‘They’ve both earned it’
Things continue to be coming together for a potential Conor McGregor-Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone fight later this year. Speaking to reporters following yesterday’s UFC 234 press conference, Dana White said that a fight between the two could take place as soon as this summer.
“Those two want to fight each other, they’ve both earned it,” White said (via MMAJunkie). “‘Cowboy’s’ fought anybody we’ve ever put against him. We throw this young killer Hernandez at him, ‘Cowboy’s’ the underdog and he goes in and does it the way he did it, then Conor’s fought everybody. If these two want to fight, I’m down.”
McGregor is suspended until April 6, and White said he’d “like to see Conor fight this summer,” so a July date for his return may make the most sense. UFC typically tries to load up their July International Fight Week card from Las Vegas.
#1 Contender
Dana White said during yesterday’s press conference that the winner of Saturday’s Anderson Silva-Israel Adesanya fight will be the top contender for the middleweight championship. If Silva has his way, he’ll win that fight and then make a relatively quick turnaround to get his championship fight.
“I think hopefully I win this fight – or not – but I think my plan is to fight in Curitiba. (It is) my city, my country, with my next opponent. That’s my goal,” Silva said.
So win or lose, Silva may be looking to fight on that UFC 237 card set for Brazil in May. A city and venue have not been confirmed for UFC 237, but if Silva can secure a title shot, a big stadium show in his home country may be the right move.
Not so fast
Anderson Silva shouldn’t be looking past this Saturday though according to opponent Israel Adesanya. Adesanya gave Silva credit for inspiring him to enter the sport but he said he plans to take Silva “out of the game,” when they fight this weekend. With that said though, Adesanya isn’t taking Silva lightly and wanted to remind people how great his opponent is.
“You don’t know who that man over there Anderson Silva? I think a lot of you new fans weren’t around during his reign, what it felt like. You might’ve come around the Rousey era or the McGregor era, but you don’t realize who this guy is.”
Friday notebook
-Dana White said that Tony Ferguson is likely up next for Khabib Nurmagomedov. “He’s the No. 1 contender. He’s the guy. That’s the fight.”
-Israel Adesanya’s coach, Eugene Bareman, told Submission Radio that Anderson Silva is “The Lance Armstrong of MMA.”
“For me, he cheated. And I’m a very stand up guy. MMA fans, for one or another reasons, they’re not the same as cycling fans. MMA fans forget quickly when someone cheats. But I’m not like that.”
–Dana White tweeted that UFC and DirecTV have reached a one-night deal to make UFC 234 available for purchase.
-Bellator has reached a one-year deal to air events on Sky Sports in Ireland and the U.K.
UFC 234 Embedded episodes 3 and 4
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