Official Conor McGregor Thread (READ MOD WARNING IN OP)

Dtp1979

dave1982 wrote: »

Or Brock !

At least Brock did something and it was his illness that was his downfall I'd say

scudzilla

Dtp1979 wrote: »

At least Brock did something and it was his illness that was his downfall I'd say

Nah, he just couldn't take being hit in the face

Richy06

jodaw wrote: »

I think you misunderstand me. His ability is surely God given and he is extremely talented. What i am saying is that the animal instinct and reason for fighting is in reality for survival.

Conor's reasons are for the trappings of wealth beyond the basics.

Which fighter would you chose? The fighter fighting for a BMW or the fighter fighting for the health and wellbeing of their family?

This is what i a saying and i am complimenting Brazilian fighters and not belittling them in any way. They are much more grounded and humble and have this inner desire in their DNA to add to their skills.

Who's ability is "God given"? Come off it. Any ability a fighter attains is earned, not given to them by any deity. You're presuming an awful, awful lot here in saying Conor's motivation is money. Of course, he's smart, he'll make as much money as he possibly can during what is a short career and a small window with which to make big money. That's what a prize fighter does. But make no mistake, they all, to a man, step in there because they love it as martial artists. Be it the buzz, the competition, the money, the fame, the status - all fighters experience the same gamut of motivations and inspirations to do what they do. You see Conor enjoying what he's been earning thus far and then jump to the assumption that his main motivation is money? Come off it and don't insult our intelligence by pretending you know what makes him tick, Sigmund Jodaw. :rolleyes:

El Guapo!

jodaw wrote: »

Strong defence of Conor in relation to the money issue. I see conor blowing the small amount of cash he has earned out of this without any guarantee of future earning. The UFC is not big money for the average fighter, only for the superstars.

All of his antics to date have been about making himself famous than anything else. He publicly told the Department of Social Welfare to go feck off after his first fight. That to me shows a lack of respect for the money and help which the Department of Social Welfare gives to people.

If he was more interest in the fighting side then he would be slowly rising to the top through demonstrating his talents and being humble.

He's increasingly going all Holywood with the accent to match. I hope it all works out for him or otherwise he may just find himself where he started. The UFC love him at the moment and there are giving him way more exposure than almost any other fighter in the division and arguably many more talented fighters. Examples being Lamas etc..

UFC could change their view of him in a instant and i am not so sure he could cope if the spotlight moves elsewhere.

Also, I dont know what makes him tick. You present a facade and people will judge you based on that. If i am wrong then i would accept that but that is how i see and i stick by it.

Tbh, if Conor wants to go out and spend every penny he earns on jelly babies then he's perfectly entitled to. And it's no ones business but his.
Who cares if he's only in it for the money (which I highly doubt. He seems to live and breath the sport.)
It doesn't matter what he spends his money on or what his motivation is. As long as he's entertaining and does his job, that's all we as fans should expect. He's enjoying his new found fame and money. I know I'd be out running a muck if it was me.

MrStuffins

El Guapo! wrote: »

Tbh, if Conor wants to go out and spend every penny he earns on jelly babies then he's perfectly entitled to.

Zero-Cool

Mellor

jodaw wrote: »

Strong defence of Conor in relation to the money issue. I see conor blowing the small amount of cash he has earned out of this without any guarantee of future earning. The UFC is not big money for the average fighter, only for the superstars.

I'd be inclined to agree with the others. I've seen nothing to make me believe his motivation is money. When he speaks about Ali, Bruce Lee, styles of fighter I get the impression he entirely dedicated to the art of combat and to human movement. Obviously he has enjoyed the money, but who wouldn't.

Also, you or I have no clue what he has earned out of this. But it sure it's significantly more than his show and purse money for his two fights.

Gumbi

jodaw wrote: »

Lets put the money to one side. I wanted to put forward this argument because if it is the case that he is more interested in the money the sooner or later it will affect his performances.

Either way the thing that i am liking less and less is the arrogance, dellusional statement about being the king and personal insults of top level fighters. Not to mention what seems to be bullying side of his character in that last interview.

I really hope he does not become one of those do you remember this guy stories. He seems to be able to hang with the 10-20 in the division but i would have my doubts he can beat many in the top 10.

After all he was not that impressive against Holloway. Technically he is good with the hands but not with devastating power of the top level guys.

