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

TheChosenOne_

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Looking at the Michael Johnson fight, definitely there are serious weaknesses in Khabibs standup game, for sure.

Mcgregor is special, no doubt about it.

But, lets look at the facts.

Mcgregor hasnt fought in the ufc for nearly two years,
khabib has never lost a round competitively or in training that we know of, Mcgregor has been busy sniffing white powder up his nose
Mcgregor has fatigue issues, Khabib does not
Mcgregors take down defence has only been tested once and that was against Chad mendes who successfully dominated him on the ground.


Truth of it is Khabib can afford to miss a few times, mcgregor cannot afford to miss once

Khabib in three.

If Chad Mendes 'successfully dominated' him on the ground, then why did he not win?

jimwallace197

TheChosenOne_ wrote: »

If Chad Mendes 'successfully dominated' him on the ground, then why did he not win?

He went for the submission too early & it backfired on him. Mcgregor was offering little to nothing on the ground.

dulux99

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He went for the submission too early & it backfired on him. Mcgregor was offering little to nothing on the ground.

McGregor was doing a decent job of defending on the bottom, landed some good elbows, and ultimately got out of a submission and transitioned back to standing. That's not "being dominated". Being dominated on the ground is Maia vs Gunni.

Tazzimus

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He went for the submission too early & it backfired on him. Mcgregor was offering little to nothing on the ground.

While being in fairly minimal danger for most of it.
Bided his time til Chad decided he needed to do something and pulled a beauty of an escape.

Also Khabib does have cardio issues in five rounders due to relentless pressure he puts out, he isn't able to maintain that over five rounds, he can just about do it for three

Dave0301

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Looking at the Michael Johnson fight, definitely there are serious weaknesses in Khabibs standup game, for sure.

Mcgregor is special, no doubt about it.

But, lets look at the facts.

Mcgregor hasnt fought in the ufc for nearly two years,
khabib has never lost a round competitively or in training that we know of, Mcgregor has been busy sniffing white powder up his nose
Mcgregor has fatigue issues, Khabib does not
Mcgregors take down defence has only been tested once and that was against Chad mendes who successfully dominated him on the ground.


Truth of it is Khabib can afford to miss a few times, mcgregor cannot afford to miss once

Khabib in three.

Jose Aldo hadn't lost a fight in the WEC or UFC until he met McGregor and we know how that turned out :pac:

I do get what you are saying though, which is why this fight will be great. Two different, yet very effective styles coming together.

I would not be so confident as you about Khabib being able to miss a few times and win. In the Mendes fight that you used as an example, Chad didn't lock in that guillotine and as a result he got a TKO for his troubles.

There is enough footage out there to suggest that Khabib is sloppy in his standup, and if he gets caught when he goes to shoot, or a few of them get stuffed, I think McGregor has way too much in his arsenal for him.

jimwallace197

dulux99 wrote: »

McGregor was doing a decent job of defending on the bottom, landed some good elbows, and ultimately got out of a submission and transitioned back to standing. That's not "being dominated". Being dominated on the ground is Maia vs Gunni.

He only landed a number of elbows towards the end and they were borderline illegal, he was getting smacked around by mendes up until that point and in my opinion the fight would have been finished sooner had mendes had a proper training camp.

But such is life and there is no doubt that mcgregor is good but anybody that is suggesting that he'll finish khabib in one is delusional & that is the best hope he has.

jimwallace197

Dave0301 wrote: »

Jose Aldo hadn't lost a fight in the WEC or UFC until he met McGregor and we know how that turned out :pac:

I do get what you are saying though, which is why this fight will be great. Two different, yet very effective styles coming together.

I would not be so confident as you about Khabib being able to miss a few times and win. In the Mendes fight that you used as an example, Chad didn't lock in that guillotine and as a result he got a TKO for his troubles.

There is enough footage out there to suggest that Khabib is sloppy in his standup, and if he gets caught when he goes to shoot, or a few of them get stuffed, I think McGregor has way too much in his arsenal for him.

Yes aldo hadnt lost in the WEC or UFC but he did lose & also he spent a significant time as champion which will inevitably lead to complacency.

I still think aldo was significantly affected psychologically in the build up to that fight though which is something that mcgregor isnt taking advantage of this time around with Khabib.

Regarding Mcgregors left hand, it took him nearly two rounds to defeat an average champion in alvarez with it and he was not able to stop diaz with it. I think its over rated because of the aldo fight & if people think he is going to stop Khabib with it, I seriously doubt it.

But, yes I agree, I think whatever happens, its going to be a great spectacle.

