Official Conor McGregor thread (part 5) *Read Mod Note in Post 1*

sonofenoch

MagicIRL wrote: »

I never specified if it mattered or not. I just stated that Diaz took him down. You questioned it, then immediately answered your own question in the same post. It was bizarre.

Diaz took Conor down because Conor was tired at the end of the 5th round. We could argue it was because of the weight class? The five rounds? The gameplan? Regardless, it happened. And it happened in the Mayweather fight, too. (Granted, a different sport, but one that requires cardio none the less.)

Khabib will tire Conor out long before the 5th round because his style of wrestling/takedown game is different and more intense than Diaz, who will happily box his opponents. Khabib will put you on the mat and keep you there. That's his whole game and he is exceptionally good at it.

If Diaz can take him down, Khabib can take him down. It was a simple statement. It has nothing to do with Diaz not getting him down for long, it's the fact that it happened. Enough time + pressure from Diaz led to a takedown. That came too late for Diaz, who lost the round and the fight, but I believe if given the chance to wrestle, Khabib will have him down sooner rather than later. Then Khabib smesh.

Mendes took Conor down at will as well. We know Conor had a knee injury which may have played into this, and Conor ultimately won that fight by fantastic KO after surviving on the bottom until a guillotine attempt from Mendes gave him the opportunity to escape, but it was still unnerving to see him wrestled like that. (Side note: The guillotine is JK's fave submission, so it was the perfectly wrong option for Mendes given just how often Conor must've seen it. And to quote Ryan Hall when he was over here teaching; "Well, Mendes went for a guillotine, only his jiujitsu isn't very good" )

Conor's left hand being introduced to Khabib's temple so he goes all Eddie Alvarez on him and gets slept early is how I see the fight going, personally. Khabib gets hit. A lot. And every fighter says that they're in wars in the gym, they've fought tough guys, yada yada yada, and yet, they all crumble after that left hand starts to land. Conor landing the left hand is as sure as Khabib is at taking him down. The question is who'll be first?

Good objective post.......unlike the earlier dribbles in this thread giving McGregor less chance against Khabib than was given against Mayweather :cool:

Mellor

I think Diaz took him down in Rd1 of the first fight too. In Conor's defense he clearly worked on his fence grappling a lot after he brought Danis in. I think he stuffed 6 or 7 takedowns in the 2nd fight before being dragged down at the end.

Obviously I'm not suggesting he can stuff Khabib against the cage for 4+ rounds. But every minute he can stay off the cage is a minute in his favour. He has an excellent judge of range, which means Khabib is faced with walking him down to shoot.

It's a hugely interesting fight but we should probably be talking about Conor v Tony first.

Gonad

http://www.punditarena.com/mma/sraftery/khabib-nurmagomedov-conor-mcgregor-


By thoroughly mauling poor Edson Barboza en route to a gaping unanimous decision victory at UFC 219 in Las Vegas on Saturday night, Khabib Nurmagomedov brought an emphatic close to a frustrating chapter of his career.

Over the fourteen months or so that Nurmagomedov was inactive prior to the Barboza fight, his detractors had plenty of ammunition with which to attack and the fighter was forced to endure much derision.

Though Khabib ultimately displayed his soul-destroying, will-sapping grappling skills and finished Michael Johnson in the third round at UFC 205 in November of 2016, he was forced to come through some very shaky moments early on in the fight that led to questions and doubts about his stand-up game. To make matters worse, bitter rival Conor McGregor provided a stark contrast later that evening, when he entered a virtuoso striking performance to rip the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez in the main event.



A few months later, in March, Nurmagomedov’s weight-cutting issues and resultant hospitalization scuppered a mouth-watering interim title fight with Tony Ferguson at the eleventh hour. This made the American Kickboxing Academy representative the butt of many a joke for the next nine months and led some to suggest that his days at lightweight might actually be over.

On Friday, however, Khabib weighed in at 155.5lbs and looked pretty healthy doing so. As if to further hammer home that he has conquered the scales, he later spoke about a potential future move 10lbs south to featherweight.

The following night, Nurmagomedov really stuck it to his doubters, showing an improved jab and cage-cutting ability, and faring well in stand-up exchanges with Barboza – one of the division’s elite strikers. This helped him to force Barboza to the fence, where he was able to employ his wrestling and subsequently his fearsome, peerless ground and pound to heap punishment upon the Brazilian.

