What does the may/mac say about the the level of striking in MMA?

[LEGS MAHONEY]

I rewatched the match again for the hell of it. During Mcgregors alleged amazing rounds he spent an inordinate amount of time measuring Mayweather rather then mounting a meaningful offense.

I also noticed alot of the combos and pitter patter half slapping style punches were oddly similar to the way the Diaz brothers punch and it seems strange for connor to have intentionally have adopted that style.

It was also clear Conor became frustrated very early and the routine fouling showed that. I dont know if he had an adrenaline dump or he believed so much in his power he wilted again when his opponent was still standing but it was shameful behavior. I cant believe the reff didnt deduct a point for that bullshit.

 

[j123]

Please! Everybody knows he lost because of the massive 8 ounce gloves (those extra 4 ounces are a killer!)

Then if that wasn't enough stacked in Mayweather's favor, there was the WIND RESISTANCE -- on account of the larger size of said gloves -- that was sapping McGregor of his vitality and his punches of their vigor. McGregor totally would've won in a REAL FIGHT.

I think the lighting also got in Conor's eyes so at times when he aimed to throw that kill shot, he backed out because it was too bright. TMT's bling and shiny-ness also amplified this. There should be an investigation.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

Conor's style is great for mma and boxing fans don't understand mma more than vice versa. Conor would have finished Floyd with 4 oz gloves it's pretty obvious to me

 

[The MM Analyst]

Conor's style is great for mma and boxing fans don't understand mma more than vice versa. Conor would have finished Floyd with 4 oz gloves it's pretty obvious to me

If they fought in MMA, yes he would've finished him with the gloves by pummeling him from mount. In boxing, Floyd plays with him in whatever gloves or no gloves at all.

 

[Frode Falch]

The human body have the same amount hours you can train.

The mma fighter need to split them into different parts of fighting.

Thats it.

No wall of text needed.

 

[tombombadil]

He is also the best boxer in MMA, who has made top mma strikers look like shit. I dont think he fairly reps MMA striking.

And he got worked after the first three.

 

[Yachts of Fun]

This was a total sham from the very beginning. I can promise you that the outcome for this so called "fight" was agreed to months in advance. Floyd is so insecure about himself that there is no way he'd allow McGregor to go all 12 rounds. Floyd has to convince everyone he is "TBE" and got the ref to stop it early for a "TKO". McGregor simply went along with it for the money. I can't say I blame him. This shit was as bad as WWE wrestling.

 

[rmongler]

The human body have the same amount hours you can train.

The mma fighter need to split them into different parts of fighting.

Thats it.

No wall of text needed.

I can't believe this is such a hard concept for so many people to grasp.

 

[biscuitsbrah]

If they fought in MMA, yes he would've finished him with the gloves by pummeling him from mount. In boxing, Floyd plays with him in whatever gloves or no gloves at all.

agree to disagree

 

[sickc0d3r]

I dunno what it says about mma, but it illustrated the main reason Conor dismantles guys in the cage. His ability to slip and counter Floyd was pretty damn impressive.
I do think Floyd looked like a guy taking it sort of easy on a lesser sparring partner most of the time, though. There were a few misses that looked suspiciously intentional to me, including the straight right that resulted in Conor's nice uppercut counter.

 

[Uchi Mata]

I don't understand this need to compare MMA striking to pure striking arts.

The environments are completely different.

Of course someone who dedicates more time to striking will usually be better at it.

But that doesn't take anything away from striking in MMA - it's good and it's constantly getting better.

The Floyd/Mac fight doesn't really tell you anything in all honesty.

It just showed someone with more experience with hand fighting beating someone with less experience hand fighting. That's about it.

This is my stance. It's really dumb to look at MMA and try to judge the striking that works in that context against criteria for good striking in combat sports with entirely different rules. What you can and can't do as well as the risk calculations for using various methods of attack and defense are totally different than any other type of fight. It's interesting to look at the way tactics make more or less sense across rule sets, but it makes basic comparison difficult. You take something like rolling under punches, and specifically keeping your torso bent and your head low rolling/slipping low against multiple strikes. That works just fine in boxing, and we see it all the time. But in Muay Thai, if you do that consistently you'll get kicked or kneed into oblivion. Yet in MMA, because kicks and knees are more risky due to the threat of the takedown, rolls and low slips become somewhat effective again because guys keep their feet at home more often not wanting to get taken down, not to mention the threat of the shot from a position where your opponent has already changed levels encourages a wider, lower hipped stance which makes reactive kicking harder. Tons of examples like that, all of which indicate that comparisons are really hard.

