Tag Archives: Conor McGregor

FNU Combat Sports Show Featuring PRESIDENT Donald Trump Interview

Hosts Tom, Tony and Rich of The Fight News Unlimited Combat Sports show had the awesome experience of catching up with President Donald Trump for an exclusive interview contained in tonight’s broadcast. We ask “The Donald” about everything from Mayweather vs. McGregor to Iran and China. The interview starts about 23 minutes into the full show tape, but we will also place the interview alone in another audio file below the main show file on this post. We also discuss some MMA labor union issues, Aisling Daly retiring young from the UFC, Conor McGregor claiming his next bout will be in a boxing ring and Dana White saying Ronda Rousey is all done with fighting professionally. We also recap the first big UFC and Bellator events of the year from last week and look forward to UFC Fight Night 104 in Houston on Saturday night. We take time at the end of the broadcast to talk boxing with a recap of last week’s stunning rematch between Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton. We also talk about the Thursday night bouts on FS1 tonight. Here is our full show:

And here is the Trump interview by itself:

And if you didn’t catch why Rich gave a shout out to the movie “Good Morning Vietnam” you can listen to Rich’s first interview with Trump from 2008 here:

FNU Combat Sports Show: Mark Hunt Sues UFC, Dana White and Brock Lesnar; Mayweather offers Conor $15 million; Penn Makes UFC Comeback

Tom, Tony and Rich spend this week’s show catching up on the week’s major news in combat sports. We also preview upcoming fights in boxing and MMA. We highlight Mark Hunt’s recent lawsuit over a fight where Brock Lesnar tested positive for PEDs and discuss Ben Rothwell’s assessment of Travis Browne as a “Man Whore.” Listen to the hour long broadcast below.

Conor McGregor Fastest Climber On 120 Sports, MVPindex Most Valued Athletes On Social Media Of 2016

McGregor topped only by three NFL Players and Rory McIlroy, and ahead of LeBron James; Ronda Rousey in at Number 18; NFL Dominates with Nine Athletes in Top 25

January 11, 2017 (CHICAGO) – The Seattle Seahawks Russell Wilson (No. 1), New York Giants Odell Beckham Jr. (No. 2) and the Houston Texans JJ Watt (No. 3) were officially named the Top 3 Most Valued Athletes in Social Media of 2016 in a ranking created in partnership between MVPindex™ and 120 Sports. UFC star Conor McGregor jumped an impressive 33 spots from last year’s index to claim the No. 5 spot in 2016, just behind golfer Rory McIlroy and ahead of Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James.

The ranking includes U.S. professional and Olympic athletes.

To determine the most valued athletes on social media this year, Chicago-based digital sports network 120 Sports collaborated with industry-leading social measurement and valuation platform MVPindex to rank athletes using a proprietary algorithm that evaluates all of their social activity throughout the past year. The ranking combines three separate scores: Reach (fans, followers, impressions), Engagement (likes, comments, shares, retweets, favorites) and Conversation (positive/negative mentions).

At 9 p.m. ET tonight, 120 Sports will reveal the full list and take a deeper look at the Top Valued Athletes in Social Media on its nightly sports show, The Rally, a two-hour, first-of-its-kind interactive prime-time highlights show exclusively on Twitter. 120 Sports uses up-to-the-moment insight from consumer trends to shape the way it produces its daily live and on-demand programming, providing real-time data on what is resonating most with sports fans.

The National Football League dominated the 2016 ranking with 9 players in the Top 25. The NBA followed with five of the Top 25 athletes. Wilson claimed the top spot for the second straight year with an overall ranking of 0.983, remaining at the center of the social spotlight this year not only for his athletic performance, but also for his recent marriage to singer Ciara.

The 120 Sports talent team will provide insights and analysis on the Top 25 list, as well as break down the top viral trends, videos and photos on social media from this past year, ranking their top 3 in a variety of categories that resonated with sports fans this year like “Best Athlete & Team Mannequin Challenge,” “Cutest Athlete’s Kid Dance,” and “Best Workout Session Video.”

