Sorry, but I disagree.
That's a terrible excuse.
Brother I am not making excuses. I wrote specifically that it's unacceptable to have gone this long without a fight being booked. Conor can't hang on to the LW belt forever. He should have had a fight booked by January this year or have been stripped. That was a good amount of break after the Floyd fight.
I understand the hiatus to learn Boxing, but MMA? he could have fought at the end of last year and anytime until now.
Totally agree. No problem with taking a few months off after Floyd but this has gone on way too long.
And this is not the first (second) belt he forfeits. it is actually the 4th. So don't come and claim it is just an unfortunate set of events.
I think the first three belts Conor won were lost due to a series of events which led to him being stripped. CW FW and LW belts in successive fights, then moves to UFC. UFC FW title, then immediately offered LW belt fight. RDA pulls out late, Diaz steps in, cue shenanigans.
Post Conor being stripped of the FW UFC belt it has been a circus.
Conor demands new contracts after every single fights, and this is on him. he has a valid contract with the UFC. if he is not agreeing with the terms, it is on him, and no one else.
Totally agree. UFC has to work out whether they want him to fight, knowing that after each bout he will very likely try to renegotiate. The problem is that the UFC can't force him to fight, so he can stall. Since the UFC needs to make money they'll eventually come back to him. This is the trouble with the UFC not having many stars and with PPV sales being driven by casuals paying to see the stars.
And IMHO this is just a great excuse he uses (and you guys allow it). He doesn't want to fight someone, just demand more money and Voila! Excuse made!
Bolded: mate, I don't allow anything. I'm not in charge of Conor's career. He's a fighter and I like his fights.
But his behaviour suggests that he is happy to take risks provided he is compensated. He wasn't afraid to fight RDA because there was something in it for him, ditto with Nate in the rematch after Nate humilated him. I don't think he's hiding behind big demands, if the UFC offered him what he
thinks he is worth then he will fight.