 

[Quiz]

Mac's stance and fundamentals, boxing-wise, were not great. He's a tremendous athlete and was able to get by on that and his size for a few rounds. But he should have brought in some real boxing trainers and not the yes man crew he had. Things like chin down, hands up, should be instinctual and were not for him. Nor was he turning his hips on punches, so most of his power was all arms; he's leaving all the power from the legs and posterior chain out. Most of his MMA knockouts are when he is coming forwards, using that momentum in his punch. He could not do that backpedaling. If he had proper technique he could have stood his ground in spots and turned his hips into the punches and brought some power that would have slowed Floyd's pursuit down. A lot of this is basic stuff he could have been working on in camp instead of that gimmicky stance switching.

 

[aerius]

My main takeaway was the importance of stance, footwork, and distance control, and how much it differs between boxing & MMA. In MMA. Conor's opponents often rush to close the gap and run face first into a left hand or they fail to recognize where the kill zone is allowing Conor to pivot to the inside angle and put the left straight down the middle. They get caught in a weak stance or on one leg and get dropped.

Floyd doesn't play that game. He pressured methodically and never charged through the gap to close distance, and he kept his feet under him to maintain a strong stable stance the entire time. There was no way for Conor to catch him off-balance, out of stance, or committed to a punch that would leave him vulnerable. Not surprisingly, Conor's punches had little effect on him.

Overall, I'd say that understanding distance & how to control it is what's lacking in MMA compared to boxing. In MMA we still have far too many fighters who lunge to close a gap leaving themselves open to counters. That, and fighters who run around the cage in desperate and highly inefficient attempts to keep the range open. Distance control along with tight & efficient footwork is one of the fundamental building blocks in boxing, any half decent boxer will do it well, but it's quite rare in MMA.

 

[Ilk]

What they teach you from day 1 in boxing is proper stance and movement. Chin down, relaxed on the back so if you get hit the weight of the hit goes on the muscles at the back. Basically not fighting like Aldo for example. Then you learn how to jab and cross. Then how to move forward, backwards while trowing 1-2s and to the sides. Many MMA fighters will trow themselves as noted by aerius in punching without knowing how to punch. Basically we saw that Connor does not have really a knock out power and can not really punch properly. His punching is slow and has no snap.

 

[aerius]

What they teach you from day 1 in boxing is proper stance and movement. Chin down, relaxed on the back so if you get hit the weight of the hit goes on the muscles at the back. Basically not fighting like Aldo for example. Then you learn how to jab and cross. Then how to move forward, backwards while trowing 1-2s and to the sides.

Absolutely. I did some kickboxing in an MMA gym before moving on to Muay Thai and boxing, the training in MT and especially boxing was completely different and IMO far better since they really build the fundamentals from the ground up. In boxing it was stance, posture, basic movement, and conditioning exercises until all the above was solid before we learned to throw any punches. Then we learned the jab, proper stance & footwork for the jab, then the same for the 2, then how to move when throwing the 1-2.

Kickboxing in the MMA gym? Oh boy. I think they spent 10 minutes on stance and they were teaching us how to throw punches before we learned any footwork. There was a lot of training on hitting shit and moving around but the fundamentals were never taught from the ground up like they were in boxing.

 

[Paradigm]

He is also the best boxer in MMA, who has made top mma strikers look like shit. I dont think he fairly reps MMA striking.

And he got worked after the first three.

Not huge on boxing myself but Cody Garbrandt might be a better pure boxer in MMA than Conor. Of course, I'm by no means a boxing expert so take that statement with a grain of salt.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

What does Jordan playing baseball say about the level of baseball in the NBA?

 

[j123]

What does Jordan playing baseball say about the level of baseball in the NBA?

Too many soccer players

Spoiler

 

[tombombadil]

Not huge on boxing myself but Cody Garbrandt might be a better pure boxer in MMA than Conor. Of course, I'm by no means a boxing expert so take that statement with a grain of salt.

ya, i actually was thinking of putting his name in as an asterisk.
I think Cody is better, I think he is elite, actually.
Conor's chin might make him as able, if not as talented. Hard to say who has better power until they both have fought several proven boxers.

 

[CamMan14]

I personally think that it shows how big the gap is in striking between boxers and a fighters.
I saw one of the most defensive and safe boxers ever walk down and bully an MMA fighter who is regarded as a KO artist.