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Long b4 he was a dynamic knockout artist, the guy was a 'blue chip' prospect who placed 2nd in the nation for wrestling that immediately transitioned to MMA out of college with Team Alpha Male. Among the fans who actually watched his fights in the WEC, he was one of the most boring blankets in MMA.
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/did-mendes-even-ever-hit-cub-ground-1321865/index2.html
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2...mendes-wec-52-who-you-got-1423369/index3.html
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/best-worst-possible-champions-1446911/
His lay and pray days are for the most part behind him with the leaps and bounds he has made with his striking, both from distanced and on the ground. But one thing has changed, and that's the fact that's never been taken down once. Not by Aldo, Lamas, Clay Guida, Darren Elkins, BJJ World champion Rani Yahya, or Cody fucking McKenzie. In fact, unless you grab the fence, Chad Mendes is guaranteed to take you down if he doesn't knock you out, win or lose.
And it hasn't even been that long since he made Nik Lentz look like Bas Rutten...The effortlessness of his double leg takedown and his complete helplessness to do any damage on the ground with very Kevin Randleman like.
So for Conor to be able to stuff a few of his takedowns, scramble back up to his feet, and threaten Chad off his back imo is pretty substantial proof that it's going to take a lot more than just some random college wrestler with a couple years of "MMA training" to dethrone Conor.
McGregor's wrestling clearly was not and will never be as good as Chads, but I would say the same thing about Aldo and Frankie. Just like Conor, they are capable of beating a superior wrestler in Chad, but it's because they offer more to the table such as bouncy agile feet and ultramarathon cardio, or vicious Muay Thai and a super legit BJJ black belt.
Conor has definitely answered the wrestling question. Great wrestling might still be his biggest weakness, but if that's all he has to deal with, he has the tools to overcome.
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/did-mendes-even-ever-hit-cub-ground-1321865/index2.html
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2...mendes-wec-52-who-you-got-1423369/index3.html
http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/f2/best-worst-possible-champions-1446911/
His lay and pray days are for the most part behind him with the leaps and bounds he has made with his striking, both from distanced and on the ground. But one thing has changed, and that's the fact that's never been taken down once. Not by Aldo, Lamas, Clay Guida, Darren Elkins, BJJ World champion Rani Yahya, or Cody fucking McKenzie. In fact, unless you grab the fence, Chad Mendes is guaranteed to take you down if he doesn't knock you out, win or lose.
And it hasn't even been that long since he made Nik Lentz look like Bas Rutten...The effortlessness of his double leg takedown and his complete helplessness to do any damage on the ground with very Kevin Randleman like.
So for Conor to be able to stuff a few of his takedowns, scramble back up to his feet, and threaten Chad off his back imo is pretty substantial proof that it's going to take a lot more than just some random college wrestler with a couple years of "MMA training" to dethrone Conor.
McGregor's wrestling clearly was not and will never be as good as Chads, but I would say the same thing about Aldo and Frankie. Just like Conor, they are capable of beating a superior wrestler in Chad, but it's because they offer more to the table such as bouncy agile feet and ultramarathon cardio, or vicious Muay Thai and a super legit BJJ black belt.
Conor has definitely answered the wrestling question. Great wrestling might still be his biggest weakness, but if that's all he has to deal with, he has the tools to overcome.
