Just moments ago, Jon Jones learned the first step in his long and winding road back to the Octagon.

Jones had a hearing this morning with the California State Athletic Commission, and after being grilled under oath for hours, they reached a decision. 

The decision to have Jones's fight license revoked was upheld unanimously, and he has been fined $205,000 by the CSAC. 

Now what does this mean? Well Jon Jones will have to now wait until March 2019 to reapply for his fighting license, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. What's next, the USADA, will likely be even worse.

Jones can face anywhere from a year, to four years suspension, and is likely to be fined again by the USADA as well. 

On top of that, the CSAC has the right to deny Jones his fight license in the future, so the road doesn't end with the USADA's punishment.

I'm not going to talk about Jon Jones being innocent or guilty, because we will never know the truth, and in reality I don't care anymore because I have talked about this for too long. What I do think, is that Jon Jones will return one day to MMA, but I don't see that happening before 2020, if that. 

Jon Jones is hands down, the most wasted talent in the history or ALL sports. The most physically gifted and dominant fighter to ever step foot in the Octagon, who just couldn't keep his nose clean (literally), and lost himself in the sauce.

I can no longer go to bat for Jon Jones, because he has proved to be impossible to defend.

But just know, that those of us who were lucky enough to watch Jon Jones compete, should consider ourselves lucky, because there may not ever be another Jonny "Bones" Jones. 

Well, there you have it. I just spoke this morning about Conor McGregor being stripped of his Lightweight title, leaving him with zero current UFC belts, when just 15 months ago he was the first to ever hold two at once.

The worst part - he didn't even lose them in the octagon.

I am going to take this with a grain of salt, because Conor McGregor has never been one to outright say he's going to walk away or back down, but at this point it is hard to know the truth.

I do however truly believe that he will fight again. I don't know when, or against who, but I know for a fact he will be stepping into that octagon once again. 

As for what he has accomplished outside of the sport, I absolutely agree with "The Notorious", and we must tip our caps to him, whether we like it or not, because the man went from nothing to everything, in such a short span of time, inspiring and giving hope to millions.

Well folks, the day has finally arrived. Conor McGregor went from this iconic night, in November of 2016, to now holding no belt in the UFC, and having zero traction for a future UFC bout.

Virtually anyone with a brain saw this coming, especially when the UFC made UFC 221's Main Event, Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, a Lightweight championship fight, not an interim championship fight. 

Plain and simple, Conor McGregor has blown it. To quote the great Gucci Mane, he's lost in the sauce. McGregor sees only dollar signs and truth be told the UFC is not the place that will provide the amount of dollar signs he's seeking, at least for now. McGregor had legitimate chance at becoming the greatest UFC fighter ever, by simply defending just one of his belts once. 

Is Conor McGregor done? I don't believe so. I think the trilogy with Nate Diaz will absolutely happen, whether it be a year or two down the line, or sometime this year, you can bet the house that those two will settle this thing once and for all. But as for the lightweight belt, or even the featherweight? He's better off walking away. I believe McGregor would go down to 145-pounds and dominate Max Holloway, but I don't think that fight will interest McGregor. As far as the two lightweight monsters awaiting him, I think McGregor would also beat Ferguson, but Khabib is a different beast.

McGregor's UFC career has been nothing short of entertaining, and I simply hope that we get to see him back in the cage, because the man truly is one of the best in the sport, and every fight of his is must see.

​The Diaz brothers continue to show just how little they care about not only what the UFC or USADA thinks, but what anyone thinks. 

While last night’s card had plenty of firepower in its own right, it still seems that Nate Diaz was able to steal the show.
 
Nate Diaz has done a good job keeping his name in the headlines and himself relevant, even despite the fact that he hasn’t fought since August of 2016 in his rematch with Conor McGregor.
 
In my opinion Diaz has been a bum since he fought McGregor, avoiding every and all challengers, just begging and whining for the trilogy fight. He resorts to social media often to keep his name in the news, taking shots at McGregor and anyone else who’s mentioned his name, yet making no moves to get into the octagon and do anything about it.
 
Listen, I respect Nate Diaz and love what he brings to the fight game, but for someone who has always been about bringing it, Diaz has been very boring with his new ‘all bark no bite’ attitude.
 
Regardless, I love the dedication to his bad boy persona and I am sure all of his weed sponsors will love the attention too. Those Diaz brothers sure do love to fail drug tests.

PS – Ariel, be less of a nerd. 

Tonight, for the first time since December of 2016, Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone had his hand raised in victory. Cerrone defeated Yancy Medeiros in the first round, in a fight that was a brawl from the start (as all Cowboy fights are).

