UFC 229: McGregor vs Khabib

[Lord of The Curry]

Main Card (PPV)

Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor- LW Title
Tony Ferguson vs Anthony Pettis
Dominick Reyes vs Ovince St. Preux
Derrick Lewis vs Alexander Volkov
Michele Waterson vs Felice Herrig

Prelims (FS1)

Sergio Pettis vs Jussier Formiga
Vicente Luque vs Jalin Turner
Tonya Evinger vs Aspen Ladd
Scott Holtzman vs Alan Patrick

Prelims (Fight Pass)

Lina Lansberg vs Yana Kunitskaya
Gray Maynard vs Nik Lentz
Ryan LaFlare vs Tony Martin

 

[Lord of The Curry]

Suga Sean O'Malley caught a USADA case over what he's saying is tainted supplements, pulled from the FS1 main event.

 

[JHawk]

There are actually a few bars around here showing this that haven't shown UFC in years. Might just hit one of them up

 

[Lord of The Curry]

I envy people who can tolerate the length of a UFC PPV in public not to mention dealing with drunken Conor fans.

 

[Zetterberg is God]

Seconded. Haven't been out to many in bars but it detracts from the experience significantly.

 

[JHawk]

It's been years since I tried so if I do (no guarantee, I work until 9:30 and might just decide to go home) it will be interesting

 

[Lord of The Curry]

I wonder if you can bet on the odds of how many fights will take place in the crowd during the show. It's almost a certainty that somebody is gonna get hospitalized and I'd bet on it being Conor fans especially if they're trying to step to hardline Muslim fans of Khabib cause they'll be stone cold sober and the Irish fans are gonna be trashed.

 

[Lord of The Curry]

https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2018/9/26/17870536/ufc-229-conor-mcgregor-and-the-cartel-shady-figures-kinahan-hutch-khabib-mma-crime-gangs-news

I'm sure that the United States government is all over this shit but I imagine the percentage of undercover agents in Vegas is being drastically increased for the fights this weekend. Conor is connected to some legit mobsters.

 

[Lord of The Curry]

Card has been edited slightly, they couldn't find a replacement to fight Quinones but it sounds like O'Malley's USADA snafu is going to get cleared up because the UFC said that the fight will be rebooked at a later date so it's obviously something that they want to keep intact. Alan Patrick vs Scott Holtzman is on the prelims now.

Rogan and Schaub were discussing this on his podcast yesterday and Schaub brought up that he doesn't see this fight breaking any records in terms of PPV buys and I'm inclined to agree with him. The buzz amongst the hardcore fans is there but they don't move the needle, usually when Conor fights I get messages on social media from friends and family but I don't see any buzz amongst casual fans for this one. For what it's worth on that same podcast Schaub said that Josh Thomson told him that if Khabib beats Conor on Saturday he wants to retire.

 

[909]

It's gonna do 900k-1m at best. Khabib did draw a lot of eyeballs for the Iaquinta fight, but this hasn't been promoted very well.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Khabib said he wants to fight 2-3 more years. His family also makes it sound like he really wants the T-Ferg fight.

I think this does 800k, but Dana said it's trending to hit 3 million lirl

 

[Lord of The Curry]

I think it does around 1 to 1.2 million. It definitely doesn't reach Conor/Nate II numbers, no fuckin way.

Also worth noting that the main card is fantastic but outside of Formiga/Pettis those are some prettttty weak prelims. Luque is way better then fighting a DWTNCS graduate, Ladd vs Evinger from a rankings perspective I guess makes sense but Ladd has dropped out of two of her three scheduled UFC fights. Lansberg is ranked #12 at BW but hasn't looked that great in any of her fights and the rest of the undercard is all unranked and they likely will never crack the Top 15.

 

[KOAB]

Just because it's Conor in the main event I'm willing to say this at the very least breaks a million buys. I do find it crazy that it seemed like casuals moved on from him quickly. Like I know people will say this hasn't been promoted at all but just a year ago we were at point where whatever antics McGregor was coming up with and were being put online got more attention than actual pressers for some big cards the UFC were putting out as a whole.

The cokehead rage at a bus had this much of an effect?

 

[AA484]

There are several places around here that never have the PPVs that are getting this one.