The kicks are mostly for show. Look at the faber interview the day after the aldo fight where he shows off the damage to the leg that Aldo done and how he never felt pain like it. That says a lot.

I have never seen one of conor's kicks land and do damage but they are showy.

Max has good technical striking too. Conor's kicks are not for show, for the most part they're about controlling distance, as Conor is primarily a counter striker.

MrStuffins

jodaw wrote: »

As a side note I am not sure what is the upside for him in this fight with Cole.

It's the Main Event on a UFC card. Doesn't matter if he's fighter Cole Miller or Kenny Miller, it'll give him big exposure. Might not put him higher in the rankings on merit but he'll fight his way to a bigger fight in the future!

Gumbi

jodaw wrote: »

That is of course assuming he wins. :cool:

Cole is on a very good run at the moment and is very good if it goes to ground. Also he is underated as a striker. I would cack myself laughing to see his McGoober speech after winning by strikes!

He's not on Conor's level standing, not a hope, but he has very very good JJ so we'll see what happens if it hits the ground.

Richy06

Now you're telling us Conor doesn't have power? Seriously, what are you on, because if it warps reality that much, I want some. You must've missed all those KOs that're on his record.

The money thing, trust me, is absolute bullsh*t. Sure, it's a very nice part of getting to the level he's gotten to after years of being p*ss poor without a penny to rub together of his own. So he's gonna enjoy it. But don't think that because he has more money and is seen out doing things with that means he suddenly has taken to slacking it in training, because that is not the case. Never has been and never will be. He'd never let that happen himself and he has some excellent coaches and team around him to ensure this never happens. He is OBSESSED with bettering himself in every range of combat.

As for how he's carried himself in the UFC from interviews to promotional appearances etc....he's just being himself. Some people like it, some don't. But he's not changed his accent beyond annunciating better so as to be understood. He's pretty much been himself and played the promotion game and been very successful with it thus far, whether you agree with his methods or not. To say he's suddenly a bully for engaging in trash talk with another fighter, though? That's just laughable. I know I should probably just keep my mouth shut but all this baseless assumptions and utter bullsh*t people are spouting on here is just maddening. "Ohhh he's on the drink big time man, he's gonna be KO'd", "He's all about the money, he's head isn't in it."

Stop adding 2+2 and getting 10.

Gumbi

jodaw wrote: »

Richy please dont take my comments personally and you seem to understand Conor's mentality and approach better than I do. Maybe you are close with him or know someone that is, so I will accept that.

Like I said, i do not think he has the power in his strikes or kicks to compete with the top fighters in the division. I believe this is a big gap. He has a good KO record but now he is in the big leagues so let us see what happens from here.

He beat brimmage with strikes but brimmage played right into his style. Holloway looked intimadated and did not seem his usual self, plus he is a kid that has 4 more years of development to catch up with Conor.

One other thing. What's with Conor calling all these fighter old, balding etc... He is calling Cub old man Swanson. Cub is 30 ffs and has many years ahead of him and has achieved way more than Conor in the last 4. Does he think he will be mid 20's forever? He is around the same age as aldo and he will be 30 in no time.

Rofl. You're takibg him waaay too seriously.

Richy06

I'm really not taking this personal at all. I just like to deal in facts as opposed to jumping to baseless conclusions. Why do you keep trying to rationalise trash talk? Stop taking it so seriously and take it for what it is.

I think you've made your mind up about him not having KO power. If he KOs another 4 people in his next four fights, you'll just say 'he played into his style'. Yup, he walked right into several left hook counters and uppercuts alright and well, got knocked out by a known power counter puncher. What are you basing your assumption that he hasn't got the power to compete with the division's elite? Just because they're the elite, doesn't mean their chins are any less susceptible to accurate, powerful strikes. I'm pretty sure they're still human. He has the technique to get his strikes off. His footwork and angles are some of the best in the division, if not the sport. I agree, we'll see. But going on the evidence thus far, he probably has the power to put anyone out in the division is he connects.

