Sometimes you will hear the misconception of how Conor only has one weapon or isnt diverse etc.
Conor is actually one of the most diverse strikers in MMA history. And if you stick around im going to prove it. Now let us dig into all the meat. Buckle up and get ready for the ride. Enjoy
Conor only throws his left via many sophisticated setups:
Via misdirections
-Lead hand control, shoulder fients and pumps a fient jab as misdirection to step his lead foot out and land the left.
-Notice how Mendes was clearly looking for the counter right. The pump fake keeps Mendes pre-occupied and causes Mendes to slip. Then the piston left behind the misdirection pops Mendes further out of position unable to throw anything back
-Notice how instantly after landing the left off the shoulder fient Conor slides back out of range maintaining perfect balance, knowing his range and knowing hes out of range. That's also the defensive responsibility of Conor on display right there. Conor is always defensively responsible with everything he does "hit and do not get hit."
Via leadhand control to either draw out responses to counter
Or via leadhand control (+fienting/jabbing) to distract for leads
-Lead hand control to shut down jab hand. This typically forces a right hand response. Conor was likely looking to draw out the right and slip and counter it ala Bunchinger.
But then you see Conor just completely mix it up on the fly when Alvarez is not biting. Shoots a smooth left straight off the lead hand distractions. Conor then instantly flicks a jab in Alvarez face to blind him for another left straight coming right behind it. Again, beautiful boxing skill by Conor
Via many different forms of distance deception
-Conor leans his head forward to appear as a closer target to Nate's jab hand, naturally drawing out the jab from Nate, Conor pulls back and then counters. Such one fluid motion from Conor in going from his pull instantly to his counter.
-Conor is always in control, limits, draws out his response with distance deception, pulls back, and counters.
Conor has been the only MMA fighter in history to start utilising advanced distance deception methods to create his countering oppurtunities. Thats how next level Conor is.
Via rhythm manipulation - in conjunction with all his other tactics/set ups
Look at this one
-Conor probing with his lead hand. Holloway trying to swat away. Conor establishes a pattern. Probes. Notices Holloway swats. Probes. Notices Holloway swats
-Conor switches tempo, and durring the off beat suddenly leads on an unexpecting Holloway - who was expecting another lead hand probe to swat sway.
Remember Conor had already conditioned Holloway to expect lead hand probes to swat away. On the off beat, boom! Thats the real mastermind fight IQ genuis of Conor. Conor is always setting opponents up and manipulating.
- After tricking Holloway out with lead hand play, then switching tempo/rhythm, Conor side hops to the outside angle with a beautiful leadhand lead uppercut. Conor almost attains T-position on Holloway. Thats unreal.
*If you want me to do a full breakdown of outside angles and T-position, let me know and I will do so in another post. I want to keep things moving along*
-Conor after the leadhand lead uppercut into outside angle, then follows up with a left straight down the pipe
Beautiful slick boxing skill by Conor. Again, thats Conor doing that AGAINST another elite striker. Conor is true greatness
Just think about how amazing that truly was to do that to Holloway
-Lead hand probe, lead hand probe, condition, switch tempo, then go underneath Holloway's leadhand with a lead leadhand uppercut to a step out to the outside angle to line the left straight down the pipe. Sweet Jesus !
You can blindly name drop all the MMA strikers you know, you wont be able to find me examples of them ever showcasing skill like that against anyone half as credible of a striker as a Holloway (and its just one of hundreds of examples from Conor through out his career)
Or via slipping and countering or making his opponent miss and then coming back with a counter, which both of - you see in every second of all of Conor's fights. Conor is a pure bred defensive based counter puncher. Will show a few examples
Conor has all kinds of slip counters. He can slip and counter from the inside, outside, pull back etc. In that gif we see Conor hit an inside slip to parry down overhand counter on the much taller Nate while making both of Nate's 1-2 responses miss. Absolutely sublime countering by Conor.
When it comes to MMA, Conor is the greatest embodiment of "make miss and make pay" and "hit and do not get hit" that you will ever see in MMA
What makes Conor so exciting to watch is when you can realize when Conor is setting traps and you are on the edge of your seat knowing you are about to witness Conor just counter fuck his opponents soul
And you want to know what's even more mindblowing?
