GSP in new French interview said that UFC/Dana refused to give him the Khabib fight.

Sarge3000

Sarge3000

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At both 155 lbs and catchweight. GSP and his team were practically begging for the fight and his negotiation team offered UFC multiple options which they refused. GSP says that he wanted to fight Khabib, he was ready to come out of retirement for that fight that everyone wanted. But Dana White & UFC brass refused.

GSP explained this was due to the new UFC business model which was no longer dependent on PPVs and making "big fights" like Khabib/GSP would have been. Under the ESPN/DISNEY new deal, the UFC is paid a fixed revenue and no longer relies on PPVs for profits. GSP said that officially, Dana White says that fights are all about "what the fans want" but this is no longer the reality under the new ESPN deal. He says that "Dana White often tells what the fans want to hear, not the reality actually happening".

GSP reveals that Khabib was supposed to call him out after his victory over Conor, but the new circumstances meant the fight could not happen. GSP now says that the chances of the fight happening are "very slim to none". He said that now, Tony Ferguson deserves the fight over anyone else.

Interview here for those that speak French:
It's also a great interview in general of GSP, where he talks about motivation, his life, etc.
 
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As much as I love Georges, sign a multi fight deal or...
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I'm a huge GSP fan but I can 100% see why Dana refused.

When GSP won the MW title and retired instead of defending, it threw a monkey wrench into the division.

So why would you give an opportunity like that to a guy who will most likely just ride off into the sunset if he wins? Then you have taken all the lustre off of your champ Khabib, and you can't capitalize on it because the guy who has taken that lustre is retired. If Khabib is beaten, you want it to be by a guy who is going to stick around like Tony or Gaethje. Otherwise, all you're left with is damaged goods.

It just doesn't make sense to take that kind of risk. GSP poses a huge risk to Khabib, and even if Khabib beats GSP, people say "oh well GSP is old, he was weight drained, yadda yadda."
 
Sarge3000 said:
GSP explained this was due to the new UFC business model which was no longer dependent on PPVs and making "big fights" like Khabib/GSP would have been. Under the ESPN/DISNEY new deal, the UFC is paid a fixed revenue and no longer relies on PPVs for profits.
Click to expand...
^^This means the fight will probably never happen. Unless Georges works his way to a title, which is highly unlikely..
 
Yeah not surprising given that he fucked the MW division along with Bisping
 
Ofcourse Dana doesnt want GSP to kill his cashcow Khabib,no doubt UFC will make a lot of money from Khabib but not much from GSP,Khabib is undefeated and still has at least 5 fights in him IMO and that means too much money if he can go on undefeated
 
IGotAHugePeckah said:
I'm a huge GSP fan but I can 100% see why Dana refused.

When GSP won the MW title and retired instead of defending, it threw a monkey wrench into the division.

So why would you give an opportunity like that to a guy who will most likely just ride off into the sunset if he wins? Then you have taken all the lustre off of your champ Khabib, and you can't capitalize on it because the guy who has taken that lustre is retired. If Khabib is beaten, you want it to be by a guy who is going to stick around like Tony or Gaethje. Otherwise, all you're left with is damaged goods.

It just doesn't make sense to take that kind of risk. GSP poses a huge risk to Khabib, and even if Khabib beats GSP, people say "oh well GSP is old, he was weight drained, yadda yadda."
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter because the UFC has become a circus where belts/rankings don't matter anyway and Dana White was making superfights after superfights (the Conor McGregor era). The reason is that the profits and massive PPV payout of these superfights was better for Dana White & UFC than the previous model. However, as GSP explained, under the new ESPN-Disney deal, massive fights are no longer the goal of the UFC in terms of profits. Basically the fight could have happened before the ESPN deal.

Also, if you read my OP you would know that the "belt" was irrelevant to the discussion, because GSP proposed to fight at catchweight, so that if Khabib lost, he would still be LW champ. UFC/Dana refused on purely business grounds, it has nothing to do with fear of GSP taking a belt and running away.

As GSP said...The business landscape changed.

Reach4theSky said:
^^This means the fight will probably never happen. Unless Georges works his way to a title, which is highly unlikely..
Click to expand...

Unfortunately yes.
GSP did however say that Dana White is an extremely fickle individual who changes his mind constantly, so he said that if they propose him a good deal he was waiting for it. However he also said that he's 38 and under no illusion that he couldn't wait forever.
 
