KHABIB NURMAGOMEDOV DEFEATS CONOR MCGREGOR AT UFC 229

Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

On Saturday, Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor to retain his Light Heavyweight championship. Nurmagomedov gained a submission victory over McGregor with a rear naked choke. After the fight, stood over Conor and spit on him. Nurmagomedov jumped over the cage and got into a brawl with one of Conor's friends in the crowd. Three members of Khabib's entourage entered the cage and attacked Conor. As a result of the brawl, Khabib's purse for the fight was held by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the men who attacked Conor were arrested. 

Now we have to wait and see what happens with both fighters. McGregor has already said that he wants a rematch. Khabib will probably be fined by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and he may be stripped of his light heavyweight championship. If so, Tony Ferguson could fight Conor McGregor for the vacant title. If Conor wins, that could be the reason for a rematch with Khabib. That scenario was suggested by Shayna Baszler on Twitter. 

Whatever happens I know that we will see Conor McGregor fight again. McGregor is a major attraction for the UFC. This loss to Khabib won't change that. Conor is a star and a household name because of his fight with Floyd Mayweather. 

The UFC is on its way to becoming one of the biggest brands in combat sports with stars like Conor McGregor, the return Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier, and Brock Lesnar. 2019 could be a huge year for UFC when it moves to ESPN. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

HBO LEAVES THE BOXING GAME AFTER 2018

Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao

After 45 years and over 1,000 fights, HBO will stop broadcasting boxing after 2018 according to the New York Times. Peter Nelson, the Executive V.P. of HBO Sports made the announcement last week at a press conference. With declining ratings with boxing, HBO finds it can get higher ratings with network dramas like Game of Thrones. Mr. Nelson said, "Because of our association with boxing, people forget we're not a sports network.We're a storytelling platform." This comes as a surprise after four decades of HBO broadcasting boxing. 

The network began broadcasting boxing in 1973 when George Foreman knocked out Joe Frazier to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Over the next four decades HBO would become the premier destination for boxing featuring some of the biggest stars in the sport including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao.

Over the last decade Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were the biggest stars in boxing and on HBO. In 2013, Maywweather left HBO for a more lucrative deal with Showtime. In 2016, HBO declined to carry Manny Pacquiao's fight against Jessie Vargas, Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter and the owner of Top Rank promotions began to look for another network. In 2017, Arum and ESPN reached a very lucrative agreement with Manny Pacquiao as its top star.

After Mayweather's departure, HBO began to feature new stars including Canelo Alvarez, Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, Sergey Kovalev, and Andre Ward. Despite the great skills of all of these fighters, HBO never reached the same heights in the mainstream media as when they had Mayweather. Also competition from the UFC with stars like Conor McGregor have hurt the boxing industry. 

Boxing will survive. ESPN and Top Rank have a lucrative deal and Showtime who produced 22 fights in 2018 plans to do more in 2019. With an emerging star like Deontay Wilder the future looks bright for Showtime. Fox Sports has also signed a deal with Al Haymon for Premier Boxing Championships so boxing will be available to the masses on broadcast and cable TV.

In October, HBO will broadcast its last fight, a middleweight bout between Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. That fight will close the book on over four decades of boxing. The network will still broadcast boxing related programming as they plan to air a two part documentary on Muhammad Ali. The sport needs someone like Muhammad Ali right now but I don't know how long it will be until we get one.

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

R.I.P. BURT REYNOLDS

Burt Reynolds in Smokey and The Bandit

Burt Reynolds, one of Hollywood's most iconic actors passed away at age 82 after suffering a heart attack. For over two decades, Reynolds was one of the most prominent stars during the 70's and 80's. Reynolds started his career in the 60's starring in the greatest TV shows of that era including The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Gunsmoke. In 1966 Reynolds was given his own cop show in Hawk which only lasted for 17 episodes. By the 1970's Reynolds would move on to movies.

In 1972 Reynolds would come to prominence as Lewis Medlock in Deliverance. Hollywood executives in the 70's liked Reynolds image as a southern boy that outsmarts the law and several of his movies reflected that including White Lightning, The Longest Yard, and Gator. By 1977, Burt Reynolds and his friend Hal Needham did a road trip movie that was Smokey and The Bandit. 

Reynolds teamed up with Sally Field, Jerry Reed, and Jackie Gleason and Smokey and The Bandit was very popular with audiences making 100 million dollars at the box office. Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham's partnership would continue in Smokey and The Bandit 2, Cannonball Run, Stroker Ace, and Cannonball Run 2. From 1977 to 1982, Burt Reynolds was the King of the Box Office. 

