Latest / The Daily Play With Joy Taylor / LeBron Courted by Warriors & Timberwolves, Ja Morant’s Fresh Start, and Conor McGregor’s UFC Return Ends Fast

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LeBron Courted by Warriors & Timberwolves, Ja Morant’s Fresh Start, and Conor McGregor’s UFC Return Ends Fast · The Daily Play With Joy Taylor

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  Speaker 1: Hey guys, welcome to the Daily Play. It's Joy Taylor.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for joining me. Make sure he hits
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  Speaker 1: this guy and fall us on social at the Daily Play,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Joy Taylor.
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  Speaker 2: So, the Warriors are pitching Lebron James. The Timberwolves are
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  Speaker 2: pitching Lebron James. Do you want to see Lebron James
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  Speaker 2: with Steph Curry and Draymond Green? Do you want to
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  Speaker 2: see Lebron James with Rudy Gobert and Jayden McDaniels and
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  Speaker 2: LaMelo Ball Anthony Edwards. That would be fun, It would
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  Speaker 2: be interesting. Again, not exactly what I wanted. I want
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  Speaker 2: him to finish his career with the Lakers now I
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  Speaker 2: want him to go to Miami. But there are still
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  Speaker 2: a lot of teams who are making pitches for Lebron James,
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  Speaker 2: and one of these teams is going to end up
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  Speaker 2: being a reality. And one of those teams just signed
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  Speaker 2: Frank Vogel. The Warriors did to be a top assistant
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  Speaker 2: to Steve Kerr. That's who Lebron won a title with
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  Speaker 2: in the bubble.
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  Speaker 1: And there's momentum towards the timber Wolves.
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  Speaker 2: They had a busy offseason and head coach Chris Finch
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  Speaker 2: recently said it would be the fit for sure. When
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  Speaker 2: asked about the Temperlewolves pitch to Lebron, he said, we
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  Speaker 2: have a hole that he would easily fit into. The
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  Speaker 2: players alongside of him have done a lot of winning.
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  Speaker 2: There are guys that could use his leadership as well
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  Speaker 2: his knowledge, his insight, his championship expertise. I think it
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  Speaker 2: would be a fun group to play with. I know
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  Speaker 2: he's looking for happiness right now. I think the happiness
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  Speaker 2: quotion Minnesota is extremely high now. The lineups for either
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  Speaker 2: of these teams that would get Lebron James would probably
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  Speaker 2: move around. There would still be some pieces that need
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  Speaker 2: to be filled. And where you're talking about Minnesota and
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  Speaker 2: Golden State, these are two teams that we know will
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  Speaker 2: be good.
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  Speaker 1: But how far are they capable of going.
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  Speaker 2: Is Lebron James that piece if they stay pretty much
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  Speaker 2: how they look right now, that can put them over
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  Speaker 2: the top.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know.
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  Speaker 2: I think I think this nepts next step for Lebron
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  Speaker 2: where he has said this is not about money, it's
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  Speaker 2: about happiness. I think happiness for Lebron James comes from winning.
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  Speaker 2: I would imagine that a player of his caliber, that
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  Speaker 2: has done, the amount of winning that he has done,
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  Speaker 2: that has the expectations that he has, is more than
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  Speaker 2: aware that wherever he goes, we're going to be paying
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  Speaker 2: extra attention to since it is where he will finish
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  Speaker 2: his career. Again, still a shock to me that he
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  Speaker 2: moved on from the Lakers, everything that he has built
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  Speaker 2: in Los Angeles, what they were trending towards towards the
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  Speaker 2: end of the season. But you know, perhaps he looked
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  Speaker 2: at it as you know, I don't want to be
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  Speaker 2: the thing that people blame for Luca not.
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  Speaker 1: Working in LA because that would be obviously very silly.
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  Speaker 2: And he wants to go somewhere where he can make
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  Speaker 2: a final.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Mark in.
