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

Cyrus

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

His striking would have been a lot sharper, and he'd have stood a better chance of KO'ing Khabib. But his wrestling was worse than it is now, so Khabib would probably have made road kill of him sooner.

We all suffer defeats, they suck. Sh*t happens and you move on.

But after the sh*t talk, bullying and downright mean, nasty & scummy things CmcG said to Khabib he deserves this humiliation.

I've either ignored or excused his behavior for years, but he over stepped the mark on this one big time.

I'm now longer in the MMA scene, I haven't been in an MMA club in over three years but I'm still coaching Judo (and some BJJ in work). If I seen one of my lads carry on like that he'd be ran out of the club in a heartbeat.

Disgusting, and a well deserved and long over due humiliation IMO.

was he any nastier or scummier, dolly incident aside, than he was with aldo or Floyd? id argue not,

also that behaviour is what has earned him and by extension plenty of other UFC fights the money they deserve,

like or not its certainly effective.

Billy Mays

His behaviour has always been scummy


Are people forgetting the time he called Siver a Nazi?

spix

Billy Mays wrote: »

His behaviour has always been scummy


Are people forgetting the time he called Siver a Nazi?

Its easier to hate on someone when you know they've got lots of money.

Billy Mays

spix wrote: »

Its easier to hate on someone when you know they've got lots of money.

Fantastic reply dude.

What is it with McGregor fans and their infatuation with how much money he makes? It's like they wear it as a badge of honour. He's not gonna give you any of it mate.

The reason people dislike him is cos he goes on like a complete cretin, case in point calling a German opponent a Nazi.

There's literally hundreds if not thousands of Irish athletes/sportspeople who've made millions from sport. By your logic I must hate all of them too.

spix

spix wrote: »

Its easier to hate on someone when you know they've got lots of money.

Ah you're grasping at straws now..

walshb

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

His striking would have been a lot sharper, and he'd have stood a better chance of KO'ing Khabib. But his wrestling was worse than it is now, so Khabib would probably have made road kill of him sooner.

We all suffer defeats, they suck. Sh*t happens and you move on.

But after the sh*t talk, bullying and downright mean, nasty & scummy things CmcG said to Khabib he deserves this humiliation.

I've either ignored or excused his behavior for years, but he over stepped the mark on this one big time.

I'm now longer in the MMA scene, I haven't been in an MMA club in over three years but I'm still coaching Judo (and some BJJ in work). If I seen one of my lads carry on like that he'd be ran out of the club in a heartbeat.

Disgusting, and a well deserved and long over due humiliation IMO.

I have to agree. His efforts at thrash talk never impressed me, and always came across as forced and desperate and really chav like.

But the presser for this fight really took the biscuit. He couldn't have taken it any lower.....it was pretty disgusting, and anyone saying saying it was to sell the fight is well off.

It reminded me of a drunken lout at 3 in the morning shouting and roaring obscenities outside a bar...

arybvtcw0eolkf

walshb wrote: »

I have to agree. His efforts at thrash talk never impressed me, and always came across as forced and desperate and really chav like.

But the presser for this fight really took the biscuit. He couldn't have taken it any lower.....it was pretty disgusting, and anyone saying saying it was to sell the fight is well off.

It reminded me of a drunken lout at 3 in the morning shouting and roaring obscenities outside a bar...

Thank you!.

I've done doorwork for 25 years, only retiring from it last November (should have done it years ago before I was rolling around the deck with scumbags at 50 yrs old).

Anyway after that presser the very example I used was that I've had hundreds of scumbags up in my face like that over the years, and that's not something you can act up.

There are two types of people who see nothing wrong with that, the scum and the people who are so far removed from scum that they don't know it when its in their face.

What happened at that press conference wasn't acted up, there was nothing put on there and it was every fucking toe rag I've had in my face over the last 25 years.

spix

Billy Mays wrote: »

Fantastic reply dude.

