Will President-elect Donald Trump attend UFC 205 in New York?
NEW YORK – Two fighters missed weight, one so badly he wasn’t allowed to fight and another by so much that his opponent was forced to weigh in heavier in order to comply with state regulations limiting weight differences to five pounds.
Another fighter was dropped off the card for an old medical reason that didn’t impact him in any other jurisdiction.
And there was the fighter who attempted to whack another with a chair, and the little head bump from champion to challenger during a photo opportunity.
Nothing, though, could hurt Dana White’s mood this week as the UFC’s New York City debut draws nearer. It’s going to be a mega-event that could set company records for both pay-per-view sales and live paid gate and which may alter the perception of the sport forever.
Conor McGregor’s grab for history in the main event has captivated the sport as he attempts to defeat lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday and in the process become the first UFC fighter ever to hold two weight-class titles at the same time. McGregor is currently the featherweight champion.
Even getting stuck in a throng of protesters angry about Donald Trump’s election while he was taking his family to see the play, “Hamilton,” had little impact on White.
His business, which has hardly been hurting, is looking up and his friend has been elected as the President of the United States. White told TMZ on Thursday that Trump may attend UFC 205, but White told Yahoo Sports on Friday that the President-elect is not attending the show.
The only bad news is that one of the most anticipated fights on the card, a welterweight bout between Donald Cerrone and Kelvin Gastelum, had to be scrapped when Gastelum couldn’t make weight. Cerrone weighed in first and hit 170, which meant Gastelum had to hit 175. The contract weight was 171.
But for the third time in seven fights, Gastelum couldn’t do it. He sent out a series of tweets apologizing and explaining that the fight was off.
That was the second fight canceled this week. New York officials wouldn’t clear ex-light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans for his bout with Tim Kennedy, citing abnormalities on an MRI. But Evans said it’s an old issue and he’s fought with it for a long time.
That fight was rescheduled for UFC 206 in Toronto next month.
Thiago Alves weighed in at 162.7 for his lightweight bout with Jim Miller. Miller was on weight, but when Alves was that heavy for the bout, which was contracted at 156, he was forced to add weight. He did so, coming in at 157.7 after rehydrating, and that fight remains on with Alves being fined 20 percent of his purse.
Otherwise, however, the news was good for the sport and the UFC. Putting the show in New York has given the UFC a visibility in the media capital of the world that it’s never had before.
And McGregor has played it to the hilt, creating a ruckus wherever he went. Though he clowned around repeatedly, he’s deadly serious about taking Alvarez’s belt and remains a solid betting favorite.
“I’m fresh and I’m ready to go,” McGregor said. “I’m looking forward to [the fight]. I’m going to shut this man up.”
