For most of the week, it seemed the buzz from the superb UFC 195 battle between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit would carry us through a rare slow weekend.
Then, overnight, we had a megacard with a superfight dropped into our laps. At the not-yet-officially announced UFC 197 on March 5, expected to be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor will go up in weight and challenge lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos and Holly Holm will put her UFC women's bantamweight crown on the line against former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate.
A solid start to the year, and a solid way to kick off the year's first edition of Fightweets.
Holly vs. Miesha
@MikeJBknows: If Holly Holm's title defense prior to potential Rousey rematch isn't Miesha Tate, then who?
Well, Mike, in the time between you sending me this tweet, and this column seeing the light of day, word broke that Holm will, in fact, fight Miesha Tate on the all-of-a-sudden-megacard UFC 197 on March 5.
And really, since Holm wants to fight and since it certainly doesn't appear Ronda Rousey is going to be ready for a rematch with Holm any time soon, Tate is the correct answer.
Tate is over with the crowd, has a big fan following, and is on a four-fight win streak. This is also a chance for Dana White and Co. to make up for the promised title shot they took from Tate and gave to Holm instead when Holm knocked out Rousey to win the UFC women's bantamweight title.
In the UFC's ideal world, Holm would have sat out until a Rousey rematch at UFC 200. Since that's not happening, with Holm vs. Tate, you've got a sellable fight coming out of it regardless of who wins. If Holm emerges victorious, the Rousey rematch is intact. Holm loses? Tate vs. Rousey with Tate holding the title is a new twist or Holm vs. Rousey 2 sells with or without a title, even though it's clearly bigger with the belt and a Holly victory.
Make no mistake about it: There's an element of risk involved for Holm. For one thing, Tate's no joke, and she only keeps getting better and better. If Holm loses, Tate-Rousey 3 could very well slide into that giant-money UFC 200 slot everyone's angling after and Holm could be left out.
But the potential benefits more than outweigh the risks. The fight with Tate keeps Holm active, sharp, and paid. The exposure on the giant card makes her even bigger if she wins. And fans are already predisposed to like Holm, as she's essentially the anti-Ronda. Being a fighting champion and taking on the biggest challenge available with Rousey on the sidelines will only serve to cement her popularity.
Conor vs. RDA
@DeanoBF: Who's next for the GOAT McGregor?
Another question we've had answered since it was submitted. I think we're a bit quick on the draw calling Conor McGregor the GOAT there, champ. McGregor and the UFC are going big and bold and giving us the first champion vs. champion fight in seven years (since Georges St-Pierre vs. B.J. Penn at UFC 94) when McGregor challenges Rafael dos Anjos for the featherweight title in the main event of UFC 197.
I understand all the arguments against letting McGregor go up in weight while retaining a belt he just won. And yet, I still think letting him fight RDA is not just a correct call, but a borderline no-brainer.
We're talking about potential history, here. The mere fact seven years has elapsed, and all sorts of possible superfights have come and gone without ever being made, only underscores how rarely we get to see this sort of thing.
And in this specific case, we've got someone in McGregor who not only has the balls to go out and chase after this, when he could have made a mint simply defending his newly won crown, but also has the courage to go up in weight class and take on a killer who has been quietly chewing through his opponents in dos Anjos.
In the Unified Rules era, we've only had the privilege of seeing one fighter, Dan Henderson, win dual-weight-class crowns for what was considered by most to be legitimate world championships, when he won the 183 and 205-pound titles in PRIDE. Alas, he beat Wanderlei Silva for the 205-pound belt just before the promotion went out of business, so we never got to see him defend it (He did unofficially "defend" the titles in UFC bouts with Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva, which helped settle lineal world title matters). The notion of McGregor winning two championships and defending them both would be uncharted waters, which only makes UFC 197 all the more exciting to follow.
As for Frankie Edgar? Yup, he unequivocally deserves the next featherweight title shot. He also jumped the line to get his first featherweight title shot against Jose Aldo a few years back. These things have a habit of coming and going like the tide in the UFC. Just ask Tate. If things work out according to plan, McGregor could very well be ready to defend his 145-pound belt again by UFC 200. So Edgar would do best to cool his jets for a bit and see how things play out.
Next up for Fedor?
@N_Stepp1927: Who do you want to see Fedor fight next?
Does it matter? I mean, sure, I'd love to see Fedor Emelianenko fight King Mo Lawal, which the latter has been pushing for since he won the RIZIN's recent tournament. That would be a fun buildup and a fun fight. But realistically? We got our hopes up yet again when Emelianenko announced his return to the sport and had them dashed again when he fought Jaideep Singh. (Yes, some argue, Singh had an extensive kickboxing background. Also, while we're at it, James Toney had an extensive boxing background when he fought Randy Couture. Some good that did.) Look, I can't blame The Last Emperor for taking the Singh fight. I'm pretty sure you, or I, or just about anyone else would accept a massive paycheck to fight someone you know you can pretty handily beat. If there's someone willing to keep paying Fedor to fight Singh or Scott Ferrozzo or Marc Raimondi or Alf, he'd be silly not to accept it. It's just that, given Fedor had a rep for taking these sort of fights long before he was 39 and retired, going forward, if we actually get Emelianenko in a relevant matchup, we should probably consider it a major surprise.