“We produce and deliver sports content based on whatever is the hottest story as indicated by what is trending on social media and what sports fans are talking about on social platforms,” said Jason Coyle, president of 120 Sports. “MVPindex helps us to quantify the commanding voices and influencers on social media from the past year so we can continue to relate with our fans by showcasing the athletes that matter most to them.”

In addition, Cam Newton (No. 16), Stephen Curry (No. 11) and Antonio Brown (No. 12) all made notable double-digit climbs up from 2015.
There are five women represented on the list in 2016; Alex Morgan (No. 15), Serena Williams (No. 16), Ronda Rousey (No. 18), Hope Solo (No. 22) and Kerri Walsh Jennings (No. 25). The Seahawks, Patriots and Cavaliers all have two players each; the youngest person on the list is Beckham Jr. at 24, and the oldest is Tiger Woods at 41.

Top athletes in each sport include:

Robinson Cano (MLB)
Conor McGregor (UFC)
Russell Wilson (NFL)
Rory McIlroy (PGA TOUR)
LeBron James (NBA)
Alex Morgan (US Soccer)
Serena Williams (WTA)
Jeff Gordon (NASCAR)
Kerri Walsh Jennings (AVP)

The 2016 list reveals interesting findings including a spotlight on the growth in popularity of MMA/UFC in the past year, as both McGregor (No.5) and Ronda Rousey (No. 18) are featured in the Top 25.

“For years, the yard stick in determining social media value was based solely on the number of followers someone had. But at MVP we know that quantity does not mean quality,” said MVPindex co-founder Kyle Nelson. “With our sophisticated Engagement Value Assessment™ tool, we look at social media impressions, engagement, virality and social authority to help figure out what it’s all really worth.”

Nelson continued: “This year’s list rewarded those athletes who were able to leverage their success on the field of play to also win on social. They were able to consistently drive high levels of engagement through compelling content and authentic conversations with consumers. This not only helps build their own personal brands but also makes them the most effective ambassadors for the brands they represent.”
The Top 10 of the list is as follows:

Russell Wilson (NFL)
Odell Beckham Jr. (NFL)
J.J. Watt (NFL)
Rory McIlroy (PGA TOUR)
Conor McGregor (UFC)
LeBron James (NBA)
Tiger Woods (PGA TOUR)
Richard Sherman (NFL)
Tom Brady (NFL)
Rob Gronkowski (NFL)

To watch the full reveal of the Top 25 ranking results this evening including an additional spotlight on the Top 30 Social Athletes Under 30, visit rally.twitter.com from 9 -11 p.m. ET.

About MVPindex
Founded in 2014, MVPindex was the first social media intelligence platform to analyze athletes’ social media portfolios and calculate their digital brand value. Today, MVPindex is a comprehensive social media index and valuation platform for the sports and entertainment industries, offering real-time analytics on more than 43,000 athletes, entertainers, teams, leagues, and brands ranked across the most popular social platforms. The MVPindex Engagement Value Assessment™ (EVA) has become the de facto industry standard for calculating the monetary value of social media campaigns and properties. MVPindex clients rely on this data and insight to make strategic decisions about brand ambassadors; evaluate their partnerships; maximize sponsorships; and see what is resonating with their fans. For more information or to request a demonstration, visit www.mvpindex.com.

About 120 Sports
120 Sports is the ultimate destination for up-to-the-moment expert commentary on all trending sports topics. The digital-only broadcast network offers more than 50 hours of live and original content, plus more than 1,200 on-demand video clips, each week. Equity partners in 120 Sports include MLBAM, the NHL, the PGA TOUR, Campus Insiders, Time Inc. /Sports Illustrated, and Silver Chalice. The network’s daily live broadcasts include hosted programming delivering timely narratives of the stories across every sport, as well as breaking news, fan response, video highlights and live look-ins, all integrated with social conversation and expert analysis. The 120 Sports free app has been lauded as one of the best in class by a host of media outlets and is available in both the Google Play and Apple App Store as well as a web experience at 120Sports.com. In addition to Chromecast, 120 Sports is also available on Apple TV, as well as other distribution outlets.

