HYDEN BLOG: Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg on hold? Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson and Georges St. Pierre, Conor McGregor, and Nate Diaz play the waiting game

FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST

Amanda Nunes
Amanda Nunes (photo credit Mark J. Rebilas © USA Today Sports)

HYDEN BLOG: Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg on hold? Mirko Cro Cop vs. Roy Nelson and Georges St. Pierre, Conor McGregor, and Nate Diaz play the waiting game.


Cyborg vs. Nunes…Not so fast!

UFC Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes will fight Raquel Pennington at UFC 224 in May. There were talks of having her fight UFC women’s featherweight champion Cris Cyborg, but that hasn’t come to pass yet. Perhaps, if Nunes defeats Pennington, she’ll go on to fight Cyborg but she has a test before her now. I think Nunes wins, but she’ll have to work hard to beat Pennington. She can’t overlook her, and I don’t think she will.

Cyborg has said that she’d like to fight Nunes in July or so, but it would be asking a lot for Nunes to make that turnaround. It’s certainly possible, of course, but it shouldn’t be expected. I think Pennington-Nunes will be a good fight, but Nunes-Cyborg would be a great fight. I’d love to see it and I hope it happens. Nunes just has to get through a tough challenge first, though.

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The return of Cro Cop.

Mirko Cro Cop is slated to fight Roy Nelson at Bellator 200 in May. I’ve been a Cro Cop fan for a really long time, but I don’t know how to feel about this. He got suspended for two years for a doping violation but never served his time. There’s also his age and the fact that he’s not nearly what he once was as a fighter. This fight could be exciting, but it’s more likely to be dull and boring. That gives me pause. I’ll be watching, though, which I guess is the point.

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McGregor vs. GSP?

There continues to be some talk of Georges St. Pierre and Conor McGregor fighting. Most of it comes from GSP’s camp. This would be a huge fight, no doubt, but any fight McGregor has is going to be huge. McGregor could fight Glass Joe from Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out and it would be huge. GSP would add to that, of course, but this isn’t one of those “Got to happen” type of fights. I’d love to see it, but I’d just love to see both guys fighting, even if it’s not against each other. The question is, is it worth it? What dollar amount would it take to get these guys together?

McGregor needs to get back into the cage or ring or whatever because he needs to keep it going. He needs to keep his name out there, and not with Instagram posts and stuff like that. The way things are now, things move quick and people will forget about you if you wait too long. Luckily for McGregor, the UFC sucks at promoting their stars and helping to create new ones so there’s no Next Big Thing that’s come along. Still, though, it’s tempting fate to keep waiting and waiting so he’s should be making a decision soon one way or the other.

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What about Nate?

Nate Diaz is also in that camp as well. I don’t know the behind the scenes stuff going on, but he needs to strike while the iron is hot, and it’s cooling down. The same for the UFC. Why hasn’t he been out there fighting somebody? On his end, he’s due a big pay bump because of his fights with Conor McGregor. Even if it’s not as much as he might want, it’s better than what he was getting. On the UFC end, they don’t have a lot of stars and buyrates are falling, making use of one of the stars they do have is just smart business. Surely there’s a common ground to be found? The UFC can still bring in Brock Lesnar if they (and he) want, but there’s no harm in having another proven draw they can put out there.

Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank


Now read this: HYDEN BLOG: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Bellator 195 and UFC 222

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