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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Did Conor McGregor Surprise the World?

August 30, 2017 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, and it is my pleasure to bring you another week of Fact or Fiction MMA. Thank you for your comments and votes last week, It is appreciated. I encourage you to vote and leave comments this week. Last week, Jeffrey Harris and I entered the cage looking for an all out brawl. Jeffrey delivered as he went straight for the throat over topics like Rory MacDonald fighting Michael Chandler, Fabricio Werdum declining a fight with Mark Hunt, and Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee. Jeffrey brought the pressure and for some time looked to be getting the better of the fight. However, I was able to bounce back in the second half and steal the victory. Nonetheless, thank you, Jeffrey, for your efforts and contribution. It is appreciated.

This week, I’m looking to smash the “Handsome” Dan Plunkett as we lock horns over the aftermath of Mayweather vs. McGregor, Jon Jones failing an in-competition USADA drug test, UFC women’s strawweights abandoning the division for greener pastures in the flyweight division, and much more! You know the routine. Grab some grub and sit back because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let’s get the show going…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
“Handsome” Dan Plunkett
Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
3-8-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
Lorenzo “Corpse Grinder” Vasquez III
Host/Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
11-6-1

Conor McGregor’s performance against Floyd Mayweather Jr. was not surprisingly better than expected considering Mayweather did not play his usual game in the ring.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION If you take every factor into consideration – Floyd not playing his usual game, Floyd being 40, Floyd returning from a two-year retirement, Conor’s high-output game plan, Conor not fighting like the bumbling fool some expected him to be – then the pattern of the fight becomes much less surprising if not somewhat expected. However, I don’t think the fact of Mayweather not fighting with his typical style alone makes McGregor’s performance less surprising. I wasn’t certain what to expect from Mayweather, but many felt he would fight differently against McGregor since fighting a boxer far below his level would, in theory, allow him to do so without significant risk. Even so, I felt Mayweather would make it a one-sided contest from the outset, which wasn’t the case for multiple potential reasons.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FICTION Conor McGregor did better than expected, at least from my point of view. You have to give the guy credit, and regardless of Mayweather’s game plan, McGregor landed a good deal of punches, 111 if I’m correct. He won some rounds and lasted 10 rounds with one the best to ever play the boxing game. It turned out to be more entertaining than expected. That makes this statement an easy fiction. But let’s not kid ourselves too much. Mayweather employed a similar game plan Muhammad Ali famously employed against the young and heavy hitting George Foreman in 1974 or 1975, rope-a-dope. Mayweather then turned the pressure up and never really gave McGregor a chance breath. It was good game planning and it shouldn’t be a shock, surprise, to anyone that he dropped a few rounds. He used his experience and it threw the inexperienced McGregor off his game plan. Nonetheless, props to McGregor, and as I stated early, regardless, of Mayweather’s game plan, McGregor outperformed the expectations. He fought hard until the tank emptied.

Mixed martial arts’ stock was raised, to include the respect given to the sport in the mainstream because Conor McGregor was able to last ten rounds with Mayweather and win a few of those early rounds.

Dan Plunkett: FACT This is a tough one to judge so soon after the fight, but I’ll say that the net change in the perception of MMA was positive. As silly as the concept of one athlete representing an entire sport while competing in an entirely different sport is, McGregor represented MMA on Saturday. He held his own until he couldn’t, and lasted longer than most thought he would. Many thought he was just out there for the payday, but he made it clear he was there for more. He gave a strong showing of himself and the sport he came from.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT It might be too early to really see the positive impact on mixed martial arts because of McGregor’s venture into a boxing match with Mayweather. But, the bar should have raised or will rise. This event definitely brought eyes over and gave people an inside look into mixed martial arts. The mainstream media to some degree has acknowledged McGregor for his performance and I will assume this will lead that particular group to look at MMA as a little more credible and give it a little more respect. But there will always be that group of people out there who are absolutely full of you know what. Nonetheless, MMA was exposed to new audiences and I’m sure it will reap some benefits as a result of the exposure and McGregor’s performance.

Jose Aldo and Rafael dos Anjos showed poor class by ripping Conor McGregor’s performance against Floyd Mayweather after the fight.

Dan Plunkett: FACT I suppose you could argue both are angling to fight McGregor again, which would at least be a reason for their reaction, but neither Aldo nor dos Anjos are anywhere near fighting McGregor right now. Their reactions to Saturday’s bout got them not one step closer.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT I think I can give Jose Aldo a pass on this one. He not only was knocked out cold by McGregor, but he took a mental beating/assault during the world press tour and lead up to the fight. McGregor really broke that man and Aldo is going to be bitter for a long time. I don’t care how often Aldo says he is over it. No way. Not until he gets a second try at the Irishman. Rafael dos Anjos, however, only has himself to blame for missing out on an opportunity to silence McGregor so I’m not sure why he’s knocking on the man while he is down. But, I understand McGregor has been disrespectful in creating his persona and selling his fights. He certainly hasn’t made many fighters into friends. At the end of the day, I believe McGregor respects his fellow fighters. He’s even mentioned that he can’t knock on his peers because they hold the same dreams he has. I can understand why fighters won’t have his back. But, ripping on a guy when he’s down usually isn’t good taste. Again, I can give Aldo a pass. But, RDA, not so much.