I only showed you a fraction of Conor's game. The examples I used are few OF MANY. There are still MANY other tactics and set ups from Conor that we have yet to cover. Conor is the most sophisticated multi-layered striker to ever compete in MMA history
Sadly the average fan who doesn't really understand fighting, MMA, or boxing on any kind of level will never be able to appreciate the absolute true genius of Conor McGregor and the brilliant subtle sophistication of all his vastly multi-layered skillset and tactics.
^ video of Conor's right hand highlights
Not only is Conor the greatest defensive based counter puncher MMA has ever seen, Conor is one of the BEST BODY PUNCHERS IN MMA history too
Conor's body work vs Nate in perticular was sublime.
-Nate's hands up in a high guard, amd Conor sneaking in body punches to the exposed body
-Just look how Conor double fients the jab then shifts and sneaks in the right hook to the body - just places it so perfectly on the exposed liver. Beautiful boxing skill by Conor
-Conor then steps out away from any possible offence, after the double jab fient to body right hook set up on a high guard Nate trying to hulk through
That was absolutely FULL CONTROL, SKILL, and nullifying by Conor
Look at that.
-Conor shifts his weight to lead with a flawless right hook to the body, makes Nate MISS every follow up, then circles out(again absolute FULL CONTROL through out)
I mean thats defensive skill on a whole other level.
That is Conor INSANTLY nullifying Nate's hulk smash with body punching, and then avoding any return fire from Nate - always maintaining FULL control through out
-After Conor jab feints to open up body punching combinations, Conor TIES Nate up and smoothers him. Conor has now KILLED off any possible offence from Nate
*Conor will always smartly tie an opponent up on his terms and dictate complete control
Conor will either tie up a persuing opponent to stiffle
OR Conor will punch into clinch and smoother - never allowing his opponents to do anything back
Just more examples of Conor's immaculate Bobby Fischer like fight IQ
Conor ALWAYS controls no matter what position he is in. In that sense Conor is like Andre Ward too
Now keep paying attention
-After Conor ties Nate up and stiffles any possible return fire, Conor then breaks away on his terms. Conor then lands beautiful devestating punches on Nate on the breakaway
Conor's striking to grappling to striking to transitional skill/IQ IS impeccable too
Its those body punches from Conor which DRAINED Nate and allowed Conor to dominate most of the championship rounds
It doesn't stop there..
There's even more to show you just how diverse Conor truly is.
Here is Conor throwing a combination of slick elbows
Jumping knees
Not only is Conor the greatest defensive based counter puncher MMA has ever seen, along with being one of MMA's best body punchers, along with having one of the most sophisticated leadhand games and fienting systems in UFC history, Conor has an incredible slick inside game too.
-Conor ducks and steps out to his left off the cage and lands a beautiful left straight off the duck and step out
-As Nate attempts to respond, Conor instantly TIES Nate up into a 2 on 1 on Nate's left arm to stiffle any more possible offence.
Absolutely beautful display of boxing skill and CONTROL by Conor
-After Conor has steped out, landed, and TIED Nate up to take away any more offence, Conor transitions to controlling Nate's right arm with his left, Conor is lifting Nate's arm up and off the opening Conor KNEES that side of Nate's open body
-Conor then transitions to a single collar tie and knees Nate again Just beautiful sublime stuff from Conor
Also we have his very effective Teep Kicks
Truly the most wholey skilled, well rounded striker in MMA history. He is elite from all ranges and all positions with all weapons. I've done more then enough to demonstrate that with this breakdown.
When it comes to the full embodiment of who most encompasses pure skill based striking and immaculate fight IQ, there is no one on Conor's level, and it isn't even close
Hope you enjoyed the breakdown
And hopefully you come out of this with a greater understanding of striking. There is no greater representation of elite level striking for our sport then Conor McGregor. Just being able to study Conor is a real privledge. If you, like me, are a fan of nothing but pure next level skill and impeccable fight IQ, then it doesn't get better than Conor McGregor/Conor McGregor is your Premier slick master technician to study
Conor is actually one of the most diverse strikers in MMA history. And if you stick around im going to prove it. Now let us dig into all the meat. Buckle up and get ready for the ride. Enjoy
Conor only throws his left via many sophisticated setups:
Via misdirections
-Lead hand control, shoulder fients and pumps a fient jab as misdirection to step his lead foot out and land the left.
