JNPO: ‘We gotta talk about Conor’ and UFC 229 preview part 2
Outside a freak accident, there’s nothing stopping us from Saturday’s UFC 229 and the headliner of all headliners: the returning Conor McGregor vs. the UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
I had such a great time talking with Irish MMA expert and native Sean Sheehan last week about the event that I wanted to keep the train rolling for a second part of ‘We Gotta Talk About Conor’ with first-time guest, Fight Game writer/podcaster, and Wrestling Observer Radio fill-in co-host Garrett Gonzales.
We kicked off with 20 minutes on Garrett’s relationship with our Dave Meltzer as part of Dave’s “come over and watch wrestling/MMA” entourage and his experiences helping Dave record interviews with both New Japan and Bellator MMA stars.
We then transition to Saturday’s UFC 229 show and all that is Conor-Khabib. Among the points of discussion: PPV buyrates and the potential carryover from the Mayweather fight, what happens if McGregor wins, the unpredictability of the fight, and other fights we like on the show.
Then, we finish up with some complaining about the UFC 230 main event for Madison Square Garden and if there’s any aces left up the UFC’s sleeve to help mitigate the damage.
Enjoy this preview for UFC 229 and a little inside baseball talk about our co-founder.