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  Speaker 2: The NBA, the Warriors situation to me feels kind of
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  Speaker 2: like an UNK reunion. That so, it's a lot of age,
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  Speaker 2: it's a lot of games have been played between all
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  Speaker 2: of those guys. Minnesota obviously is a much younger team,
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  Speaker 2: a team that's going to need, like Chris Finch said,
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  Speaker 2: some leadership, some.
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  Speaker 1: LaMelo ball there. How is he going to mesh with
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  Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards? Obviously? You know, where does Rudy fit into
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  Speaker 1: all of that?
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  Speaker 2: There's they're a young and talented team, but does Lebron
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  Speaker 2: kind of throw a wrench in their developments. Whereas if
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  Speaker 2: you go to a place like Miami, not as young
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  Speaker 2: of a team, a place that we know can put
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  Speaker 2: pieces around that aren't expensive, that are you know, often overlooked,
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  Speaker 2: and someone like Lebron can get the best out of anybody.
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  Speaker 2: If you're talking about Philadelphia, you know those expectations are
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  Speaker 2: going to be insane this year. That's a lot of
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  Speaker 2: pieces to put together. And also into grate Lebron James.
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  Speaker 2: It's going to be very interesting wherever he ends up.
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  Speaker 2: But I don't know that there is a perfect basketball
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  Speaker 2: fits anywhere, but we will see. Saying in the NBA,
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  Speaker 2: Ja Morant is getting a fresh start in Portland, and
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  Speaker 2: it's a story that's gone a little bits under the radar.
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  Speaker 2: We got to hear about it from Jaw over the weekends.
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  Speaker 2: Summer League has started and a lot of the stars
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  Speaker 2: are out there, and he said, what would I like
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  Speaker 2: cleared up? I think you know the answer to that.
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  Speaker 2: My image that I'm a bad guy.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Jaw.
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  Speaker 2: I've done what I've done in the past, but it's
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  Speaker 2: been addressed and handled already. I don't see why years
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  Speaker 2: later that's still topic when nothing's happened. Since if I
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  Speaker 2: was that guy, y'all wouldn't be talking to me now.
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  Speaker 1: I wouldn't be here. New home, new team, new organization,
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  Speaker 1: he said.
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  Speaker 2: I get to show the fans in Portland a different job.
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  Speaker 2: It's like starting all over again. Over the years, I've
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  Speaker 2: grown a lot.
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  Speaker 1: And learned a lot.
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  Speaker 2: My mindset changed. I go into things differently now. I
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  Speaker 2: feel more mature, I'm ready to work. I hate the
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  Speaker 2: jaw how to leave Memphis in the end, but I
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  Speaker 2: am really happy to see him get a fresh start.
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  Speaker 2: And he's really spitting here because we haven't heard from
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  Speaker 2: job since everything happens. There haven't been problems. We're not
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  Speaker 2: hearing about him constantly. Like, yes, they've dealt with some injuries. Yes,
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  Speaker 2: obviously he moved on from Memphis. Yes, you know, when
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  Speaker 2: you are with an organization sometimes things don't go perfectly.
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  Speaker 2: But Jah is an incredibly talented player. He's an exciting
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  Speaker 2: player to watch. I think this new start in Portland
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  Speaker 2: is what he needs in.
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  Speaker 1: His career, but also what he deserves. He is right.
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  Speaker 1: You are allowed to.
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  Speaker 2: Make mistakes and grow from them. We should give people
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  Speaker 2: the grace to be able to do that. He was
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  Speaker 2: a young person, made some decisions, controversial ones, and he has.
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  Speaker 1: Grown from them.
