Originally Posted by alnorth:
Pettis weighed in at 155.2, the NYAC doctors have cleared him to continue cutting weight, and he has 2 hours to lose the last 0.2 (he wont need anywhere near 2 hours to do that) He didn't look bad at all, he was probably at 156 this morning.
So, tomorrow night, live on PPV, Khabib will kill Showtime.
You have to be the diehard of the diehard fans to buy this PPV at this point. [Reply]
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
You have to be the diehard of the diehard fans to buy this PPV at this point.
Not really, it only feels that way because of how far the card has fallen, but the card still has two title fights. Just take a look at the past two PPV's, the Cyborg freakshow and that pile of shit on the Australian card. This card is below average for sure, but there will be 4 or 5 worse PPV's on paper by the end of the year. [Reply]
Originally Posted by alnorth:
This card is below average for sure, but there will be 4 or 5 worse PPV's on paper by the end of the year.
This really tells you the state of UFC right now. This is card, as you say, is below average, but you're telling me that it's worth a buy because there will be plenty of others that are worse.
They are eating themselves alive with all these "superfights", worthless weight divisions and last minute thrown together fights. [Reply]
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat:
This really tells you the state of UFC right now. This is card, as you say, is below average, but you're telling me that it's worth a buy because there will be plenty of others that are worse.
They are eating themselves alive with all these "superfights", worthless weight divisions and last minute thrown together fights.
To be fair, this one isn't really on UFC. Ferguson got hurt on a freak accident, they came up with a decent replacement on 6 days notice, and he couldn't get the weight cut. Then Conor ruined 3 fights lmyesterday
Originally Posted by Mecca:
My fandom of UFC is kind of waning, they just seem to have a bunch of Jags.
Yeah I went from watching everyone of them to I don't give a rats ass about the UFC anymore. I haven't watched an event for a couple of years now. It's turned into the WWE 2.0. [Reply]
A lot of stupid shit has happened since the weigh-in, and we're not going to get a final answer for another 30 minutes or so. The short answer is that we do not yet know what is going on with the main event, even though weigh ins closed nearly 3 hours ago. This is probably obvious, but if the LW title fight falls out and Khabib is not on the card, then that would be a catastrophic hit to the PPV, so bad that the UFC should seriously consider cancelling the event or making it free. It would be a contender for worst PPV of the year at that point.
Here is what we do know.
1) The UFC wanted Pettis to cut to 155 and step in to save the card. We know he weighed in at 155.2 and was given 2 more hours. Apparently after that Pettis looked around, realized he probably had little chance against Khabib, and decided that if he was going to take a potentially life-altering beating to help out the UFC, then maybe he should get paid a lot of money. He asked for a bump in pay for the fight, well into 7 figures. The UFC said no, and began to explore other options. Somewhere in this drama, the NYAC reportedly butted their heads in to say that they didn't think Pettis should go 5 rounds for some reason, so he's not eligible for a title fight anyway.
2) The UFC then went to Paul Felder because he actually made championship weight at 155. They were getting ready to announce Khabib vs Felder for the LW championship when the NYAC stepped in again and said that they would not allow Felder to fight Khabib. Why? Khabib is 25-0 and #2, but Felder is unranked. Felder is 15-3 scheduled against a dangerous opponent, so he's not some tomato can. So for the first time in the history of the UFC we found someone who takes their rankings seriously, and it came at the worst time possible. If the UFC knew that New York was going to pay attention to rankings, maybe they would have updated it last weekend just in case.
3) Al Iaquinta is an option, but there's a problem. About 6 or 7 hours ago Al looked down at his bathroom scale, saw 155.2, and thought "eh, good enough". If he would have turned around and went back into the tub for a few more minutes, then we'd probably have Khabib vs Al for the title, which actually would have been a pretty cool fight. Unfortunately, he's not eligible for the title, and Khabib only wants to fight for the belt.
4) The UFC is currently talking options with fighters and the NYAC. Maybe they could schedule a 5-round one-sided title bout where Khabib is eligible but his opponent is not. In my mind, the best option (or least-bad option) would be if they could work out a one-sided title fight against Al Iaquinta. Even though he wouldn't get the belt, Al would have a strong claim at a title shot if he somehow beat Khabib. [Reply]
The UFC just told the media that they still are not close to figuring out what they are going to do, so they'll just send out a statement when they have an announcement to make. Media is packing up and leaving now. [Reply]
OK, it is now official. The main event will be a 5-round one-sided LW title bout between Khabib and Al Iaquinta. Only Khabib is eligible for the title if he wins.
Out of the options they had, this was the best/most interesting fight to make, I didn't think Felder or Pettis had a chance, but Iaquinta? Probably not, but he could get a KO. [Reply]
