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All the Cage: YouTube a 'long-term play' for Jury; McGregor won't fight again in 2020

A weekly look at MMA’s hottest topics.
A weekly look at MMA’s hottest topics.

Myles Jury laughs and admits he had no clue about the two things that now serve as his primary sources of income.

Jury has a fascinating YouTube channel in which he discusses his experience in both fields. A former UFC fighter now competing for Bellator, Jury discusses his experience in both mixed martial arts and personal finance on the fast-growing channel.

He not only provides the gossip — how much he made on certain fights and the rewards of being a UFC fighter — but he uses it to educate fighters on personal finance issues.

It’s become a source of income, but he’s not doing it just because he’s bored.

“YouTube is a long-term play for me, and I see so much potential in it, man,” said Jury, who fights Georgi Karakhanyan in the main card of Bellator 243 on Friday at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. “The more work I put into it, the bigger it can grow and there are so many angles to make money off of it.”

Jury defeated Brandon Gritz in February in Thackerville, Oklahoma, at Bellator 239 to end a three-fight losing streak. He still believes he’s good enough to win a world title and said he continues to improve.

The fight with Karakhanyan will be a test of where he is at this point.

“In this sport, it’s a continual evolution and if you aren’t constantly improving, you’ll be in big trouble,” Jury said. “I feel like I’m the best I’ve been. I’m always looking for ways to improve and I feel like when I look back on my fights, I see where I learned from them and got better.”

But at 31, Jury knows he won’t be able to fight for all that much longer. And that’s why he made it a point to learn about personal finance. And it’s also why he devotes so much time to it on his YouTube channel.

He points out that just because a fighter’s contract says he’s making $1 million, say, doesn’t mean the fighter will deposit $1 million in the bank. Many fighters don’t know how to deal with the money they earn because they come from disadvantaged backgrounds and never had it before.

So he’s done videos on how to spend stimulus checks the right way, how to earn outside income and the reasons why fighters go broke.

“Basically, the goal of this is to serve, to serve people all across the world,” Jury said. “I want to educate them and inspire them through martial arts and personal finance. Without mixed martial arts, I wouldn’t be where I am today. But I wouldn’t be where I am without all of the knowledge I’ve gained financially. Those two topics really changed my life for the better.

“I started out knowing nothing about martial arts and being a broke kid. Now, I’m fighting on the biggest stages, I have more money than I’ve ever dreamed about. So my goal is to hopefully pass along what I have learned that it can help some others who share those interests.”

Still working on it

UFC president Dana White created a buzz on July 25 when he said he’d make a fight for welterweight Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 253 on Aug. 15. But with that date less than two weeks away, there is still nothing done for a Chimaev fight.

White said he is hopeful and has a matchmaking meeting with Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard on Tuesday where Chimaev will be discussed.

Chimaev rose to prominence with dominant victories over John Phillips and Rhys McKee 10 days apart on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

No Conor McGregor in 2020

White said on the “My Mom’s Basement” podcast Monday that Conor McGregor won’t fight again in 2020. McGregor announced his retirement on social media in June, though few took it seriously since McGregor frequently says he’s retired, usually as a play for leverage.

But White emphatically ruled out a McGregor return to the cage in 2020 on the podcast.

“He doesn’t have a fight this year, and he won’t have a fight this year,” White said. “Conor McGregor will not fight in 2020. I’m not saying he won’t fight in 2021, but I’m telling you we don’t have a fight planned for him in 2021. But I guarantee you he will not fight in 2020. Conor McGregor is retired.”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 26: Conor McGregor attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Conor McGregor attends the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

There has been talk, fueled by McGregor tweeting “I accept” in both English and Tagalog, that he was looking for a fight with welterweight boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

White dismissed that at Saturday’s post-fight news conference at Apex in Las Vegas. Sean Gibbons, the president of Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, also said he knew nothing about such a fight.

Bellator on Pluto

Bellator and Pluto TV, a free streaming service, have partnered to create The Bellator MMA channel on Pluto. It will include more than 500 fights from Bellator’s library, including those from Fedor Emelianenko, Ryan Bader, Douglas Lima, Rampage Jackson, Chael Sonnen, Michael Page and Gegard Mousasi.

Both Bellator and Pluto are owned by ViacomCBS.

“I am excited for the launch of the Bellator MMA channel on Pluto TV that will feature unlimited access to our extensive content library,” Bellator president Scott Coker said. “This is a great way to increase the promotion’s visibility across additional ViacomCBS platforms, while giving our fans the opportunity to relive these incredible moments from inside the Bellator cage.”

He said it

“My kids are not going to be fighters or anything like that. Hopefully not. I think my daughter might be. She might be the next Ronda Rousey. I just want them to know I’ve been through everything. I was in foster care since I was 4 years old. I’ve seen some dark days. I’m here just to motivate people. I just want to tell people to love each other and that you can do it. I’ve put my head down to grind through everything I possibly could. I want my kids to know this. You don’t know what Daddy’s been through to get here and give you the life you have. I went through every emotion to get here. You have the same heart I have. You can do anything to achieve your goals. That’s the thing I wanted to share with my kids.” — UFC lightweight Bobby Green after his victory over Lando Vannata on Saturday in Las Vegas.

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