Veazey to Conor McGregor: I’ll fight you now

Baltimore, MD (December 6, 2016) – There was much talk throughout the boxing world last week when UFC superstar Conor McGregor received a boxing license from the California State Athletic Commission.

McGregor, widely considered the best mixed martial artist in the world, has been clamoring for a superfight with Floyd Mayweather. The bout would be a traditional boxing match. Talk surrounding Mayweather-McGregor received heavy criticism and it’s highly unlikely an athletic commission would sanction a five division world champion with a 49-0 record against an opponent making his debut.

Typically, debuting boxers face opponents that only have a few professional bouts.

Enter Joey “Bazooka Joe” Veazey.

Living and fighting out of Maryland, the 18-year-old had a successful amateur career and turned pro with a four round decision victory in October. A big ticket seller in his home state, Veazey is an honor student focused on being a star in and out of the ring. While many other young professional boxers would wait for a high profile fight, Veazey is ready to show McGregor he should stick to his own sport.

“The whole boxing world already knows Conor McGregor doesn’t belong in the same ring as Mayweather. I just had my pro debut and he recently got licensed so on paper, that’s an approvable fight by the athletic commission. If he does face me however, I’d prove to the world that he’s not a boxer and end the hype he’s started. He thinks he can just walk into this sport and face the best? That’s not how it works. If you really want to get in the boxing ring, I’d gladly expose you right now because boxing is no joke!”

Veazey’s next fight is scheduled for January 13 in Maryland and his promoter Jake Smith of Baltimore Boxing has already discussed licensing McGregor with Maryland State Athletic Commission executives.

FNU Combat Sports Show: Miesha’s FU to Dana White, GSP and the Giant Fighters Union, Conor Being Conor and Ward vs. Kovalev recap

This week on the FNU Combat Sports Show we discuss a fantastic month of November as far as fighting goes. We only had two shows last month, so we kick off this week in catch up mode. We discuss Ward vs. Kovalev at length, go off on a few tangents and then get to Tony’s review of “Bleed For This.”  We then go back to MMA for Rich’s commentary on Miesha Tate telling Dana White, “FU, you’re not my boss..” after his request that she go to the hospital after her fight with Raquel Pennington. Tate retired earlier in the evening after a stellar career. Rich also gets going about the fighter union front and some new developments with Georges St. Pierre, Ex-Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, Cain Velasquez, T.J. Dillashaw and other UFC notables breaking new ground in the niche with the founding of the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association.  We also manage to preview the upcoming weekend’s boxing schedule before the end of the broadcast tonight.

Part One:

 

Part Two:

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC 205 & Bellator 164 Previews, Trump’s Win, Jones Suspended and Stripped of Title, Pacquiao vs. Mayweather Rematch Talks

Tom, Rich and Tony break down the week’s combat sports news, recap last week’s fight cards and look forward to the huge events happening this weekend. UFC 205 features three world title fights while Bellator makes a historic debut in Israel on Friday. Danny Garcia will also take on Samuel Vargas to headline one of Premier Boxing Championships’ final blockbuster cards of 2016. We start off the broadcast with some political discourse about the election of Donald Trump as the 45th United States President.

 

 

Fight News Unlimited Combat Sports Show: August 18th, 2016

 

Join Tony “The Tornado” Penecale, “Rabble Rousin'” Rich Bergeron and “Psychic” Tom Padgett as we analyze UFC 202, discuss the budding Pro Fighters Association and go over the weekly combat sports schedule.

An Open FU to UFC President Dana “Effing” White!

wtf

By: Rich Bergeron

Those who know me personally would all say I am a mellow individual, until you seriously cross me, like, for instance, if you become the subject of an investigative report I’m working on, or sue me for $25 million.  Sometimes I may take things like that as a sign you might not want me to really find out who you are and what you do behind closed doors to screw hard working people over.

This week, a certain individual who won’t even let me follow him in Twitter (https://twitter.com/danawhite) pissed me off to the point where I could only think of one thing to do.  Because I’m officially blacklisted in every possible way by the UFC brass, and have even had restraining orders placed against my directly contacting the Fertittas and ANY UFC fighter, my best option is to publish a drastic diatribe here I am just going to call my “OPEN FU” to Dana “Effing” White.

