Conor McGregor's stand up

[Boomb]

Yesterday I had a chat with my trainer and he said that technically Conor is nothing special, that he doesn't have that great of a stand up technique, but what he has is an incredible timing (and that left straight of course).


I thought it was interesting considering the fact that he's stand up is arguably one of the best in the UFC.

Discuss.

 

[freakyfarley]

He has way more weapons than just the left, and having amazing timing is not something you 'just have'. Can't have great timing if your allround stand up game is average imo.

 

[poepstorm]

1. Conor's standup strategy and style has changed over time, so he has some different techniques, he's pretty versatile
2. His current technique, after fighting a lot of wrestlers, looks real minimal and effective against these one-dimensional fighters. He doesn't need a very wide varied tactic
3. I'm not saying your trainer is not a genius, but Alvarez' trainer and team also took Conor lightly, because the techniques he throws might not look fancy, or they're convinced he's just lucky. Saying McGregor doesn't have anything to teach is your trainer being narrow minded

My takeaway from Conor:
-There's a simple recipe for defeating the current typical brawler-wrestler
-MMA standup has a long way to go, even kickboxing champs need to change their hustle to adapt
-People who are still writing Conor off as nothing special are refusing to learn where MMA is going

 

[Boomb]

1. Conor's standup strategy and style has changed over time, so he has some different techniques, he's pretty versatile
2. His current technique, after fighting a lot of wrestlers, looks real minimal and effective against these one-dimensional fighters. He doesn't need a very wide varied tactic
3. I'm not saying your trainer is not a genius, but Alvarez' trainer and team also took Conor lightly, because the techniques he throws might not look fancy, or they're convinced he's just lucky. Saying McGregor doesn't have anything to teach is your trainer being narrow minded

My takeaway from Conor:
-There's a simple recipe for defeating the current typical brawler-wrestler
-MMA standup has a long way to go, even kickboxing champs need to change their hustle to adapt
-People who are still writing Conor off as nothing special are refusing to learn where MMA is going

Great post. Thanks for contributing to the discussion. I agree with pretty much everything.

 

[n.diazismylife1999]

I don't know what more he needs to have stand up that is "something special." He's shown he can do everything, and he's obviously technical.

 

[MarloStanfield]

lol at your trainer

 

[DoctorTaco]

He's a great Mma striker

 

[Frode Falch]

Your coach talk down on conors skill in order to make himself look more badass..

 

[Soul Rebel 2]

He seems to only really have power in his left but its not like his right hand is useless. He uses it to change rhythm and reposition his opponents, whether by gluing their arm to their face with a hook or standing them up with an uppercut. He also has a solid right hook to the body and an improving jab.

Conors outfighting isn't the greatest, he over extends a lot and isn't super tight with his defensive footwork, he's no Aldo or Barboza but he can do it to a higher degree of competence than most MMA guys and has the physical tools and counterpunching to make it a dangerous phase for him that he can resort to when he needs to.

 

[Azam]

He's probably the best boxer in MMA right now.

Is he the best striker in MMA though - no. His hands are great but his kicking is not so great - the only thing he has in the kicking department is that solid spinning back kick.

But I think it would be disingenuous to pretend as though he's not talented - he is.

 

[Frode Falch]

Thing is: just about every great ko artist have flaws. You wont find many super dangerous strikers that have textbook form.

So every striking geek can watch the fights and find "errors"

Thats what your coach did

 

[j123]

Thing is: just about every great ko artist have flaws. You wont find many super dangerous strikers that have textbook form.

So every striking geek can watch the fights and find "errors"

Thats what your coach did

Reminds me of people that criticized Fedor. Although his punches were loopy overhands, his sense of range and distance, while being able to roll off his opponent's strikes to throw momentum into his overhands was really something else. Of course, those who criticized said there was no technique to that.

 

[Soul Rebel 2]

3. I'm not saying your trainer is not a genius, but Alvarez' trainer and team also took Conor lightly, because the techniques he throws might not look fancy, or they're convinced he's just lucky. Saying McGregor doesn't have anything to teach is your trainer being narrow minded

Did Alverez' team actually say that or was it just Eddie? I really don't see Mark Henry taking Conor lightly, he's too smart of a trainer to not see how good Conor is.

As much as I love the fighter I get a bit pissy at all this talk of Conors "unique techniques and footwork" when his footwork is, at its best, good old fashioned ring cutting and a back step. That said, what IS really unique about Conor is the fact that he's a long range, southpaw pressure fighter, pretty much a Mew for a boxing based fighter. The outline of his game is the strangest thing about him but his tactics are very straight forward and well put together.

 

[freakyfarley]

He's probably the best boxer in MMA right now.

Is he the best striker in MMA though - no. His hands are great but his kicking is not so great - the only thing he has in the kicking department is that solid spinning back kick.

But I think it would be disingenuous to pretend as though he's not talented - he is.

He did good damage with his front snap kick

 

[Ilk]

Uh Conor is a very smart stand up fighter. He uses simple controlling techniques with his front hand that are used in boxing - blinding, head control, opponent movement control and etc. He is a very good counter puncher. That Aldo knock out was no fluke. Honestly most MMA fighters have a lot to learn from boxing about proper stand up tactics, technique and fighting in general.