The cancellation of UFC Manila left the weekend void of UFC action. But this didn’t stop the MMA world from speculation about the talking points which were floating around. As the card for UFC 205 seems to be set, UFC 206 was one of the points under discussion. The return of Georges St. Pierre seems to be off for the time being and there were some rumored reasons for the same.
Conor McGregor getting knocked out cold was another rumor that surfaced. Brock Lesnar also features in the list. With that said, here is a closer and detailed look at these rumors that circulated on the Internet this past week.
5. WME-IMG to bring in their people
The impact of WME-IMG buying UFC is still yet to be fully seen. Although we have seen glimpses of this, a landscape changing move from the party is yet to be made. The rumors suggest that it could come soon. Recently Dave Sholler announced that he was set to depart from UFC. He will follow the footsteps of Joe Silva. According to rumors, this will only be the start of things.
WME-IMG is looking to bring in new backstage executives into UFC and the company is expected to undergo a full-blown change by January. The appointment of Mick Maynard was one of the recent moves that WME-IMG pulled for and we can expect similar moves in the coming months.
4. Conor knocked out cold
The UFC 205 fight between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez has got the fans hyped big time. And this hype is the reason why a mere rumor about Conor being knocked out during training turned into a big talking point on the internet. Conor immediately posted a photo on Instagram where his nose, which was said to be broken in the rumors, seemed pretty fine.
His team also reacted to the rumors suggesting that it was not true but arguments came up against this saying that no fighter would admit getting knocked out ahead of such a big fight. Knocked out or not, Conor was in the news due to this and finds a place in this list as well.
3. UFC 206 main event plans
The UFC 206 will now be main evented by the title fight between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson. However, the promotion had other plans initially. On the UFC.com website, the main event slot for UFC 206 was kept as TBD till Saturday. The Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson fight was listed as the co-main event meaning that UFC clearly had plans of having a bigger main event.
The Cormier vs. Johnson fight was then promoted to main event on the weekend and the day after this, Dana White came out and announced that Georges St. Pierre would not be returning to UFC indicating that GSP was supposed to headline the show.
2. Reason why GSP is not returning
As mentioned in the last slide, UFC was indeed in talks with Georges St. Pierre about a potential return. However, the talks seem to have broken down. The deal that UFC has with Reebok is being pointed out as the main reason for the breakdown as the last time GSP fought in UFC; such a deal was not in place. GSP was known for securing huge personal sponsorship deals but with the Reebok deal in place, he wouldn’t be able to bring his personal sponsors to the octagon.
One of the most notable sponsors that GSP would have to leave is Under Armour. This, in turn, could cost him a lot of money, posing a big hurdle to the return talks.
1. Update on Brock Lesnar’s USADA bust
Brock Lesnar’s failed drug test was a major talking point after UFC 200. The Nevada Athletic Commission is yet to conduct his disciplinary hearing and Brock’s attorney has requested to push forward the hearing to find the source of the positive result.
Earlier, it was believed that Lesnar’s Asthma medication was the reason, but now, claims are surfacing that it was foot cream and eye medication that caused a positive test. The Commission had rejected the request to delay the hearing meaning that Lesnar’s team might not get enough time to figure out the source. If we go by the rumors, it could be anything from the foot cream, eye medication or the asthma medication.