This fight was huge for Cowboy, who has struggled mightily in the last year plus, because it can hopefully get his game back on track and he can start to make some noise again either at 170 or 155 pounds. While it should be noted that Cowboy's skid did come at the hands of three certified killers, in Jorge Masvidal, Robbie Lawler, and Darren Till.

​This night was also a huge victory for Cowboy's record book, as he now moves into some elite UFC company, and will likely take off with the record.

Let's hope this win does some good for Cowboy, and that the man who has proven the phrase "anytime, anywhere" to be true makes one last run.

​Earlier this month, it became clear that Anderson Silva did in fact fail his drug test from October, which pulled him from his fight with Kelvin Gastelum, and now has him facing a potential 4-year ban.
 
At 42 years old, this may be the end for Silva, even if his suspension is reduced in some fashion, and his legacy is now surrounded by question marks.
 
Once hailed as the greatest mixed martial artist of all-time, Silva’s last 5 and ½ years have been nothing short of difficult. After getting knocked out in a huge upset by Chris Weidman in July of 2013, he lost in the rematch in December of that due to his leg snapping in half. Not ideal. Since falling from the title conversation, he has lost twice, had a win overturned due to a failed PED test, a controversial win, and now, another failed drug test.
 
While it’s been noted that Silva’s representative’s are pushing for a reduced suspension, claiming his first test wasn’t under the UFC’s current anti-doping policy, but I truthfully don’t see The Spider getting less than two years. The thought of him coming back at what would likely be 45 year’s old, seems to be a bad decision.
 
Silva’s reign over the UFC’s Middleweight Division was as impressive as anything the sport has ever seen, with a win streak of 16 fights, including 10 consecutive title defenses. Silva defeated any and all types of fighters, in any and all styles of fashion. The Spider was like nothing anyone had ever seen, dominating every aspect of his fights, and making world class athletes and fighters look foolish night in and night out.
 
If this is the end for Anderson “The Spider” Silva, I think he resume speaks for itself, and while we will never know if he juiced for his whole career or truly any of the details behind all of his failed tests, he will still go down as one of the greatest mixed martial artist’s ever, and he will forever be on the MMA Mount Rushmore.
 
Feel free to fall down the rabbit hole of Anderson Silva’s career highlights, because we may never see highlights like these ever again.

Is McGregor vs. Mayweather in The UFC possible? Here’s my take: No.

Apparently Floyd Mayweather put this talks to rest himself this weekend, and Conor McGregor jumped right on that on social media, but I'll write this just in case this only causes more drama and speculation, 

I am going to write about this one time, and one time only, because all the people who continues to give this nonsense attention are only making themselves look foolish.
 
First, Floyd Mayweather, never, and I mean NEVER, would step into the Octagon with Conor McGregor. That is something that I feel very strongly about, because Floyd Mayweather is a coward who has handpicked his fights for 15 years, and will never take a fight where he finds himself truly in danger. And man let me tell you, he would be in real danger inside that cage with McGregor.
 
However, if – and this is the biggest if ever – Floyd were to get into the Octagon with McGregor, he would last no more than 1 minute. You could take that bet to the bank and bet the mortgage on it. Now I know for a fact Conor McGregor would approach that fight looking for a KO, and while I feel he would be unlikely to land a clean flush KO shot, I think within 60 seconds, he would have Mayweather against the cage, and would be beat him into submission and win via TKO. That is as certain as the sun rising in the morning.
 
There is one possibility however that could land Floyd Mayweather in the Octagon, and it has been circulating throughout the media all week, and that would be Floyd Mayweather vs. CM Punk. Yes, you read that right folks. I know a lot of you are thinking, Mayweather would kill CM Punk, the dude isn’t a real fighter and he realistically brings nothing to the table that Mayweather should fear. Well, to that I say you might be right, I really can’t dispute that all too much, but there is a chance for Punk.
 
While CM Punk is an awful MMA fighter in comparison to the UFC’s roster, he should still be way ahead of Mayweather in terms of his overall game. If Punk is able to drag Mayweather down to the mat, he has a real, and I mean real, chance at beating Mayweather via either TKO or submission. That does mean that Punk has to catch, and get his hands on Mayweather, something that might prove very difficult for the former WWE Champion (lol).
 
That folks, is all I have to say on this matter. I do not want to have to continue to entertain this joke, because Floyd Mayweather is all talk and will never step in there with Conor McGregor, and even if he did (which admittedly I would truly respect if he did), he would leave on a stretcher.
 
Stay off social media Floyd unless you’re ready to sign a contract, because your photo-shopped pictures will be nothing compared to the damage The Notorious would do to you are your precious ego.

​Okay folks, we have a lot to digest here, so I am going to do the best I can to break this all down as simply as possible.
 
