Tag Archives: Conor McGregor

boxing, Mayweather Promotions, Showtime, Showtime Boxing, UFC

SHOWTIME SPORTS® TO CHRONICLE FLOYD MAYWEATHER vs. CONOR McGREGOR EVENT WITH WEEKLY INSTALLMENTS OF EMMY® AWARD-WINNING SERIES ALL ACCESS

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ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. McGregor Premieres Friday, July 28 At 10 PM ET/PT On SHOWTIME®   

 

NEW YORK (July 11, 2017) – SHOWTIME Sports will chronicle the buildup to the fight the sporting world awaits with weekly installments of the Emmy Award-winning series ALL ACCESS, peeling back the curtain on the August 26 blockbuster bout between boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Conor McGregor.  

 

Weekly episodes of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. McGregor will premiere every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIMEon-air, on demand and over the internet beginning July 28 and concluding on Aug. 18.  Four revealing installments will immerse fans into the lives and training camps of the outspoken, charismatic champions Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, documenting their preparation for an unprecedented fight that has captured the world’s attention. 

 

Winner of multiple Emmy Awards, ALL ACCESS takes viewers behind the scenes of boxing’s biggest events.  The SHOWTIME Sports original franchise surrounds the world’s most compelling fighters with intimate access and signature storytelling.

 

Immersive filming on the series began last week in Las Vegas and Dublin, Ireland, as the premier combatants prepare to break camp and embark on a whirlwind four-city, three-country press tour that delivers the theater of the event directly to fans worldwide.  From their eagerly anticipated initial faceoff in Los Angeles to the final public appearance in London, Episode 1 will give viewers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the grandeur that is Mayweather vs. McGregor. 

 

Subsequent installments of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. McGregor will take viewers inside the private lives of these world-renowned figures, examine the origins of their heated rivalry and document the unrelenting intensity of training camp as Mayweather and McGregor prepare to meet in a one-of-a-kind main event match.

boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC and Bellator Recaps, PFL Preview, Boxing Schedule

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Tom, Tony and Rich recap last week’s major events, including the controversial UFC Fight Night 112 finish and the near double KO at Bellator 180 from Madison Square Garden. We also discuss Conor McGregor calling out Khabib Nurmagomedov for his next opponent in the UFC Octagon. We of course also break down Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn.

 

 

Bellator, boxing, Las Vegas, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show With Special Guest Richard Barrientes, Pound For Pound Boxing Gym Coach

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Tom, Tony and Rich interview an up-and-coming Vegas boxing coach who is starting to make some real waves with his amateur and pro pupils. Richard Barrientes is obviously doing a great job with his students, and we had to know what his secret was. He points to “consistency” and “fundamentals” as the foundation for a great fighter, and he also puts a lot of work in every day to put his Las Vegas Pound 4 Pound gym on the world stage in a huge way. This was a fantastic interview with a man who obviously cares deeply about the sport and wants to make a positive impact on society. His hard work paid off in giving him a group of kids who could become future world champions in their respective divisions. He is indeed, doing something right in Las Vegas, and he explains everything about his program in this interview.

Tom, Tony and Rich also discussed Mayweather vs. McGregor, Tim Hague’s recent death after a brutal defeat in boxing, Female Boxer Heather Hardy’s pro MMA debut for Bellator, and Matt Hughes’ tragic accident in the first part of the broadcast. We also chat about Tony Penecale’s Boxing 101 video with his trainees and Hank Cisco:

We wrap up the show with a recap of last week’s UFC Fight Night and all the boxing action, plus we look ahead to this weekend’s boxing matches and the stacked MMA lineups for Bellator and the UFC.

boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: Mayweather vs. McGregor set for August 26th, Ward vs. Kovalev II Preview, UFC Fight Night Hunt Vs. Lewis Recap

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“Psychic” Tom Padgett earned his nickname last week in predicting Mark Hunt would be buoyed to a win over Derrick Lewis in front of his hometown New Zealand fans at the latest UFC Fight Night. We recap the fight card and preview this weekend’s UFC Fight Night card from Singapore. Tom, Tony and Rich also chat about Mayweather vs. McGregor getting signed. We additionally recap last week’s biggest boxing results and the upcoming weekend’s best fights, including a rematch of Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev. Listen to the two part broadcast below.