What is it with McGregor fans and their infatuation with how much money he makes? It's like they wear it as a badge of honour. He's not gonna give you any of it mate.

The reason people dislike him is cos he goes on like a complete cretin, case in point calling a German opponent a Nazi.

There's literally hundreds if not thousands of Irish athletes/sportspeople who've made millions from sport. By your logic I must hate all of them too.

The point is people are making it seem like what he said to khabib is way worse than anything he ever said before, which is completely false. If he was really out of control with his trash talk he could've come up with much worse. People want to believe its worse than it is because they can't stand seeing someone making alot of money off of trash talking. He made a snide remark towards khabibs beliefs, oh how horrible, now lets watch these 2 gentlemen politely attempt to kill each other in a cage.

evolving tipperary

walshb wrote: »

I have to agree. His efforts at thrash talk never impressed me, and always came across as forced and desperate and really chav like.

But the presser for this fight really took the biscuit. He couldn't have taken it any lower.....it was pretty disgusting, and anyone saying saying it was to sell the fight is well off.

It reminded me of a drunken lout at 3 in the morning shouting and roaring obscenities outside a bar...

I don't really think McGregor was worse this time. The dolly was the biscuit.

But the time he said to Aldo - I can smell your pussy. And, you're going to die. I thought that was particularly OTT.

I think people's point re-money is, or should be, this is what has always made money. That's promotion. That's using the media. That kind of behavior. And it goes up a notch every generation.

In a way Ali saying to Frazier he was an Uncle Tom and a gorilla was worse. Racially charged and from another man of his skin in a racially charged time is worse. While the language is not crude - it's way more serious in implication. Kind of destroyed Frazier's life. Frazier became obsessed by it and never really recovered. When Ali got Parkinson's, Frazier said I won the war. Had a ringtone and message on his phone mocking Ali up until the end of his life. Ali was selling a fight. That was his justification. Frazier never got that - not saying what Ali did was right. But Ali was also following a tradition of fight promotion based on racial and class lines.

Mike Tyson once told a reporter I'll **** you until you love me. Right after biting Lennox Lewis. Tyson is mentally ill. He was not selling a fight

Jon Jones....well, jon jones...

All the contexts are different. But my point is bad behavior and fighters - bad behavior and sport stars, go hand in hand, that's sky and blue. But it's a little more prevalent in fighting circles.

McGregor is who he is. I'm not justifying some of the **** because it makes me wince. But it works and that's what he says to himself. And he is following a long tradition across promotion in the media - controversy sells. Antagonism sells. And it's plain to see the UFC encourage it and him. McGregor is not alone in this type of promotion - he is just the best at it in MMA. And probably in the Hurt Business now that Floyd is retired.

Outlaw Pete

What's being said here? Is it 'Too much Bacardi?'.

Nice shiner either way.......


https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo05uzhnyVT/

spix

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

We all suffer defeats, they suck. Sh*t happens and you move on.

But after the sh*t talk, bullying and downright mean, nasty & scummy things CmcG said to Khabib he deserves this humiliation.


Disgusting, and a well deserved and long over due humiliation IMO.

Do you actually think he was humiliated? He done better against khabibs wrestling than most other opponents, took a round off him. Does he look humiliated to you?

xckjoo

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

^^^ Agreed.

I come here when I'm utterly bored and really just skip to contributions from two posters.

And I used to moderate this place, myself & Paul Cowzer (Rush Fight Academy) got it off the ground. The bickering & UFC/CmcG fanboy adulation burned us both out, and we've been around the Irish MMA scene from the beginning lol.