As most of you know, this past weekend, Conor McGregor found himself in the spotlight once again, and this time, for the wrong reasons. While attending his teammates fight at Bellator 187, McGregor jumped the cage after the round (and what most assumed the fight) was over, to congratulate his friend. The video below is a much better visual and explanation as to what happened, and you can form your own opinions. 

​Since this event, there have been rumors and speculations thrown around and talked about in every possible way, from McGregor being suspended, to being stripped of his title, or what seems to be the most truthful report, that he has been pulled from his potential UFC 219 main event at the end of this year, where he was likely to defend his belt (against who, we still do not know).
 
The UFC is desperate for a huge main event on this card, as the end of the year card’s a usually a huge draw and a huge deal for the UFC, and right now UFC 219 is stuck in no-man’s land. While the card certainly has some big names, and shouldn’t struggle to hit PPV marks, we all know Dana White and the UFC matchmakers would like to bolster the card.
 
Whether we believe that Conor McGregor was ever actually going to be on the card, or if the UFC is just using this situation to “punish” him for his actions is unclear and will probably be unclear forever.
 
So with all of this being said, we have had a huge new rumor being thrown around in the last 36 hours or so, and while some fans might not like it, I could care less about any of their opinions! The rumors are swirling that Tyron Woodley, who, other than Stipe Miocic, is the only UFC champ who would likely be able to fight come December, will be headlining the card. Against who you might ask? Well, none other than Nathan Donald Diaz.
 
Yes, you read that right. Not Nick Diaz, the career welterweight, who has for over a decade been one of the best 170-pounders in the world, but instead, his (not so little) little brother. While many fans have been holding out hope that Nick Diaz would make his UFC return this year, after having his marijuana suspension reduced, it doesn’t seem like we will see Nick in the octagon anytime soon, if ever.
 
Nate Diaz on the other hand has been clear that he is waiting for his trilogy with Conor McGregor, and that he will be paid handsomely for that fight, or he too may be done with the UFC. Well Nate, it looks like the UFC may not only be matching your hand, but raising you one as well.
 
Woodley is coming off of two successful title defenses, both of which were candidates for the worst fight ever, not only just this year. So what does the UFC do? They find someone who is not afraid of Tyron’s power, not afraid to brawl and push the pace, and a fan favorite fighter.
However you spin it, this fight is a win-win for everyone. Nate wins? Him and Conor McGregor have their trilogy, with both belts on the line, in the biggest fight in the history of combat sports. Sounds pretty good right?
 
Woodley wins, he proves he can beat whoever the UFC throws at him, gets more respect from the fans who have completely turned on him, and he has the opportunity to choose from a plethora of top welterweight contenders.
 
I say we do it. Screw it, right? Nate Diaz is a big lightweight, and would have no problem jumping up to 170 pounds and competing with the top 10. He likely would have had a career at 170 if it wasn’t for Nick Diaz being atop the division for their entire careers. Diaz would have no issues going to the ground with Woodley, as it would be interesting to see Diaz’s jujitsu vs. Woodley’s wrestling, and in the standup, while Tyron has the advantage, Nate fears no man, and would stalk him down the whole fight, which would at the bare minimum make Tyron Woodley engage his opponent for the first time in his last 2 fights.
 
I’m in. I don’t care if it makes no sense or if the UFC is turning into a sideshow. Let’s run this.

My good friend Brett Okamoto over at ESPN broke it down further for those who would like some more clarification on the situation. 

What. A. Night. 

Saturday was one of, if not the most wild and incredible nights in the UFC's history, with three title fights, and three new champions being crowned. This card lived up to it's expectations and then some, and I truthfully still haven't processed or come to grips with what went down, but maybe after writing this I will.

I was fortunate enough to watch the entire card, from the early prelims until the main event on the main card, and it was an amazing night of fights from top to bottom. There were a ton of finishes, bombs being thrown and some brutal KO's from the early fights. However, I won't get into all of them because it simply would take too much time, so I'll start with the main card.

As I predicted, Johnny Hendricks simply was no match for his young, up and coming opponent, Paulo Costa, and he was battered and bruised until he was TKO'ed in the second round. Hendricks in my opinion really needs to hang up the gloves, as his career and stock continues to plummet. Costa on the other hand should find himself in a position to jump into the top-15 of the rankings, and take on an opponent in those ranks as well. This kid has some serious potential. 

Next up we had Wonderboy and Jorge Masvidal squaring off in a fight between two high caliber welterweight strikers, and it was definitely an entertaining one. However, Thompson was simply too much for Masvidal, landing strikes from anywhere and everywhere, and coasted to a unanimous decision victory. Wonderboy now finds himself right back in the title conversation, but it is definitely like that he will have to wait until the winner of Robbie Lawler and Rafael dos Anjos gets their title shot. Whether he decides to sit and wait, or fight someone like Colby Covington or Darren Till, both of which would be great fights, is unknown for now, but hopefully we can get Wonderboy back in there. Masvidal on the other hand has now lost two straight and needs a win in a big way, possibly over a lower top-10 welterweight.