 

 

boxing, FNU Combat Sports Show, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC, UK Boxing

Psychic Tom Predicts Win For Mark Hunt; Rabble Rousin’ Rich Opens the Show with Demetrious Johnson vs. Dana White Rant; Tony the Tornado rips Stevenson/Fonfara on this week’s FNU Combat Sports Show

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Rich Bergeron opens this week’s FNU Combat Sports show by giving his unique take on the Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson feud with the UFC brass, namely Dana White. Upon refusing to take a fight with T.J. Dillashaw without getting certain assurances and conditions met, many fans on social media insisted DJ was running scared. Even Dillashaw took the opportunity to blast the move by the flyweight champ as “chickenshit.” Dana White even reportedly threatened to shut down the entire flyweight division if Johnson refused to fight TJ. “Mighty Mouse” didn’t blink and didn’t cave to the organization’s demands, and Rich explains in his opening dialogue why DJ should be respected and given the benefit of the doubt for his decision rather than being criticized and dragged through the mud for standing up for himself.

 

During the rest of the broadcast, Tony “The Tornado” Penecale details his night out at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia for a fight card headlined by Hank Lundy. He also recaps Fonfara vs. Stevenson II and calls the fight “a disgrace.”

 

“Psychic” Tom Padgett chips in with some post-fight analysis of Aldo vs. Holloway. He also predicts Mark Hunt will benefit from home cage advantage in his battle with Derrick Lewis this weekend at UFC Fight Night 110 in New Zealand.

 

There’s also an update on Hunt’s lawsuit against the UFC and Brock Lesnar and lots of other fight previews and recaps. Listen to the whole broadcast to catch up on what’s new in combat sports this week.

boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, wrestling

FNU Combat Sports Show: Fighter Uprising in the UFC Continues; GSP vs Bisping Cancelled; Canelo vs. GGG takes spotlight From Floyd vs. Conor

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This week Tom, Tony and Rich discuss how boxing is winning the combat sports battle for market share. We recap Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and preview UFC 211. We also talk about the planned superfight between Canelo and Triple G, Gennady Golovkin. We break in with the news of GSP vs. Bisping getting cancelled and go on to explore multiple UFC fighter complaints from Tom Lawlor to Luke Rockhold to Anderson Silva. We will be moving the show to rantsports.com next week so stay tuned on the transition details.

 

We also touch on our interview from last year with “THE” James Krause, who just won his first fight in The Ultimate Fighter house on the current season of the reality TV tournament. This interview is from just prior to the UFC sale to WME/IMG and company, and it’s very eye opening:

 

boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Premier Boxing Champions, Showtime, Showtime Boxing, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU COMBAT SPORTS SHOW: Lou Duva Tribute Show, Psychic Tom Padgett absolutely crushes UFC 209 Predictions, Garcia vs. Thurman Recap and Analysis

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Tony Penecale (left) and Lou Duva (right) at the Brockton, Massachusetts dedication of the Rocky Marciano statue.

Our show this week was dedicated to Lou Duva (above right with our co-host Tony Penecale). Lou died earlier this week at the ripe old age of 1994. He was a great friend to Rocky Marciano, a promoter of 19 world champions, and a man who had all his irons in the one fire that lit his life: boxing. The promoter/trainer/manager/legend appeared on the FNU Combat Sports show years back, but unfortunately the audio is grainy and spotty. If you listen closely the gems our talk contains outweigh the difficult spots to hear.

The full Lou Duva interview is here:

http://hosts.blogtalkradio.com/fightnewsunlimited/2009/07/03/joey-giambra-the-uncrowned-champion

I’m also posting a couple specific remastered clips here:

 

 

 

 

 

Tom, Tony and Rich also recap Garcia vs. Thurman, The latest on Mayweather vs. McGregor, UFC 209 and the many controversies attached, GSP’s dark warning about weight cutting, and Tony Bellew’s shocking upset of David Haye.

 

Here’s the tape:  (THE TAPE DOESN’T LIE)

 

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC, wrestling

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC, Bellator and Boxing Recaps/Previews; Dana The Drama Queen; Muhammad Ali Jr. Detained at Florida Airport; Transgender Wrestler Wins Women’s Wrestling Title in Texas

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Tom, Rich and Tony recap the major combat sports events from last week, including a major heavyweight showdown between Deontay Wilder and Gerald Washington, a successful title defense by Liam McGeary last Friday at a Dublin, Ireland Bellator show, and a superb comeback by Jarrett Hurd over Tony Harrison. We also look forward to the inaugural women’s featherweight title bout in Bellator tomorrow night and a star-studded UFC 209 fight card including two of the most anticipated co-main events in recent UFC history. Stephen Thompson gets his rematch with UFC Welterweight Champ Tyron Woodley in the main event while Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson fight for a shot to face Conor McGregor for the lightweight title in the co-main event. We also discuss GSP’s comeback fight against Michael Bisping, a transgender female on her way to becoming a male winning a Texas women’s wrestling title, and Muhammad Ali’s son being detained at a Florida airport in early February. Check out our first Full FNU Combat Sports Show hosted on YouTube:

