I figured with Greg Hardy announcing he was coming to MMA, he would have fought Ronda.
And, I'm a bit surprised the Gall Northcutt fight is on Fox.
And, I'm a bit surprised the Gall Northcutt fight is on Fox.
"Jon Jones has blown it in every way shape and form a guy with that much talent can blow it," White said. "Greatest talent ever and the biggest screw-up ever."
Details about the UFC purchase in the Wrestling Observer. Looks like Connor will be calling the shots like Hulk Hogan until they get that TV deal. His power play against the Nevada Static Athletic Commission (they will fold he brings too much $ into Vegas) shows that I don't want to vacate the title now is only the beginning.
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Federal Reserve Bank supervisors sent a caution letter to Goldman Sachs regarding the risks of the $1.825 billion in financing that it took for the recent UFC purchase.
According to a series of Bloomberg articles on the subject, WME IMG needed an additional $1.4 billion past the $2.6 billion they raised through Silver Lake Partners, KKR & C. And Dell Inc. needed to hit the promised $4 billion purchase price, as well as another $425 million to cover the existing debt.
Regulators these days criticized companies that have taken on debt more than six times annual earnings. UFC’s earnings for the first six months of 2016 were down from the same period in 2015. For the period from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, the EBITDA was $142 million, making the company debt is 12.7 times earnings.
The roughly 70 different investors, most of whom jumped at the chance to purchase company debt because of the high interest rate that was offered, mostly being Hedge funds, alternate lenders and mutual funds.
At first, the banks that were trying to sell the debt were skeptical there would be a market for so much debt, but in fact, there was a run on it. The first $500 million in debt offerings sold out immediately and there were $2 billion worth of investment money thrown at it when Goldman Sachs and the new ownership group was offering 8.5 percent annual interest.
The debt was sold to people who were given predictions of $298 million annual EBITDA based on cost cutting (everyone working in the company has been scared to death of that word, and rightly so) and growth in licensing revenue which the new owners are heavily trying to push.
Keep in mind that business was huge from the start of 2015 through the present time, and there was a video game cycle and some of the biggest PPVs the company has ever done. Yet that EBITDA figure is more than double of what the company generated in the last fiscal year.
Granted, the annual numbers will likely look better because the last six months will include UFC 200 and UFC 202, both of which topped 1 million buys by a significant amount, and UFC 205, which should be the biggest show in company history.
But the big profit numbers are also based on being able to top 1 million buys multiple times per year, and that business is largely built on Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, because UFC 200 comes around roughly every eight years or so, and the first Madison Square Garden show comes around exactly once in history.
The business has no chance to be anywhere close to that level if both fighters either lose several times to where their drawing power is hurt, or get injured, or both retire. Few expect Rousey to fight much longer. With McGregor who knows what will happen? He’s shown how difficult he is to deal with at this point, basing an entire business around him is not a long-term plan.
Based on that $298 million annual EBITDA, a figure that realistically would need a new and far more lucrative television deal in 2019 to reach, because you can only cut costs so much and PPV revenue is not likely to beat this year’s numbers on an annual basis very often, you do get a six times multiple. But that is a hell of a lot of costs savings, and means the idea that these big PPV numbers will serve to increase fighter pay may not be the case except for the top guys who are contracted for cuts.
But all the debt revenue of $1,825,000,000 was quickly raised through high interest offered, and in fact there was so much demand to get the high interest debut that Goldman Sachs was able to cut the interest.
But that much debt, if the average on it is 7.5 percent interest, that works out to $137 million just in paying interest on the debt. That doesn’t even figure paying back any of the debt, just the annual interest payment.
That means the company won’t make any profit at all unless they top that level of EBITDA. Those huge interest payments are bad news for fighters hoping to get their pay raised with the new owners, and explains why there look to be cost-cutting measures put into place even though the company is booming as a business and hugely profitable like never before.
That's a bit harsh, especially if the pill was "tainted". If the contents of said pill was readily available, rules are rules I suppose. Plenty of guys could come in claiming ignorance if they let this go.
I honestly don't think it has anything to do with Jon himself, but USADA sending a message that popping for anything and then finding something tainted with said substance isn't going to fly. The only "tainted supplement" excuse that will work is if you disclose exactly what you're taking and a batch happens to turn out to be bad (which is suggested fighters may already be paying supplement companies to do, so they have the lot and batch numbers ready). Jones had asked about Cialis, which is what he claims he thought the pill was. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn't dope when he took this pill (though, to imply he has never doped is pretty far fetched considering the state of the UFC and MMA in general).Yeah but past transgressions makes him lose any benefit of doubt.
