Wichtig » ME-IMG..@DanaWhite catches up with @paszaBiceps of @team

Before his loss to Nate Diaz on March 5, the legend of Conor McGregor had been built through boldness and an almost clairvoyant ability to call his own shots.Its one thing to establish lofty standards of pay-per-view buys and fight purses as a master marketer and all-time great trash-talker. Its another if the substance of what you are inside the cage isnt quite what the hype machine made it out to be.Entering his first bout with Diaz, the currency of McGregors words had never held greater value. The cultivation of his Mystic Mac persona knew almost no limits.Move up two weight classes to face a new opponent on 11 days notice? No problem. For even McGregors harshest of critics -- those who believed his 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo had been a fluke or still questioned what an elite wrestler with a full training camp might do to him -- there was a voice of disbelief whispering at every turn: What if McGregor is right? What if he really is as good as he says he is?McGregor wasnt just playing with house money entering UFC 196; he was setting it on fire and laughing at the flames. And in the first round against Diaz, as he danced around the cage and bloodied his opponents right eye with pinpoint punches, McGregor was improbably backing up just the latest in a long line of outrageous claims.The clown prince of mixed martial arts was ready to become the sports new king, with a pay-per-view-shattering superfight against a returning Georges St-Pierre, who was cageside, likely next on the horizon.But McGregors legend ran out of gas. It was picked apart, scowled at and submitted by a fighter he had taken for granted, in the face of odds the UFCs 145-pound champion had refused to accept were against him.The two fighters will meet for a second time on Saturday, headlining UFC 202 in Las Vegas. For Diaz, who used the dramatic win (and circus atmosphere surrounding the rematch) to negotiate the kind of purse he has long deserved, the fight offers an opportunity at unlikely stardom. But for McGregor, the stakes are much higher.There are plenty of arguments to be made how McGregors star power could survive a second straight loss to Diaz, but his legend would never be the same. Not the one he was attempting to build entering their first bout.Thats why Saturdays rematch is a must-win for McGregor in terms of how well remember him down the line. It may also prove to be a must-win for the UFC.It takes stars to drive mainstream interest, and following the UFCs recent $4 billion sale, its new owners are at a bit of a deficit in that category. Its something McGregor is well aware of, too.Somebody estimated my net worth to be $4 billion -- that was my reaction [to the sale], McGregor told ESPN.com last week. There is 95 percent bums in the game, thats the Gods honest truth. Like I said, if I took myself out of here, it would be just hillbillies hugging each other to the bell. Nobody brings what I bring; nobody has done what I have done. If 2015 was McGregor bringing in all these numbers and breaking all these records and then 2016 it sold for $4 billion, I simply know my net worth now, and its $4 billion.When you look up and down the UFC roster, there is no one within the same area code when it comes to McGregors value to the company as a star. Not only are Jon Jones and Brock Lesnar handcuffed by bad press and likely suspensions following their UFC 200 doping violations, its unclear whether Ronda Rousey will ever return, let alone ever be the same.McGregor could only increase his value to the UFC should he defeat Diaz, which by the way, would provide the company with another lottery ticket to cash whenever it pleases in the form of a trilogy fight. But a second McGregor loss would be another story.For the most part, you only get one shot at cultivating the idea of true invincibility in combat sports. Its a false narrative, of course, especially in MMA, where one mistake at any given moment can cost you a fight. But history has proven you can earn it back by instantly fixing your one mistake, something even GSP was able to do by avenging his upset title loss to Matt Serra in 2008.McGregor has built-in excuses he can one day lean on as a justification for the first defeat -- everything from mismanaged cardio to Diaz, the much bigger fighter, being a late replacement. But he must win the rematch decisively in order to do so. Its something not lost on the Irishman, which is why he has compounded an already stubborn decision by insisting that the rematch be contested at 170 pounds.What kind of fighter would I be if I said, Hey, I didnt get you at 170, let me try to get you at 155, McGregor told ESPN.com in June. Ill make my adjustments. I ate up to the weight. This time, I wont do that.In one sense, fighters are the greatest liars in all of sports, mostly out of necessity due to the irrational confidence needed just to enter the fighting arena. But McGregor never appears to be acting, even throughout the more circus-like moments in his initial rise.Thats why its hard to imagine McGregors confidence and boldness ever truly being the same with a second consecutive defeat to the same fighter, which history supports can be demoralizing at the elite level.BJ Penn and Anderson Silva never fully recovered from losing their UFC titles in back-to-back defeats to Frankie Edgar and Chris Weidman, respectively. Former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos has never been the same since two title defeats to Cain Velasquez. In boxing, both Larry Holmes (twice against Michael Spinks) and Shane Mosley (twice each to both Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright) never returned to the same level.Yes, McGregor could conceivably lose to Diaz and still return to featherweight, where he remains the UFC champion. But his audacious aura -- the very foundation his star was built upon -- will be damaged.Will McGregor one day go down as merely a talented loudmouth who was finally exposed -- twice -- for biting off more than he could chew? Or will his intangibles, skills and fighting spirit prove to be as historically significant as his ability to draw eyes?McGregor deserves respect for how he has handled himself as a fighter, one who simply refuses to back down from a challenge. Make no mistake, hes in for another one on Saturday.Its fitting that the fight would be in Vegas, where McGregor is essentially going all-in on himself. Considering his boldness up to this point, there should be no other way.A victory over Diaz on Saturday is the only true way for McGregor to reclaim what was lost.Air Max Tn Clearance . