There’s something strange going on between the UFC and Conor McGregor. After weeks of rumors that the fight promotion was working on a McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez lightweight title fight at Madison Square Garden, UFC president Dana White announced over Twitter that Alvarez would face 155 pound contender Khabib Nurmagomedov instead.
But wait, it gets stranger. Apparently, Alvarez refused to sign the bout agreement to face Khabib in New York City. The UFC has reportedly sent him a new agreement for their December event in Toronto … still against Khabib. As for why Alvarez vs. McGregor can’t be made, the UFC’s own news show UFC Tonight made the claim a few days ago that McGregor was recovering from a leg injury.
Except various legit sources close to McGregor have said that isn’t the case, and if there were still doubts, there’s now fresh footage out of Straight Blast Gym in Dublin of a healthy looking McGregor sparring. It even looks like he takes a leg kick from his training partner in the video.
Is there another behind the scenes power struggle going on between McGregor and the UFC that’s screwing everything up? The two infamously fought over promotional duties for UFC 200, leading the UFC to pull Conor from the event. Recently there’s been some back and forth arguments over McGregor defending the featherweight belt he won off Jose Aldo last December with Dana White declaring McGregor would have to drop the belt if he didn’t defend it next. As you’d imagine, Conor McGregor hasn’t been very receptive to that idea.
It all leaves us wondering what exactly is going on, and why the UFC and Conor McGregor seem to be butting heads so much after the Irish superstar has generated the two biggest pay-per-view events in the history of the company this year. A press conference for UFC 205 in New York is supposedly going to reveal the full lineup for the card, and we’re sure questions will be asked about McGregor’s involvement or lack thereof. But with so many questionable statements coming from the company lately, can we believe what they’re going to tell us?
(video via Zombie Prophet)
