Each week, ESPN.com MMA writer Brett Okamoto, ESPN Insider senior editor Mike Huang and a guest panelist tackle hot topics that are buzzing in the world of mixed martial arts.
This week, contender Dennis Siver, who fights Conor McGregor, joins the panel.
1. Does the UFC want Dennis Siver to lose to Conor McGregor on Sunday?
Dennis Siver: I am aware Conor has a lot of fans and those fans will be looking to see me lose. I don't know if the UFC is among them. I don't know what the UFC's plans are. At the end of the day, this fight isn't about Conor progressing to a title shot. It's about me progressing into the top 10 of the division.
Brett Okamoto: Yes. Sorry, Dennis. McGregor is unique, new, exciting and he has a very large Irish fan base behind him. A title fight between him and Jose Aldo represents millions of dollars for the UFC. McGregor still has to go out and win -- the UFC can't do it for him -- but of course the promotion wants to see the McGregor train run for as long as possible.
Mike Huang: I bet you the marketing department and a little bit of Joe Silva does. McGregor's locomotive of momentum traveled to Bristol, Connecticut, this week and we saw firsthand just how gregarious, articulate and charismatic Conor McGregor can be. He's entertaining and will sell fights wildly as he continues to gain traction and popularity. This is uncommon for a lighter-weight fighter. Usually they just don't carry a card well, but McGregor amps that up significantly. Siver probably knows he's got the proverbial cards stacked against him. It'll be his job to try to expose McGregor for the first time.
2. What is the best win, thus far, of Siver's career?
Siver: My best win was against George Sotiropoulos [UFC 127 -- Feb. 27, 2011, in Sydney]. I had much of the same things working against me that I do in this fight. I was in somebody's backyard. The other guy had all the fans and the fans really didn't like me. The arena was quiet after I beat Sotiropoulos. I hope I'll be able to repeat that on Sunday.
Okamoto: I would agree with Siver here -- it was the Sotiropoulos fight. It's easy to forget this now (since G-Sot has now lost five consecutive fights), but at the time, Sotiropoulos had won eight in a row, six by way of finish. I was at that Sydney event and the feeling was definitely that it would be Sotiropoulos' night. Then Siver beat him very decisively. Even after seeing that firsthand though, I'm not predicting a repeat for Siver this weekend against McGregor.
Huang: Boy, Siver's one of those dogged guys who's been in the UFC forever. Though the images of his trademark spinning back-kick are what stand out, I'd have to say his win over George Sotiropoulos at UFC 127 was big. At the time, Sotiropoulos was on a hot streak. The Australian jiu-jitsu artist was riding a six-fight winning [by finish] streak. I remember his wins over Joe Stevenson and Kurt Pellegrino. But then out jits-ing BJJ expert Joe Lauzon took the cake. I remember Sotiropoulos shaved his head, looking fierce and primed. He was in awesome shape and his stand-up had finally caught up to his ground game. Siver came in and handily beat Sotiropoulos in his own backyard with a unanimous decision in Sydney. It's like Sotiropoulos never recovered -- he went on to lose four in a row and was released from the UFC in January 2014.
3. Should an athletic commission test fighters for drugs of abuse (cocaine, marijuana, etc.) during a training camp or is that invasive of their privacy?
Siver: In my opinion, there are only two options: Completely forbid use of all these drugs, whether in-camp or out, or allow all of them all the time. Separating it by time is confusing and you can't really tell when someone takes cocaine or marijuana. It shows up in the blood stream and urine days after. [Drug tests] can't really pinpoint if it occurs in 12 hours (which would be considered in-competition).
Okamoto: Honestly, I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other on this -- but everything needs to be clearly defined and properly executed. If commissions continue to follow the World Anti-Doping Agency's banned list verbatim and NOT test for drugs of abuse during a fighter's camp (only performance-enhancing substances), I am OK with that. If commissions decide that monitoring a fighter's use of narcotics year-round does fall under their jurisdiction and responsibilities and start testing for it, I'm fine with that as well. But pick a side and strongly commit to it.
Huang: Not invasive at all. They are competing in a sport that does not condone the use of illicit drugs. Recreational use is irrelevant. If they test positive, they should be subject to discipline. Discipline is another matter, however. Because there is no fighters' union, there really is no due process for the fighter. So the UFC must police itself and dole out its own suspension. The athletic commission could do the same and not grant a license to fight, but that seems extreme. Performance-enhancing drugs harm the integrity of the sport, whereas the only harm illicit drugs like cocaine and marijuana bring is to the fighter himself. So I see where people think Jon Jones was getting off "easy."
4. Who has a better chance to win a UFC title from this point forward: Donald Cerrone or Ben Henderson?
Siver: It's a tough question, hard to answer. Ben Henderson used to be a champion and I think Ben could be a champion again. I do think Ben will beat Cerrone this weekend.
Okamoto: I would have to sign with Henderson for two main reasons. (1) Henderson's not as wild as Cerrone. Case in point, this weekend. As I've said before, I admire Cerrone's approach to the sport and I like the fact he wants to be in the Octagon seemingly every week. Does that translate well in terms of a title run, however? No, it doesn't. (2) Henderson is slightly more matchup-proof to me than Cerrone. His physical grappling style can do well on any given night against any given opponent. Cerrone, though a truly terrific fighter, doesn't match up quite as well with certain opponents in the division. This question is a close one, though. Cerrone could win a title in 2015 and it certainly wouldn't shock me.
Huang: Cerrone definitely has the momentum right now. It almost seems like Henderson has hit a bit of a plateau. But Bendo's a cerebral guy -- he's a thinker. And he'll find a way jump-start things. Ultimately, he has more upside -- even having already been a champ -- than Cerrone, who has once hit that career plateau before as well. This fight will be a good test for both of them to dig deep and find out how much they want it. I still think Henderson has a better tool kit, though.
5. What is the most intriguing division in mixed martial arts right now?
Siver: Featherweight. It has the best fighters and if you look at the division specifically, a lot of fighters do more than the fighters in the higher weight classes. They are quicker and can do more physically than guys carrying around 30 or 40 pounds more. After featherweight, I would say lightweight is the most intriguing.
Okamoto: I also think it's featherweight. Quietly, featherweight has been really good for a while now, actually. Many will point to the addition of Conor McGregor as the main reason, but think about all the other intriguing players that have popped up at 145 pounds. Cub Swanson really turned a corner in the last three years and is incredibly fun to watch. Frankie Edgar completely adjusting to the weight cut and finding his groove. Chad Mendes is a legit top-10 pound-for-pound fighter in my eyes. And in Bellator, you've got the three-man dance between Patricio Freire, Daniel Straus and Pat Curran (we'll see Freire versus Straus II tonight). Potential UFC contenders round everything out in Ricardo Lamas, Dennis Bermudez, Chan Sung Jung and Charles Oliveira.
Huang: It has to be the lightweights, by far. It's the deepest division in the sport with guys who are champion-caliber or former champions. When Eddie Alvarez is the 10th-ranked lightweight, you know that's deep. But Anthony Pettis is so good and so confident, he'll take on any of them without blinking an eye. So you're virtually assured of a great fight 1 through 10. But don't mistake Pettis' confidence as infallibility. Because the division is so deep, he could get taken out on a good night by any one of them. Khabib Nurmagomedov is my pick to do that -- he's a mismatch of skills for Pettis, and has the best chance, albeit a small one, to dethrone Pettis.