Media Stephen A. Smith Destroys Conor McGregor In His Recent Takes

[ironfist05]

People have shit on Stephan after what he said when Conor Cowboy happened and whether he really knows what he talks about he was 100% right then and now.

yeah stephen a could have said it in a more delicate way when talking about Cowboy, but he was 100% correct when he said "we ain't learned a damn thing about Conor McGregor" because most people expected Conor to beat the shit out of Cerrone, who was borderline shot and already a stylistically pretty good matchup for Conor; I found myself disagreeing more with Rogan and Thomson there frankly. Also but it's not like there haven't been a ton of people on here that have expressed analogous views re Cowboys composure/heart in fights (particularly as he was getting older); it's not my opinion, but it's not a view that's just coming out of nowhere.

my honest opinion of Stephen A is that he has said a lot of ignorant stuff about MMA in the past and he needs to work on how he talks about hte fighters, but I think he's always been honest that he doesn't know the sport well and he does seem like he's sincerely trying to improve his knowledge of the sport (and is genuinely improving in a lot of respects). A lot of MMA fans still value the weird counter culture image the sport used to have and I think the fact that a big name like Stephen A is doing MMA commentary is hard for them to accept. If MMA wants to get bigger, it needs figures like Stephen A, and hte sooner fans understand that, the better. We can always criticize him when he's wrong or he's disrespectful, but engaging with him with immediate dismissal and hostility doesn't do anything positive for the sport and frankly I think a lot of the criticism of him is bad faith and dishonest to begin with.

also, Stephen A has more latitude to speak his mind than most MMA journalists. He's the only guy I can think of that would have a big enough platform tthat the UFC couldn't just threaten to freeze him out (implicitly or explicitly) if they didn't like his coverage.

 

[ironfist05]

The fact that people even watch sports 'analysis' is laughable. People watching grown men talking about other grown men throwing a ball around

sports analysis is unique in that it is intentionally based around making outrageous and dishonest claims with regards to sports and using that to drive up anger in the fanbase and as a result engagement. The hot take industry has destroyed sports journalism in so many ways. I mean Skip Bayless is paid 8 million a year (that we know of) to repeatedly yell at Shannon Sharpe "LeWho? He sucks!"

 

[jm5000]

Or what, Conor will pretend he wants to fight him and wait for security to grab him like he always does

Always? When has that ever happened?

 

[Flokk]

Yeah he may be right, but Conor would have this loudmouth in the fetal position if he wanted to put his hands on him.

Playing tough guy with talking heads is bush league shit. Besides, Stephen A would just have security body Conor and drag him out.

 

[Swarthy]

Conor haters so desperate to have their shitty opinions validated they will listen to the drivel from this brainless shitspitter.

 

[Mohawk Banditó]

Oh, that’s so impressive. A pro fighter beating a senior citizen civilian. Oh wait.. The last senior your hero attacked by sucker punch, took that nuclear left and barely flinched.

GTFO.

I bet Conor makes a better reuben sandwich than Smith and is quieter during a night out too. I figure we can bring up quite a few more irrelevant things that don't prove Smith wrong here.

 

[blastoff]

Joe Rogan shat on him for that but tbh he is hitting around where Joes head would be

A bit lower and it'd be perfect

 

[mudrubble]

Yeah he may be right, but Conor would have this loudmouth in the fetal position if he wanted to put his hands on him.

I would hope so - he's a professional fighter and this guy's a talking head!

Wouldn't it be crazy if the commentators on the sport could beat all the fighters??? Imagine the World Cup announcers could just run onto the pitch and outplay the players?

Stephen should stick to commentating where, as you point out, he's making sense, and at the top of his field. Conor should stick to getting well and dealing with his mental issues since they're tanking his fighting career and public image.

 

[mudrubble]

I bet Conor makes a better reuben sandwich than Smith and is quieter during a night out too. I figure we can bring up quite a few more irrelevant things that don't prove Smith wrong here.

Smith lives in NYC - I got him on the Reuben. The Reuben at Katz is still one of the best meals I've eaten in my life. Like top 10 or 20.

 

[Adamant]

Yeah he may be right, but Conor would have this loudmouth in the fetal position if he wanted to put his hands on him.

NONSENSE!

 

[marvinparsons]

People have shit on Stephan after what he said when Conor Cowboy happened and whether he really knows what he talks about he was 100% right then and now.

Stephen A says a lot of things, but I actually think most his MMA takes have been spot on. I think he's actually trying to be correct rather than spouting off in order to build some credibility on MMA.

Even his normal rants you can usually tell when he's talking nonsense for the sake of it.

I'm a fan.

 

[Max Power]

Big talk from a dude who can't get a suit tailored.

 

[SuperAlly]

I was thinking he would be aiming for Conor's bad leg with the downward punch.

Connie has a “good” leg?

ps. Loving how absolutely demented any criticism of Connie is driving his fan girls on here now. They bite and jump on every little remark. With all the shite they have thrown all over the internet it is hilarious watching them running round trying to firefight all the legitimate criticism he is getting.

F know why they are so defensive. They aren’t Connie. Connie isn’t going to sleep with the, because they defend his honour. Hilarious.

 

[thehighking]

Stephan A Smith does was he does best... picking the low hanging fruit as if his take isn’t something that most of us don’t already know. Sadly this is geared towards the casual fan that will actually believe the Twitter drivel coming out of SBG and McGregor himself. Additionally the actual knowledgeable MMA journalists who cover the UFC are too terrified of Dana to circulate these types of takes.

Ya I agree but it is nice to hear someone in the MMA analyst community just tell it like it is. The fact that he's the anomaly is disappointing.

 

[TheWave111]

He said what nobody dare to say in the UFC controlled media.
A lot of media are still asking 'can he cone back after his recovery'?
They changed the narrative from his horrible performances to his injury.
Come back to where? He was never in the top of the LW division.
Even Smith gives him too much credit. He thinks that Conrat was ever a force in the LW im 2016.
The glass leg rat was never a serious top LW.

 

[SpecialDelivery]

Yeah he may be right, but Conor would have this loudmouth in the fetal position if he wanted to put his hands on him.

Does that matter though?

 

[Boss HM-2]

I agree. In hindsight, he was spot on on both. Not really a fan of him being in the UFC and rather have him stick to NBA and boxing, but this one is worth a share imo.

he isnt good at NBA or boxing takes either lmao

 

[FlyingDeathKick]

Just glad this dude isn't commentating. I've heard him and that other door knob skip bayless have their stupid fake arguments about boxing matches in the past and it's nauseating to listen to.

 

[Brom Bones]

Came here for the xenophobia, left disappointed.

 

[LincolnHawk1]

I’m not a fan of Conor as a person, but what the hell does Stephen A Smith know about mma? Trying to listen to him break down a fight or give insight into a fight is hard to do. The only reason he gets to interview ufc guys is because the ufc is trying to bring in more casuals.