I’m sure Mr. White will not take my calls or subject himself to a one on one interview with me. So, I will have to settle for a written FU…and a multi-tiered and multi-purpose FU.

FU, Dana “Effing” White… for many, many reasons…too many for one small blog post to do justice, but let’s just say Most of all FU….

For what you THINK you know about Holly Holm…

Hey, Dana, you wanna talk about your “effing” reality show “Looking For a Fight????”  I was actually looking for a fight when I watched that old reality “shit show” when you were supposed to box Tito Ortiz, but HE magically backed out at the last minute.

Now, you, DANA “EFFING” WHITE, are telling Holly Holm about a decision YOU think she didn’t think through enough???  And now you act like someone pissed in your Wheaties because you have two upset wins at UFC 196 to work around and figure out how to make sense of somehow.

Boo “effing” hoo, buddy.

Welcome to how things don’t go as planned sometimes in the fight business, you ungrateful prick.

Do you wanna be an “effing” Promoter, Dana “effing” White???

Holly Holm Was the Bantamweight Champion of the UFC when she allowed HER Manager (not Dana “effing” White) to negotiate the Tate fight on her behalf, and she knew (and her long-time manager knew, too) what she was doing and what she wanted. And guess “effing” what, Dana? She wanted to fight.

Sorry, Dana “Effing” White, but Holly didn’t want to sit on an “effing” sideline waiting for Ronda Rousey to finish her “effing”  ROADHOUSE REMAKE!

Holly wanted to go to work… but unfortunately she has to work for a boss who has no idea what it’s like to step into HER office and handle HER daily workload with such tenacity, class, dignity and grace.

And I think maybe she looks back a bit differently than you do, Dana, with no “effing” regrets whatsoever for putting her absolute all into that fight and just plain getting caught in her one area of weakness in a battle where she likely would have won a three-round fight. Maybe if YOU were a fighter, Dana, you might get that whole concept.  Maybe losing in this case only makes her better, stronger, and more durable as a career mixed martial artist. Who gives a damn if it makes her less marketable in your eyes? What do you really know, anyway?

UNLIKE YOU, Dana “Effing” White, Holly actually respects Miesha Tate and thought it would be a challenge to fight her. Yeah, she lost, but damn, she was absolutely correct about it being a challenge. I think the fight will go down as one of the greatest battles in female MMA history.

Now, why don’t you open your “effing” eyes, Dana, watch the fight again, and quit bitching about what should have happened in that cage you never fought in yourself.

Be grateful you have a champion you just paid $92,000 in fight pay (before bonuses) to take your organization’s belt from the girl you WANTED TO WIN (and paid $500,000 just to be there). It may not be what you expected, but the anxiety you feel about it is what you DESERVE to feel for being such a douchebag to the fighters who built the UFC.

My biggest questions on this subject for Dana are: Why are you such a biased, crooked asshole who can’t bother to give Miesha the time of day FOR ALL HER HARD WORK? Why can’t you give credit where it is due…on both sides of that fight? Why can’t you shut the “eff” up about what you think Holly or her management should have or could have waited for?

It’s not your place to look back with 20/20 hindsight and act like Holly and her manager should have gone all Nostradamus on this fight when you obviously didn’t see this shit coming, either, you dome-headed dimwit.

Fighters “effing” fight, Dana. That’s what they “effing” do, which you should know, since I am pretty sure you used to be an “effing” manager of MMA fighters yourself. Yes, that was many moons ago, but how could you forget?

Fighters don’t sit on their asses on corporate jets and stand at podiums in front of the press all day to earn the “effing” paltry paychecks your organization pays out to most of them. Most fighters simply cannot afford to wait around for shit to happen or for someone “worthy” enough in your eyes to step up and fight them.

Some fighters need to feed their kids. All of them need to pay their bills and for everything else involved with training camps, daily living expenses, travel and whatever costs medical insurance doesn’t cover when they have to address nagging injuries. Your shitty Reebok deal made it virtually impossible to get any other outside sponsors to help pay for anything like that stuff for many fighters, Dana.