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, mixed martial arts, MMA

FORMER CAGE WARRIORS COMMENTATOR JOHN GOODEN SHARES HIS IRISH FIGHT NIGHT MEMORIES AHEAD OF CAGE WARRIORS’ RETURN TO DUBLIN

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 28th, 2017

As we look forward to our long-awaited return to Dublin this weekend, the former voice of Cage Warriors remembers the raucous atmosphere of the Irish fight fans and recalls the moment he took a knee from a man who would go on to become the biggest star in the sport – Conor McGregor.

Before he started calling fights for the UFC, British play-by-play man John Gooden was the voice of Cage Warriors.

And nobody knows the passion of the Irish fight fans quite like John who, during the now-famous rise to prominence of Conor McGregor, ended up right in the thick of it with the legendary Irish fight fans during both of ‘The Notorious’ one’s Cage Warriors championship victories.

We chatted to Gooden at CW80 in London where he shared his memories of his Irish fight night experiences ahead of our return to Dublin this weekend for Cage Warriors 81.

“I think my first taste was the Helix when Conor won his first world title,” he began.

“I got injured – Conor kneed me in the face! But I stayed here to live to tell the tale!

“He jumped the fence. His fans were going absolutely bonkers, and I think if he didn’t go out, they were coming in. So strategically he did the right thing, although he sort of ran through me to get to them!

“But Josh (Palmer, Cage Warriors co-commentator) and I were covered in beer and it was just this melee of craziness. So that was really cool, because I can say I took a knee from Conor McGregor – which he apologised for, as well!

“The Helix was an interesting venue. It was on different levels and the last time I was there the Irish were having mixed results. Then Conor came out and, as he does, rouses everyone and came away with the victory in the fashion that he did. That just put the capstone on the night and just made it celebratory.”

After that fight both McGregor and Gooden were UFC bound, where they would reunite in Dublin at the 3Arena for UFC Fight Night: McGregor v Brandao, an event that has gone down in folklore as one of the most raucous in UFC history.

“I’ve been over to Dublin twice (with the UFC) but the first time in 2014 – McGregor-Brandao – it’s gonna be difficult to top that,” Gooden smiled.

“The fans were SO good. The Irish fighters went 100%. They won, they won, they won and the crowd loved it. They got behind every single one and it was just a big celebration.

“Going back there, it was a sensory overload and I’m gonna take that to the grave with me.”

That event has been held up as the standard by which all fight night atmospheres are now judged, but there have been plenty of examples of the Irish fans’ passion since then, whether it’s at home for a host of different events, or on the road supporting their heroes overseas.

And on Saturday night the Irish fight fans have the opportunity to cheer on their boys on home soil once again at Cage Warriors 81. With a host of Irish fighting talent set for action, including Karl Moore bidding to capture the vacant Cage Warriors light-heavyweight title against American Josh Clark, we’re expecting another party atmosphere at the 3Arena.

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.ie, priced €98, €38 and €24, with ticket holders also able to attend a special meet and greet session with our special guest fighters Neil Seery, Nicolas Dalby and the newly crowned Cage Warriors Welterweight Champion Karl Amoussou.

The bout will be televised live on eirSPORT 1 in Ireland, BT Sport in UK and Ireland, and streamed worldwide on UFC Fight Pass.

CAGE WARRIORS 81: CONFIRMED BOUTS
Bout order TBC

PRO CARD
Karl Moore (7-1) v Josh Clark (10-3) – Cage Warriors light-heavyweight title (205lbs)
Catherine Costigan (5-2) v Wendy McKenna (1-0) – atomweight bout (105lbs)
Joe McColgan (3-0) v Arnold Quero (13-5, 1 NC) – lightweight bout (155lbs)
Darren O’Gorman (4-1) v Blaine O’Driscoll (3-1) – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Hughie O’Rourke (pro debut) v Arann Maguire (0-1) – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Håkon Foss (7-3) v Martyn Harris (4-2) – welterweight bout (170lbs)
Lloyd Manning (2-0) v Paul McBain (2-0) – featherweight bout (145lbs)
Eric Nolan (pro debut) v Marcin Zembala (pro debut) – catchweight bout (150lbs)