SWITCH!

Whether, Jon Jones is found innocent or guilty after his due process for his failed UFC 214 USADA in-competition drug test, his legacy is tarnished and will forever bear question marks.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT This is a tough one. I feel the only way Jon Jones escapes this one is if this is the result is USADA screwed up. It’s a possibility, but I doubt that is the case. Unfortunately, for Jones, even if it is determined this was another tainted supplement, the damage is done. Jones has screwed up too many times and he isn’t going to get very many breaks anymore. At this point, his legacy will always be questioned, it is marred by a young man who let his success get the better of him. I hate that this happened, especially, after his performance against Daniel Cormier. I think rather he is proven innocent or guilty, judgment has already been made as is usual in the world we live in. The only way he escapes this one, as mentioned earlier, is if USADA messed up somewhere, but that’s a long shot.

Dan Plunkett: FACT He may come back with strong evidence that this was a tainted supplement, but given all that has happened – this failed drug test, the failed drug test last year, and the legal issues, the positive test for cocaine, and the drug test showing unbelievably low testosterone levels prior to the first Cormier fight, to name some – there will always be questions. Last year, he presented the sex drug defense, but unlike others who had claimed the same thing, he had strong evidence to back it up. That erased most questions. Unfortunately, even if there is another logical explanation this time around, I think there is so much history with Jones that people will question the legitimacy of his run.

It’s difficult to believe Dana White when he says Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic was targeted for UFC 218 until Jones failed a USADA drug test; more likely, is that Dana White was grounding his words on emotion as he often does.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT It’s difficult to believe anything Dana White says. Most of the time the guy rides off his emotions rather than logic and rational thought. In this case, Stipe Miocic, the UFC heavyweight champ, has come out and said he knew of no such plan. Having said that, we must note, the WME-IMG area is in full swing and nothing is impossible. We just saw Conor McGregor in a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. So, it is possible Jones vs. Miocic was in discussion between the suits and Jones and Miocic had yet to brought into the loop. Still, more often than not, White is full of himself.

Dan Plunkett: FICTION Jones’ manager Malki Kawa also stated that Jones had been in talks to fight either challenge Miocic at heavyweight or defend the light heavyweight title against Alexander Gustafsson, so it appears White is telling the truth. None of this means that the fight was close to being finalized – potential fights are bandied about all the time and most don’t come to fruition. Plus, Miocic is reportedly still in the midst of a disagreement with UFC over his contract. But, it makes sense as a fight to explore. It would’ve been a big fight for the UFC to put on that would help them make up ground for a slow start to the year, and for whatever reason, the rumored Miocic vs. Cain Velasquez fight was never finalized.

With about three or four ladies, led by Joanna Jedrzejczyk, holding the women’s strawweight division hostage, we should expect many of the contenders between No. 15 and No. 5 to depart for the newly created women’s flyweight division.

Lorenzo Vasquez III: FACT I think that’s a safe assumption. You can’t say the women within that ranking wouldn’t get a strawweight title shot. Joanna Champion has cleaned out the division and there is only room for a certain number of rematches before we start seeing ladies ranked above No. 5 getting title shots. Now, them winning is another thing. But either way, you have a group of lioness sitting at the top and when you compare them to those ranked between No. 5 and No. 15 they look just as unbeatable as Joanna Champ. So, yeah, I can see an exodus of some sort, maybe not a mass exodus, but at the least a small number women making the move up looking for greener pastures.

Dan Plunkett: FACT Based on the cast of the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter and the fighters that have already switched weight classes, the flyweight division is significantly weaker at the top tier than the bantamweight or strawweight divisions. It’s only logical that fighters will see dangerous fighters like Jedrzejczyk and Gadelha at the top of their division and move up thinking they will have a better chance at entering the title picture and a better chance at becoming champion. That doesn’t even account for the fighters that have a tough time making 115-pounds and will want to move up to a healthier weight class. Of course, the complexion at 125-pounds could change very quickly. Valentina Shevchenko, one of the best fighters at bantamweight, is better suited for the lighter weight class. Julianna Pena is interested in moving down, and Jedrzejczyk may be interested in moving up. However, as it stands now, flyweight looks like a wide open field to a lot of bantamweight and strawweight fighters.

So who won? Did I wipe the floor with Dan or was handsome one too much to handle? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Saturday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today but, as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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