Conor McGregor

Mellor

Richy06 wrote: »

You just did?

:rolleyes:

DrPhilG wrote: »

Ogle surprised and impressed me in his last fight, excellent ground game. I don't think the UFC will match them up just yet though. Both European fighters with some hype behind them. No sense derailing one just yet.

Yeah, I would be surprised if they were matchj due to being two up and coming euro fighters.

Corassani is well known from TUF, coming off 2 wins (although I thought Ogle was robbed) and I think he would be a perfect opponent for Conor at this stage.

Brandao and Bermudez, both finalist from that season. Both and 2 and 3 fight streaks. I think Bermudez is matched for the end of the month (so unlikely to be him), but Bradao is also coming off a win in sweeden.

Richy06

Mellor wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Yeah, I would be surprised if they were matchj due to being two up and coming euro fighters.



Brandao and Bermudez, both finalist from that season. Both and 2 and 3 fight streaks. I think Bermudez is matched for the end of the month (so unlikely to be him), but Bradao is also coming off a win in sweeden.

I wasn't being pedantic, you were the first to mention him. So sue me!

SDTimeout

My own thought is Brandao / Dustin P. Then Swanson, then title shot.

Ian Whelan

Why don't we start a poll featuring the top 10 contenders and see if we can get it right?

I think it will be Ogle.

Xlami

I'd like to see him matched with Nam Phan as I think he would destroy him.

I might take some criticism for this but I think Cole Miller is a very dangerous fight for Conor. He could definitely KO him but just with the range of Miller it could cause Conor problems.

Be like Nutella

Cole Miller would be tough at 6'1'' and all his experience (8 UFC wins) ... still think Conor would find his chin if he got close. Nam would be a good fight, both would gain from a victory there.

rain on

Nam Phan is coming off a loss at the moment.. if he racks up a win in his next fight he could be a good opponent, hopefully by then though Conor will have a win against someone of the Brandao/Ogle/Corassani calibre and be ready for a step up.

Be like Nutella

This dude would be tough and a good scalp

and the right level

Rani Yahya - 3 UFC wins

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Rani-Yahya-10425

not booked yet, won his last fight in March on the Japan card.

Ray Mond

Regarding cole miller he's beat some good guys like Ross Pearson And Bart palawski, but he's also had a few loses , he would be finished in the first by Conor .the hight difference wouldn't be a problem , I remember at one of Conor's first fights against Mo Taylor he was around 6 foot or 6 '1, Mo through a few high kicks but Conor powered through him and TKO'd him , again Nam pham would stand with him I think and that would only go one way and that's Nam Pham going to sleep.
Conor's not gonna be rushed into fighting top 5 guys by the UFC expect at least 3 or 4 more fights before then I think.
People forget he's only 24 loads of time and loads of fights ahead, he's a ****ing beast and will be a future champ TRUST ME.

p to the e

Richy06 wrote: »

I wasn't being pedantic, you were the first to mention him. So sue me!

Now now brown cow!

p to the e wrote: »

I think Andy Ogle is a good shout for a next opponent. Both young fighters with lots of exposure (Andy was on TUF) and both coming off a win. Diego Brandao who was on the same card as McGregor could be a decent matchup aswell.

Chewabacca

Joe Procter looked like fantastic in his KO of Ramsey Nijem, would be a good test for if they were matched up. I reckon this fight is likely as Mcgregor wanted to fill in when Iaquinta got injured but Ramsey was picked instead.

As for people making out like Conor would stop both Nam Phan or Cole Miller in the first, I think both would be difficult fights. Cole Miller looked fantastic in his victory over Pearson and has a nasty submission game.
Nam Phan has some sharp boxing too. Conor's is probably better but Nam Phan could very well use his hands to set up a takedown and Conor definitely doesn't want to be fighting off his back against Phan. I'd bet on Conor against Miller but Nam Phan is an extremely tough opponent.

If the UFC are smart they'll build him up. If he's still unbeaten by the time UFC makes its likely return in 2014 he could easily sell out the O2. Conor looked fantastic against brimage from an objective point of view brimage is nowhere near top 10. Give him a few fights against similarly ranked competition.

A powerful wrestler would be the biggest test. Lets hope we never have to see Guida acting like a human blanket against him.

I think a fight against Max Holloway would be fantastic. He's looked good recently and loves to stand and trade hands.

I'm still dreaming of McGregor vs. Cub Swanson. That would be a dream match up for me.

cowzerp

The UFC will sell out regardless of if Conor is on or not, Nam Phan would be a great match up and good test.

Xlami

I agree the UFC would sell out tomorrow regardless of who's on the card. Two years time Conor fighting at a sold out Aviva for the title. That's the dream

nino1

Sorry to have to bring a bit of realism to this thread but all these claims that Conor would destroy cole miller, Nam Pham etc is ridiculous.
At the moment he is an extremely one dimensional fighter and would likely be only one take down away from a loss to Miller and Pham.
Hopefully the ufc only give him stand up opponents until he improves the other aspects of his game but the extent to which people here are blinded by patriotism and not looking at the bigger picture here is astounding.

Ray Mond

nino1 wrote: »

Sorry to have to bring a bit of realism to this thread but all these claims that Conor would destroy cole miller, Nam Pham etc is ridiculous.
At the moment he is an extremely one dimensional fighter and would likely be only one take down away from a loss to Miller and Pham.
Hopefully the ufc only give him stand up opponents until he improves the other aspects of his game but the extent to which people here are blinded by patriotism and not looking at the bigger picture here is astounding.