Sarge3000 said:
It doesn't matter because the UFC has become a circus where belts/rankings don't matter anyway and Dana White was making superfights after superfights (the Conor McGregor era). The reason is that the profits and massive PPV payout of these superfights was better for Dana White & UFC than the previous model. However, as GSP explained, under the new ESPN-Disney deal, massive fights are no longer the goal of the UFC in terms of profits. Basically the fight could have happened before the ESPN deal.

Also, if you read my OP you would know that the "belt" was irrelevant to the discussion, because GSP proposed to fight at catchweight, so that if Khabib lost, he would still be LW champ. UFC/Dana refused on purely business grounds, it has nothing to do with fear of GSP taking a belt and running away.

As GSP said...The business landscape changed.
Click to expand...

You totally missed the point. If GSP beats Khabib, whether it for a belt or not, Khabib is then still damaged goods. This hurts Khabib's draw and "superfight" potential. If you have a guy come in, damage the stock of one of your biggest names and then leave, that's bad for business. Pretty simple concept, not sure why you're struggling with it.
 
I'm annoyed with GSP for the simple fact that he's making me side with Dana White.

The moment GSP vacated the middleweight title is the moment he figuratively told the fans and the organization that he's willing to vacate a title rather than defend it. Him and his team can offer all the "options" they want to the UFC, but there's nothing the UFC can do to stop him from retiring again or citing an "injury" to get out of the contract.

We all saw what happened to the middleweight division as a result of GSP's actions and I don't blame the UFC one bit for not wanting that to happen with the lightweight division too.

I'm not interested in GSP vs. Nurmagomedov; GSP needs to stay retired.
 
Khabib vs Tony is actually the fight the fans want.

nobody was asking for gsp vs khabib.
 
IGotAHugePeckah said:
You totally missed the point. If GSP beats Khabib, whether it for a belt or not, Khabib is then still damaged goods. This hurts Khabib's draw and "superfight" potential. If you have a guy come in, damage the stock of one of your biggest names and then leave, that's bad for business. Pretty simple concept, not sure why you're struggling with it.
Click to expand...

I'm struggling with it because I fail to see how Khabib fighting the GOAT MMA star and losing to him, probably on points, is so damaging to Khabib and his brand. It's a nonsensical argument. The Khabib/GSP fight would be a boone to all of MMA and the dream matchup for thousands of martial arts enthusiasts. If "losing to GSP" was really the UFC's fear, then how would that reflect on the UFC's attitude to the sport in general? More entertainment than "Ultimate fighter".
 
Sarge3000 said:
At both 155 lbs and catchweight. GSP and his team were practically begging for the fight and his negotiation team offered UFC multiple options which they refused. GSP says that he wanted to fight Khabib, he was ready to come out of retirement for that fight that everyone wanted. But Dana White & UFC brass refused.

GSP explained this was due to the new UFC business model which was no longer dependent on PPVs and making "big fights" like Khabib/GSP would have been. Under the ESPN/DISNEY new deal, the UFC is paid a fixed revenue and no longer relies on PPVs for profits. GSP said that officially, Dana White says that fights are all about "what the fans want" but this is no longer the reality under the new ESPN deal. He says that "Dana White often tells what the fans want to hear, not the reality actually happening".

GSP reveals that Khabib was supposed to call him out after his victory over Conor, but the new circumstances meant the fight could not happen. GSP now says that the chances of the fight happening are "very slim to none". He said that now, Tony Ferguson deserves the fight over anyone else.

Interview here for those that speak French:
It's also a great interview in general of GSP, where he talks about motivation, his life, etc.
Click to expand...

this's before the recent tone change from Dana
 
Dana concerned about GSPs colitis. He doesn't want him to get any sicker
 
acannxr said:
I'm annoyed with GSP for the simple fact that he's making me side with Dana White.

The moment GSP vacated the middleweight title is the moment he figuratively told the fans and the organization that he's willing to vacate a title rather than defend it. Him and his team can offer all the "options" they want to the UFC, but there's nothing the UFC can do to stop him from retiring again or citing an "injury" to get out of the contract.

We all saw what happened to the middleweight division as a result of GSP's actions and I don't blame the UFC one bit for not wanting that to happen with the lightweight division too.

I'm not interested in GSP vs. Nurmagomedov; GSP needs to stay retired.
Click to expand...
But GSP has a chronic illness
 
Dana recently has been much more open to the fight, so who knows.
 
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