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  Speaker 2: And why should we all be held to Why should
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  Speaker 2: he be held to a different standard than the rest
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  Speaker 2: of us are We have all made bad choices at
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  Speaker 2: some point in our life. And when we're talking about
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  Speaker 2: what happened with Jaw, like, we can get into it,
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  Speaker 2: but I have my own opinions about how everyone reacted
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  Speaker 2: to that and kind of crucified him, and we're pretty
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  Speaker 2: hypocritical about how all that went down. And I think
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  Speaker 2: that this is a great opportunity for Jaw. I think
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  Speaker 2: he deserves the clean plate. I think how he has
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  Speaker 2: carried himself and the consistency of not having any of
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  Speaker 2: those off court situations should be credited to him. What
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  Speaker 2: he will end up doing in Portland's on the court TBD,
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  Speaker 2: and I'm excited to see that as well. He average
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  Speaker 2: nineteen point five points and eight point one asys per games.
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  Speaker 2: He was limited obviously to twenty games because of injuries
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  Speaker 2: last year, but he said that he's feeling great and
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  Speaker 2: he's making sure that he is in shape and working,
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  Speaker 2: and he said Memphis will always be home for me.
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  Speaker 2: And he's still connected with many of his former teammates
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  Speaker 2: and he has no ill will towards them.
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  Speaker 1: I am excited for Joah. I think he.
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  Speaker 2: Deserves this opportunity to write the next chapter of his path.
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  Speaker 2: And yeah, like people make decisions, We've all done those things.
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  Speaker 2: There are some unforgivable things, and Jaw.
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  Speaker 1: Was nowhere near that.
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  Speaker 2: He will talk about a story in a second where
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  Speaker 2: that's a whole different type of conversation. He has grown
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  Speaker 2: from that. He has clearly changed. He's clearly approaching his
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  Speaker 2: career differently, and I'm really I'm excited to see him
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  Speaker 2: in Portland's I'm excited to see him back on the court,
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  Speaker 2: and I think it's time we all move on from it,
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  Speaker 2: Like we don't need to keep asking those questions and now,
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  Speaker 2: especially now that he is not in Memphis, and if
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  Speaker 2: there is nothing to talk about off the court, then.
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  Speaker 1: Let's focus on what he is capable of doing on
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  Speaker 1: the court. That to me is what matters at this point.
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  Speaker 2: So finally, I was in Vegas this weekend and the
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  Speaker 2: fight was a big to do in a big conversation
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  Speaker 2: in UFC, another spectacle. Connor McGregor came back thirty eight
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  Speaker 2: years old and injured his knee on the first kick
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  Speaker 2: he threw, ending the fight in the first round. Some
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  Speaker 2: people were claiming that McGregor was hurt before the fight,
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  Speaker 2: and it's clear that the knee buckle. There was a
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  Speaker 2: clear knee buckle in the octagon. Dana White's UFC CEO said,
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  Speaker 2: if there was a pre.
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  Speaker 1: Existing injury, someone would have noticed.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think there was anything as possible, but he
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  Speaker 2: sure didn't look like it. And for eighty million people
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  Speaker 2: to watch him on my account alone, the overall number
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  Speaker 2: has to be massive. Nobody noticed anything, so there you go.
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  Speaker 2: He also discussed possible next new opponents for McGregor after
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  Speaker 2: the fights. McGregor's quote surgery, prehab, return to martial arts practice,
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  Speaker 2: go again.
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  Speaker 1: That's we wrote on Instagram. Final fight of the contract.
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  Speaker 2: Praise God. My faith is unconditional and thankful to prove it.
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  Speaker 2: My lifestyle changes are permanent and not just until I'm
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  Speaker 2: thankful to get to prove it.
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  Speaker 1: I'm in Sin City and.
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  Speaker 2: Remain completely devoid of sin. I will not open that door,
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  Speaker 2: nor a crack at CLA. Already back to collecting winds
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  Speaker 2: in Jesus name, I pray tale as old as time.
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  Speaker 2: Completely wreck your career, treat people terrible.
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  Speaker 1: Be a menace.
