this new cat they just signed in Conor's division might be that guy actually oddly enough. So for sure the UFC doesn't wanna f#ck up this Conor thing cuz it's a L for them cuz he does still have PPV's in his futue that'll likely put him among the top 5 combat sports guys of all time, but if they do they won't cry very hard about it. I agree with pretty much everything said here. I would like to add another variable though. The UFC needs to keep revenue up as their parent company (WME_IMG) is looking to IPO soon. Conor matters a lot for the near term, as he's their only for sure 1M-buy PPV fighter right now. The parent company has a **** ton of debt on its books and UFC's performance in PPVs is key to keeping it in check. 2016 was a massive year for the UFC with Conor's movement and the beautiful chaos on the women's side (created huge PPV numbers). Until they finish building up a new batch of stars, Conor matters a lot. (But you're right, they don't need him.)

This fight would only make sense if it was MMA style other than that there's no way an MMA fighter can beat a boxer in a boxing match . Not even the worst Boxer in the division

Espinoza needs to laser focused on the massive inactivity going on in his camp. Didn't know this guy has fetish on circus fights. Can someone in the media please ask this guy what's going on and why his fighters seem to be on strike? Young fighters in their primes fighting once a year can't be normal. because it makes for good business. the fans will miss the fighter then he he comes. he you fight 2 or 3 times a year then you become damaged goods. this is a deadly sport with a serious business side. nobody will fight for free. that's just plain stupid to do so. showtime has surpassed hbo and Espinoza know's exactly what he's doing.

I think the Rat is correct in this one instance. UFC knows Conor will not return for anything short of $20 million per fight. My guess is the fight doesn't happen - Conor fights out his contract and goes into entertainment or something else. It'll be hard for Conor to go 4-0 because 155 and 170 are stacked divisions and there are so many ways to lose in the UFC. Four fights from now - Floyd may not even want to do the fight and the mystique of the fight fades because the lapse of time between Floyd's last fight.

Espinoza needs to laser focused on the massive inactivity going on in his camp. Didn't know this guy has fetish on circus fights. Can someone in the media please ask this guy what's going on and why his fighters seem to be on strike? Young fighters in their primes fighting once a year can't be normal.

The UFC doesn't want to start paying him 20 million per fight, which he deserves and should ask for. How does he deserve it? He arguably lost to Diaz twice and has been cherry picking his whole career I can name a handful of mma guys who would make him tap quick . He's a hypebeast that the UFC formed he's getting payed more then everyone already he doesn't deserve more.

I mean, McG usually fights 3 times a year, and he generates 1.5-2 million buys. So he could realistically make just as much, or probably even MORE (since there's no share for Mayweather and it's all in-house) over the course of 2-3 fights? The UFC doesn't want to start paying him 20 million per fight, which he deserves and should ask for.

good because this **** is silly. a pure money grab. floys should fight thurman or retire permanently. this mcgregor **** can go to the trash can

Yes I agree with Espinoza. I think Dana knows he's between a rock and a hard place here. Conor is the biggest ppv draw not just MMA but in combat sports right now. And he's right in his prime still and should in theory have a couple more years, worse case, of huge ppv fights even in the highly competitive world of the UFC. That being the case what happens when Conor gets $100M or gets embarrassed vs Floyd. Does it f#ck up his drawing power for the UFC? Does he even wanna fight anymore after that sorta windfall or does he just get cozy with that caliber of success and he falls off like so many fighters do when they make huge money? But if Dana doesn't look like he's making an honest effort then he has to deal with a Conor who'll feel like he's being screwed over and he might pursue the very real issue with UFC contracts being illegal or trying to find an out with the Muhammad Ali act as many have theorized about him using to get this fight made. Don't envy Dana in this situation as any situation that goes down could be a L for him and the UFC and the only real W for the UFC would be if Conor were to somehow beat Floyd or make it close and interesting and then come back to the UFC. And all that going down is a longshot at best and even that might be an overly optimistic way to define it. I get that Connor wants to make a massive windfall. Makes total sense. However, he must realize that he is going to be humiliated and probably over the course of 12 rounds. Floyd will probably toy with him. That can only adversely impact his UFC drawing power so I suppose the logical conclusion would be that this is a cash out. That said, do you think Connor's ego would be able to handle getting beat up like that (even though he would be ridiculously rich)?

I think if he save face in any kind of way in the Mayweather fight, I believe he'll turn around and make another big payday with Pacman (which Arum wants).....and he can fight a life time and the UFC and not make close to those amounts.

... Of course it makes sense: “I think part of the fear on the UFC’s side is that they’ll never see Conor again," he added. "If he makes 50, 60, 70 and then you never see him in the ring and he retires in Ireland and so much for their megastar.”