Official Conor McGregor thread (part 2). **Read warning in 1st post**

Lukker- wrote: »

Conditioning wise I feel that SBG gear their fighters towards explosive style cardio training like circuit sprints.

That's all well and good for exploding in bursts but you ask any boxer where they get their gas tank from and it's from the miles they put in distance running.

Thats one thing I noticed in the build up to the Diaz fight- Nate trains by doing triathlons whereas Conor was hanging around with Ido Portal doing flexibility training. In the fight itself it became obvious that Conor didn't have the gas tank. People who do triathlons can go all day, I'm not too sure Conor can on the evidence

Lukker- wrote: »

Here are his results from the last few years, he has placed on the podium in over half his races against people who compete full time and professionally. So I don't believe it's a myth. I also think roadwork in MMA is going to help significantly, especially in championship rounds. IMO

Results: Olympic Distance
1.5km/0.9mi swim, 40km/25mi bike, 10k/6.2 mi run
Donnor Lake 2009 - 8th AG
August Tri for Real 2011 - 3rd AG
Rancho Seco International 2012 - 4th AG

Results: Xterra/Off-Road
0.8km/0.5mi swim, 25km/16m mtn bike, 6k/4mi run
XTERRA Tahoe 2010 - 11th AG
XTERRA Tahoe 2011 - 6th AG
Real Tri 2012 - 3rd AG
XTERRA Tahoe 2012 - 1st AG
XTERRA Real 2013 - 3rd AG
Xterra Real 2015 - 13th AG

That is Age Group podiums, usually age group in Tris are 5 year bands so presumably he is 24-29 or 30-34. Assume being in the states that those are large field quite competitive tris though.
I was surprised to hear he did tris TBH, they are a great way to make yourself look like an auschwitz escapee. I lost a good bit of muscle mass when training for them

Gamebred wrote: »

Speaking of documentaries I notice the crew still following him,he must be bringing out a dvd soon since covering the mendes and Aldo fights surely.

It's for a Fight Pass exclusive documentary.

Quotes from Ariel today on MMA hour. Jaysus..

"An interesting thing has happened since I put out this report. Of course, a lot of other media sources confirmed it and that's all well and good, and they did it right and credited, I have no beefs, but, a lot of what was reported was incorrect.

By the time that news came out a lot of people said 'Well, they're working on it, but there are no contracts.' I can assure you that the contracts had already been issued. Not signed, but anyone who told you that there were no contracts issued thus making it less of a real thing, that was inaccurate.

Make no mistake about it, the reason this fight is happening at 170 lbs is because, to be frank, Conor McGregor is a bit of a wildman. He is obsessed with the idea that he lost to Nate Diaz at 170 lbs, he feels like he should have won, and he wants the same circumstances. He wants to do it again, and prove that he is the better man."

GiftofGab wrote: »

Surely anyone with a bit of speed could use a knee to the face or a hook to the face. He’s leaning so far in with his head exposed.

Easy to time a strike like that watching its replaying over and over on a gif. A lot harder to do it in a fight when a bizarre strike flys out of nowhere.

Gamebred wrote: »

I definetly think road work has a place in mma,cardio is king in all combat sports if your gassing 7 minutes in (throwing bombs doesnt help) well then your not doing enough of if,Look at Dos Anjos lately I dont think Ive seen someone in as big fights with that kind of gas tank he showed against pettis,he was fresh in the 5th round,

Cardio is needed, but there are better forms that roadwork imo.
I'd consider roadwork to be long ardous distances at a slow pace. 10k-21km (half-marathon) distances. In MMA, you'd want to be doing shorter harder tempo runs, rounds on the assault bike, or concept2, imo.

You can't possibly say somebody hasn't enough cardio if they gas in 7 minutes. Gassing is related to pacing, as much as time.

A sprinter will be gassed after a race, due to his pace. Not because he only has a few seconds of cardio.
A world record holding 10k runner, will be gassed after a PR 5km run, in half the time of his 10km.
when a fighter is gassed in the third, its because he blew his laod, not because he hasn't got 15mins of cardio.

If cardio is king, then pacing is the queen, imo

Lukker- wrote: »

Here are his results from the last few years, he has placed on the podium in over half his races against people who compete full time and professionally. So I don't believe it's a myth. I also think roadwork in MMA is going to help significantly, especially in championship rounds. IMO

Results: Olympic Distance
1.5km/0.9mi swim, 40km/25mi bike, 10k/6.2 mi run
Donnor Lake 2009 - 8th AG
August Tri for Real 2011 - 3rd AG
Rancho Seco International 2012 - 4th AG

Results: Xterra/Off-Road
0.8km/0.5mi swim, 25km/16m mtn bike, 6k/4mi run
XTERRA Tahoe 2010 - 11th AG
XTERRA Tahoe 2011 - 6th AG
Real Tri 2012 - 3rd AG
XTERRA Tahoe 2012 - 1st AG
XTERRA Real 2013 - 3rd AG
Xterra Real 2015 - 13th AG

Finishing positions mean nothing in isolation though. You've no idea of the standard of guys competing, or the number of guys in the age group etc. Somebody who knows triathlons could maybe gauge from his times, I've no clue.

