Happy Monday Peeps and welcome back for 2nd instalment of Mercer’s Mondayitis. I hope you all had a great weekend and that your favourite team/athlete performed well and even came up away with win. Let’s get straight into it.
Return of the King
The UFC held a press conference to announce some key match ups for the reminder of 2018, which is their 25thyear of existence. One the matches announced was Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on the returning Conor ‘Notorious’ McGregor at UFC 229. The fight will be McGregor’s first MMA bout since November 2016 when he defeated Eddie Alvarez for the UFC Lightweight belt. His only fight for 2017 was his much-publicised boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, afight that netted the Irishmen around $100 Million dollars. McGregor found himself in a some trouble earlier in the year when he went on a rampage throwing a dolly at a bus containing several UFC fighters set to take part at UFC 223.
(Video Credit-Youtube/TMZ Sports)
All Good Things come to an end
In other UFC news, Demetrious ‘Mighty Mouse’ Johnson suffered his first loss in nearly seven years when he lost a split decision to former Olympian Henry Cejudo at UFC 227. A close fight to the death, Cejudo was able to just get the nod and set up a trilogy fight, something that was kind of needed to mix up the division a bit. Johnson was the inaugural champion of the division when he defeated Joseph Benavidez in 2012 and defended the belt 11 times.
The Greatest
T.J. Dillashaw has claimed that he is the ‘Greatest Bantamweight’in the world after he defended his title against Cody Garbrandt with a first round TKO victory. Dillashaw is now 12 wins at Bantamweight, equal with former champion Dominick Cruz who might have something to say about Dillashaw being self-proclaimed greatness. Cruz was the winner in the one and only encounter between the two back in 2016.
@prattprattpratt thanks for coming out. Glad you got to see that! pic.twitter.com/UokANKi8SX
— TJ Dillashaw (@TJDillashaw) August 6, 2018
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Panthers overcome Faders
Moving on to some NRL news and Penrith were able to overcome the Raiders at Penrith stadium yesterday, game they really should not of won. While some calls did go against the Raiders late in the game, the fact that they haven’t finished some teams off when in the lead is frustrating especially for fans. While they have some good players, the Raiders seem to be missing a player that can take the game by the scruff of the neck and get them the Win.
(Video Credit-YouTube/NRL on Nine
Griffin Gets the Boot
Even though his team got the win and are sitting in fifth on the ladder heading into the last two weeks of the regular season, Penrith’s coach Anthony Griffin has been givenhis marching orders. Former player and assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo will take over the coaching position for the rest of the year. With Griffin out of the picture, it’s believed that the Panthers will try and get Ivan Cleary back to the club in a bid to keep star halfback and Cleary’s son Nathan.
Tuesday’s big @telegraph_sport back page. Penrith’s bid to bring Ivan Cleary home, why Gus sacked Anthony Griffin & proof Panthers believe they can still win the 2018 #NRL title – @BulldogRitchie @BuzzRothfield pic.twitter.com/WQc98tddIh
— Adam Mobbs (@AdamMobbs) August 6, 2018
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From the Football Field to the Boxing Ring
Reports are going around again that Paul Gallen and Josh McGuire may finally face off in a boxing match. As reported by Sports editor Phil Rothfield, promoter Matt Rose is looking to make the fight happen, with Gallen saying that he would happily take on McGuire if he’s “Looking for a fight”. No doubt fans from both NSW and Queensland will be eager to see it happen, as Gallen isn’t liked north of the boarder while McGuire has earned the ire of NSW fans.
It would be the biggest rugby league grudge match in years and a huge draw for NSW and Queensland fans — a bout between Broncos forward Josh McGuire and Cronulla Sharks veteran. Via @BUZZROTHFIELD https://t.co/zO9fkh2qx9
— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) August 5, 2018
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Gaff to AFL Tribunal for punch
Maybe West Coast’s Andrew Gaff can get a spot on the Gallen vs. McGuire undercard after punching Freemantle’s Andrew Brayshaw and leaving the 20 year old with a broken jaw. In what was a ‘Chest punch gone wrong’ the hit has stared a debate, a prominent sports lawyer has even said that the Gaff could even face legal charges. While he was apologetic when interviewed by Fox Footy after the game, Gaff may miss as much as six weeks.
BREAKING: Brad Hardie tells @oliverpeterson he expects a minimum of six weeks for Andrew Gaff. Says the hit not as bad as Barry Hall’s. Says it was a chest-punch gone ‘horribly, horribly wrong.’ pic.twitter.com/bZ6LVzbRSS
— Perth LIVE 6PR (@PerthLive6PR) August 6, 2018
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Well that’s it for another edition of Mondayitis peeps, hope you enjoyed this read and if you have any question or if there is something you would to read on here be sure to leave a comment.
Until next time.
Merce.