There were very few tiramisu jokes doing the rounds online Saturday evening or Sunday morning, and significantly fewer slights against Nurmagomedov’s striking skills, like those that were strewn across social media in the wake of the Johnson fight, were to be found. Instead, there were vindicating superlatives and expressions of awe.

The hype surrounding ‘The Eagle’ is once again in full flight.



If you are flying high up there along with him though, don’t let the altitude affect your thinking too much. While Khabib effectively closed the distance against Barboza behind a solid jab that was almost non-existent against Johnson and got tagged with far fewer hurtful shots on the way in, he was also aided in his striking efforts and flattered by Barboza’s stylistic tendencies.

Yes, the Brazilian is an elite striker and a superior fighter to Johnson overall, but he is also more reliant upon and adept with his feet than his hands and thus he struggled to slow Nurmagomedv’s marches or punish his lack of head-movement once the Russian made it past kicking distance into mid-range. A better boxer might have done so. Johnson did for a time at UFC 205. Furthermore, because Barboza primarily throws traditional Muay Thai style leg kicks, round kicks to the head and body, and spin kicks – all of which are easier to step inside of and harder to execute quickly on a constantly advancing foe – he found it difficult to keep Khabib at long range where he wanted him.

Barboza is not the ideal fighter to exploit Nurmagomedov’s vulnerabilities. That person is somebody with sharp, fast, precise hands, a ruthless eye for the counter and natural punching power, who also employs snappy teeps/front-kicks and oblique kicks to help control distance.

You know, that sounds a lot like a certain, aforementioned Irishman.

AlmightyCushion

MagicIRL wrote: »

I never specified if it mattered or not. I just stated that Diaz took him down. You questioned it, then immediately answered your own question in the same post. It was bizarre.

No I asked then stated the one takedown I remembered from the fight and gave my thoughts on it. I was genuinely asking a question there because there may have been more.

moneyman

Conor seems to be back in the gym a lot now, which can only be a good thing. Posting a lot of training pics on his IG. Hopefully a fight announcement in the next few weeks.

dulux99

Hopefully he fights Ferguson in March and they put Khabib vs someone as the co main. Maybe Poirier or somebody. It'd be good to show Khabib can fight twice in a reasonable amount of time

LollipopJimmy

dulux99 wrote: »

Hopefully he fights Ferguson in March and they put Khabib vs someone as the co main. Maybe Poirier or somebody. It'd be good to show Khabib can fight twice in a reasonable amount of time

Yep, Khabib has a lot to prove in that regard, it'd be heartbreaking if ConoR agreed to fight Khabib only for him to pull out injured

Gamb!t

Good man Dana.
http://www.the42.ie/white-gives-mcgregor-a-deadline-to-defend-ufc-title-3784328-Jan2018/

Paully D

Gamb!t wrote: »

Good man Dana.
http://www.the42.ie/white-gives-mcgregor-a-deadline-to-defend-ufc-title-3784328-Jan2018/

“As long as Conor is willing to fight by March, we could do Khabib versus Tony and then the winner fights Conor for the title,” the UFC chief said

.

Tony is recovering from surgery at the moment but even if Khabib and Tony fought tomorrow they wouldn't be ready for the Conor fight in March, so it makes no difference really.

Anyway, when is the last time Dana actually told the truth?

Eyes Down Field

I'd have both Khabib and Tony beating Conor at this stage. I don't think Conor will fight and hopefully Dana will stick by his word and strip him of the belt. The winner of a fight between Khabib and Tony deserves to be recognized as the undisputed Lightweight Champion.

Mellor

It will be July in Vegas

scudzilla

Mellor wrote: »

It will be July in Vegas

Doesn't that rule Khabib out as Ramadamadingdong would have just finished

hatrickpatrick

I'm surprised at Dana citing March as the deadline when all previous sources pointed to a surprise April return, even before he was supposedly booked and then booted for the New Year's card...

Personally I'd kinda prefer April with an announcement in the next week or two just so we could get a proper buildup, but either way it'll be great to see him finally back in the Octagon.

Mellor

scudzilla wrote: »

Doesn't that rule Khabib out as Ramadamadingdong would have just finished

Probably. But that's his choice.
Besides Tony should be first in line.

iancairns

The McGregor Goon squad modelling that mank Gym King yesterday. Mort

Gamb!t

scudzilla wrote: »

Doesn't that rule Khabib out as Ramadamadingdong would have just finished

Khabib should wait til the ferguson v mcgregor fight(if he fights) has been done. .
Ferguson is the interim champ and is deservedly next in line.

clsmooth

iancairns wrote: »

The McGregor Goon squad modelling that mank Gym King yesterday. Mort

That last one ‘keep the mind clear, get out and about’, looks like he’s waiting for the bus

EdwardC

421 days since November 12, 2016.  That's a long time.

ricero

EdwardC wrote: »

421 days since November 12, 2016.  That's a long time.

