Midnight Mania! Arum claims UFC wants half McGregor’s purse vs. Mayweather

Welcome to Midnight Mania! Tonight we have Bob Arum dishing on why McGregor-Mayweather may not happen, Max Holloway poking more fun at Jose Aldo, Joanna Jedrzejczyk enjoying Florida, fun with fight posters, knockouts, sumo, submissions, and much more.

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Insomnia

Bob Arum gave his thoughts on McGregor-Mayweather, and the obstacles standing in the way of the fight happening. As a boxing promoter, he was pretty disdainful of the UFC’s style. While Arum is not involved in the negotiations, he is one of the most well-connected men in boxing, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he had inside information. Transcipt via BloodyElbow.com:

"I think the only impediment there is the UFC, because UFC doesn't treat fighters the same way that boxing promoters do. In other words, UFC fighters get so much less than boxers do. They proposed a deal to Conor that on his share of the purse, they take 50 percent. Now, give me a break.

"If the fight doesn't happen...not that I think it's going to be a great fight, because I think Conor fighting Mayweather is not really a fight, if it's boxing. Conor (is a) great MMA fighter, but hasn't shown anything in boxing. And Mayweather's one of the great fighters. But if that fight doesn't happen, the blame will only be on the UFC."

There are a couple interesting things here. Firstly, he is absolutely correct in the way the UFC treats it’s fighters financially compared to boxing, if we are talking the top stars. (There is some evidence that the UFC treats it’s mid-level talent better than boxing, although both sports do an awful job compared to mainstream sports in terms of profit share) McGregor gets paid pocket change for what he draws compared to boxing stars. That’s one of the most interesting aspects of this ongoing McGregor-Mayweather conversation- it may open the door to UFC fighters and fans understanding how underpaid they all are.

Secondly, Arum is right. The fight itself won’t be competitive, despite what Dana White and even Nate Diaz would have you believe. McGregor can’t be faulted for his lack of self-belief, though. He seems to fully believe he can stun the entire world by knocking Floyd out.

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Bobs and Weaves

Holloway isn’t above poking fun at giants. Jose Aldo may be an all-time great in his division, but Max believes his day has come. I can’t wait for UFC 212.

Joanna trains in Florida at American Top Team, and it looks like she’s decided to enjoy that for all it’s worth. I’m a little jealous, honestly. I’ve always wanted to visit the Everglades.

Ilir Latifi is one of this column’s favorites, partly because he can do stuff like this:

He also had a fight announced, on that Penn-Siver card in Oklahoma. What an odd place for a Brazilian and a Swede to meet.

This is the original poster for Gastelum-Silva at UFC 212 in Brazil. It seems to be missing someone though- where is Kelvin Gastelum?

There he is

Wait, they made the same mistake with this one.

Fixed.

Let’s just fix all the posters.

Even Dana White is into helping get Gastelum into the picture with Silva.

Speaking of posters, this one’s not bad.

I like this concept too.

The whole card is stacked, and it’s a pretty good venture into the Pay-Per-View market for Bellator.

Y’all remember this right? Yeah, this ought to be fun. I’m looking forward to the press conferences.

Alright, Invicta... you’ve got my attention

With no UFC this weekend, you may find yourself wanting that combat sports fix. Here’s everything going on this weekend:

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Quick Hits

• Joseph Benavidez is officially spinning his wheels at flyweight- they’ve got him fighting rising prospect Ben Nguyen. He could just as easily be getting a title shot, but those two losses to Mighty Mouse are hard to erase
• Rampage Jackson plans on weighing 260 to fight King Mo? Is he on a diet of horse meat?
• Looks like Nate Diaz will be getting a refund from the NSAC for that bottle-throwing fine

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Slips, Rips and KO Clips

This submission is extremely cool

Nasty submission

That’s why the hook comes after the cross.

SUMO

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Fan Post

Anyone watching Iron Fist? This is your fanpost.

Stay woke, Maniacs!