I'm still hoping for an actual discussion of the fight


I'll give it a (very amateur) shot. I haven't rewatched it since it aired but from memory I think McGregors grappling was better than expected and striking worse :pac:. His gameplan for Round 1 seemed solid. Khabib had him down but couldn't progress his positioning and McGregor didn't expend much energy. Round 2 was all Khabib. I think McGregor recovered quickly from the overhand right but those few seconds are all Khabib needs. Still he seemed to survive on the ground well without wasting too much energy. Round 3 was McGregors but not by a huge margin. His striking wasn't anything special and not enough to sway the tide. Both of them looked tired and wary of the other. Round 4 was when exhaustion really set in but once on the ground they were in Khabib territory. He probably grapples in his sleep so his skills really started to take over. McGregors ground defense started to slip with his energy levels and he made mistakes Khabib pounced on.



So anyone got any comments on this take? I could be way off since I'm going from memory and far from a pro fight analyst. My main questions are

1. Was McGregors striking off from the start or was it a result of Khabib sapping his energy? His movement wasn't great in later rounds but it could have been a lactic acid build up from Round 1.
2. If it was because of something like lactic acid build up, does Conor have any chance of beating Khabib? His best chance is his movement and striking (obviously), but it's unlikely he'll ever be able to stop Khabib taking him down completely, so will that always sap his ability to move on his feet?
3. (Question for the grapplers). Was McGregor wrong to give up his back in Round 4? Obviously it was in hindsight because he got submitted, but giving up the back to escape is not always the worst idea in MMA (better then being held down and your face pounded in ). It looked to me like he was following the gameplan but forgot to protect the neck due to fatigue.

P.S. I'm looking at this from a Conor point-of-view since he's the one that lost and therefore has the gameplan that needs adjusting.
P.P.S. I don't give a flying fiddlers about his actions outside the ring. Acknowledging it either way just gives it power.

spix

xckjoo wrote: »

I'm still hoping for an actual discussion of the fight



P.S. I'm looking at this from a Conor point-of-view since he's the one that lost and therefore has the gameplan that needs adjusting.

The punch that really showed mcgregors striking was off is the 2nd one he landed in round 3, after the jab. The left hand as khabib circled onto it. Compare that punch to the similar one he landed against Diaz early round 2 in their 2nd fight that dropped him. Against Khabib he had no snap on it, just seemed lazy and sloppy, lacking commitment and confidence.

xckjoo

spix wrote: »

The punch that really showed mcgregors striking was off is the 2nd one he landed in round 3, after the jab. The left hand as khabib circled onto it. Compare that punch to the similar one he landed against Diaz early round 2 in their 2nd fight that dropped him. Against Khabib he had no snap on it, just seemed lazy and sloppy, lacking commitment and confidence.

Do you think he went into the fight like that or was it a result of rounds 1&2?

spix

xckjoo wrote: »

Do you think he went into the fight like that or was it a result of rounds 1&2?

I think he went into the fight like that, even after the very first punch he landed in round 1, I remember thinking sh** he seems off.

D.Q

Apparently (Reddit) Kenny florian and Duke Roufus heard a rumor he hurt his rib backstage beforehand.

LollipopJimmy

spix wrote: »

I think like that, even after the very first punch he landed in round 1, I remember thinking sh** he seems off.

It seemed like he went in lacking his confidence and swagger. Something was definitely off, possibly the realisation that he was under prepared for what was going to be his toughest fight to date

arybvtcw0eolkf

xckjoo wrote: »

[*](Question for the grapplers). Was McGregor wrong to give up his back in Round 4?.

He wasn't left with much of an option was he?. I believe he knew he was defeated by that stage anyway.

Having a forearm cranked across your jaw like that is fooking horrible, it feels like your head is about to be crushed and twisted off your shoulders. But it can be defended, Conor never tried to defend it because he was beaten.

On his striking, I'm not a striker. But he looked awful that night, he looked every day of his thirty years and two years out of the cage. Nothing looked right.

walshb

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

It seemed like he went in lacking his confidence and swagger. Something was definitely off, possibly the realisation that he was under prepared for what was going to be his toughest fight to date

Spot on. He knew deep down that he wasn't the same animal and didn't feel the same animal from a few years ago....

Hell, he probably felt more confident vs Mayweather than against Khabib, as delusional as that sounds....