One take down away from a loss !! Would u get a grip .
Conor's ground game is very under estimated just cos he hasn't fought on the ground that much doesn't mean **** !
He subbed Dave hill who is regarded as Sub specialist , easily. Hes had some good training in Iceland with top level grapplers including Gunni and John. His take down defense is good also.
I'm sure Conor would mind KO'ing all his opponents and being called a 'one dimensional fighter'

nino1

Ray Mond wrote: »

He subbed Dave hill who is regarded as Sub specialist , easily.

Dave Hill has a good ground game but is certainly not a "sub specialist" Doubt there would be many ufc fighters fearing his ground game.
I know conors ground game has come on in leaps and bounds lately but he was a white belt about a year and a half ago.

Listen, I hope he improves and has a really successful career. All I'm saying is that people here need to take off the rose tinted glasses and start looking at it with a bit of perspective.

manga_10

just because he was a white belt doesn't mean he doesnt have the ability to sub higher belts. I've seen higher level belts beaten by white at competition

Mr. CooL ICE

Dominick Cruz is a blue belt in BJJ. Just sayin...

nino1

LordChessington wrote: »

Dominick Cruz is a blue belt in BJJ. Just sayin...

yes but you can afford to be a bjj blue belt when you have his level of wrestling!

MrStuffins

While I agree that Connor COULD knock these guys out "in the first", he could also be knocked out in the first. He could also be submitted, or he could submit them. Anything could happen.

To say with certainty that McGregor will just blow through these guys, World Class, experienced, talented, proven fighters on the biggest stage, is just silly and kind of disrespectful!

Richy06

To say Conor is 1 dimensional is pretty disrespectful as well. He really, really is not. He's a purple belt and also has some of the best wrestling in SBG, IMO. He doesn't necessarily need to be able to engage a guy's guard and pass and submit him to win a fight. Nor does he need to be pulling off people's arms left right and center. That's not his game. But he's more than able to fight off his back and has some excellent takedowns himself. Whilst a bit of realism is always welcome, give the guy his due. Don't go saying he's a novice grappler or that he's one dimensional just because of what you've seen of his grappling in the cage, because it's simply not true. He uses his grappling to create space and get back to his feet to use his biggest weapons. Just like many other fighters.

Gunnar Nelson's ground game strikes fear into most guys in MMA and the training Conor does with the likes of him as well as the guys in the SBG Ireland mean he is well prepared and certainly not a one trick pony.

Mellor

nino1 wrote: »

I know conors ground game has come on in leaps and bounds lately but he was a white belt about a year and a half ago.

Listen, I hope he improves and has a really successful career. All I'm saying is that people here need to take off the rose tinted glasses and start looking at it with a bit of perspective.

I agree that people have a tendency to let patriotic hyperbole take off a little.
But over contrary and talking about white belts is a bit silly.
Was he a white belt 18months ago? I've no idea.
But I do know that its total irrelevant. Nobody is going back in time to fight him. He's a purple belt now. His striking is obviously his biggest asset but his BJJ game is in good hands.

MrStuffins

All very true.

I think we could do with just taking a step back from the fact that we all want Connor to be the FW UFC Champion and being realistic.

The real test for Connor will be when he fights a top ranked contender. There is nobody in the current FW Top 10 that Connor wouldn't have both his stand up and his ground game tested by.

Still, i'd like to see him get at least one more fight in the UFC before he starts fighting such guys.

nino1

MrStuffins wrote: »

All very true.

I think we could do with just taking a step back from the fact that we all want Connor to be the FW UFC Champion and being realistic.

The real test for Connor will be when he fights a top ranked contender. There is nobody in the current FW Top 10 that Connor wouldn't have both his stand up and his ground game tested by.

Still, i'd like to see him get at least one more fight in the UFC before he starts fighting such guys.

Agreed.
And yes, I'm sure Conor's ground game is probably better than I was giving him credit for but if you are talking about ufc titles just look at the creme de la creme of each division and you'll see that the vast majority have either high level Bjj or high level wrestling or both. How many times have we seen good stand up guys like dan hardy blast through his first few "stand up" opponents only to get dominated when they get put up against high level wrestlers?

Btw I was as delighted as everyone else with his first UFC win and hope he goes on to as many wins as possible, just not getting too carried away with all the hype.

OrgasmicBaz

I agree with nino1 about the rose tinted glasses

Its great to see a Irish bloke make a name for himself in the UFC, and he had a brilliant start. But i think he needs another fight before he starts looking at guys in the top 10. A fight with Corassani would be a wise move, mop the floor with him and then move on to a top 10 opponent. From 1-10 there is a lot of quality there and UFC is a major step up from European MMA
Top 10 FW

1. Jose Aldo

2. Chad Mendes

3. Ricardo Lamas

4. Pat Curran

5. Frankie Edgar

6. Chan Sung Jung

7. Cub Swanson

8. Dustin Poirier

9. Erik Koch

10. Dennis Siver

darced

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MrStuffins

Siver had an awesome run at 155 and was almost in title contention before losing to Cowboy.

Now he's unbeaten since dropping down to 145

cowzerp

darced wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Easier said than done, would be good match to see if competing in top 10 is realistic.

darced

This post has been deleted.

p to the e

I still remember the scream in the arena from Nate Mohr when Siver got him with that spinning back kick to the liver at UFC 93 in Dublin.