All_in_Flynn

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Looking at the Michael Johnson fight, definitely there are serious weaknesses in Khabibs standup game, for sure.

Mcgregor is special, no doubt about it.

But, lets look at the facts.

Mcgregor hasnt fought in the ufc for nearly two years,
khabib has never lost a round competitively or in training that we know of, Mcgregor has been busy sniffing white powder up his nose
Mcgregor has fatigue issues, Khabib does not
Mcgregors take down defence has only been tested once and that was against Chad mendes who successfully dominated him on the ground.


Truth of it is Khabib can afford to miss a few times, mcgregor cannot afford to miss once

Khabib in three.

I suggest you watch the Gleison Tibau fight if you think Khabib never lost a round. He should have lost the fight, never mind a round.

I do agree that this could be a very difficult fight for Conor. Would not, however, be using the Medes fight as a barometer for Conor’s ground game. He went into that fight on one peg.

We actually don’t know how good Conor’s ground game is but I actually think we have more evidence to suggest it’s good rather than bad. His top game anyway.

Tazzimus

Ah full camp Mendes, haven't seen him in a while

He took his time with Eddie, again, no fear of losing there.
Diaz is like the terminator, so he's also a bad example of McGregor's punching power.

Khabib is probably the worst matchup yet for him, that's a given.
He is not, however, helpless on the ground like everyone seems to think he is.
He wouldn't have a brown belt if he was ****e..

jimwallace197

Tazzimus wrote: »

Ah full camp Mendes, haven't seen him in a while

He took his time with Eddie, again, no fear of losing there.
Diaz is like the terminator, so he's also a bad example of McGregor's punching power.

Khabib is probably the worst matchup yet for him, that's a given.
He is not, however, helpless on the ground like everyone seems to think he is.
He wouldn't have a brown belt if he was ****e..

He took his time with Eddie because his entire strategy is based on counter attack. Without eddie coming forward as much as he did, it would have been a different fight.

No doubt eddie and his camp are entirely clueless and it was pure luck that they were champions in the first place but Khabib is such a completely different fight.

Diaz wasnt exactly a terminator against thomson or dos anjos so I dont know how thats a relevant argument

Tazzimus

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He took his time with Eddie because his entire strategy is based on counter attack. Without eddie coming forward as much as he did, it would have been a different fight.

No doubt eddie and his camp are entirely clueless and it was pure luck that they were champions in the first place but Khabib is such a completely different fight.

Diaz wasnt exactly a terminator against thomson or dos anjos so I dont know how thats a relevant argument

Yet Eddie admitted his whole plan went out the window as soon as he got punched in the face..
Eddie is also fairly durable as well.

The two Diaz brothers are known for being able to take massive abuse and keep coming at you, it's part of their fighting style. I'm not saying they're unstoppable, but they can absorb a lot more than most fighters.

Khabib knows exactly what to do, as do his coaches: do not stand and trade or it'll be a short night.
Likewise, Conor and the lads will want to keep it off the ground as much as they can.

Knowing what to do and being able to implement it are two different things though.

cloudatlas

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Looking at the Michael Johnson fight, definitely there are serious weaknesses in Khabibs standup game, for sure.

Mcgregor is special, no doubt about it.

But, lets look at the facts.

Mcgregor hasnt fought in the ufc for nearly two years,
khabib has never lost a round competitively or in training that we know of, Mcgregor has been busy sniffing white powder up his nose
Mcgregor has fatigue issues, Khabib does not
Mcgregors take down defence has only been tested once and that was against Chad mendes who successfully dominated him on the ground.


Truth of it is Khabib can afford to miss a few times, mcgregor cannot afford to miss once

Khabib in three.

Er he's only been sharpening his striking in preparation for fighting one of the best boxers of all time.

He hasn't been out of SBG for two years.
He has been addressing his fatigue issues with his coaching team.
Last time I checked he was stuffing take downs against Nate and Alvarez.

What rock have you been under. Even when khabib had Johnson in the crucifix mount he couldn't finish him with his ground and pound.

mdwexford

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Yes aldo hadnt lost in the WEC or UFC but he did lose & also he spent a significant time as champion which will inevitably lead to complacency.

I still think aldo was significantly affected psychologically in the build up to that fight though which is something that mcgregor isnt taking advantage of this time around with Khabib.

Regarding Mcgregors left hand, it took him nearly two rounds to defeat an average champion in alvarez with it and he was not able to stop diaz with it. I think its over rated because of the aldo fight & if people think he is going to stop Khabib with it, I seriously doubt it.

But, yes I agree, I think whatever happens, its going to be a great spectacle.

