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Each week, ESPN. Charlie Conacher Jersey .com writer Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts. This week, Okamoto squares off with former UFC and current Bellator heavyweight Matt Mitrione?to debate the latest news and trends. Mitrione (11-5), 38, is unbeaten in two fights since making his Bellator MMA debut in June.?1.?Will Georges St-Pierre?ever fight again? If so, will it take place in the UFC?Mitrione:?My belief is yes. I believe he really wants to fight again. Ive actually spoken to him about it. I feel theres a chance hell fight for another organization, but the thing is, St-Pierre is a competitor, and he wants to fight against the best competition in the world. So I think if another organization can get somebody who is worth his time, who is not locked up by the UFC, St-Pierre would be interested. I dont think St-Pierre is going to wait another year to fight. If he does fight, I think its going to be soon. I think his recent comments are a lot of posturing, which is intelligent. He just put a lot of pressure on the UFC, publicly, and I think thats something [UFC president] Dana White has done to try and humiliate and embarrass fighters for a long time. So good for GSP for taking a page out of Danas book. The new UFC is only interested in putting on fights that bring in heavy dough. GSP is the key to Canada. I think by GSP doing that, letting the world know he wants to fight but theyre not giving him what he wants, then he put a lot of pressure on them.Okamoto:?Yes, I think St-Pierre will fight again. I think his desire to fight has been pretty obvious for a while now. And I do think that fight takes place in the UFC. Whether hes legally a free agent at this exact moment or not, I believe the overall outcome of this situation is the same, and that is he will fight in the Octagon again. Ive said it before and Ill say it again: 2016 was the year in which UFC fighter negotiations went public. Athletes have more leverage in this sport than theyve ever had and theyre more willing to use it. Not every single athlete can say that, but the ones who have found themselves in a position of strength have been generally willing to use it to their advantage. This could turn into one of the most interesting legal battles in the history of this sport. As of right now, I define it more as ongoing negotiations and, as Mitrione put it, posturing. At the end of the day, it would still be easier on everyone involved to come to an agreement, rather than hash this out in court.2.?With St-Pierre ruled out of UFC 206 on Dec. 10 in Toronto, will that pay-per-view event get lost in the shuffle of a busy end of the year?Mitrione:?I cant even think of whos on UFC 206, so to me its already lost. Oh, AJ [Anthony Johnson]. Thats in Toronto? Anthony versus Daniel Cormier. It could get lost, man. AJ is an animal. DCs an animal. But I think GSP is kind of a needed commodity for that market right now. Especially with the business trading hands and now the bad business of the UFC not having him on that card, I do think UFC 206 could get lost, yes.Okamoto:?I agree. It absolutely could. From a pay-per-view standpoint, sandwiching it in between New Yorks UFC 205 and Ronda Rouseys UFC 207, it already was in a perilous spot. Its similar to UFC 201, which was sandwiched between the landmark UFC 200 and the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz rematch at UFC 202. The return of St-Pierre would have been enough to combat that. Without him, I dont know that a rematch between Cormier and Johnson is enough to support PPV numbers. Cormier himself has expressed concern on this, as his payday is directly linked to PPV. The Toronto market has produced big crowds at Air Canada Centre in the past, and it has been three years since the UFC has been in that building. So Canadian fans might still show up at the gate, but as far as a PPV draw, it certainly could suffer.3.?Ronda Rousey returns at UFC 207 on Dec. 30 against bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. Was this the right fight for her to return to?Mitrione:?I think Ronda got exposed and is going to have a really difficult time fighting anybody, because a lot of people are going to have a different game plan for her now. Is it the right fight for her, though? Yeah. I think Julianna Pena would be highly aggressive and a difficult fight for Ronda. I think everyone knows what would happen if Ronda fought Cyborg [Cris Justino]. I think she wanted nothing to do with a rematch against Holly Holm. So it was either Miesha Tate or Amanda Nunes. She got what she needed. The UFC knows what Ronda needs to be successful, and they need her to be successful. I just feel the blueprint is there for Nunes, but Ronda will be able to close distance, and her ability in close proximity is still the best in that division, especially when it goes to the ground. If you get a striker she cant close on, shes going to have a difficult time, but I think she can close on Nunes.Okamoto:?Its not the worst fight for her to return to. Oddsmakers still see Rousey as the favorite. Asking her to come back to a superfight against Justino or a rematch against Holm, whom youd think would have a psychological advantage, would have been tough. Ill admit it though: If I were the UFC, I would have booked her to the most tuneup-type fight possible. And I wouldnt have felt ashamed about it one bit. Haters would hate and accuse the UFC of pampering Rousey. OK, fine. If Im the UFC, I want Rousey to return, for UFC 207 and beyond, and I want her to be confident. Its not like weve never seen this before. Tuneup fights have been around as long as combat sports. Let your star get her legs under her in a matchup that favors her -- heavily. Nunes hits hard. Shes a finisher. I would have found a pillow-fisted bantamweight with poor takedown defense. That, to me, would have been the right fight for Rousey, but, I guess, credit her and the UFC for jumping straight back into the fire.4.?After being fined $150,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Conor McGregor says hell never fight in Las Vegas again. Do you believe him?Mitrione:?I think Conor is a very astute young man and that he understands