Outlaw Pete

He was far from humiliated.

Sure he wasn't even favourite for the fight. Many in his position would have avoided a fighter like Khabib like the plague too.

People see what they want, mostly..........

For example, Khabib unleashed on McGregor in the second round, threw a high volume of shots and if you ignore Rogan's "He's getting his face smashed in" rubbish, then you'll see that while Khabib broke his guard a few times, McGregor actually does quite well blocking most of those shots and so Round 2 wasn't, as many would have you believe, Khabib just trying to tire Conor.

Hell, if anything, Khabib looked just as fcuked at the start of that 3rd and that most likely played a part in McGregor being able to stuff a good few takedown attempts.

For me the pivotal moment in that fight came in the first when Khabib shot for that low single and McGregor, instead of employing his usual TD defense of such a take down attempt, he tries to knee Khabib......... nice shot if you pull it off and worth trying with a fighter who's not so great on the ground, but against Khabib that was much too risky and it proved to be his undoing for me as he was always on the catchup after that.

His punches absolutely weren't as they were before but then in the first Diaz fight his punches seemed off too, even if they were loaded up on..... but yet look at the effect his punching had in the second Diaz fight, they put him down.

I just don't get anyone saying he was mauled, destroyed, humiliated and a that a rematch would be pointless but then I do seem to remember those same people said similar after his loss to Nate and while Khabib is not Nate, he's still far from unbeatable.

arybvtcw0eolkf

walshb wrote: »

Hell, he probably felt more confident vs Mayweather than against Khabib, as delusional as that sounds....

I wouldn't imagine that's delusional.. In Mayweather he was fighting a man significantly older (by ten years?) and coming out of retirement compared to a man who is still fighting at the top of his game and who is likely to steamroller over you the nano second you make a mistake.

In Mayweather he only had to box and probably knew Mayweather could never pull anything out of the bag which he couldn't deal with on some level.

In Khabib he knew one mistake and he was road kill.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

He was far from humiliated.

When you've slagged off a man's family, his nationality, his religion (I couldn't give a toss about religion, but religious people do) and all the other nasty crap he threw at Khabib, like telling him that he's a dead man, he was going to kill him etc etc etc... Then the same man crushes you and you give up without an attempt to defend the crank you're humiliated.

xckjoo

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

He wasn't left with much of an option was he?. I believe he knew he was defeated by that stage anyway.

Having a forearm cranked across your jaw like that is fooking horrible, it feels like your head is about to be crushed and twisted off your shoulders. But it can be defended, Conor never tried to defend it because he was beaten.

On his striking, I'm not a striker. But he looked awful that night, he looked every day of his thirty years and two years out of the cage. Nothing looked right.

I'm thinking more of when he went to all fours in the first place. I'm a little hazy on the sequence, but I seem to remember him leaving the neck/head exposed when he did and Khabib pouncing on it. Once the choke/crank was in he was done but it seemed like he just left his head there to be taken.
I'm not judging him on it by the way. I've done enough grappling to know how quickly you make mistakes when exhausted.

Cyrus

xckjoo wrote: »

I'm thinking more of when he went to all fours in the first place. I'm a little hazy on the sequence, but I seem to remember him leaving the neck/head exposed when he did and Khabib pouncing on it. Once the choke/crank was in he was done but it seemed like he just left his head there to be taken.
I'm not judging him on it by the way. I've done enough grappling to know how quickly you make mistakes when exhausted.

both times thats happened, Diaz 1 and Khabib, to the casual observer it looked like he just gave up (in basically offering his back and neck up for the choke rather than the tap afterwards)

spix

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

When you've slagged off a man's family, his nationality, his religion (I couldn't give a toss about religion, but religious people do) and all the other nasty crap he threw at Khabib, like telling him that he's a dead man, he was going to kill him etc etc etc... Then the same man crushes you and you give up without an attempt to defend the crank you're humiliated.