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He took his time with Eddie because his entire strategy is based on counter attack. Without eddie coming forward as much as he did, it would have been a different fight.

No doubt eddie and his camp are entirely clueless and it was pure luck that they were champions in the first place but Khabib is such a completely different fight.

Diaz wasnt exactly a terminator against thomson or dos anjos so I dont know how thats a relevant argument

Wow this is some of the biggest tripe I've seen in a while.

hewhoscares

Looking forward to the presser this week.

As we all know its gonna be classic MMA fight - with each guy having a clear advantage and which one can impose their better game on the fight.

Orginally I didn't think it would be a see saw type of fight - but now I'm thinking Conor ends up on the mat at some point but still ends up laying lights out on Khabib eventually.

And wonderfulife if you're lurking, know you're probably staying out of it for your own reasons and respect for that - but if you're itching to share a blog post on your thoughts for the fight or similar would be great:)

Mellor

jimwallace197 wrote: »

But, lets look at the facts.

Firstly, thanks for making the effort to encourage discussion. It’s preferred over “War Khabib/McGregor” as nauseum.
But I’m gonna have to dispute some of those facts. I’m also gonna chop the post order up a bit for clarity.

khabib has never lost a round competitively or in training that we know of,
Mcgregor has fatigue issues, Khabib does not

Realistically, that’s not true. Khabib drop rounds to Gleison Tibeau. All three rounds on most media score cards. He got the nod in a robbery, but the official decision is irrelevant as we are talking about in ring performance here.

Mcgregors take down defence has only been tested once and that was against Chad Mendes who successfully dominated him on the ground.

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He went for the submission too early & it backfired on him. McGregor was offering little to nothing on the ground.

Successfully dominated? Not really. He failed to control and/or finish him. He was unsuccessful by any reasonable definition.

If he was dominating he would have been able to go for a submission, fail to get it, and retain position. Going for a submission, and losing position is not dominating. By definition, it shows a lack of control.

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He only landed a number of elbows towards the end and they were borderline illegal, he was getting smacked around by mendes up until that point and in my opinion the fight would have been finished sooner had mendes had a proper training camp.

I was at the fight, admittedly had a few beers on me by the main event. But I don’t remember any borderline illegal elbows. I do remember Mendes gouging the cut on McGregors head. Do you have a link to these elbows.
As for being “smacked around”. Conor outstruck Mendes in terms of total and significant strikes in both rounds individually, and overall.

Truth of it is Khabib can afford to miss a few times, mcgregor cannot afford to miss once

Sorry, you’ve lost me there. Khabib’s path to victory is grappling domination. McGregor’s is a finish standing.
If anything, McGregor can afford to missed some shots he only needs to connect once. Khabib will likely need to repeatedly gain grappling control.

But such is life and there is no doubt that mcgregor is good but anybody that is suggesting that he'll finish khabib in one is delusional & that is the best hope he has.

Conor’s best chance of winning is to finish Khabib. In which round do you think that is most likely to happen?

jimwallace197 wrote: »

He took his time with Eddie because his entire strategy is based on counter attack. Without eddie coming forward as much as he did, it would have been a different fight.

If Eddie didn’t press forward, it would have been very different. Conor is a counter striker. Pressing forward into his left hand is a good way to be finished. Completely agree there

But how, other than pressing forward, do you propose Khabib backs Conor on to the cage, or gets inside to clinch/takedown?

paulieeye

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Yes aldo hadnt lost in the WEC or UFC but he did lose & also he spent a significant time as champion which will inevitably lead to complacency.

you sound like you're trying to convince yourself to put a massive bet on khabib by cherry picking any fact that fits your narrative.

If there was one thing Aldo was not leading up to that fight, it was complacent. He was going out for blood.

evil_seed

ricero wrote: »

His day of reckoning is almost upon us. He will be punished and he will be mauled smeshed.

War Smesh Khabib !

FTFY

evil_seed

All_in_Flynn wrote: »

I suggest you watch the Gleison Tibau fight if you think Khabib never lost a round. He should have lost the fight, never mind a round.

I do agree that this could be a very difficult fight for Conor. Would not, however, be using the Medes fight as a barometer for Conor’s ground game. He went into that fight on one peg.

We actually don’t know how good Conor’s ground game is but I actually think we have more evidence to suggest it’s good rather than bad. His top game anyway.

I think jimwallace is speaking in hyperbole. However, you can say should have to a lot of things, the fact is he didn't lose in the eyes of the judges and that's what counts. If this goes the distance then it's down to the judges again and all the should haves will mean nothing when the score cards are final.

