Combat Sports – The Sports Gent

Some Novelties Wear Off, While Others Do Not!

I was going through my usual routine of checking the different sports websites – BBC Sport, SporX.com, SkySports.com – and they were reporting on the same-old topical stories. Apparently some person scored a goal or did something amazing, while another was upset because of a referee’s call. Then, on the BBC, a couple of articles that caught my eye.

Wayne Rooney to play for England again: Does it cheapen an England call-up?

Floyd Mayweather: Boxer to fight kick-boxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan

Let’s begin with the insanity surrounding Floyd “Money” Mayweather. He has decided to take up mixed martial arts and will fight Tenshin Nasukawa.

Floyd_Mayweather,_Jr._at_DeWalt_event_2 — Floyd “Money” Mayweather (Via WikiCommons)

Who? I hear you ask.

In the world of MMA, he is pretty much an unknown. But don’t let that fool you. Nasukawa, 20, is unbeaten in 27 fights. (Four of those fights being in MMA.) He currently fights in the RIZIN Fighting Federation, the organisation that Mayweather also signed with.

He is no mug!

Mayweather is double Nasukawa’s age, and a retired boxer, albeit an exceptional one.

This fight has already been confirmed for December 31, but the rules and weight class are yet to be decided. Everything is due to be ironed out over the next few days. And you know, Mayweather isn’t going to be allowing his “money-maker” to become too disfigured going into 2019.

Expect a hell of a lot of rules, one of which will be, “No fighting on the ground,” (which immediately disqualifies this from being an MMA fight). So, we are looking at a kick-boxing match, with extra rules. What those rules will be, I’m not really sure. Maybe a limitation on the number of kicks being allowed. Even with a limitation, I am confident that Nasukawa will be knocking Mayweather out, as long as those yet-to-be-decided “rules” allow for it.

This fight is basically the equivalent of someone asking you if you want a fight, but then following it up with, “Okay, but no hitting me in the face.”

Which, for me, makes the contest a waste of time, and one that I will not watch. Not even to see Floyd’s eyes widen once that first blow lands on his melon, and he realises that the fight was not a good idea.

What about Wayne Rooney’s inclusion to the England national team?

People have argued that it’s a ridiculous decision, and it takes away an opportunity from a youngster who could become an England star in the future. Especially as England coach, Gareth Southgate, has been complaining about his main stars having to play too many competitive games, and that he doesn’t have enough opportunities to give youngsters an opportunity.

As a result, many people are adamant that Wayne Rooney’s appearance prior to the game would have sufficed, instead of taking up a position in the team. That way, he could have got the send-off that he deserves.

Wayne Rooney (left) and England coach Gareth Southgate.

Yeah, maybe.

But it’s important to know that such a procedure (Introducing a legend before a game and giving them a ceremonial round of applause) is more common for retired players who haven’t kicked a ball in months, or a player who is playing at a very low level, and hanging onto a career because they’re not ready to call it a day yet.

Rooney doesn’t fit that description.

So, is it ok to give him the call-up?

Absolutely!

He is clearly still a great player!

Still skeptical?

Let’s look at the facts here:

It’s not a competitive game.
Rooney is playing competitively against international players (Plays for DC United in the American MLS).
He has scored 12 goals in 21 games.
He is the second-highest-capped player in England history (119 caps).
Highest number of England goals (53 goals).
Always fulfilled his England duty with pride.

Rooney is an England legend and deserves the correct send-off. This will be exactly that. A friendly game, against America, with the revenue from ticket sales going to the Wayne Rooney Foundation. Most importantly, his name will be chanted by the fans at the iconic home of football, Wembley Stadium.

Wembley Stadium, London (Via WikiCommons)

So, what about the youngsters?

Their time will come.

The funniest part of it all is that on the BBC, Rooney’s selection is being questioned, yet, Mayweather’s announcement is reported like it’s just normal behaviour.

What has the world of sport come to?

UFC 229: The Aftermath

I wish I could be waxing lyrical about the fight, writing about an incredible performance by Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, and talking about how no one has ever dominated Conor “The Notorious” McGregor in such a way. (And no one ever will again, unless there’s a rematch … which is very likely in a sport where money talks as much as Conor does. Unlikely to be in Las Vegas, but I’m sure New York will jump at the opportunity of hosting.)

The funny part of it all is that I didn’t even get to see the fight – or the aftermath – until nine hours later. My partner and I went on a day trip to the neighbouring city of Tianjin, in China. I managed to avoid the result by doing the impossible: avoiding all social media, and then getting my aforementioned partner to find the highlights on YouTube. She kindly obliged, and I got to witness everything without any knowledge of what was about to happen.

