Jon Jones pris par USADA au contrôle anti dopage, out de l'UFC 200 et probablement suspendu

L'annonce a été officialisée par la firme Néerlandaise ce samedi 23 juillet et à évidemment fait l'effet d'une bombe, confirmant les rumeurs qui circulaient depuis quelques semaines, la rencontre entre le champion actuel Heavyweight Rico VERHOEVEN et l'ancien combattant du K-1 Badr HARI aura bien lieue !

C'est lors d'un événement organisé par le GLORY prévu en Allemagne que l’opposition se fera. Peu d’informations sont encore connues mais nous pouvons vous annoncer que le titre de champion du GLORY détenu par Rico ne sera pas remis en jeu, il s'agira d'un superfight prévu en 3 reprises.

Cette rencontre permettra à deux écoles de s'opposer avec d'un coté BADR HARI, 31 ans, 106 victoires (69 KO) pour 12 revers, champion du It's SHOWTIME en 2009 et 2010 et finaliste à deux reprises du mythique K-1 World GP (2008-2009) et de l'autre, Rico VERHOEVEN, 27 ans, 48 victoires (12 KO) pour 10 défaites, Champion du GLORY 2014, 2015 et 2016 et élu Fighter of The Year en 2013.

Badr HARI n' a plus combattu depuis Août 2015, il s'était alors imposé face à Ismael LONDT par TKO (round 3) dans une rencontre à rebondissements signant là son 5ième succès d'affilé.

Place aux choses sérieuses:

6:07 p.m. ET – McGregor says the fight delay from UFC 200 was a good thing for him: “It was a mess when all that happened when 200 fell out, but I got what I had asked for. I wanted time to prepare correct, and that’s it. Nate has been doing runs on the shows and I’ve been chilling in Cabo on the yacht. I got what I asked.”

6:08 p.m. ET – McGregor says he didn’t get a thank you from Michael Bisping for stepping out of “XxX” movie: “I should get a cut of that. I didn’t even get a thank you. That was my role. I met with the guy before the Aldo fight. The director came out, him and his little team came out and we spoke. I said I’ll do the film. Then after the last fight, I rang him up and said, ‘Listen, I can’t go into this film because it’s not something I’m trying to do right now, I need to get that win back and I need to go focus and do what got me here in the first place. I disengaged from the film altogether. That was a seven-figure deal that I turned down to prepare for this fight. Bisping scooped up the role, he got it and that was that. I just let that go. This is more important to me. I said it before: I’m not in this for show business. This is the fight business I am in here and that’s all I’m trying to do here.”

6:09 p.m. ET – McGregor says he feels “absolutely amazing” ahead of the rematch: “I’ve prepared phenomenal. I didn’t give enough credit to Nate’s durability, his experience. He’s a very experienced fighter. He’s had more UFC fights than I’ve had fights. Also his height and his range and his reactions, I gave no respect to that. I marched forward, and in fairness, for the first round and a half, he was a heavy-bag with eyeballs. I was correct in that, but his durability held out, his experience held out for him. So this time, I’ve been preparing for that. I’ve been preparing to face a durable, experienced fighter who has the reach, the height and the length. That’s it. So I feel very confident we will get in and get this win back and put this man away.”

6:10 p.m. ET – McGregor makes his prediction for the UFC 202 main event: “This time, I’m still going to march forward, I’m still going to press him, I’m still going to bust him but there’s going to be a lot more in the tank and I’m going to be a lot more prepared for a man that can stay in there with me. If I was to make a prediction, and I will right now, I believe I will repay the favor and KO him inside the second round.”

6:11 p.m. ET – McGregor says this is “100 percent” the biggest fight of his career: “Realistically I should be a two-weight UFC world champion. If I fought Rafael dos Anjos, if he didn’t (expletive) out of that last one and showed up, the shots I cracked Nate with in the first eight minutes would have KO’d Rafael dos Anjos stiff. That’s no question. I would be sitting here right now as a two-weight world champion, but I don’t dwell on that. I am happy that happened because it forced me to look at my preparation, look at the route I was going. It forced me to reassess, so I’m happy this happened. But make no mistake, this one means a hell of a lot to me. This one means more than any amount of gold or money combined. I gave up a hell of a lot of money, I gave up a lot of Hollywood opportunities for this contest. I wanted to restrict media, I wanted to solely focus on this. So that should tell you how much this fight means to me and I’ve been preparing accordingly.”

6:13 p.m. ET – Diaz says he wanted the McGregor rematch because it’s a big deal and not just a regular fight: “I was ahead of everybody as far as a following in the UFC. I was the biggest draw, I was the biggest everything in every weight class and then Conor came around and was the biggest draw, he was getting a big push, everybody was all about – the UFC was Conor McGregor. So if I’m going to fight somebody it’s going to be someone that’s a big deal. I’m not signing fights just to fight because I could make just as much money outside of the ring as in the ring. If you’re going to have a big fight then I’ll fight, but I’m not going to (expletive) around no more.”

6:14 p.m. ET – McGregor says he is confident in his jiu-jitsu going into the rematch: “I don’t think the difference between us in that fight was the jiu-jitsu. I think it was the durability, the endurance, the experience. I think that was the difference. When we were both fresh, I ended up in the mat and caught that kick and he did that takedown he does and I swept him. … I am confident on the mat with Nate. After that, I’ve brought in heavier people, more experienced jiu-jitsu people to come in and push me daily. I will be experienced for his jiu-jitsu in the later rounds also.”

“I don’t like MMA,” Ishihara said in a report from Yahoo Sports. “I don’t like boxing. I don’t like wrestling. I don’t like grappling. I like only [women]. I don’t want to fight. I really don’t. I’m not trying to get fans or be different from anyone else. I don’t want to fight.

“I do this because it’s the best way I know of to get girls. If you fight, and you get the knockout, you get the girls. That’s my thing, getting the girls.”

“MMA is something I shine in and when I’m fighting is when I look my best,” he said. “I think I’m most attractive to girls when I’m doing this. If I thought I was good at something else that would get the girls to pay attention to me, I’d do that.

“If I thought soccer was that thing, I’d do soccer. Singing, I’d sing. I’d even do a cooking show if it brought me the girls.”

"With gyms, cars, transport, flights, accommodations -- I'd estimate we're talking a $300,000 camp here," McGregor told ESPN.

"This is a big, big expense -- but what I make is big. So, in the bigger picture, it's rather small."

McGregor's reported purse to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for UFC 196 was $1 million, although he makes much more in undisclosed pay-per-view bonuses.

In addition to head coach John Kavanagh and coach Owen Roddy, McGregor has employed a masseuse, a performance coach, a movement coach, a nutritionist and various sparring partners for this recent camp.

Grappling partner Dillon Danis, from New York, was flown to Dublin, then Las Vegas. Irish middleweight boxer Conor Wallace was brought in to mimic Diaz's striking style. A videographer is also part of the camp, to publish promotional videos for McGregor on a regular basis.

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