Now we get to the first of three title fights, and possibly the most shocking event I have seen in quite some time in the UFC. Joanna Jedrzejczyk put her straw-weight title on the line against "Thug" Rose Namajunas, in what was supposed to be a lock for JJ to make yet another title defense. But Thug Rose proved to everyone that this is the fight business, and anything can happen, no one is safe. 

Namajunas proved that her hands are as good as anyone's, landing several bombs clean and flush, and finally dropping the former pound-for-pound female fighter. JJ will absolutely get an immediate rematch, and there is no doubt that she can come back and regain her belt, but all the respect and credit to Thug Rose for going out and doing her thing, and at only 25 years old, she's got the whole game ahead for herself. 

In our second title fight, we had the grudge match to end all grudge matches, Cody Garbrandt defending his bantamweight championship for the first time against his former teammate and bitter rival, TJ Dillashaw. I had Cody winning this one all the way, and if the first round had a few more seconds in it, he might have.

But as we all know, there's five rounds in a title fight, and Dillashaw came right back out in the second round and brought it to Garbrandt, and after landing a huge head kick, was able to finish Garbrandt on the ground in the second round. Dillashaw is dead-set on going down to 125 pounds and fighting Mighty Mouse, and I hope he does and I hope Mighty Mouse takes his head clean off. 

And last but certainly not least, we had the return of arguably the greatest mixed martial artist ever, Georges St. Pierre, and boy did the fight deliver on the hype. In a fight where I personally did not think GSP had what it took to move up to 185 pounds after 3+ years away from the sport, I am happy to say I was proven wrong. GSP came out, brought it to Bisping, landed some big takedowns, and truthfully only took the majority of the damage he did take from Bisping's strikes from the ground. Although there were a few instances where GSP seemed to have some ring-rust, he still looked great, and was able to keep the pressure on Bisping and finally finished him in the third round with a flurry of strikes and a rear naked choked to cap it all off. Hat's off to one of the sport's greatest ever, and I can't wait to see if his middleweight run will be for real or not, because his next opponent Robert Whittaker, the Interim Middleweight champ, is an absolute force to be reckoned with.

The most prolific name in combat sports today, and the biggest draw in the history of MMA has finally broken his somewhat-silence since fighting Floyd Mayweather at the end of August, and has given some clarity on what his next move is. 

First, before getting into the bigger of the announcements from "The Notorious", we will talk about who it seems will be his next opponent. While many have speculated there would be a trilogy fight between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, for the UFC Lightweight Belt, it seems the tides have shifted towards Tony Ferguson, the UFC's Interim Lightweight Champion. 

Just a few weeks ago, following Ferguson's win over Kevin Lee, McGregor tweeted that picture, alluding to the fact that Ferguson would be his next opponent. 

While even McGregor's coach, John Kavanagh, seemed to be pro-Diaz trilogy, saying Saint Paddy's at MSG would be ideal - but McGregor said this week that he would like to fight before the year ends, likely at UFC 219, December 30th in Las Vegas.

​This is great news for fight fans, because it had long been rumored that McGregor wanted to fight in 2017 after the Mayweather fight, but there had been no indications of whether or not that was going to actually happen. 

So with all that being said, and there clearly being some clarity and light at the end of the tunnel in this McGregor madness, there is still a big hurdle that needs to be cleared. Conor McGregor has stated that he will not return to the UFC unless he earns a co-promoter deal. McGregor feels that as the biggest star the UFC has ever seen, and a guaranteed huge money draw, it is understandable why he is asking for this. 

“I was promoter on the Mayweather fight, and we’re in current negotiations,” McGregor told the crowd during a Q&A prior to the debut of his biopic “Notorious” in Dublin. “I ain’t stepping in that octagon again unless I’m part owner of the whole setup – I’m a promoter.” 

“I still love fighting,” he said. “I love watching that (movie). I’m twitching watching all them shots being thrown. It’s just something I love to do. I don’t know what it is. I will fight again, no doubt, and I’ll fight multiple times. But when I do do it, I must eliminate all the outside stuff, because there’s so much business stuff, so much personal stuff, so much everything involved in an empire – running it, maintaining it, building it.

So clearly with that all being said, McGregor wants to fight - and he wants to fight sooner than later, but he won't do it unless he is compensated properly, and for once, a fighter may actually have a chance to win a battle with the UFC for leverage. We have seen many fighters go up against Dana White with these types of demands, and until now, no one has been successful.

But then again, no one has ever been Conor McGregor.

​Here's to hoping we get to see this savage back in the Octagon in 2017.