A coward of a "champion". Really hope hes stripped of the title soon if he doesnt fight in the next couple of months

Ultimate Seduction

He'll be fighting in march or April v Khabib. Winner fights Ferguson in July

Frank Bullitt

Saw this the other day, January 5th to be exact.

#FunFact

Today Conor McGregor breaks the record for longest period spent without defending a title in UFC history w/ 419 days & counting while not even having had a title defense booked.

He officially passes Frank Mir.

Mir had to get into a motorcycle accident, break his femur, and tear every ligament in his knee to make that record happen. McGregor sits on the sidelines uninjured and more than capable of defending "his" title.

EdwardC

Being bored today, I was reading through various mma boards and saw that stat too, and someone commented "Baby We Did It"  hahaha

EdwardC

Being bored today, I was reading through various mma boards and saw that stat too, and someone commented "Baby We Did It"  hahaha

Even if Conor does defend in April and wins, can anyone really see him having another defense this year? I can see him disappearing again and coming out with the "pay me my worth" and milking it all over again.

Paully D

Mellor wrote: »

It will be July in Vegas

I'm still convinced it'll be Tony vs Khabib with the winner facing Conor.

Ash.J.Williams

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Khabib is good no question but he was fighting a guy who's main weapon is kick and can't really box,
It made it easier for him to close the distance you just have to worry about the one big kick once your past it then your on, When kicking is your only game against a top notch wrestler your in trouble ,
With McGregor he has to worry about someone who can drop him with punches its a different ball game,

Khabib is there to be taken in the first 15 seconds, straight up his chin will be sticking out and he's there to be knocked out, he's also a brave mofo and there's a possibility he could walk into a slap in the chops, but after that conor has a war on.

Mellor

iancairns wrote: »

The McGregor Goon squad modelling that mank Gym King yesterday. Mort

I'm shocked that they are presumable being paid for that. But more shocking is the fact there 1,000s of people following these lads.

Gintonious wrote: »

Saw this the other day, January 5th to be exact.

Seen that on Reddit, somebody pointed out they missed Pettis. 462 days to his first defense.

pastorbarrett

Mellor wrote: »

I'm shocked that they are presumable being paid for that. But more shocking is the fact there 1,000s of people following these lads.

Makes sense. We all know who they are, as well as what Gymking is. Conor by proxy. Look how visible they all were during the Mayweather camp. More than a few would have been curious to see who they were and what exactly they were doing there. In fact, they got the Gymking brand into the ring, for a relative trifle. That's some coup. Can't get Conor, but can get his pals. Clever as far as I'm concerned.

I'd also guess there's a degree of inquisitiveness regarding what it's like to be a pal of McGregor. Pays dividends by the looks of it! Stick on a tracksuit, 1000 yard gaze, something-something-hard work success = point to the easy work!

Mellor

pastorbarrett wrote: »

Makes sense. We all know who they are, as well as what Gymking is. Conor by proxy. Look how visible they all were during the Mayweather camp. More than a few would have been curious to see who they were and what exactly they were doing there. In fact, they got the Gymking brand into the ring, for a relative trifle. That's some coup. Can't get Conor, but can get his pals. Clever as far as I'm concerned.

I'd also guess there's a degree of inquisitiveness regarding what it's like to be a pal of McGregor. Pays dividends by the looks of it! Stick on a tracksuit, 1000 yard gaze, something-something-hard work success = point to the easy work!

It was more The half assed cheapness. The the GymKing's marketing tactics. I'm sure the McGregor-lite exposure was a steal relatively speaking.

pastorbarrett

Mellor wrote: »

It was more The half assed cheapness. The the GymKing's marketing tactics. I'm sure the McGregor-lite exposure was a steal relatively speaking.

Yep, I feel cynical about it myself sometimes. Seriously, for all the trappings of wealth and fame, it must be a chore to be surrounded by people (brands in this case) looking to suck on the proverbial teat. I noted at the release of the movie recently, Conor noted how it was interesting for him to look back, take stock and see who was around from the beginning - as well as who wasn't.