Hey Journalists, Let's Stop With The Conor McGregor Fantasy Matchmaking

Or That Dude Is Under Investigation For Two Sexual Assaults

Welcome to the latest C’Mon Now, a newsletter focused on mixed martial arts. This is the place where I’ll share my thoughts on all the goings-on in MMA. Those thoughts could range from media criticism to advice for folks looking to get into MMA writing to why certain fighters or managers are not good for the sport.

I guess you could file today’s post under media criticism.

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The photos I use for the newsletter are things that catch my eye on the Library of Congress site.

Oh, I’m Trent Reinsmith, you can follow me on Twitter.

I am reluctant to call myself an MMA journalist. Do I do some journalist type things? Yeah, I speak truth to power in a small and probably inconsequential way, but I do try to do that…so, maybe? I don’t know. That's not the point of this blog. 

One thing that has been eating at me the past few months is the need for many who do claim to be MMA journalists to opine on who Conor McGregor should face when he comes back to the UFC. Notice that it is when and not if McGregor returns.

No journalist, self-proclaimed or publicly ordained, should be writing on that topic, because there is a better than zero percent chance that McGregor might not make it back to the octagon. Let's not ignore that he is under investigation for two sexual assaults in Ireland and, well, that's not even close to being good.

In late October, I tweeted, "The question for UFC and Dana White isn't if Conor McGregor is fighting in January, but why. Why would UFC book a man who has two active sexual assault investigations hanging over his head?" 

We haven't got a clear answer to that question and that is still the top question we should ask the UFC, McGregor, his coach and his manager whenever any of them bring up the topic of McGregor returning to compete for the UFC. 

Yes, I do believe the investigations need to play out. I also believe the UFC shouldn't book McGregor until those cases do play out. If the promotion does allow McGregor to fight and it turns out he is guilty of one or both assaults, no one is going to focus on innocent until proven guilty, they are going to ask how and why the UFC could allow McGregor to earn millions of dollars while he was under investigation. 

So, let's hold off on the fantasy matchmaking when it comes to McGregor and focus more on the fact that the UFC could very well book him sometime in 2020 while he is under investigation for two sexual assaults.

And if you must do some fantasy matchmaking, well, Greg Hardy is out there.