SATURDAY NEWS DIGEST 1/26: Max Holloway starts whiskey war with Conor McGregor, Kevin Lee calls out Gregor Gillespie, and more

By Michael Hiscoe, Managing Editor

Max Holloway, @BlessedMMA, Twitter

Well played

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone has seen his name at the top of the Conor McGregor Sweepstakes as of late, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only name in the running. One of McGregor’s early UFC wins was against a young Max Holloway. The fight was Holloway’s last loss and, of course, he went on the become UFC featherweight champion.

Holloway may have fired the first shot in a whiskey war with McGregor when he traveled to Dublin, Ireland this weekend and spent some time with the people at Jameson Whiskey. McGregor has been pushing hard his Proper Twelve Whiskey brand that launched last year and much of his social media time is dedicated to pushing his new product. So if Holloway was looking to get McGregor’s attention, he may have made the smartest move possible.

Holloway’s tweet from Dublin, which seems like an innocent #sponsoredpost on the surface, but is absolutely savage when looked at through a McGregor lens.

“238 years of innovation, hard work, and unmatched quality. Not a watered down trend. A true pillar of Ireland, supporting the hard-working families in Dublin for generations. Thank you @jamesonwhiskey for the hospitality. The number one Irish whiskey in the world #sinemetu”

If you don’t know, Sine Metu means “without fear.”

Kevin Lee calling his next shot

Kevin Lee, coming off of his loss to Al Iaquinta last month, told MMA Junkie Radio recently that he was offered a fight with Darren Till at welterweight as the headliner for March’s UFC card from London. Lee didn’t feel like the fight was the right move for him so he turned that one down. Now Lee has an opponent in mind after last weekend’s ESPN+ card from Brooklyn.

“There’s the Gregor Gillespie kid who looked real good,” Lee said. “He ain’t going to spend no time calling nobody out. I’m trying to get in touch with his people while he out in the woods. I was impressed with that last fight and that’s definitely a fight I’m looking at now. I would be giving him a shot and coming up. I’ve already put my offer out there I’m just waiting to hear back.”

Gillespie won a second-round TKO of Yancy Medeiros last weekend and seems to be on the rise. A fight with Lee is a fairly big step up in competition, but one that may be welcome to Gillespie, while giving Lee a chance to bounce back.

Fight Announcements

-Sam Alvey steps in for Ryan Spann to take on Jim Crute at UFC 234 on Feb. 9 from Melbourne.

-Veronica Macedo vs. Gillian Robertson at UFC Prague on Feb. 23.

-Charles Byrd vs. Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC 235 on March 2 from Las Vegas.

In case you missed it

BELLATOR 214 PREDICTIONS: Grocke’s updated odds and predictions for every fight

ROUNDTABLE: Staff predictions for Ryan Bader vs. Fedor Emelianenko

ROUNDTABLE: Staff predictions for Jake Hager vs. JW Kiser

Bellator 214 Countdown: Part 3

 

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