The Fight

Khabib absolutely dominated the fight from the start. Very early on, he was able to exert his will over Conor. In rounds 1 and 2, Conor was unable to resist the take down attempts and found himself trapped under the Russian. Round 2 was especially brutal for the Irishman, as he took some hefty blows to the body and face. The most telling blow, though, came from the right fist of Khabib as he went toe-to-toe with Conor. It showed he was capable of beating McGregor in every way possible.

Round 3: Conor actually managed to defend against Khabib’s take-down attempts on a couple of occasions. The Irishman also landed a few hefty blows of his own in what was the most even round of the fight, so far. That “glass chin” that Khabib supposedly had was standing firmer than a bulletproof windshield, though. This windshield fired back, and fired back with menace.

Round 4: After a minute of circling and baby jabs, Conor was on his back, thanks to a bear hug and leg sweep from Khabib. Within seconds, the Irishman was on his side. Then he gave up his back to Khabib. People with any knowledge of UFC know that once you are in that position, you are seconds away from defeat. Khabib had Conor’s neck locked in tightly and started to choke him.

As predicted, Conor had to do what he loves to do best …

So, what actually happened?

The fight ended. Khabib won by submission. 27th win. And then the cries of, “NO KHABIB! What are you doing??? NO!!”

It was too late. Khabib had brushed aside one of the security personnel, jumped out of the cage and into Conor’s team. His target: Dillon Danis. That was the cue for the rest of Khabib’s team to attack Conor.

See for yourselves …

In the famous words of Ron Burgundy:

I agree, Ron. That did escalate quickly.

As a good friend of mine, Ramaize, who traveled over from England, explained, “It genuinely didn’t feel safe, mini riots were breaking out everywhere and a lot of it stemmed from the fact that the Irish fans were super upset at Conor losing.”

Fight Night by Ramaize

Ramaize then went on to say: “They (McGregor fans) threw things at Khabib as he walked back through the tunnel. I literally exited the building as soon as they announced the winner because of the backlash.”

Who is to blame?

Easy answer: Khabib.

Honest answer: The UFC.

There comes a point when the governing body, Dana White (the general manager of the UFC) in particular, should have stepped in and had a word with Conor. In his post-match press conference, Dana White described the event as “not sport.”

I completely agree!

But I am not just referring to the brawl.

I dare anyone to go into their workplace and say the kinds of things that Conor has said to Khabib. Bringing up another man’s family, nation and religion are not necessary in any situation. These topics should never be used to attack another human being. Yet, Dana White can be seen laughing at the comments on many occasions, when instead he should have been putting a stop to it.

What happens now?

Unfortunately, the sports commissioner for the State of Nevada was among the people to leave the venue when everything kicked off. As a result, Khabib will undoubtedly face the risk of a lengthy ban, which could result in him having to give up the belts that he currently holds. Furthermore, Khabib faces the potential of losing his visa and having to leave his base in California. He is at risk of losing his purse for the fight – he may receive no money at all. After all, his post-match actions did almost lead to a full-arena brawl.

You know it’s bad when Mike Tyson comes out declaring, “(It was) crazier than my fight riot!”

As for Conor McGregor: He was interviewed after the fight, and then cleared by the authorities of any wrongdoing. He was then given his money for the fight and went on his merry way. Albeit, he was greatly humbled, and (hopefully) Conor left with a better understanding of where to draw the line with his insults.

As for the three men who attacked Conor McGregor: They were arrested and then later released after Conor opted not to press charges. Very noble of him. I’m not sure I would have done the same, but then again, I wouldn’t have done any of the things that Conor did in the first place.

Whatever way you look at it, the lasting memories from the fight will be the demolition of Conor McGregor, a dominant win by Khabib Nurmagomedov, and the collective outcry of, “No Khabib, what are you doing? No!”

For those of you interested in a closer look at what happened, here’s a first-hand account from my aforementioned friend, Ramaize:

Ramaize’s full account of the night, in his own words:

It was a great fight, Khabib obviously answered all the critics…his chin, his striking and his ability to deal with the spotlight. Was impressed with Conor’s ability to defend a couple takedowns, but overall Khabib enforced his gamelan and made Conor quit.
It genuinely didn’t feel safe, mini riots were breaking out everywhere and a lot of it stemmed from the fact that the Irish fans were super upset at Conor losing. They threw things at Khabib as he walked back through the tunnel. I literally exited the building as soon as they announced the winner because of the backlash.
As a massive Khabib fan, it was great to see him living up to what he said he was going to do, but he shouldn’t have jumped over the cage (even though Dillon Danis was shouting things at him). They should’ve embraced each other and buried the rivalry.
Also Conor with the bus, the Bellator incident where he assaulted a refereee…all is forgiven because it’s Conor and now they’re saying Khabib could face all types of consequences due to his behaviour.

