No, but you run afoul of the company when you don't give them adequate time to try to find a replacement and it's poor form to not allow said replacement enough time to prepare. The further out the more likely they are to find a decent replacement, for that reason, so it's not a TJ/Joe Soto situation where it feels like 'the show must go on' instead of a sick anticipated fight.

Any earlier and it's like you're not trying to make it (unless it's something like an ACL), so it's that sweet spot of time.

Now Werdum is out

So much for that card

Jon Jones supposedly saying he'll jump on the card to fight Miocic for title at ufc196, but only if it's actual title and not interim. Not sure this is likely considering jeopardizing Jonesv Cormier at ufc200

lol no way would Werdum get stripped for pulling out vs Cain

Not sure what Jones is thinking

Sounds like jones is backpedaling. How could it be for the actual title unless Werdum is fighting?

Jon Bones Jones ‏@JonnyBones 15h15 hours ago
Jon Bones Jones Retweeted Rodrigo Elizalde
If it was for the actual title I would totally do it


That isn't really a dumb statement now that I see the context. Basically he is just saying if he were to make the leap of fight on 2 weeks notice then it would have to be for the HW title. Not really asking for it or suggesting it.

right

just a hypothetical

yeah, i get Jones's POV. If the challenger had been hurt then of course Jones would want to jump in and fight the champ for the title. He'd be crazy not to, especially with how good he is and how weak HW is as a division. But just fighting a random HW in a 'showcase' that doesn't mean much would be dumb, since he already has a LHW title fight coming up.

196 is just a fight night now and on FS1 and the march 5th card is gonna be 196

sucks for people who bought tickets

bc there's only slight overlap w/ EDF I'll post this here too:

Aldo came out w/ an announcement

http://espn.go.com/mma/story/_/id/14...gregor-matchup

Seems his english started breaking down once he got emotional

Don't know much about Tony Ferguson but isn't Khabib supposed to be the best at 155 and going to kill everyone? Just wondering, was surprised to see him only -175 on 5dimes.

Fergurson is a whiz off his back as well as on his feet, good at sweeps and subs. Tough, tough dude. He's 10-1 in the UFC alone with his only loss being a decision to Michael Johnson back in '12, 7 wins since that w/ a recent win over Josh Thomson as well as finishing Barboza, Tibau, and Trujillo to round out his last 4.

Khabib also is coming back from a long layoff and multiple injuries so his form is big time in doubt. Then again, he's shown a willingness to pull out if he's not in condition to fight. He's not a finisher tho, and Ferguson will be live to get a finish the whole fight.

Winner prbly gets the next title shot barring RDA/Conor rematch. Don't think anyone is clamoring for Alvarez, at all. If Conor wins I could see Nate getting it.

Khabib would be favored over RDA and Conor though wouldn't he? He already handled RDA once, granted it was awhile ago.

styles make fights man

MMAth doesn't work

like I was posted before too tho, form is in doubt

Probably. I think his injuries are the main reason he isn't a heavy favorite. Tony is really tough, unpredictable, and finds ways to win.

Dana responded to that Aldo stuff btw.

Basically said he got beat fast and he pulled out before that so not really in a hurry to appease him. The fact he pulled out of 5 title fights probably isn't helping him.

Khabib's odds largely reflect his layoff. If he comes back like Cruz did in his first fight back against Mizugaki, then his next fight will better reflect his ability.

Dana couldn't care less about Aldo. Money>>>>>>>>>> Fairness for him every time.

that's why they call it prize fighting

I could give a flying care about fairness when the best personality in the sport calls his shot and insta-KOs the possible P4P king - and then polishes his brass balls and demands the toughest fight possible.

It's unprecedented. It's barely believable. And, most importantly, this unobstructed assault on greatness is the exact reason why the UFC is incredible and boxing is terrible.

So wait your turn Jose while the man takes the career you could have had.

McGregor is at the top right now but he is a nutcase. He thinks he is gonna fight 4 times a year and beat all the champions?Hasn't he figured that he sucks on the ground? It's fun for now but when he starts losing, and he IS gonna lose his fair share of fights(especially to wrestlers), then it's gonna be much less interesting.

I think that WWE'ing the UFC a little doesn't hurt, actually I think it's great but they can't forget that MMA is a sport and giving title shots based on talk rather than performance is dangerous and takes away its credibility.

If he can win a few more fights and keep this momentum up, UFC might be forced to co-promote/revenue share with him.

They probably wouldn't mind if he took a loss. They like him being the biggest star they've had since Brock/GSP and looking to surpass them, but they also don't really want anyone to get bigger than the UFC brand.

What an interview, Bambam guy might be mentally unstable.

Superb finish to the first fight with a flying knee landing perfectly and now Scoggins putting on a decent show.

Card great until spinning boy appeared.

Wtf is he doing??