what a tool....dont take away from what those guys accomplished ...that was a great great card
I don't agree with the assessment that the fight was fixed.
However, there is no denying the fact that there was a ton of reasons...and I would venture to say well over 100 million dollars on the line....that was begging for a McGregor win. One cannot sit and say that there was no vested interest in the outcome that was realized being the preferred outcome.
Does anyone ever listen to the Eugene Robinson podcast? He makes the the case for the fix here:
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2015/7/13/8949447/knuckle-up-357-ufc-189-a-query-how-does-it-feel-to-be-a-sucker
just stop...please...it does nothing good for the sport spreading stupid opinions based on something not going the way someone wanted it to go...therefor the fix was in...its dumb...its boring and it needs to go away ...this isnt the 1950`s when the mob controlled boxing ...with all the eyes and ears (cameras ) watching every move from every angle in super slow motion , its impossible to pull that crap off ...so please ...stop
Are you saying that sporting events haven't been corrupted since the 1960s or since slow motion replay was invented?
Like I said, I don't think it happened...but I also don't agree with your premise that it is ludicrous to think that it could ever occur or that the temptation is so strong that it would never be considered or acted upon.
Let's run by some scenarios.
Let's assume for a second that Mendes refused to fight on two weeks/short notice.
What would the UFC have done? Would they have put in Frankie Edgar you think, someone else or scrapped the fight. A fight that had already had untold millions spent on it and was going to showcase their new uniforms, logo change, presentation, etc.
If they scrapped the fight or took McGregor off of it, how much money do you think they would have lost on it?
Let's assume McGregor lost the fight to Mendes. How would you quantify the financial impact of that loss on the organization?
The fact of the matter is that the UFC went on a major heater and could not lose this weekend. Everything bounced in its favor. I am not saying anything unethical happened, but to suggest that there is no chance that something could ever happen or could have happen is naive in my opinion.
I personally think the risks are too great for the UFC to engage in that sort of stuff. But, I don't run the company or know the books. Many have speculated that they have been taking a hit financially over the last 18 months or so due to a decline in PPVs from the pullouts, etc. But, then I also think the risks are too high to get hopped up on something (allegedly) and run my car into a pregnant woman and flee the scene when I am the light heavyweight champion of the world, too.
And I would not have figured that 50 cent was on the brink of bankruptcy, either.
My point. Who the #### knows what is going on behind the scenes when this sort of money is at stake.