The one guy I think Conor would lose to is Khabib.
If Conor can keep him out reach and stay off the cage, he has a good chance to drop him in the first two rounds. After that point, I haven't seen enough of Conor not gassed after 2 to believe he can keep him out. If Khabib gets in or gets Conor against the cage, the fight is over and Khabib mauls him on the ground like he does everyone else.The one guy I think Conor would lose to is Khabib.
pretty sure he would lose to Stipe too
People think that if Michael Johnson can tag Khabib, McGregor can definitely light him up and have a solid chance of defeating him. After destroying Alvarez, I don't blame fault that frame of mind. But Khabib is tough as sh!t, has great movement, and is a very smart fighter (even tho can have discipline lapses.) He will eventually get McGregor down, and that will be the beginning of the end.The one guy I think Conor would lose to is Khabib.
If McGregor doesn't fight his next fight at 145, he is losing the belt. So, I think he fights 145 and maybe an interm title shot for Khabib, unless he wants to wait for Conor.
John Kavanagh, not Tim Kavanaugh.If Conor can keep him out reach and stay off the cage, he has a good chance to drop him in the first two rounds. After that point, I haven't seen enough of Conor not gassed after 2 to believe he can keep him out. If Khabib gets in or gets Conor against the cage, the fight is over and Khabib mauls him on the ground like he does everyone else.
Interestingly enough, Conor's coach (Tim Kavanaugh) thinks Diaz is the better fighter vs Khabib and Holloway and has the best shot at Conor. Now, this could be just talk and ducking or something he really believes. As much as I think Conor puts on an act, the guy does have some wicked counter punching. He has holes in his game, sure, but nobody short of Diaz has been able to withstand the stand up long enough to really exploit that. The Khabib fight goes two ways, and both are real bad for one of the fighters. It's the classic striker vs wrestler fight.
Yeah, I knew his name was something like that.John Kavanagh, not Tim Kavanaugh.
Featherweight championship: Conor McGregor -205, Jose Aldo +165
Kalikas: "The weight cut would be brutal for McGregor at this point, now that he has bulked up for fights at 155 and 170 pounds. But if he can make the cut, it would be a rematch of a fight he finished in 13 seconds [at UFC 194 last December]. McGregor's timing and counterpunching took Aldo out, ending his 10-year unbeaten streak. Aldo has all the tools, but don't underestimate the mind games McGregor played on him. McGregor closed as a +100 even money bet against Aldo in their first fight. He'll open significantly higher this time."
Lightweight championship: McGregor -250, Nate Diaz +190
Kalikas: "McGregor was overzealous when they met in March [at UFC 196]. He head-hunted and gassed himself out. He fought with a far more measured approach in the rematch [at UFC 202 in August], working Diaz with low kicks, body shots and dropping him multiple times in the first two rounds. In both matchups, McGregor was obviously the better striker, as long as his conditioning held up. In order for Diaz to win, he'd have to rely on weathering the storm again and McGregor's cardio fading. Diaz's big advantage is on the ground, but his attempts to get the fight there were unsuccessful in the rematch. There's no question McGregor should be the favorite in a trilogy bout."
Lightweight championship: McGregor -115, Khabib Nurmagomedov -115
Kalikas: "This fight would be McGregor's ultimate test. Nurmagomedov is one of the best wrestlers in the UFC and would have a clear advantage on the ground. Unlike Diaz, Nurmagomedov has a very strong ability to put opponents on their back. McGregor would have to either limit his approach offensively, fearing the takedown, or go all out in an attempt to take Nurmagomedov out with strikes as quickly as possible before the takedowns come. McGregor's use of range has helped his takedown defense and if he can stay upright, he should be in a great position. But if Nurmagomedov has success with his takedowns, it could be a long night for the Irishman. As a pick-em, the sports books should attract a large amount of two-way action due to both fighters having serious die-hard fan bases."
Welterweight championship: McGregor +125, Tyron Woodley -155
Kalikas: "McGregor's previous experience at welterweight was against a large lightweight in Diaz. This time, McGregor would be facing a true welterweight, someone who walks around about 20 to 30 pounds heavier than him. This fight would be similar to the Nurmagomedov matchup, considering Woodley is a very powerful wrestler who can take him down and do serious damage on the canvas. Unlike Nurmagomedov, Woodley also has insane power with his right hand, and McGregor has never been hit by someone who can pack a punch like Woodley. That being said, McGregor should hold a significant technical striking edge and would have a clear path to victory if the fight stayed standing."