Eircom_Sucks

Was listening to chael sonnen , well a snippet of podcast , seems to think the no public presser might be because of security issues , personally can’t wait for presser and the embedded on fight week

Any idea why gunni’s not been in sbg for this camp

weldoninhio

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Yes aldo hadnt lost in the WEC or UFC but he did lose & also he spent a significant time as champion which will inevitably lead to complacency.

I still think aldo was significantly affected psychologically in the build up to that fight though which is something that mcgregor isnt taking advantage of this time around with Khabib.

Regarding Mcgregors left hand, it took him nearly two rounds to defeat an average champion in alvarez with it and he was not able to stop diaz with it. I think its over rated because of the aldo fight & if people think he is going to stop Khabib with it, I seriously doubt it.

But, yes I agree, I think whatever happens, its going to be a great spectacle.

100% agree. McGregor is not a KO artist. Apart from Aldo has he knocked anyone else out??

Mellor

evil_seed wrote: »

the fact is he didn't lose in the eyes of the judges and that's what counts.

Not really.
The fact he actually lost those rounds is more relevant regarding McGregors chances of a TKO than the judges scorecards are. The judges only come into it after 5 rounds. If won't matter if who they were picking if Khabib (or Conor) gets finished.

spix

weldoninhio wrote: »

100% agree. McGregor is not a KO artist. Apart from Aldo has he knocked anyone else out??

Well he's either kod/tkod alot of people who don't generally get kod. If you check the opponent records of people you think get alot of clean kos you'll find they get kod often. Theres a difference between koing them and koing aldo,alvarez,mendes,poirier. He's proven time and time again he has the ability to hurt world class opponents.

clsmooth

You could make an argument that’s it’s more impressive to TKO as it shows sustained pressure/dominance as opposed to a flash KO. How many people tried to say the Aldo KO was a lucky punch? They didn’t say that after the Alvarez TKO

Mellor

weldoninhio wrote: »

100% agree. McGregor is not a KO artist. Apart from Aldo has he knocked anyone else out??

He won 7 of his 10 UFC fight by knockout. Most TKOs.
He best (only) chance of beating Khabib is to finish him. Does it matter if that's a KO or a TKO?

All_in_Flynn

evil_seed wrote: »

I think jimwallace is speaking in hyperbole. However, you can say should have to a lot of things, the fact is he didn't lose in the eyes of the judges and that's what counts. If this goes the distance then it's down to the judges again and all the should haves will mean nothing when the score cards are final.

But that’s not really the point though, is it!? I was replying to a post which essentially describes Khabib as this unstoppable force. When in reality, he was well beaten on almost everyone’s card except those of the judges.

Anyway, with the exception of that fight, the poster is right. Khabib has won nearly every round he’s contested and looks like a nightmare to have on top of you.

yourdeadwright

weldoninhio wrote: »

jimwallace197 wrote: »

Yes aldo hadnt lost in the WEC or UFC but he did lose & also he spent a significant time as champion which will inevitably lead to complacency.

I still think aldo was significantly affected psychologically in the build up to that fight though which is something that mcgregor isnt taking advantage of this time around with Khabib.

Regarding Mcgregors left hand, it took him nearly two rounds to defeat an average champion in alvarez with it and he was not able to stop diaz with it. I think its over rated because of the aldo fight & if people think he is going to stop Khabib with it, I seriously doubt it.

But, yes I agree, I think whatever happens, its going to be a great spectacle.

100% agree. McGregor is not a KO artist. Apart from Aldo has he knocked anyone else out??

He was the first person in 9 years to stop Eddie due to strikes ,as limited as Eddie is he is tuff as hell and the first left Conor landed basically ended the fight as a contest, Eddie said himself he was on autopilot after it ,
Poirer was never stopped before until he got cracked a left from Conor,
He doesn't have to ko you, once you get hit clean the fight is over,
Diaz was the exception and he still managed to drop him multiple times but he's a zombie,

Useful.Idiot

Eircom_Sucks wrote: »

Any idea why gunni’s not been in sbg for this camp

He spends most of his time in Mjolnir now as he has a kid. He only spends limited amount of time in SBG for his own camps.

Lukker-

Gunni is also only returning to light training now and strength and conditioning as he continues to rehab his knee post ACL surgery.

theballz

for the countries sake let's hope Conor gets knocked out and we don't have to hear about him again for a number of years

Eircom_Sucks

theballz wrote: »

for the countries sake let's hope Conor gets knocked out and we don't have to hear about him again for a number of years

He’s never been knocked out

Typical begrudging irish mentality