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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Has Conor McGregor’s Drawing Power Peaked?

October 25, 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 colossal edition of Fact or Fiction MMA. Thank you, for your votes and comments last week, it is appreciated and I encourage you to give us a mindful this week. Last week, Wyatt Beougher and Scott Kuczkowski showed up to the dance ready for an all-out war. They locked horns over the thought of Conor McGregor boxing again, Mark Hunt getting himself booted from his upcoming fight, and whether adding more weight classes eliminates weight cutting issues. Wyatt stormed Kuch immediately but his hailstorm of fire was countered by Kuch as he eventually took control and battered Wyatt into submission. Congratulations, Scott, and thank you both for your efforts and contribution.

This week, your live host guru, Robert Winfree, will hammer it out with the hard-hitting, Mark Radulich. Expect non-stop action as these two lock horns over Conor McGregor’s dirty language, Darren Till running through the Cowboy, Edson Barboza’s next opponent, and much more! Grab some grub and get comfortable because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let’s get this show going…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Robert “The Last Rider” Winfree
Contributor/Live Coverage Guru/Host, 411 MMA Zone/411 Ground and Pound Radio Show
7-5-1

VS

BLUE CORNER
Mark “Headshrinker” Radulich
Supreme Overlord,
Radulich in Broadcasting Network

5-8-0


Like it or not, Conor McGregor’s use of a homophobic slur will only help increase drawing power.

Robert Winfree: FICTION I tend to think McGregor’s drawing power is as high as it’s going to get. The response from the Cult of Conor after this incident went public was interesting to watch but ultimately I don’t think it’ll have a tremendous effect on his drawing power one way or the other.

Mark Radulich: FICTION I’m not saying his use of homophobic slurs will decrease is drawing power. I’m arguing it will have zero impact at all. The man just fought the most popular boxer in modern times. They sold a record-breaking amount of PPV’s. Anyone who currently cares or could care about who Conor McGregor is is now well aware of this man’s existence. It’s not likely he’ll ever draw like that again against anyone simply because there are no other fighters out there whom he could realistically create an attraction with. It doesn’t matter one way or another that he used a homophobic slur. He’s only drawing X amount in the UFC and that’s less than what he did with Mayweather. Even another fight against Mayweather does less simply because the novelty is now gone. The story has been told. McGregor isn’t going to beat Mayweather in a boxing match so more than likely less people would tune in again. In all reality, he’s maxed out his drawing power. I’m not saying he won’t draw at all but he’ll never draw again like he drew against Mayweather.


Because of his ability to absorb punishment and give the fans a decent show, Artem Lobov deserves one more fight in the UFC if he decides not to retire.

Robert Winfree: FICTION Artem Lobov sucks, he’s a .500 fighter with around 30 fights to his name, he’s not a UFC quality fighter. He got his spot by competing on one of the weakest seasons of UFC in recent memory and being Conor McGregor’s pal, taken on his own merits he doesn’t deserve a spot on the roster much less an extended run because he can lose brain cells without losing consciousness.

Mark Radulich: FACT I’m saying FACT here because the UFC needs international fighters for their foreign cards that are entertaining. While Lobov’s record is nothing to behold, he does put on entertaining fights and that’s a valuable asset. He’s headlined one card here in the states, maybe they should keep him around to fill out their foreign cards. Let him fight on some European cards. Also if they are ever able to get a show booked in Russia, he’s probably a good addition there. Either way, I think there’s room for a guy on the roster who may not have the most winningest record but gets the fans out of their seats.


Darren Till should not worry about the likes of Mike Perry and should instead focus on keeping the momentum going by getting a fight with a top ten welterweight.

Robert Winfree: FACT Much as I do want to see that fight Till should only focus on it if Perry defeats Santiago Ponzinibbio and advances into the official rankings. Otherwise, Till is slumming from a rankings standpoint when he should be trying to fight guys ranked above him to advance his position rather than fighting the unranked masses.