UFC 229: Khabib vs Conor

It’s no surprise, on a night out, to see the occasional bunch of men firing off empty threats, trying to intimidate one another. Sometimes, it ends up in some minor handbags. And then, somehow, these “tough” men are separated by a bunch of their tiny friends, or even a girlfriend who is minuscule in comparison.

Well, that’s how it usually goes, unless you are a trained killing machine.

Welcome to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

This weekend, Saturday 6th October, sees the much-anticipated fight between Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, and Conor “The Notorious” McGregor. Unless you’re a fight fan, I highly doubt you have heard of the prior. But the latter is a celebrity in his own right, (if a very annoying one).

But before we go into too much detail, let’s have a look at the fighters.

Khabib Nurmagomedov (Via Wikicommons)

Conor McGregor (Via Wikicommons)

Khabib Nurmagomedov (at left)

Russian
5 ft 10 in
26 fights
26 wins (8 by knockout, 8 by submission)

Conor McGregor (at right)

Irish
5 ft 9 in
24 fights
21 wins (18 by knockout, 1 by submission)

So, why is this fight so special?

Well, both of these men are incredible fighters. Khabib is a master at getting his opponents into difficult positions, and pushing them to the brink of a bone break, leaving them no alternative other than to tap out. Conor, on the other hand, is more of a stand-up fighter who prefers to use powerful strikes from distance.

This will be Conor’s first fight in two years, ever since he knocked out Eddie Alvarez in New York. In those two years, he did manage to convince Floyd “Money” Mayweather to come out of retirement for a boxing match. (A match that was designed to line both these money-grabbing so-and-so’s pockets.) They were successful in doing that. The result was an expected 50th win for Floyd, lots of champagne for all involved, and a pair of athletes who were much better off by the end of the night.

As he puts it, “When I hit you, you stay hit.”

Even though this fight will not be able to generate the same amount of revenue, it is expected to break the record for a UFC fight, beating the previous record set at UFC 202 – Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor rematch.

Having said all of that, Khabib vs Conor isn’t all about the money. It’s more about a pure hatred they seem to have for one another. Conor has outright insulted Khabib in every way possible, even targeting his father (who is also his manager) by labelling him a terrorist and snitch. Conor’s also talked about Khabib’s “glass” chin, how Khabib always fails to make weight – he even offered the Russian, a devout Muslim, some of his own brand of whiskey.

They clearly don’t hide their disdain for each other.

This is all normal behaviour for The Notorious, but he did take it a step too far by attacking Khabib’s team bus after a UFC event.

This wasn’t the only time Conor’s bad behavior went too far …

Recently, while watching a teammate compete, he tried to jump into the cage on a couple of occasions, which ended up with the referee intervening. Obviously Conor, the guy who does what he wants, wasn’t happy about it.

Yet, somehow, he has avoided prison.

Why behave like an idiot?

Well, this post is a great example of why! Conor wants to remain relevant. The guy loves himself and wants everything to be about him. He knows that people will continue to talk about him while he does outrageous things, whether it be attacking a referee or referring to Vladimir Putin as a “friend and one of the greatest leaders of our time.” (Yeah, sure he is Conor! Seems like someone landed a hook to his own head.)

In contrast, Khabib doesn’t like to be in the limelight as much. He does most of his talking in the ring, and so far no one has been able to shut him up. He currently holds the longest unbeaten streak in all of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) with 26 wins. His wrestling and grappling skills are the best of any fighter I have seen. When you combine that with his relentlessness, you can begin to understand why he is deemed unbeatable.

So what will happen in the fight?

Khabib will go into it as favourite, partly because Conor has been out of The Octagon – the name of the ring as it is an octagon shape – for two years. He is also the more resilient fighter and able to slug it out for the full five rounds if needed. In doing so, he needs to make sure that he doesn’t allow too many strikes to his weak knees. But Conor is incredible. He has lethal punches that are too much for any fighter to handle, and accurate kicks that can end any fight in an instant. That said, the last time Conor fought a grappler was in 2015, and Chad Mendes threw him around like a rag doll, before eventually losing to The Notorious one.

Khabib will go for the take-down and Conor will try to outbox his opponent. It’s as simple as that. If the fight goes to the floor, which I am expecting to happen, it won’t last very long.

Either way, it will be an intriguing fight ,and as always Conor “The Notorious” McGregor will come out of it bragging about his pay-check more that what happened in the fight. After all, he will still be the biggest star in the UFC no matter the result. Whereas a defeat from the fists of Conor will turn Khabib into a nobody. Just like it did to Eddie … what was his name again?