Richy06

Yeah, he must have a really crap bunch of training partners and coaches here in Ireland. His coach is only one of the best grappling coaches in the world, but he should definitely move abroad to get proper world class coaching. I mean, John Kavanagh's Irish, he CAN'T be world class. Where's his track record for producing brilliant grapplers?!
Gunnar Nelson? He only got his black belt in 3-4 years and is an ADCC vet. But essentially, he's rubbish.

d_jordan

jodaw wrote: »

One other thing. What's with Conor calling all these fighter old, balding etc... He is calling Cub old man Swanson. Cub is 30 ffs and has many years ahead of him and has achieved way more than Conor in the last 4. Does he think he will be mid 20's forever? He is around the same age as aldo and he will be 30 in no time.

When I first heard Conor say about Cub been old I was wondering is he insane but then I remembered lighter weight class fighters in general don't usual see much championship success into their 30's and maybe conor is using that to try and get into Cub's head using the fact that Cub himself is probably questioning how long he has left in the sport which is probably only a few good years.

I'm not saying Cub has slowed down or anything, he's on fire at the moment but people in general start to question stuff when they get close to 30(I had a mate that went into hiding for a few weeks before and after he turned 30).

When your a high level athlete ageing has to be on your mind and in this since I think Conor is prying for any insecurities that Cub may have knowing that he only has a few years leave his mark on the sport because no matter how much success he has now unless he becomes champ himself, when you are looking back in history he'll always just be the guy that got flying knee ko'd in Aldo's highlight.

Richy06

I never said you said SBG is rubbish. But you've said that to improve his grappling he must go abroad, which is just not true. Sure, he'll pick up stuff and train with some good bodies, but the level of coaching he gets is already world class. He doesn't need to move camps to do so and it's kind of insulting to imply that he'd need to in order to better himself. This isn't to say that Conor doesn't travel abroad to train now, because he does.

Gumbi

jodaw wrote: »

And that is where we differ in opinion again Richy. He may be receiving world class training at SBG, but i believe he will need to train are some other top gym if he wants to reach the top.

Like i said, he may be burning bridges a reducings his opportunities in the future.

I am not say he should quit SBG or anything of the sort but maybe training for a few months in the states could improve parts of his game.

Mendes - AlphaMale
Cub - Jacksons
Miller/Poirier - American Top Team

He camps in Iceland with Gunnar and worked out in Boston with some gym when he was fighting there.

d_jordan

jodaw wrote: »

Very interesting reading. Given the amount a fighters doing well into their 30's recently, I would have assumed swanson could be going well into his mid 30's

But all those fighters seem to be in the heavier weight divisions (Belfort,Hendo, Silva) all grandpa's to Conor;)

Anywhere in particular you came across that analysis regarding the lighter weight divisions?

Of course there are exception's but if you look at combat sport's in general lighter weight class fighter's genrally seem to hit their prime earlier and have success in their mid/late 20's some still keep this success into their early 30's but you barely ever see a early/mid 30's guy in the lighter weight classes become champ.

In the heavier weight classes guy's seem to hit their prime when they are a little bit older and so it's not unusual to see them have success at an older age.

Mr. Loverman

Richy06 wrote: »

He only got his black belt in 3-4 years

In fairness the length of time it takes to get your black belt probably means little.

My ex got her taekwondo black belt in 6 weeks. She's Korean, got it in Korea in their top taekwondo university. What does that mean? I have no idea but it makes me think the length of time means little.

Dtp1979

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

In fairness the length of time it takes to get your black belt probably means little.

My ex got her taekwondo black belt in 6 weeks. She's Korean, got it in Korea in their top taekwondo university. What does that mean? I have no idea but it makes me think the length of time means little.

A black belt in tae kwon do is a million miles off a black belt in BJJ

Richy06

A black belt in BJJ takes, on average, 10-15 years to obtain. Getting it as quick as Gunni did, is a mark of how special a grappler he is.

T-K-O

Richy06 wrote: »

Who's ability is "God given"? Come off it. Any ability a fighter attains is earned, not given to them by any deity. You're presuming an awful, awful lot here in saying Conor's motivation is money. Of course, he's smart, he'll make as much money as he possibly can during what is a short career and a small window with which to make big money. That's what a prize fighter does. But make no mistake, they all, to a man, step in there because they love it as martial artists. Be it the buzz, the competition, the money, the fame, the status - all fighters experience the same gamut of motivations and inspirations to do what they do. You see Conor enjoying what he's been earning thus far and then jump to the assumption that his main motivation is money? Come off it and don't insult our intelligence by pretending you know what makes him tick, Sigmund Jodaw. :rolleyes:

This is simply not true. We are not all born equal. Cains cardio is freakish, same applies to Maywaether, Jon Jones, Usain Bolt and the lists goes on and on..