-Notice how Mendes was clearly looking for the counter right. The pump fake keeps Mendes pre-occupied and causes Mendes to slip. Then the piston left behind the misdirection pops Mendes further out of position unable to throw anything back
-Notice how instantly after landing the left off the shoulder fient Conor slides back out of range maintaining perfect balance, knowing his range and knowing hes out of range. That's also the defensive responsibility of Conor on display right there. Conor is always defensively responsible with everything he does "hit and do not get hit."
Via leadhand control to either draw out responses to counter
Or via leadhand control (+fienting/jabbing) to distract for leads
-Lead hand control to shut down jab hand. This typically forces a right hand response. Conor was likely looking to draw out the right and slip and counter it ala Bunchinger.
But then you see Conor just completely mix it up on the fly when Alvarez is not biting. Shoots a smooth left straight off the lead hand distractions. Conor then instantly flicks a jab in Alvarez face to blind him for another left straight coming right behind it. Again, beautiful boxing skill by Conor
Via many different forms of distance deception
-Conor leans his head forward to appear as a closer target to Nate's jab hand, naturally drawing out the jab from Nate, Conor pulls back and then counters. Such one fluid motion from Conor in going from his pull instantly to his counter.
-Conor is always in control, limits, draws out his response with distance deception, pulls back, and counters.
Conor has been the only MMA fighter in history to start utilising advanced distance deception methods to create his countering oppurtunities. Thats how next level Conor is.
Via rhythm manipulation - in conjunction with all his other tactics/set ups
Look at this one
-Conor probing with his lead hand. Holloway trying to swat away. Conor establishes a pattern. Probes. Notices Holloway swats. Probes. Notices Holloway swats
-Conor switches tempo, and durring the off beat suddenly leads on an unexpecting Holloway - who was expecting another lead hand probe to swat sway.
Remember Conor had already conditioned Holloway to expect lead hand probes to swat away. On the off beat, boom! Thats the real mastermind fight IQ genuis of Conor. Conor is always setting opponents up and manipulating.
- After tricking Holloway out with lead hand play, then switching tempo/rhythm, Conor side hops to the outside angle with a beautiful leadhand lead uppercut. Conor almost attains T-position on Holloway. Thats unreal.
*If you want me to do a full breakdown of outside angles and T-position, let me know and I will do so in another post. I want to keep things moving along*
-Conor after the leadhand lead uppercut into outside angle, then follows up with a left straight down the pipe
Beautiful slick boxing skill by Conor. Again, thats Conor doing that AGAINST another elite striker. Conor is true greatness
Just think about how amazing that truly was to do that to Holloway
-Lead hand probe, lead hand probe, condition, switch tempo, then go underneath Holloway's leadhand with a lead leadhand uppercut to a step out to the outside angle to line the left straight down the pipe. Sweet Jesus !
You can blindly name drop all the MMA strikers you know, you wont be able to find me examples of them ever showcasing skill like that against anyone half as credible of a striker as a Holloway (and its just one of hundreds of examples from Conor through out his career)
Or via slipping and countering or making his opponent miss and then coming back with a counter, which both of - you see in every second of all of Conor's fights. Conor is a pure bred defensive based counter puncher. Will show a few examples
Conor has all kinds of slip counters. He can slip and counter from the inside, outside, pull back etc. In that gif we see Conor hit an inside slip to parry down overhand counter on the much taller Nate while making both of Nate's 1-2 responses miss. Absolutely sublime countering by Conor.
When it comes to MMA, Conor is the greatest embodiment of "make miss and make pay" and "hit and do not get hit" that you will ever see in MMA
What makes Conor so exciting to watch is when you can realize when Conor is setting traps and you are on the edge of your seat knowing you are about to witness Conor just counter fuck his opponents soul
And you want to know what's even more mindblowing?
