Paulie Malignaggi or Nate Diaz Next For McGregor?
Paulie Malignaggi wants a Connor McGregor fight bad. So does Nate Diaz. Yesterday, I talked about the value of being a good promo in the fighting business.
I have never heard of Paulie until he sparred with McGregor. I don't follow boxing closely. He boasts a good resume. He's a former champion. And he only recently retired in March 2017.
Paulie Malignaggi's Window of Opporunity
Paulie knows a fight with a McGregor is a huge payday. He's now on a shit talking tour about Connor McGregor.
The casual fans get their panties in a bunch at this shit talking. This is good. Paulie is being a sales man. He's trying to sell this fight. He's trying to sell to McGregor and to the fans. He's trying to generate demand. I didn't know who Paulie was until he sparred Connor. Every day that goes by, I get closer to forgetting Paulie again. But I am interested in in this fight. The window gets smaller and smaller for Paulie with each passing day. Not only that, but he is competing with Nate Diaz for a shot a Connor. Expect Paulie to continue to be aggressive in his shit talking.
So Diaz or Paulie?
Former UFC Fighter Brendan Schaub estimates that Connor stands to make $10 million for his next Nate Diaz fight.
I don't know what Connor would make against Paulie, but my guess is a conservative estimate on the low end would be at least twice that much, on the high end 5x to 10x that much.
But, I think there are two other things to consider: 1. A second loss could dramatically reduce to Connor's future drawing power / earning power 2. Connor is the A side to the fight, Paulie is the B side to the fight. Therefore Connor has all the leverage in the rules.
The Rules in a Connor McGregor vs Paulie Malignaggi Fight
This fight should feature a unique set of rules. The MMA experts on Steem would better fit to describe the technical rules. Just as Connor had to bend to Paulie, I believe Paulie will need to bend to Connor.
Presentation matters to sell this fight. The fighters should still wear boxing gloves and fight in a boxing ring to get those viewers in. This needs to attract the boxing community if it is to be sold as a superfight. But, Paulie doesn't need a win nearly as bad as Connor. Paulie just needs a payday.
There needs to be one or two more weapons for Connor. Allow for take downs and punching on the ground, or elbows (kicks would make this too lobsided). Something along these lines should be allowed. And for the love of God, UFC judges only.
Professional Wrestler / MMA Fighter Antonio Inoki fought Muhammad Ali in a boxer vs. fighter match. They could not agree on the rules until shortly before the fight. This led fan backlash and a very boring fight. But Inoki might be the greatest sport legend in the history of Japan. Neither Ali nor Inoki would budge on rules which led to an agreement where Inoki fought in a crab stance and was only allowed to kick Ali in the legs.
With Paulie, he just wants a payday and I think he'd be willing to bend to Connor to the extent that it assured Connor a win.
Let me know what the MMA Steemit community believes the rules should be for a Connor vs Paulie match.
I hope it's the Nate Diaz fight, but Paulie would still make sense if it happened.
Diaz deserves it more, thats for sure.
Man that Ali vs Inoki fight was absolutely whack as hell!
It was supposed to be a scripted wrestling match, but neither would lose to the other, so it ended up being booked as a real fight on short notice. Crazy.