I have no reliable information about your other points, but as a professional reporter (covering among other things the State Department) I was FUCKING SHOCKED when I saw that Conor had his own press conference after the fights. Trust me, that kind of things NEVER happens by chance. It was planned to be like this, and it was clear that UFC prepared the agenda in case of a victory, to have him alone at the podium. The other new champ, Rockhold, had to share attentions with Faber, Maia and Romero. And before someone says that Conor was in the last fight of the night and that's why he was the last to arrive, I can garantee that is BS, as all the other athletes was asked to leave the room when Conor arrived.
Also, during his performance in front of the press, Conor mentioned several times "the promotion", saying how good the night was for "the promotion". I've never seen a sportsman doing that.
Maybe he asked to be alone in the press conference. In the last one he behave like a moron, interrupting everyone and making stupid sexist remarks in front of female athletes, until Dana asked him to slow down. Maybe Dana reached the conclusion that, without the need to divide attention, he would show a more mature image.
The point is that Conor is already speaking both as a fighter and as a promotion's manager or an UFC's honcho. He said that he will NOT vacate the FW belt and fight for the LW belt, something that no other fighter was allowed to do so far, as if he indeed has a say in how things work. In the middle of the press conference I thought "at one point he will demand to be an associate to UFC, not only a fighter". Obviously he is a superb asset for UFC, because he brings cash, but a risky one, and I doubt Zuffa would be open to that.
To me, EVERYTHING in that press conference was strange, to say the least.
