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And I'm a proud Conor fan and here's what I think about you obsessed haters *cough cough
Also, it was Lorenzo who made the Conor vs Floyd fight happen. Just so you know
I'm truly starting to wonder if Conor haters are new to MMA...because there have always been far worse in MMA....Frankie Edgar getting about 124 title shots coming off losses...Cruz not defendeng for 3 to 4 years until he was finally stripped....Randy getting a gift title shot at HW after 4 years of retirement where his last fight was a TKO loss at LHW...BJ Penn getting a gift title shot at Matt Hughes when BJ had never fought before at 170....Gsp getting a gift title shot at MW after 4 years of retirement...Look at all the times Cain sat on the sidelines while holding the HW belt hostage. Cain had like 2 fights in 4 years. Literally a HW version of Khabib before there was Khabib...Nothing Conor has ever done has been half as bad as just the examples I listed. It's now confirmed that Conor sherdog haters never actually followed MMA
I hate having to spend so much time debunking this, but I will bite...and this isn't just about Conor, it's about the UFC (more so, IMHO).
First, pointing to past shitty matchmaking doesn't justify current shitty matchmaking. Frankie, BJ, and Randy may not have deserved their shots, but none of that removes the criticism of the path Conor has taken...it merely suggests that his situation isn't entirely novel.
So let's take a closer look, since Conor indeed isn't the first guy to benefit from gifts...
Where BJ, Frankie, and Randy are concerned...yes, gifted shots. Context matters though. At least Hughes, Aldo, and Timmay all had defenses under their belts to paritally justify parachuting in guys from other divisions.
(btw, I am assuming you just erred in saying that Randy got his HW title shot after 4yrs of retirement, since it was only about a year after he lost to Chuck at LHW).
When Conor was initially gifted his LW title shot, RDA only had one defense. After that fight fell through, RDA lost to Eddie...and how many defenses did Eddie have when Conor was still parachuted in? NONE. There was no merit to Conor leaping over EVERY contender at 155 (except money).
Cruz indeed set the standard for holding up a division, and Cain is an honourable mention...but at least they were injured. Hasn't Conor been healthy all this time and thus CHOSEN to never defend? By his own standard (see my sig), Conor should already have been stripped!
Conor also does not deserve to even be mentioned in the same sentence as GSP...unless it is to point out that he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence lol
GSP ruled the WW division for years, had a string of title defenses, and retired as the undeniable GOAT of his division. He returned after 4yrs off, at age 36, for a legacy fight at 185, against a similarly older fighter looking for the same...yes, it was indeed a gift (for both guys). Despite it fucking over deserving contenders, GSP's long history of in-cage accomplishments suggests he was not grossly undeserving of special treatment (and he wasn't holding up WW while doing so).
Conor? He did not rule 145 for years, had no similar string of defenses, and did not leave as the undeniable GOAT, particularly since Aldo received no rematch (even after beating Frankie and being "promised" one). You might note that Hughes granted GSP a deserved rematch and GSP returned the favour...THAT is champ behaviour.
So when the 155 gifted title shot with RDA fell through, Conor bravely takes a fight with Nate at 170. Commendable, for sure...but say what you want, the result is that he got STOPPED by a guy fighting on *days* notice.
Now rather than have to go defend his 145 title, or even return to the gifted 155 title fight that had been on hold, Conor is GIFTED an immediate rematch in a meaningless fight, in a division he doesn't even compete in, despite getting stopped the first time? even dominant champs have taken fights before getting rematches, and here is Conor getting an immediate one, in a meaningless non-title fight, while holding up the title picture in two other divisions?
tl;dr - as entertaining as Conor's fights have all been, his path also represents some extended and unprecedented bullshit (largely the UFC's doing) that your examples don't even come close to touching.
This isn't about "hating Conor" or denying that others have been gifted opportunities...it's about being upset at the SERIES of gifts Conor has been given, and the REPEATED prioritization of money over merit by the UFC where Conor is concerned.