 

[Lord of The Curry]

Just because it's Conor in the main event I'm willing to say this at the very least breaks a million buys. I do find it crazy that it seemed like casuals moved on from him quickly. Like I know people will say this hasn't been promoted at all but just a year ago we were at point where whatever antics McGregor was coming up with and were being put online got more attention than actual pressers for some big cards the UFC were putting out as a whole.

The cokehead rage at a bus had this much of an effect?

Rogan made a good point on the podcast that the UFC might have very well wanted Conor to do the full press media tour and he told them to fuck off.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I've seen lots of promotion in terms of billboards and TV ads and stuff like that. I think they are pushing this hard. But going by social media/search stats, it doesn't seem like this is an old Conor PPV. It feels like it will hit 700-800k buys.

It could be that people already are interested and don't feel like talking about it. That's a possibility if the bus thing resonated that much with people. But I'm skeptical.

 

[Lord of The Curry]

I'm torn on the fight itself. I think for Conor to come back after two years away from the cage to knock out the guy who everybody said would style on him would be amazing. The huge downside is of course whether or not he'd ever want to defend the belt again and the UFC has already had to create two interim belts because of him. I think a Khabib win assuming he plans on sticking around is better for the division and the continuity of things plus I don't give a fuck if they book it for the fourth time I WANT TO SEE TONY VS KHABIB GODDAMNIT.

 

[AA484]

This just feels like it will do crazy buys. Call me crazy but it will be closer to 2 million than 1 or less.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I am skeptical, I was reading this article let me find it.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

hold on

 

[Zetterberg is God]

Not sure how big a difference it being Thanksgiving weekend in Canada will have on this (if I recall Canada is still a huge PPV market for them), but I know in my case I'll probably either have to stream it or order it online while at my wife's family's Thanksgiving dinner.

 

[AA484]

If I'm not mistaken, bars have to pay based on the maximum occupancy of their building. I think these count as "buys", too. I've seen double the amount of bars scheduled to show this PPV than a normal card.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

wow these guys both look dehydrated as fuck

 

[Mickey Massuco]

http://culturecrossfire.com/sports/mma/no-ufc-229-wont-do-3-milllion-buys/

that's the article I was talking about, good read.

 

[Lord of The Curry]

Conor once again with the hand punching/slapping at weigh-ins. SMH.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Conor once again with the hand punching/slapping at weigh-ins. SMH.

The weigh in pull aparts are far and away the most WWE part of the organization. It’s pretty predictable. Dana shouting “don’t touch him” was eye-rolling as fuck

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Yeah that got a groan out of me.

Khabib is p. popular worldwide and actually seems to have more interest than Conor right now, but I'm not sure how well those translate to PPV's. As far as I know, the bulk of the PPV buy business comes from North America. I think in Russia they get it as part of a cable package, so those don't count towards PPVs.

I guess I'll say it will do 1, 1.1 million buys then. Still not nearly as big a deal as they're making it out to be.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Khabib's chin does look a little suspect, but I feel p. confident skills-wise that he wins this. His striking defense is much better than people give him credit for, and Conor leaves lots of openings to be hit and taken down. It's Khabib's fight to lose.

The prelims on this card are surprisingly weak. As far as the main card goes, I hope Derrick Lewis earns a title shot and makes the sport cool again. That fight should be five rounds. So should the Pettis/Ferguson fight, but there's a good chance those fights have finishes within three. If T-Ferg wins, the promo he makes after the fight should be angry about the disrespect to his title.

Waterson's stock has fallen a lot, a year ago I wouldn't have thought she could possibly lose against Herrig. But it's a toss-up fight to me now. Reyes is the only real prospect at 205, Anthony Smith is not good. Reyes has a big test tonight but I think he passes. I think he knocks out OSP, probably in the second. If his takedown defence is as good as they say, the first.

 

[Brocklock]

Khabib's chin does look a little suspect, but I feel p. confident skills-wise that he wins this. His striking defense is much better than people give him credit for, and Conor leaves lots of openings to be hit and taken down. It's Khabib's fight to lose.

The prelims on this card are surprisingly weak.

HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT THE 2011 MEGA FIGHT OF GRAY MAYNARD VS NIK LENTZ

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Gray almost died man I hope you're happy.