Madison Square Garden
@Sarangdande: How soon we can expect to see Jones vs DC at MSG?
By this point, I'm starting to think you'll see the Yankees relocate to Boston before you see Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier at Madison Square Garden. Those of us who don't know New York politics all that well assumed the hurdles were clear from the legalization of MMA in New York when disgraced former Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver was removed from power, but the corruption sure seems systemic. It seems all but official that Jones will fight Cormier on April 23. The UFC has holds on both MSG and Anaheim's Honda Center. It also could end up in Las Vegas. If you read the tea leaves, boxing champ Gennady Golovkin is also lined up for a fight at MSG on the 23rd, and on Wednesday's UFC Tonight, Dana White sounded skeptical of the prospects of getting MSG done in time. So, rather than "Jones vs. DC," the question remains when will we see the UFC in New York state, ever?
Ronda and SNL
@Tristan_tarrant: She should be concentrating on training. The fight game is obviously finished and Hollywood is the priority!
I think that's jumping the gun a little bit, but I can't blame you for coming to that conclusion. After Rousey got head kicked by Holm after being brutally outclassed in the standup at UFC 193, it's only natural for fight fans to want to hear that Rousey is dedicating herself 100 percent to improving her game in time for a rematch. From there, when you hear that Rousey is going to host "Saturday Night Live," it's easy to draw the conclusion Rousey must have decided on Hollywood. But, there are a couple things here: 1. Rousey is on medical suspension and as of now still hasn't been cleared for contact, so she can't get back into sparring even if she wanted to; 2. Even if Rousey had won at UFC 193, this was still the period of time she was going to be working on movies. So, ultimately, 'SNL' could and probably would have happened either way. So I wouldn't jump to the conclusion Rousey doing the show means she's about to hit the road.
But that's not to say there's no smoke, here. Rousey needs image rehab if she's going to get the public back on her side in the wake of the loss. The public loves celebs who can make fun of themselves. Just like Peyton Manning made a ton of new fans with his skit in which he joked about having fewer rings than Tom Brady, a Rousey skit in which laughs are had at her expense over the head kick loss could potentially get people back on her side.
Maybe that will help ease her path to a career which doesn't involve getting kicked in the head. Maybe it will help sell her return fight. Maybe it will do both.
Next for Lawler?
@jamesboz23: So Dave just a random one here but I was wondering who you think Lawler should fight next?
Man, in the wake of the UFC 197 news, it feels like the early frontrunner for 2016 Fight of the Year happened months ago, doesn't it? But with a week to think about it, I stick with my initial take from the UFC 195 post-fight show: Give Condit the rematch. It was exciting. It was that close. I think the wrong guy got the decision, but it wasn't a robbery. Unless Georges St-Pierre bigfoots everyone and returns for a title shot, which would be a fight too big and consequential to pass over, I say, coax Condit out of his retirement thoughts with a rematch and go ahead and rebook that Tyron Woodley-Johny Hendricks fight.
Diaz and the NAC
@MorganWaltzUFC: So January 12th Nick Diaz & the NAC continue. I'm hearing 18 months and a fine. How can they still legally punish him?
It's worth remembering these are settlement talks, as in, a settlement to keep Diaz from pursuing legal action against the Nevada Athletic Commission. From the NAC's perspective, they've taken an absolute beating in the court of public opinion (the mere fact they screwed up so badly that the White House had to formally respond to a petition is an embarrassment in and of itself, which made the effort put into the petition worthwhile), and there's a very good chance the courts hand the NAC a Roger Goodell-like smackdown. On Diaz's side, the end game is getting a 32-year-old fighter back in the game as soon as is realistically possible. A court battle could drag out far longer than anyone wants and there's the possibility, as absurd as it seems, the court upholds the five-year ban. An 18-month ban would have Diaz back in action as soon as this summer. We can never trust this particular incarnation of the NAC to do the right thing, on any matter, but at least things seem to be going on the right direction.
Fighters' union
@Leafan73: With the UFC reporting earnings of $600 million, what do you think the chances are of a fighters' union emerging?
Nope, for the same reason I've stated every time this has come up: The only fighters with the power to create change are the ones at the very top. And in a business as tough to navigate and individualistic as the fight game, someone who has risen to the top isn't about to hand all his or her power away for the betterment of an easily replaceable undercard fighter. McGregor's not doing it, Rousey's not doing it, St-Pierre didn't do it, Anderson Silva didn't do it, hell, as much as he was pushed at the anti-UFC hero for so much of his career, Randy Couture only looked out for No. 1 in the long run. And none of them can be blamed for looking out for themselves. Until someone with McGregor or Rousey's star power makes a stand, nothing will change. Don't hold your breath waiting.
Subdivisions
@bengy84: Why is there not a cruiser weight 235lb division and HW 265+lb yet.
Are you ready to pay $60 to watch Gabriel Gonzaga fight Viktor Pesta for the inaugural cruiserweight title? No? Well, there's your answer.