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  Speaker 2: You know, have a civil lawsuits ruling against you in
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  Speaker 2: a sexual assault case and start talking about how you
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  Speaker 2: are saved and all that's in your past. I find
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  Speaker 2: Connor McGregor despicable. And while I just talked about us
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  Speaker 2: giving second chances to a young person who did not
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  Speaker 2: harm another person, this is obviously unforgivable to me what
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  Speaker 2: Connor McGregor uh was accused of and had the ruling
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  Speaker 2: against him because of in that sexual assault case.
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  Speaker 1: He is a shell of what he once was as
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  Speaker 1: a fighter.
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  Speaker 2: At the height of his career, he was musty television.
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  Speaker 2: He was incredibly fun to watch, and the UFC was
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  Speaker 2: in a completely different place. I mean I covered and
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  Speaker 2: did a live broadcast from the McGregor Mayweather fight, and
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  Speaker 2: it was it was I mean, it was ReSpectacle. It
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  Speaker 2: was like nothing I've ever seen since. When you're talking
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  Speaker 2: about the attention and what Vegas was like that that
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  Speaker 2: weekend and the just the amount of people with opinions
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  Speaker 2: on what was going to happen, that type of people
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  Speaker 2: that showed up to watch it and you know, he's
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  Speaker 2: he's just become an embarrassment to the to the sport
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  Speaker 2: in my opinion.
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  Speaker 1: And the UFC is really.
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  Speaker 2: Struggling with a star issue and a crossover star issue. Obviously,
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  Speaker 2: there are lots of incredible fighters, but when you're talking
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  Speaker 2: about fighters like a McGregor, fighters that cross over into
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  Speaker 2: the mainstream, Ronda Rousey, you know, the list goes on.
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  Speaker 2: You know, you don't have those right now, and like
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  Speaker 2: you know, you've got the fight at the White House,
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  Speaker 2: and it's just become like unserious to me.
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  Speaker 1: And this I think was an example of that.
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  Speaker 2: He's in the ring for a couple seconds and out
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  Speaker 2: goes his knee. Now everyone's questioning about whether he was
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  Speaker 2: injured in the first before the fight. You know, obviously
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  Speaker 2: a lot of people tuned in, a lot of people
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  Speaker 2: went to the fight, a lot of people were excited
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  Speaker 2: to see what he was capable of doing after being off.
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  Speaker 1: For those years.
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  Speaker 2: And yeah, I was a colossal disappointment for anyone who
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  Speaker 2: wanted to see an old style McGregor fight. And yeah,
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  Speaker 2: I just I gotta be honest, wasn't interested. It didn't
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  Speaker 2: surprise me that he popped his knee immediately He's thirty
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  Speaker 2: eight years old, and that's that's old for most sports,
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  Speaker 2: but certainly for combat sports and having a five year
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  Speaker 2: time off where you're raging, partying and being a menace
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  Speaker 2: to society. So yeah, I mean, I don't know how
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  Speaker 2: much more fighting he has in him. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: this redemption tour is pointless to me, but like it's
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  Speaker 2: that's not going to change how I feel about McGregor,
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  Speaker 2: and certainly not in a few months trying to turn
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  Speaker 2: his brand around.
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  Speaker 1: So yeah, I mean.
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  Speaker 2: It felt it felt very gimmick, and in the end,
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  Speaker 2: that's what it was. Because he popped his knee immediately,
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  Speaker 2: that's so. I mean, that's a whole rehab process. So
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  Speaker 2: that's another year older, And like, what are we going
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  Speaker 2: to expect when he comes back then?
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  Speaker 1: Something different what he was ten years ago. I don't
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  Speaker 1: see it. So he doesn't do anything for me. I'm out.
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  Speaker 2: But if you want to spend your money in time
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  Speaker 2: trying to.
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  Speaker 1: Get back what was lost rather than looking for the
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  Speaker 1: next star, then I guess that's how you roll.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: For more on this and other top stories of the day,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: tune into the Daily Play with Joy Taylor at Urbanwepodcast
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