the power he has with his name and marketability. If youre going to get fined like that and that makes you never want to fight in Vegas again, he knows he has the power to do so. Itll hurt Vegas and their pockets, which is obviously his intent if he doesnt fight there again. I think Conor does a lot of posturing, but this is something hes probably pretty legit about. Yes or no, does Conor ever fight in Las Vegas again? Id guess no.Okamoto:?Not really. Mitriones right, McGregor has never been one to misunderstand the value in his name. Saying hell never fight in Las Vegas again, he knows what impact that has on the individuals who fined him. Las Vegas wont go bankrupt if it never hosts another McGregor fight, but the man has been in the headliner of four of the top five mixed martial arts gates in Nevada history. Not to mention, hes responsible for bringing a very large amount of Irish money into the city during the last two years. His words on never fighting in Nevada again carry plenty of weight, but I personally dont expect him to hold that grudge forever. The UFC likes to host its big events in Las Vegas. No income tax in Nevada equals a happy face on McGregors record-setting paychecks. Well see what the future holds, but my guess is McGregor will be back in Vegas before his career is over.5.?Who wins the Bellator MMA light heavyweight fight on Jan. 21: Chael Sonnen or Tito Ortiz?Mitrione:?Chael, all day long. I just feel that Chael has youth on his side. I feel Chael is quick, slick, works on his hands. Tito is kind of past his prime a wee bit. He knows hes the draw that he is. Hes more of a businessman at this point where I think Chael is still a grinder.Okamoto:?Yeah, Ive got to lean Sonnen as well. I do think, however, a lot of people will completely write Ortiz off in this matchup, which I think might be a mistake. The general perception seems to be Ortiz is finished, which I wouldnt even completely argue with. However, he will be the bigger man in this contest, and although he has forfeited plenty of athleticism to age and injury, he still has size and enough power to make this fight interesting. But ultimately, Sonnen is younger, comes in shape and is the best wrestler Ortiz has fought in years. The early pick is Sonnen. Felix Potvin Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Doug Gilmour Jersey . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. http://www.cheapmapleleafsjerseyschina.com/curtis-mcelhinney-jersey/ . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Elliott Fry hasnt given up on a successful final season, even if most of what hes heard and read since last year has told him he should.The South Carolina senior kicker, whos 42 points away from becoming the schools career scoring leader, was a freshman on the last of three straight 11-2 seasons from 2011-13. He believes the Gamecocks upperclassmen are poised to take a big step forward with new coach Will Muschamp after last years 3-9 flop.I think everybody on the team wants to get back to 11 and 12-win seasons, Fry said Friday. Thats our expectation.There arent many outside the program who share Frys vision.South Carolina, which contended for an SEC East title from 2010-13 and voted to win the 2014 crown, were picked dead last in the division by the media at the leagues recent preseason gathering with little hope of breaking into the top half of the seven-team division.For Fry, its a point of pride to prove the doubters wrong.At the end of the day, Muschamp said it best: Theyre never right, Fry said. I dont remember a time they predicted it accurately.Fry understands the problems of the past two years.The Gamecocks struggled to finish above .500 in 2014 -- blowing three double-digit leads in the fourth quarter and losing a fourth at Auburn after entering the final period tied -- needing a bowl win over Miami to go 7-6.Then coach Steve Spurrier preached improvement, hope and a return to the top most of the next summer. But South Carolina opened just 2-4 and Spurrier stepped aside.The reeling Gamecocks lost five of their last six under interim coach Shawn Elliott, leading to Muschamps hire last December.Ever since, the buzz around South Carolina has been bad.Linebacker T.J. Holloman, another senior, says the team has used the negative talk as motivation.Were not going to talk about last year, were just going to work hard, said Holloman, who made three starts as a redshirt freshman on the Gamecocks last 11-win team in 2013. Bill Barilko Jersey. Were a blue collar team. Were not the fastest, were not the flashiest, but were going to go out there and outwork everybody.Holloman and Fry didnt have to do much work Friday, entertaining grade-school children at a yearly Pigskin Poets event put on by the Richland County Public Library.Holloman said the support he and other Gamecocks receive at these gatherings powers them into workouts.Were just so thankful for the loyalty, he said.The Gamecocks start the first fall camp with Muschamp on Tuesday.Holloman believes South Carolinas returning players are better than they showed last season and have been focused on getting things back on the winning track.When we came in here, we saw what it took to get to 11-2 and now were trying to focus on the little things, he said.Holloman said first-year strength coach Jeff Dillman ran an intense, high-energy program that the Gamecocks bought into and pushed themselves though to improve.Thats been the big key for me and I see the difference, he said. Everyone said, `Yes, sir, lets go to work.Thats what Muschamp expects from the Gamecocks. He has said both that the team has to own last years poor mark and after spring ball that South Carolina had good enough players to win the East.Fry accepts that it will take more hard work at practice and in meeting rooms to make anything like that happen. But its possible. Just take a look at Auburn in 2013, Fry said, which came off a dismal 3-9 season and went 0-8 in the SEC.All that (negative talk) is just speculation, Fry said. It doesnt mean anything. NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Jerseys NFL China Wholesale NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China ' ' '
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