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Air Max 95 Cheap Sale .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.airmaxwholesaleforsale.com/air-max-90-wholesale.html . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. Cheap Air Max 95 For Sale . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Cheap Air Max 95 Free Shipping . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence.Two of Counter-Strike: Global Offensives most prized organizations faced off last night in Atlanta, Georgia for a chance at $390,000 and the inaugural trophy of Turner Sports and WME-IMGs televised league, ELeague. The Swedes of Fnatic, who have stood firmly on top of the scene since the early days of competitive CS:GO, faced off with the Poles of Virtus.Pro, a team that has retained the longest-standing lineup the game has seen.Unexpectedly, Virtus.Pro took it all, brute-forcing their way against the stronghold of Fnatic in a quick 2-0. The team channeled what fans refer to as the Virtus Plow, a play on the teams name when its performance is so strong that games tend to go heavily in their favor.Known for their chaotic playing style, Virtus.Pro hs cemented itself as one of Europes best teams, and neck-and-neck with its sister organization Natus Vincere (Na`Vi) for first and second in Eastern Europe. In the teams post-win press conference, Rifler Filip NEO Kubski said, The plow is just organized chaos.Following the win, we spoke with rifler Jaros?aw pashaBiceps Jarz?bkowski, whos been a core member of the team since its days in Counter-Strike 1.6, the previous version of the game. He said it was the perfect day as he planned to go to dinner and then the ELeague after-party following his big win.It feels very good, he said. Were back to the top. We always love America and always have a good performance [here] so we proved it one more time. When were in America, we play the best Counter-Strike ever.Over the past few months, Virtus.Pro has had ups and downs in its placements. Recently, the team took third/fourth at the ESL One Cologne 2016 major, but in May, it was relegated from the ESL Pro League, one of three premiere competitive Counter-Strike leagues. Pasha said that those ups and downs are to be expected.When you always know that there will sometimes be ups and sometimes be downs, my friend, its a normal thing in life, he said. You cant give up when youre alone in the forest. You cant give up when youre down. We never give up. Were always fighting, talking about the game, talking to each other, about whats the problem. We try to fix things to always be at the top.One proposed solution was roster changes. But Pasha explained that keeping the team together has allowed the players to become family, knowing each other both in-game and on a personal level. For the past month, the team has stayed in hotels in Atlanta to compete in ELeagues last-chance qualifier and playoffs, with only a break to play in Cologne for the major.ddddddddddddere like family. Sometimes we spend more time in the events together than at home, he said. Everyone knows each other very, very well. Some days we can be fighting and have fighting words, and then the next day, we can go through and make a handshake, and say, sorry, man, it was my fault. Lets talk about it. Then the next day, we can win the event.The band of brothers share more than just time together. Like other Counter-Strike teams, such as Fnatic, SK Gaming, Team EnVyUs, and Ninjas in Pyjamas, the players on the team share the same nationality.Of course it helps [to be the same nationality,] Pasha said. I dont know how it works in soccer. Theyre usually a lot of different nationalities. But in Counter-Strike, it helps because its only five or six people per team, right? We can talk in-game in [Polish]. We can talk every second. It makes it easier for teamwork and to communicate with each other.That communication led to last nights big win. But that wasnt the only thing Pasha was excited about. Earlier in the day yesterday, UFC president Dana White showed up to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta to meet some of the players, view the event setup, and see the staff, some who work for the company that recently bought UFC for $4 billion, WME-IMG..@DanaWhite catches up with @paszaBiceps of @teamvirtuspro in Atlanta ahead of the @EL finals at 4pm today on TBS pic.twitter.com/jsMHiSxkd3- UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2016If I retire, my friend, maybe Ill make some sneaky plan to make the UFC of the esports players, Pasha said. Maybe, who knows? After the party today, were going to the UFC in Atlanta.A league of fighters between esports players would certainly be an interesting endeavor. Unlike the stereotype of basement dwellers, many Counter-Strike athletes specifically have heavy workout regimens and keep in shape, including Pasha. If his proposed league were to become a reality, I ask him who hed want to fight. His answer is simple.[Id want to fight] the strongest one, he says. But I dont know whos the strongest one, whos the most sneaky, and good at fighting, but itd be fun if the players would have their own league like in MMA. Itd be very fun. ' ' '