Welcome to selling out and forgetting where you came from, Dana. You used to care more about fighters. Now you act like fighting in a cage is just like doing any other 9-5 job. It’s not. It’s “effing” hard work.

So, yeah, Holly chose to fight instead of waiting for Rousey to be ready for the rematch. And you think she needs your opinion now that everything didn’t work out as planned for you both?

FU, Dana.

She hurts a lot worse than you, and I can guaran-effing-tee that.

Oh…and…by the way…fighters are way more responsible for the growth and success of the UFC/Zuffa organization than you ever have been. And that’s real talk, you rich bitch with a stick up your ass because you were never good enough in your life to ever have your own official fight.

So, get over the God complex and learn to respect ALL of your fighters, not just the ones you want to see win because you might think you can work with them better or you think they will move the organization in a better direction.  Respect the effort, the sacrifice and the pain ALL your fighters go through each and every day to get where they get. That belt you put on Miesha’s waist was EARNED, and don’t you ever think it is “effing” cool to call the fact that Holly Holm had the guts to face Miesha Tate “a mistake.”

It rings hollow, especially when I would consider that handing you a microphone to talk about MMA at all was THE greatest mistake the sport ever made, period! Anyone who would try to knock a former champion down a peg that way in his own organization does not deserve to be recognized as that organization’s president.

You have no clue what it’s really like to fight, and your criticism of Holly Holm tells me you can never possibly understand the mindset that led her to take the Tate fight and not wait an idle year for Ronda “effing” Rousey to be ready to appear at one of your precious shows.

So, FU Dana White for treating your former champ like she’s an idiot who doesn’t know how to control her own career without you butting your stupid, bald head into it. Holly’s fine without your advice, and she trusts her manager, which might be something you’re not familiar with, but for other people it is actually a reality of doing business with legitimate people.

 

FU, Dana for being a piss-poor ambassador for the sport, disrespecting fighters who bleed (and sometimes suffer lifelong injuries) for you and the sport, and totally underestimating and failing to grasp what it really takes to actually be a professional fighter who actually competes against other fighters… 

Do you remember the days when you had to settle for being a lowly boxercise instructor because your boxing trainer Boston slapped you too hard in the ear once? You never had a single competitive fight in your life, Dana “effing” White, and that’s a DOCUMENTED FACT!

Do you ever even look back at those days before the silver-spoon-fed Fertittas helped you claw your greedy, selfish, egotistical ass into the position of OFFICIAL UFC MOUTHPIECE?

Do you remember those “hairy” days when you blew through $40 million of Fertitta funds to perpetrate the “Zuffa Myth” while claiming credit for the UFC brass singlehandedly legitimizing the sport and getting it regulated all by your “effing” selves? As if not a single FIGHTER nor any other industry professional who pioneered MMA before you dipped your greedy little paws into it had anything to do with it?

Your Mom remembers those “coulda been a contender” days, Dana..when you thought you might be able to have an actual fight with another human being. Your own mother remembers even though you and one of your sleazy friends tried to silence her, BASH HER ONLINE, and even blacklist her BOOK, too.

Do you remember the days when even Floyd Mayweather, Jr. thought you were cool, back when your daily driver was an “effing” Honda, Dana? Floyd Remembers.  He knew you long before you could afford to blow a normal person’s yearly pay on a single hand of poker.

You’re in a different place now, Dana “effing” White, and it’s a delusional place. Like on the distant planet you live on, people actually believe YOU really, honestly, truly “effing” know what it’s ACTUALLY like to be an “effing” fighter? Do you actually believe YOU somehow could ever REALLY know that feeling?

REALLY?

You know what A FIGHTER is, don’t you, Dana? A fighter is a man or woman who has the courage to willingly step into unarmed combat against another actual man or woman instead of just criticizing up and down the guys and girls who do have the guts to actually stand across from another human being while knowing and internalizing that the accepted goal is to physically destroy each other.

A fighter, in more simple terms, is “one who fights.” And let’s be clear about one “effing” thing, Dana “effing” White, I know fighters, and YOU are no fighter.