Now, do these guys train hard? Of course they do but all the training in the world will not transform Chris Leben into an Anderson Silva

Richy06

Do you honestly think "God" bequethes a chosen few with "freakish" cardio as opposed to just, y'know, guys just working to attain that level of cardio vascular fitness?

Genetics play a huge role in how our body develops, no argument there. But you aren't born knowing how to fight. You learn it each and every day in the gym.

Jones was born with great genetics, which he took full advantage of and paired it with world class coaching to become the best in the world. In general, black people are bigger, more powerful beings then white people so you are indeed right; no training in the world could ever turn Chris Leben in Anderson Silva. But if you're implying that Anderson Silva was somehow born with his abilities, you're sadly mistaken.

We're all born with similar genetics, it's how we take advantage of those genetics that matters.

sasta le

Is ufc like wwf as in the fighters have a character to play out

T-K-O

Richy06 wrote: »

Do you honestly think "God" bequethes a chosen few with "freakish" cardio as opposed to just, y'know, guys just working to attain that level of cardio vascular fitness?

Genetics play a huge role in how our body develops, no argument there. But you aren't born knowing how to fight. You learn it each and every day in the gym.

Jones was born with great genetics, which he took full advantage of and paired it with world class coaching to become the best in the world. In general, black people are bigger, more powerful beings then white people so you are indeed right; no training in the world could ever turn Chris Leben in Anderson Silva. But if you're implying that Anderson Silva was somehow born with his abilities, you're sadly mistaken.

We're all born with similar genetics, it's how we take advantage of those genetics that matters.

I don't think God does a lot to be honest.



Who said guys like Anderson Silva miraculously appear from a puff of smoke? No one.

Did I not say these guys work their asses of?

Call it what you want natural ability, God given ... if you believe that is not a huge factor, you are sadly mistaken.

darced

This post has been deleted.

T-K-O

@ this

Do you honestly think "God" bequethes a chosen few with "freakish" cardio as opposed to just, y'know, guys just working to attain that level of cardio vascular fitness?

Leaving God to one side, yes there are certain individuals better than the rest of us. Plain to see in all walks of life.

Dtp1979

T-K-O wrote: »

@ this

Do you honestly think "God" bequethes a chosen few with "freakish" cardio as opposed to just, y'know, guys just working to attain that level of cardio vascular fitness?

Leaving God to one side, yes there are certain individuals better than the rest of us. Plain to see in all walks of life.

Absolutely. That's why these guys are stats. They don't necessarily train the hardest

Henry9

Richy06 wrote:

Genetics play a huge role in how our body develops

Richy06 wrote:

Jones was born with great genetics

Richy06 wrote:

But if you're implying that Anderson Silva was somehow born with his abilities, you're sadly mistaken

Richy06 wrote:

We're all born with similar genetics, it's how we take advantage of those genetics that matters.

You're all over the place to be honest. Defending someone's work ethic doesn't mean you have to deny the reality of genetic advantage.
That's just daft.

The only thing more predictable than a fighter trying to smack talk his way into contention, is those who say 'OMG but it's working, you're talking about him!'
In my humble opinion of course.

Anyway, he's courted that audience, so I don't think he can get too put out if they turn against him, not that I know he would.

But it's laughable to suggest he needs to leave where he is to get 'World Class Coaching'.
You just have at their record, he has an incredible stable of training partners to call on.
I'm not the biggest fan of the change in their promotion strategy over the last couple of years, but they won't care about that. It's got them where they are.

Plus, look at the success they've achieved, with remarkable consistency.

Henry9

Richy06 wrote: »

Do you honestly think "God" bequethes a chosen few with "freakish" cardio as opposed to just, y'know, guys just working to attain that level of cardio vascular fitness?

It's just occurred to me, that's exactly what "God" or nature or whatever, does do.
Miguel Indurain springs to mind, I seem to remember he had some freakish lung capacity. Similar things with Phelps or one of his ilk.

Elite athletes differ from 'normal' folk. To a varying degree for sure, but if you want to be in the Olympics for example you better win the genetic lottery.