AMATEUR CARD
Bill Farrell v David Piotrowicz – light-heavyweight bout (205lbs)
Richie Stack v Pawel Politylo – featherweight bout (145lbs)
Mark Gallivan v Makinde Adeyemi – welterweight bout (170lbs)
Francis Treacy v Stephen Treacy – lightweight bout (155lbs)
Austin Lynch v Alex Brophy – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Colm O’Regan v Mateusz Kopyto – catchweight bout (161lbs)
Ivan Blanita v Gary Coffey – welterweight bout (170lbs)
Gary Wallace v Darren Sarsfield – catchweight bout (161lbs)
David Whelan v Brandon Myers – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Adam Darby v Leon Hill – lightweight bout (155lbs)
Barry Hanna v Matthew Whyte – catchweight bout (132.2lbs)

For the latest Cage Warriors Fighting Championship news and updates, keep track of us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. View past CWFC action, free and on-demand, online via Cage Warriors TV.

Photo: John Gooden & Dan Hardy – Dolly Clew for Cage Warriors 
www.CageWarriors.com

CAGE WARRIORS FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP is Europe’s leading and longest-running mixed martial arts promotion. An Irish-owned brand with offices in the UK & Ireland, CWFC is the sport’s fastest-growing organisation, having staged 80 events in 12 countries across three different continents since its establishment in 2002. Home to some of biggest stars of MMA’s past, present and future.
boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, UFC

Mayweather vs. MacGregor Hype Reaching New Heights

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By: Rich Bergeron

Can a pro mixed martial artist beat a pro boxer is the kind of question that started the UFC in the first place, but now the wildly popular fight league seems to be trying to avoid that question entirely when it comes to a potential boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.

Though recent reports indicated a deal was in the works with only a third party failing to agree on terms (most likely the UFC), it seems that the UFC brass knows this could be a lose/lose situation for the promotion. For one, Conor is almost guaranteed to lose the fight. Secondly, the purse he will command should be extremely hefty, which will mean he will demand the same kind of money for every fight after this one. This is why UFC President Dana White put his ceiling at $25 million for McGregor to fight Mayweather.

 

The UFC could end up paying dearly for letting this fight happen. It could make McGregor much too popular and shift the balance of power from the UFC bosses to their star employee. Conor will be the one calling the shots from here on out if this boxing match happens, especially if it ends up being a $100 million payday for “Mystic Mac.”

Just consider this segment on UNDISPUTED, starring Shannon Sharp and Skip Bayless:

 

The inevitable loss for McGregor would really be a huge win for the cocky, arrogant and outspoken fighter who seems like he actually believes he can pull off a miracle win. Even if he’s knocked out, beaten by a wide unanimous decision, or disqualified for engaging in illegal strikes, Conor stands to make enough money to potentially retire from MMA for good.  It’s either that, or he could just continue in MMA with the stipulation that no fight purse in his future be any less than what he makes for the Mayweather bout. If Conor even shows the slightest bit of skill in the boxing ring, he could also end up being the combat sports version of Bo Jackson and maintain a career as a two sport athlete in the future. All of this is simply bad for the UFC as a whole, as they will at best have to share one of their top talents and will have to pay him outrageous fees to keep him fighting in their Octagon.

It would be much much smarter for Conor fans to play some casino games at คาสิโน MarathonBet than it would for any of them to put down money on their hero to win this fight. Whatever odds this fight does finally generate in Vegas, McGregor is sure to be a huge underdog that will tempt his fans to make the bet on the slim chance of a huge payout. It just isn’t a good idea considering the lack of experience Conor has as a boxer and the invincibility of Mayweather in the final years of his boxing career.

What is crystal clear is that Mayweather wants only one fight to leave the comfort of retirement, and McGregor is the only man who will face him in that fight. The fact that this should be a walk in the park is not lost on Floyd. There’s no downside to trouncing McGregor. Floyd has been itching to prove MMA fighters as a whole don’t have the punching power or prowess that a boxer of his caliber has. He will no doubt get his chance, but don’t ask the UFC to pay astronomical record numbers to facilitate a fight of this magnitude if it means raising the fight pay bar to a level they can never recover from if they want to keep their ultimate superstar on the books.

 

McGregor can talk all he wants, and sports pundits will eat it up like candy. People will either have some insane belief that he can pull off this walk on water routine, or they will want to pay to see his ego crushed in defeat. Either way, this bout could reap huge rewards for both fighters. People WILL pay to see it, even if it does prove to be a complete and utter disappointment.