Mark Radulich: FACT I’m all for creating fights with some story and/or drama behind them. However, Perry has a fight already lined up. The timing doesn’t really work. Till needs to keep his momentum going and his name red hot with another fight. There’s no time to wait for Perry to recover from whatever happens in his fight this December. Till should be lobbying for a fight against the winner of Damian Maia vs Colby Covington, which is coming up on Oct 28th. Unfortunately, the rest of the top 10 has fights scheduled into January so that’s his best option. Waiting for Perry would seem to be a step backwards.


SWITCH!

At this point, you have absolutely no faith that Michael “Venom” Page will ever fight worthy—legit—opponents.

Mark Radulich: FACT Although Page is slated to fight for Bellator in December, it would appear he’s transitioning to boxing sooner than later. I would say if the plan is to box full-time then he’s not taking any chances with a “legit” opponent come Bellator 191. I suspect they’ll find someone with a name but is not a threat and feed him to Page. I believe Page has one more fight after that, rinse repeat. I can’t imagine if he’s serious about leaving MMA he’ll fight someone that will conceivably give him a loss on his way out the door.

Robert Winfree: FICTION I’m still somewhat hopeful that Bellator will finally do something worthwhile with MVP, but in all honesty, he’s likely to waste the best years of his career fighting overmatched opposition.


It’s unfortunate to have to agree with Dana White but Jon Jones is currently the “biggest waste of talent ever, in any sport.”

Mark Radulich: FACT I can only answer FACT here because I don’t follow sports outside of MMA and boxing so I have no idea if say there’s someone in the NFL or MLB who is supremely talented but keeps getting suspended/arrested, etc like Jon Jones does. So with that admitted bit of ignorance on my part, I’d have to agree with Dana White. Jon Jones is talented enough to not need steroids and he should be smart enough not to get into street narcotics like cocaine. I’m sad for the guy. I’ve certainly seen this sort of thing in Hollywood and music. You have someone who is just so talented they outshine all of their peers but mentally they can’t cope so they make terrible decisions. Eventually, they stop doing what they have such a talent for and at a minimum they fade away. In many cases, they end up meeting some tragic end. For his family’s sake, I hope Jones gets it together and stops wasting his God-given talent.

Robert Winfree: FICTION I’ve gone back and forth on this point but really calling him the biggest waste of talent in the history of sports covers entirely too much territory for me to feel comfortable agreeing with it. Jones is the biggest waste of talent in all of MMA easily, and I might agree with him being the biggest waste of talent in all of combat sports, but if we get into racing or tennis I just don’t have the depth of knowledge to agree with it.


Edson Barboza is the perfect opponent for Khabib Nurmagomedov whether or not Tony Ferguson fights Conor McGregor; the fact is, Nurmagomedov must prove himself at least once before getting a crack at any UFC title.

Mark Radulich: FACT As much as I’d love to (finally) see Nurmagomedov fight for the title, he needs to be a bit more consistent in taking and then fulfilling his fight obligations. He hasn’t fought in almost a year. He missed weight in March 2017. I don’t believe that, despite his undefeated record, he’s earned a shot at the title. The fact of the matter is that Ferguson is the ILW champion. McGregor is the LW champion. Those two need to fight each other before anyone else fights them (with the possible exception of Nate Diaz). Let Nurmagomedov fight Barboza as the main event of a UFC on FOX card and if he wins and can stay healthy he can fight the whomever is the undisputed LW champion at that point.

Robert Winfree: FICTION Nurmagomedov has proven himself already, if McGregor isn’t going to fight Tony Ferguson then Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov is the fight to make. I don’t expect that fight to happen, they’ve tried four times in the past and every time it’s fallen apart due to one guy or the other but they should try again.


So who won? Did Robert run roughshod over Mark? Did Mark drive Robert’s head straight into the mat? 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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