From here, in his most recent (2015) result above, he came 13th out of 20 people in his AG.
SWIM S.RANK BIKE B.RANK RUN R.RANK FINISH TIME
00:17:25 13 1:24:56 12 00:35:07 13 2:17:28
Also, in the last three years, he's done 2 triathlons. The way the media goes on about it you'd think he is doing them every weekend.

Muahahaha wrote: »

I don't think Nate has to do amazing times in triathlons, I think the point of it is to combine the three sports of running, cycling and swimming to get his arms, legs and cardio in tip top condition. If you can manage that level of stamina and endurance for 2+ hours then I'd imagine it makes going a full 25 minutes in the octagon a good bit easier.

I'm not looking for elite times tbh. I'm just pointing out that the way the media and everyone keeps referring triathalons without referenced performance or pace is really stupid. He'd get the same credit if he just turned up stoned, never having trained, and strolled around the course.

The idea that because he can do 2 hours, then 15-25 min is easy, is a fallacy. Time without is a uselss measure. A trip to the shopping centre with the missus could be a 3 hour endurance event, will do fck all for your cardio I'd bet.

Take a poster from the athletics forum with a solid 10km time, put them into a grappling match or a ammy MMA fight, and they'd gas within a round.

I'm no fitness expert or anything but I know myself when I train cycling for 10 weeks every year before going off snowboarding for a week it makes the world of difference to my legs and the endurance I have to ride all day. Last trip I covered almost 300km on the mountains, there is no way my muscles would have held up without the endurance and stamina that the cycling training gives me.

Improving your performance over a 2+ hour triathlon will undoubtedly improve your cardio across the board. Improving being key.
But because you rock up to a triathalon, doesn't mean you have good cardio automatically. That's my point in a nutshell.

I'm not saying Nate doing tris is the be all and end all, he is clearly a world class fighter. But part of that is being able to go the full five rounds when called upon and I think the advantages he gets from doing tris is a large part of that.

He is a world class fighter with solid cardio because he is a world class fighter with solid cardio. It ends there for me. Running a triathlons once a year (or less) is a tiny part of his overall training. It's overstated by the media, up there with like Aldo's soccer training for leg kicks.

28srf0c wrote: »

I heard there was a gif floating around of all the hits McGregor landed in the Diaz fight. Anybody have a link?

Theres this one of all his left hand shots

https://streamable.com/b227

Mellor wrote:

Take a poster from the athletics forum with a solid 10km time, put them into a grappling match or a ammy MMA fight, and they'd gas within a round.

I did a good bit of running and cycling over the last few years, including duathlons and half marathons, I did some swimming too. I started MMA/striking in December (hadn't done martial arts in about 10 years) and was more tired after my first class than if I'd run a 10k. I took up BJJ in January and work up more of a sweat in a few rounds of rolling at the end of class than an hour of running.

Fitness/cardio from running and cycling will give you a good base but doesn't really transfer to MMA or other combat sports as it's totally different muscles being used and in a completely different way.

RonanP77 wrote: »

I did a good bit of running and cycling over the last few years, including duathlons and half marathons, I did some swimming too. I started MMA/striking in December (hadn't done martial arts in about 10 years) and was more tired after my first class than if I'd run a 10k. I took up BJJ in January and work up more of a sweat in a few rounds of rolling at the end of class than an hour of running.

Exactly.
The intensity is very different. Max effort drains you so much faster than a cruisey-pace, mo matter what the task.

You'll probably find at time in BJJ when you are stuck in side control, you can struggle and pull with everything you have, and maybe get the sweep/turnover.
Then the blue belt partner, twists his hips a bit, moves his leg and almost effortlessly sweeps you back. At the end of the roll, you are panting like crazy, and he is barely breaking a sweat.

You are using much more energy to complete the same task, aka being inefficient with your movement...

Do we really need a UFC 200 thread 4 months early. Hard enough to follow conversations fight week. 6 months of this will be a nightmare.

Anyway... Nate wants the fight at 155


https://twitter.com/GrabakaHitman/status/712787708976959488

Mellor wrote: »

Do we really need a UFC 200 thread 4 months early. Hard enough to follow conversations fight week. 6 months of this will be a nightmare.

Anyway... Nate wants the fight at 155


https://twitter.com/GrabakaHitman/status/712787708976959488

155 as a title eliminator is the only possible way the fight makes any sense.

Although even then I'm totally opposed to Conor not defending his title. Once was fine as he was chasing a belt, now this is pure ego. Disrespectful to Frankie, and disrespectful to the title itself.