I only showed you a fraction of Conor's game. The examples I used are few OF MANY. There are still MANY other tactics and set ups from Conor that we have yet to cover. Conor is the most sophisticated multi-layered striker to ever compete in MMA history
Sadly the average fan who doesn't really understand fighting, MMA, or boxing on any kind of level will never be able to appreciate the absolute true genius of Conor McGregor and the brilliant subtle sophistication of all his vastly multi-layered skillset and tactics.
^ video of Conor's right hand highlights
Not only is Conor the greatest defensive based counter puncher MMA has ever seen, Conor is one of the BEST BODY PUNCHERS IN MMA history too
Conor's body work vs Nate in perticular was sublime.
-Nate's hands up in a high guard, amd Conor sneaking in body punches to the exposed body
-Just look how Conor double fients the jab then shifts and sneaks in the right hook to the body - just places it so perfectly on the exposed liver. Beautiful boxing skill by Conor
-Conor then steps out away from any possible offence, after the double jab fient to body right hook set up on a high guard Nate trying to hulk through
That was absolutely FULL CONTROL, SKILL, and nullifying by Conor
Look at that.
-Conor shifts his weight to lead with a flawless right hook to the body, makes Nate MISS every follow up, then circles out(again absolute FULL CONTROL through out)
I mean thats defensive skill on a whole other level.
That is Conor INSANTLY nullifying Nate's hulk smash with body punching, and then avoding any return fire from Nate - always maintaining FULL control through out
-After Conor jab feints to open up body punching combinations, Conor TIES Nate up and smoothers him. Conor has now KILLED off any possible offence from Nate
*Conor will always smartly tie an opponent up on his terms and dictate complete control
Conor will either tie up a persuing opponent to stiffle
OR Conor will punch into clinch and smoother - never allowing his opponents to do anything back
Just more examples of Conor's immaculate Bobby Fischer like fight IQ
Conor ALWAYS controls no matter what position he is in. In that sense Conor is like Andre Ward too
Now keep paying attention
-After Conor ties Nate up and stiffles any possible return fire, Conor then breaks away on his terms. Conor then lands beautiful devestating punches on Nate on the breakaway
Conor's striking to grappling to striking to transitional skill/IQ IS impeccable too
Its those body punches from Conor which DRAINED Nate and allowed Conor to dominate most of the championship rounds
It doesn't stop there..
There's even more to show you just how diverse Conor truly is.
Here is Conor throwing a combination of slick elbows
Jumping knees
Not only is Conor the greatest defensive based counter puncher MMA has ever seen, along with being one of MMA's best body punchers, along with having one of the most sophisticated leadhand games and fienting systems in UFC history, Conor has an incredible slick inside game too.
-Conor ducks and steps out to his left off the cage and lands a beautiful left straight off the duck and step out
-As Nate attempts to respond, Conor instantly TIES Nate up into a 2 on 1 on Nate's left arm to stiffle any more possible offence.
Absolutely beautful display of boxing skill and CONTROL by Conor
-After Conor has steped out, landed, and TIED Nate up to take away any more offence, Conor transitions to controlling Nate's right arm with his left, Conor is lifting Nate's arm up and off the opening Conor KNEES that side of Nate's open body
-Conor then transitions to a single collar tie and knees Nate again Just beautiful sublime stuff from Conor
Also we have his very effective Teep Kicks
Truly the most wholey skilled, well rounded striker in MMA history. He is elite from all ranges and all positions with all weapons. I've done more then enough to demonstrate that with this breakdown.
When it comes to the full embodiment of who most encompasses pure skill based striking and immaculate fight IQ, there is no one on Conor's level, and it isn't even close
Hope you enjoyed the breakdown
And hopefully you come out of this with a greater understanding of striking. There is no greater representation of elite level striking for our sport then Conor McGregor. Just being able to study Conor is a real privledge. If you, like me, are a fan of nothing but pure next level skill and impeccable fight IQ, then it doesn't get better than Conor McGregor/Conor McGregor is your Premier slick master technician to study
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