Each week, ESPN.
Carolina Panthers Jerseys .com writer and MMA
Live Extra analyst Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the
world of mixed martial arts.This week, Okamoto squares off with UFC middleweight
contender Mickey Gall to debate the latest news including the recent sale of the
UFC, UFC 200, the Nate Diaz-Conor McGregor rematch and more. Gall (2-0), returns
to the Octagon at UFC 203 on Sept. 10 against CM Punk, at Quicken Loans Arena in
Cleveland, Ohio.1. Will the sale of the UFC to WME-IMG ultimately be a good or
bad thing for the sport?Gall: I dont know man. I dont know what implications
this has. It still has (president) Dana White at the head, which is great. Hes a
fight fan, he knows fights -- I think hes a big reason why (the UFC is) as big
as it is, why the $2 million purchase eventually turned into a $4 billion sale.
I think it could be a good thing. You dont buy it to just keep it the same. Im
sure they have some improvements they want to make. Its a little weird. I hope
its all good. Its hard to know right now. Im not sure what the implications of
them buying it are. I know that $4 billion is a lot of money. Its hard for me to
quantify. It shows the worth of the sport, the entertainment value. It also
shows the worth of the fighters. Were worth something. I dont know though, I
dont know what changes will be made.Okamoto: I think it will be good. An
entertainment empire like WME-IMG, with an investment group backing it as it
has, does not purchase the UFC for $4 billion unless they see a very strong path
to a return on that investment. Its a good time to be in the live sports
business, when it comes to negotiating television contracts with networks.
WME-IMG certainly is a good candidate to understand how to monetize the sport
from that aspect, and more money is good for everyone, athletes included. Its up
to the athletes to make sure they are given an appropriate piece of that pie.
UFC has gone full corporate, in a sense, and these new owners are here to print
money. Athletes need to be aware of that and speak up if they want their fair
share of it.2. Did UFC 200 live up to the hype?Gall: For me it did. Obviously, I
was extremely disappointed with the Jon Jones thing. We knew that going in
there. If that Jones-Daniel Cormier fight happened, it would have been over the
top. I still really enjoyed UFC 200. I said that on Twitter, that it didnt
disappoint. And I immediately got, Youre a shill, youre blind, all of that. But
(teammate) Jim Miller got the win, that always makes my night and puts me in a
good mood. I loved the Brock Lesnar fight. He really impressed me. Id say it
lived up to it, it did.Okamoto: If we make this a yes or no question, then my
answer has to be no. If youre looking at it from a basic perspective: Did UFC
200, a landmark event that was on all of our radars for a very long time, live
up to the hype? No, it did not. The main event was a fight between Miesha Tate
and a relatively unknown Amanda Nunes. It was a great highlight win for Nunes,
but it didnt feel like this big piece of history. An event like UFC 200 needs
historical relevance. Lesnar vs. Hunt? Doesnt provide that. Cormier vs. Silva?
Not really. It wasnt a bad night of fights but it wasnt a spectacular one,
either. But, theres an asterisk in all of this and that is Jon Jones was pulled
three days before the card. That threw an obvious wrench into the entire thing.
So, relatively speaking, given the circumstances, UFC 200 delivered in that it
felt like a big night with big names. The overall product was slightly
disappointing, however.3. Should fans have booed Daniel Cormier for his
wrestling-heavy strategy against Anderson Silva at UFC 200?Gall: Id say its
within their right to do that and I can see where theyre coming from. I think
its a shame, though. DC gets booed a lot, which is surprising to me because he
seems like a role model type. Seems like a very good guy. Doesnt cause any
problems really. When its that style, man, its not very appealing to a lot of
the fans -- that lay and pray kind of thing. I think its within the fans right
to boo but I feel bad for DC. He was fighting a safe fight, didnt want to lose.
I understand both sides of that, the fans and him. Fans want to see people
taking chances, doing stuff. Everyone knows DC can take down Anderson, so I can
see why they would want him to mix it up, but it would be unintelligent for DC
to stand up with Anderson.Okamoto: Absolutely not. And Im not getting on any
high horse here -- whatever. Fans can boo whoever they want, Im not losing sleep
over it. Im not yelling at anyone. But this was ridiculous. If fans want to
cheer Silva for coming in on two days notice, two months removed from surgery,
thats great. They should cheer him for that. But to boo Cormier? Who lost out on
the biggest payday of his career and a chance to beat the best fighter of his
generation (because that guy failed a drug test)? After the emotional roller
coaster Cormier went through, fans want him to turn around and fight a dumb game
plan (in a sport you can get seriously injured in), simply for their
entertainment? I swear this is true, when the arena was chanting Stand them up
during the Cormier-Silva fight, thats the closest thing Ive ever felt to, This
is ancient Rome, man -- people just wanting to see blood and death out there.