I felt a bit humiliated for khabib struggling to get the takedown in round 1 then spending 3 minutes struggling to advance position against an irishman with zero wrestling background. He was supposed to be able to ragdoll Conor at will once he got a hold of him. Khabib also said he was going to change his face but Conor got out of there with minimal damage.

evolving tipperary

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

Thank you!.

I've done doorwork for 25 years, only retiring from it last November (should have done it years ago before I was rolling around the deck with scumbags at 50 yrs old).

Anyway after that presser the very example I used was that I've had hundreds of scumbags up in my face like that over the years, and that's not something you can act up.

There are two types of people who see nothing wrong with that, the scum and the people who are so far removed from scum that they don't know it when its in their face.

What happened at that press conference wasn't acted up, there was nothing put on there and it was every fucking toe rag I've had in my face over the last 25 years.

None of that has anything to do with McGgregor. These are your personal issues and life experience. This explains why you need to believe McGregor was humiliated. You're projecting your life situation onto something that has nothing to do with your life.

xckjoo

Cyrus wrote: »

both times thats happened, Diaz 1 and Khabib, to the casual observer it looked like he just gave up (in basically offering his back and neck up for the choke rather than the tap afterwards)

So I guess what I'm wondering is if his sequence of moving to all fours/giving up his back was the right thing to do at that time IF he had remembered to protect the head and neck while doing so. I know there's no definitive answer, but just trying to grow my own knowledge

Zero-Cool

Outlaw Pete wrote: »

For me the pivotal moment in that fight came in the first when Khabib shot for that low single and McGregor, instead of employing his usual TD defense of such a take down attempt, he tries to knee Khabib......... nice shot if you pull it off and worth trying with a fighter who's not so great on the ground, but against Khabib that was much too risky and it proved to be his undoing for me as he was always on the catchup after that.

I absolutely hate when fighters go for that flashy knee ko against a takedown attempt from a top wrestler. Amazing when you pull it off but it's too to rare and risky. Like when Conor went for it against Chad, I really cringed. Same with Mir Lesnar 2. Frank actually hurt brock with it but he was pinned underneath him and got mauled. Yeah, every round starts standing but getting grinded on for 5 minutes will zap you.

Same with guillotine attempts, absolutey amazing when you pull out off but most cases end up with your arm bolloxed and a guy on top pummeling you.

EagererBeaver

evolving tipperary wrote: »

walshb wrote: »

I have to agree. His efforts at thrash talk never impressed me, and always came across as forced and desperate and really chav like.

But the presser for this fight really took the biscuit. He couldn't have taken it any lower.....it was pretty disgusting, and anyone saying saying it was to sell the fight is well off.

It reminded me of a drunken lout at 3 in the morning shouting and roaring obscenities outside a bar...

But the time he said to Aldo - I can smell your pussy.

Was that him? Was that not some genius at the convention centre Q&A asked aldo how his pussy smelled? Intellect up there with the UFC world featherweight of the championship guy.

Tazzimus

Adilynn Lazy Watch wrote: »

When you've slagged off a man's family, his nationality, his religion (I couldn't give a toss about religion, but religious people do) and all the other nasty crap he threw at Khabib, like telling him that he's a dead man, he was going to kill him etc etc etc... Then the same man crushes you and you give up without an attempt to defend the crank you're humiliated.

I wouldn't go as far as humiliated to be fair.
I also don't put much stock in his pre fight verbal assaults, he's said it himself several times that it's just part of the business for him, nothing personal. He's always been respectful after the fight has ended.

Now, not everyone likes that part of it, which is to be expected, but he's also not the first to do it, just maybe the first to go so all in with it.

The problem with going all gung ho with the mental games, insults etc is you look like a bit of a tit if/when you lose, which is what happened here.
He won't see it that way I imagine.

He also done a hell of a lot better than people are giving him credit for, but Khabib was simply the better man on the night, no denying that part.