Showdown Joe: Death, Taxes, And Conor McGregor Headlines

We’ve all heard the old saying, “there are only two guarantees in life: death and taxes”. Well, it appears if there was ever going to be a third, it would be that Conor McGregor is the king of headlines.

“The Notorious” is the current kingpin when it comes to pushing the needle. Last week, he made comments towards the WWE roster, ownership and past stars and boy did it incite the masses.

In calling many of them a certain part of the female genitalia, McGregor may have inadvertently (or purposely) planted some seeds for a gig or career in sports entertainment.

This was discussed at length during my most recent podcast with Sean Ross Sapp, who made a speculative point that a potential memo may have gone out to the WWE roster to sort of feel free to reply to the Irishman.

Many of the replies were stellar … others not so much. But in doing so, hundreds of thousands of eyeballs were all over the storyline. And what did it all do? Generate massive interest for Conor’s upcoming rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.

But of course, McGregor wasn’t done there. He took aim at former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos, informing the Brazilian he robbed him of his goal of becoming a two division champ in the octagon.

Whether true or not, it’s just another example of McGregor dropping seeds he can sew and water whenever he likes. RDA replied, assisting with the potential match-up in the future. As did the man who defeated him for the title, current champ Eddie Alvarez.

The proud Philadelphia native made some comments that Conor’s fighting style was akin to feces, only having this guy staring at all forms of social media waiting for McGregor’s reply and the verbal battle that these two will likely engage in.

Death, Taxes and Headlines by "The Notorious". Seems like we may have a third guarantee in life.

In other news …

UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz says he’s not into picking his opponents, but if he could, he would like to face Cody Garbrandt next. And he did it in a not so polite manner, offering backhanded compliments, pot shots and flat out ass-kicking innuendos.

It’s not the fight I personally want to see for “The Dominator”, but I won’t turn away. Any chance to watch Cruz in action is something I have never taken for granted. We’ve already lost so much of his prime that part of me feels the MMA Gods owe us a Dominick Cruz fight every two months.

Staying on the topic of calling out fighters, two thumbs up to Dennis Bermudez for calling out Frankie Edgar, after “The Menace” defeated Rony Jason this past weekend. It wasn’t the greatest callout ever, and even the attempted mic drop didn’t go as planned, but I’ve always been on the side of fighters who step-up and put a bit of pressure on the UFC matchmaking team.

Not pressure in a bad or negative way, but in a manner that makes their job potentially a little easier than normal. Add the bonus factor of having the production team already having a clip from one of the fighters after a victory, the ball is already rolling. It’s up to the UFC to stop it or let it continue building momentum.

Speaking of momentum, Ben Saunders was doing quite well in 2014 and 2015. He was riding a three fight winning streak, then 2016 came around. He met Patrick Cote, in the final bout of his contract, and lost. He was hoping to put on a great performance in hopes to take his stock to a whole new level, but the defeat derailed “Killa B’s” train.

Add the fact he was having health issues, lost his grandparents before the bout and was having management issues, he apparently missed the deadline the UFC mandated for him to accept a new offer. Now there is news that his procrastination / indecision forced the UFC to fill his spot on the roster, leaving Saunders as a free-agent … aka currently unemployed.

In closing, I had the pleasure of calling two of Sabah Homasi’s recent bouts with Titan FC. But that will come to an end as he has now been scooped up by the UFC. Homasi will now face Tim Means at UFC 202. Bittersweet news for yours truly. Sabah’s weigh-ins, entrances, bouts and post-fight’s are always fantastic, albeit controversial.

Good for him as he finally gets that elusive crack in the big show, outside of his stint on The Ultimate Fighter 21. He’ll have his hands full with Means, but I can’t wait to see how he does.

What else is catching your eye from the world of MMA? Hit me up on social media, be it Twitter, Instagram or on Facebook: @ShowdownJoe