Again, Im not trying to stand on any soapbox about this, but that thought went
through my head, and it was a little unsettling.4. Will Brock Lesnar fight in
the UFC again?Gall: Man, I hope so. I really hope so. He looked great. He fought
a monster in Mark Hunt. He fought his fight. When Brock Lesnar drags people to
the ground and throws those big meat fists in their face, he does that, anyones
in trouble. He can do that to anybody. So, I hope he fights again. I heard he
made $2.5 million at UFC 200. Thats nice money to take and run with. I didnt
watch the post-fight press conference but I read some of the reports of him
saying hes Top 10. I agree with him. That guys a specimen. Hes one of those
guys, if he had gotten into mixed martial arts young and didnt pro wrestle, he
would have been even better. Maybe even on a Fedor (Emelianenko) level.Okamoto:
Im split right down the middle on this. On one hand, yes. Lesnar is saying hes a
top-10 heavyweight, his comments after the fight made it seem like hes more
likely to fight again than not. Certainly, you have to think the UFC would love
to have him. Hes not going to be fighting for the title again. Heaven forbid he
took out the UFCs heavyweight champion but then contractually was still with the
WWE. Obviously, that aint happening. But would the UFC book Lesnar to another
fun kind of fight, at an event like UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden, against an
opponent with a relatively weak wrestling background, which would give Lesnar a
shot? Absolutely. But on the other hand, if Im Lesnar, maybe I do stop while Im
ahead. I just went into a locked Octagon with Mark Hunt and exited with all my
senses. I made a lot of money to do so. I probably made myself more marketable
within the WWE in the process. Do I really need to place myself in the line of
fire again? To me, its 50-50 we ever see Lesnar again.5. After seeing Jose Aldo
at UFC 200, did it change any feelings you might have had regarding a rematch
between he and Conor McGregor?Gall: Yeah, it showed that hes still that same
Aldo who won almost 20 fights in a row, was undefeated for 10 years. Hes still
that guy. It kind of shows that -- I dont want to say it was a lucky punch --
but if Aldo fought McGregor 100 more times, Im sure theres not going to be
another 13-second knockout. Id be really excited to see a rematch. I hope Conor
doesnt get locked up in a trilogy with Nate Diaz. I know Dana White said Conor
will go back to Aldo after UFC 202, but I also heard McGregor talking about a
trilogy with Nate. So, I hope he does go back and fights Aldo at his proper
weight class. In hindsight, I definitely think Conor got in Aldos head and had
him fighting too aggressively. That first punch he landed was a result of all
that talk. You saw how Aldo was fighting Frankie, it was different. Aldo went
into that Conor fight hot and that was it.Okamoto: Didnt necessarily change my
feelings on it. What it did was say, Hey, Conor, if youre coming back to 145
pounds, this is the fight. Before Saturday, there were two fights: Aldo and
Edgar. Now, no more questions about what opponent it should be challenging
McGregors title. If he wants to defend it, obviously its Aldo. As far as
changing my view of what a rematch would look like, not really. If McGregor
fights Aldo a second time, I will pick McGregor to win. I wont be picking him to
win in 13 seconds and I wouldnt expect it to be an easy fight, but I picked
McGregor in their first meeting because I thought he had the right style and
athletic makeup to beat him, plus I thought he was in his head. I still think
all three of those things. Aldo is one of the greatest fighters Ive ever had the
pleasure of covering, but what he did to Edgar on Saturday doesnt change my pick
in an Aldo, McGregor rematch.
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Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made
five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies
best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild
forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side.
Luke Kuechly Jersey . The 20-year-old
Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting
end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in
the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the
New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the
Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night.
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. John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if
required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built
an 18-point lead. Chelsea came from behind to secure a 3-1 victory over
Manchester City at the Eithad in Saturdays early kick-off.A well-contested first
half saw few chances for either side, but it was City who broke the deadlock on
the stroke of halftime. Gary Cahill inadvertently sent the ball into his own net
following Jesus Navas drilled cross, an unfortunate blemish in an otherwise
impressive performance from the Chelsea defender.The tempo was raised in the
second half, with City missing two opportunities to widen the gap early on.
Sergio Agueros effort was hacked off the line by Cahill moments before Kevin De
Bruyne missed a sitter from point-blank range.The hosts were made to pay as
Diego Costa raced through on goal to beat Claudio Bravo shortly aftter.
Scott Simonson Jersey. From there, Chelsea
outshone the Citizens, frequently causing problems on the break. Willian put the
visitors ahead with Costa heavily involved in the build-up play, and City never
really fought back from then on. Eden Hazard made sure of the three points as he
finished another counter-attack off.The game ended on a bitter note as Aguero
was sent off for a terrible high challenge on Luiz, which sparked a mass
kickoff. Fernandinho was also expelled for pushing Cesc Fabregas in the
aftermath.An excellent performance from Chelsea earns them their eighth straight
win. For City, lots to think about.
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