Official Conor McGregor thread (part 3) *Updated Warning in 1st Post Re:Boxing match

Sweet Science wrote: »

Will Conor even bother with a jab at this stage ? Or just wait to see if he can land a big punch that doesnt come ?

Gamebred wrote: »

On the cardio talk just my 2cents so skim past if you wish but ive trained all the combat sports competed in boxing + BJJ, the hardest to do physically I think by a good distance is wrestling training for me anyways, Im no athlete but I find it the most draining doing a few rounds is a walk in the park in comparison, I think he will be lit up but ok cardio wise for 5 rounds, then it will get ugly.

EagererBeaver wrote: »

I agree but wtf type of punch is this?!

walshb wrote: »

No different than a lot of the swipes and paws that Floyd throws....

JJayoo wrote: »

What kind of weight will McG be cutting for this fight? will we see him seriously drained at weighin to come in with a big advantage over Flyod? and what is the time period from weigh-in to fight time?

Subcomandante Marcos wrote: »

He won't be cutting weight in the same way in boxing as he does in mma.

Cutting in MMA is basically unregulated and full of terrible practices the sport inherited from college wrestling culture.
Boxing is much more controlled with much more rules, if he tries to do his usual weight cut he won't make weight legally.

Lukker- wrote: »

Not necessarily true. Some organisations do mandatory weight checks 30 days out, but that just encourages fighters to cut weight twice.

Some do weight checks on the day, but that can encourage dehydration on fight night.

Hydration checks aren't mandatory unless a fighter insists on it in the contract.

Canelo was 174 on fight night officially and weighed in at 147. Conor's cut to 154 will be 15 pounds max, which is relatively normal. He wasn't drawn out against Alvarez.

wonderfullife wrote: »

It's not an easy comparison to make.

I'm not a scientist so make what you want of the below. Small sample sizes is my take-away but interesting all the same

1. 33 amateur boxers were studied fighting over 3x3 min rounds. 6 amateur MMA fighters were studied (same duration). The average Max Blood Lactate figures:

Boxers: 13.6 +/- 2.4 mmol.l (millimoles) (range 11.2 to 16)
MMA: 10.5 - 20.7 mmol.l (range 10.5 to 20.7)


2. Similar studies were done on other constituent parts of MMA:

35 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu players and 12 Division 1 NCAA wrestlers:

BJJ: 8 - 11 mmol.l (range 8 to 11)
NCAA: 17 - 21 mmol.l (range 17 to 21)

3. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Seth_Lenetsky/publication/232239063_The_Mixed_Martial_Arts_Athlete_A_Physiological_Profile/links/54f3a6b60cf2f9e34f07e6df.pdf

There's a big study ^. I read it but it's not worth your time reading it.

I'll summarise it with one headline:

Boxers were found to have the highest VO2 Max levels in studies between all the individual disciplines but the conclusion of the authors was that MMA fighters are likely to have similar VO2 Max levels to boxers.

Even shorter summary: You need to be fit as fcuk to go 5x5's in MMA or 12x3's in boxing.



I'd similarly argue that you could stick Mo Farah into a boxing ring with no specific boxing training and his arms would be completely done-for after 2 or 3 rounds.

Mo has world-class endurance but you're suddenly asking him to hold his arms high for extended periods and throw punches & defend himself. For people not used to doing that, even extremely fit people, their shoulders and arms will be burning and completely dead after 5-6 mins.

It is incredibly tiring to even just hold your hands up for extended periods of time.



You're correct in his recent fights but incorrect if you take his career as a whole. It wasn't always that way.

Conor's UFC part of his career has been one of constant adaptation. He has gone through periods of being a high-volume forward-pressure fighter (Brandao, Siver, Mendes) and periods of being a lower-volume forward-pressure counter-puncher (Diaz 2, Alvarez).

There haven't been too many fights in his entire career he has fought on the back-foot as a counter-puncher but the Marcus Brimage fight was one of those, because he charged at him like a bull and Conor played matador.

I don't think it's correct to label him a pot-shot fighter. Conor is ranked 7th (all-time) in the UFC for Significant Strikes Landed Per Minute, he lands on average 5.82 per minute.

In his completed 1st Rounds in the UFC he threw (total/per minute):

87 strikes against Max (17+ pm)
87 strikes against Siver (17+pm)
74 strikes Nate 1 (was on the mat for a little bit)
58 strikes Nate 2 (11+pm)
57 strikes Eddie. (11+pm)

*I left out Chad because there was like 3 minutes on the mat getting elbowed.

I think we have seen a noticeable trend - even without these stats - that Conor has shifted away from volume and energy sapping kicks towards efficiency and accuracy. Getting choked out due to gassing probably inspired the change. He's throwing less and landing more. Risky spinning kicks out, controlled kicking in.

I don't know what the answer is for this fight but intuitively I'm thinking he needs to throw more/land less like he used to do.

He's capable of it but the downside is when he throws more he gets hit a lot more. Dennis Siver landed 27 shots on Conor in Round 1. He needs to find some sort of balance between the 2 styles because you'd have to imagine Floyd is a better counter-puncher than Dennis Siver...

The one thing that will suit Conor massively (and I feel confident in this) are the 3 minute rounds. In MMA, there is a noticeable drop-off in Conor's output in almost every fight from the 3 minute to 5 minute mark, compared to the first 3 minutes.

Add to that the fact he has a great nutritionist and a guy in Dr. Julian Dalby who has been a national champion cyclist and weight-lifter, and I'm sure Conor can still lean on the support/wisdom from the Irish Strength Institute etc.

He's surrounded by good people, giving him the correct advice.

If he loses it will be down to Floyd's supreme skills, not cardio.