AMC theaters will honor Burt Reynolds by playing Smokey and The Bandit from Sept. 12th to Sept. 20th according to VARIETY.

Thank you Mr. Reynolds. You were a true Hollywood icon and your legacy will never be forgotten.

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

DANIEL CORMIER WINS UFC HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE AT UFC 226

DANIEL CORMIER

At UFC 226 on Saturday night, Daniel Cormier defeated Stipe Miocic to become the new UFC Heavyweight champion. Cormier is also the UFC Light Heavyweight champion and joins Connor McGregor as one of the only two fighters that have won a championship while holding another championship. Cormier has accomplished something that his rival Jon Jones could not.




After Cormier won the championship, he called out Brock Lesnar who was in attendance to see the fight between Cormier and Miocic. Brock entered the cage, made negative comments about the heavyweight division, and challenged Cormier. UFC announced that Brock Lesnar has started the process to join the USADA drug testing pool and should be available to compete in the UFC in six months. Cormier and Lesnar should fight sometime in 2019. 

Daniel Cormier is living proof that hard work pays off. His historic win at UFC 226 proves that he is one of the best fighters in the world and his upcoming fight with Brock Lesnar will be one of the most anticipated superfights of the last decade. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

R.I.P. BIG VAN VADER

BIG VAN VADER

Leon White, known to pro wrestling fans as Big Van Vader passed away on Monday June 18th according to CBSSports. He was 63 years old. At 6'4 450 pounds, Big Van Vader was one of the most intimidating and athletic personas in wrestling. Big Van Vader won 11 championships in a career that spanned over three decades. He worked in every major promotion in the world including the AWA, WCW, New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and WWE.

Big Van Vader best run came in the late 80's and early 90's. From 1987 to 1992 Vader worked for New Japan Pro Wrestling where he was the IWGP Heavyweight champion and worked with such legends as Antonio Inoki and The Great Muta. 

In 1992 he went to WCW (World Championship Wrestling) where he began a feud with Sting. Vader would win the World title on three different occasions. He would have great feuds with Sting, Rick Rude, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Ric Flair, and Hulk Hogan.

By 1996 Vader had moved onto the WWE but due to injuries he was not the same athlete he had been. He feuded with Yokozuna, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker, but he would never reach the top of WWE like he did in WCW. 

Vader was a true superstar that redefined what a super heavyweight could do in the ring. He made fans and wrestlers tremble with fear at the mention of his name. 

Thank you Mr. White. Your legacy in this business will never be forgotten. 

Class Dismissed, 

THE PROFESSOR

WWE SMACKDOWN MOVING TO FOX IN 2019

Fox is bringing Smackdown back to broadcast television after nearly eight years. According to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, Fox and WWE are close to making a deal that would bring Smackdown to Fox in the Fall of 2019.  Fox will reportedly pay WWE one billion dollars over five years. Fox is looking to move away from urbane programming and is looking to bring in broad programming that will appeal to middle america. Currently Fox is paying 3 billion for five seasons of Thursday Night Football and spends 1 billion annually for their Sunday Night Football package. WWE Raw currently averages about 3 million viewers each week on USA while WWE Smackdown currently averages 2.59 million viewers.

With this new deal in place, USA Network and Fox will split programming rights. NBCUniversal has owned the rights to Smackdown since the show began airing on Syfy in 2010. In 2016 Smackdown began airing on Tuesday nights on USA. NBC Universal will most likely keep WWE RAW on the USA Network. 

Once this deal is complete Smackdown should begin airing on Fox in October 2019. Currently Smackdown airs on Tuesday nights on USA Network, but it was reported by The Wrap that Fox will move it to Friday nights. Whether that's true or not will be one of the many questions that Fox and WWE will need to answer next year. 

As a wrestling fan of nearly 30 years this is very exciting. WWE now has a major deal on a broadcast network that will be able to bring its programming to millions of people. Smackdown could even get higher ratings than RAW. The Fall of 2019 is shaping up to be very interesting. 

Class Dismissed, 
THE PROFESSOR

R.I.P. MARGOT KIDDER

Margot Kidder

Margot Kidder, the actress that played Lois Lane in Superman: The Movie and three subsequent sequels died on May 13th. She was 69 years old. As a child, I remember watching the Superman movies on WPIX and Ms. Kidder's performance always stood out as she captured the tenacity, honesty, and sense of humor of Lois Lane. Her chemistry with Christopher Reeve was great on-screen as the interview scene at Lois' apartment in Superman: The Movie is fondly remembered by all Superman fans. 

Thank you Ms. Kidder, your contributions to TV and movies will never be forgotten. 

THE PROFESSOR