You are nothing like a fighter, Dana “effing” White, and you never “effing” will be. You are too weak, both physically and mentally. Until we see you go through a six-week training camp and then get into the cage against someone and kick his ass, we shouldn’t have to listen to one damn “coulda,” “shoulda,” or “woulda” out of your cornfed mouth about what you think of any particular fighter’s performance or decision making process. Those people have the guts to do what you will NEVER do yourself, and you ought to respect that.

FU Dana White…For not recognizing Real Fighters Like Miesha Tate and Nate Diaz who keep at it no matter what and NEVER seem to earn your ULTIMATE RESPECT….

Nate Diaz stepped up to fight Conor McGregor for a reason. He had nothing to lose, and he wasn’t intimidated one bit. He famoulsy went on television with Fox Sports 1 on a split screen with Conor before that welterweight fight and quipped that his nemesis had already been choked out before, “by two lames.” Diaz also had the perfect instinct to add humourously that McGregor’s choke losses happened, “like a week ago.”

Diaz beat Conor in the shit-talk game long before he ever slapped him down and slipped that choke around his neck in the cage. The media created by that freakshow fight might have stopped the unchecked rise of your big, bold, six-headed dragon champion, but it created a new monster at the same time. And he’s a Reebok-hating, scowling, swearing, Stockton-slapping Mother-F$#king BEAST who doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about what he does or says.

You might think Diaz and his attitude are “bad for business,” but I think his victory was the best thing that could ever happen to all you smug punks running the UFC. It just proves once and for all that you do not control the MMA universe.

Nate Diaz went without respect and credit for being an MMA pioneer and a good UFC soldier for far too long. The bitterness brewed and boiled within him, and I loved every second of him letting it pour out in post-fight interviews after he choked the shit out of Conor until the Irish bloke tapped the “eff” out and left Dana White drooling in a stupor at the thought of having to congratulate a man who’s become more of a mortal enemy than a member of the big “team.”

More power to Nate and all the crazy, abrasive, in-your-face Diaz brother types out there in the UFC who will fight Dana “effing” White’s flamboyant fire with even more bravado and brash talk of their own. They can always say, “I learned it by watching you, Baldfather!”

As for Miesha Tate, she deserves true respect and admiration for being champ now after picking herself off the mat twice in the face of grueling losses to Rousey. Kudos to Tate for continuing her career and relentlessly focusing on getting by that Rousey armbar once and for all.

Though Miesha never did solve that Rousey submission dilemma, trying at all costs to get another crack at the belt paid dividends at UFC 196. Her never quit attitude led her to an opportunity of a lifetime, and she capitalized on it. Now, Dana, you actually have to pay this young lady what most of her fans would say she was worth a long time ago.

And now you simply have to treat Tate with a bit of reverence and appreciation for once in your ungrateful life, Dana “effing” White. I know it must pain you so much to give this young lady the credit she’s worked so incredibly hard for, because maybe she touched a nerve when she called you out in the past for being the true clueless and disrespectful prick you really are. She was right, and you were wrong about how great she really is at fighting. Then again, weren’t you also WRONG about women fighting in the cage, period?

So, you DON’T wanna be a fighter, Mr. White? Then step aside and let the people who DO wanna be fighters go to battle for you so you can ride around the world on your jet and act like you know what the “eff” you’re talking about when you stand in front of a microphone to describe the sport’s true athletes and what they do to make a living in mixed martial arts.

The line from Dana that most stands out to me as comblete BS in this whole debacle is this one:

“He’s an old boxing guy who thinks he’s smart and he isn’t,” White said of Fresquez [Holm’s Manager]. “I feel bad for Holly because I don’t know if she really knows what she lost.”

I have only two more “effing” questions for you Dana “effing” White…

1.) What makes you think you are really in any “effing” position to EVER know or understand what Holly Holm lost the other night? Aside from a few bad poker hands and tons of respect, the only thing you ever lost is your mind.

2.) Doesn’t your backhanded quote about Holm’s manager describe your own shitty character a whole lot better than that of Mr. Fresquez?

AND…just in case after reading all this anyone STILL needs yet another reason to have beef with the Baldfather: