Conor McGregor's fav technique (GIF heavy)

I don't go around calling people haters, don't worry. But your prediction is kind of useless. You're basically saying that eventually he's gonna get caught. Like you said, it happens to everyone. But it won't suddenly be because his hands aren't up. Silva didn't get caught because his hands weren't up. He got caught because he was leaning back to defend against a guy who knew how to cut off his angles, move in diagonally and thus could reach him. Silva got beat at the distance game, not the "hands up" game.

It's way oversimplifying to say he'll get caught because his hands are down. Everyone drops their hands. That's the lowest level of analysis.

lol are you baked, that's exactly why Anderson got knocked out
 
Hands up would have helped. Not with avoiding the TDs but with not getting KO'd. The "hands up game" is called "defense." Relying on lean and footwork alone is not the only valid type of defense.

You should click on people's profiles once in a while and see who you're debating with, how much credibility they have. It sounds like you think you're talking to a striking "whitebelt". Your comment looks ridiculous and HIGHLY uneducated.
 
"Hands up" as a form of passive blocking is the least important aspect of defense. In MMA more than in any other sport. The gloves are too small, your hand can only cover so much. It's very easy to punch through, around, under and over a guard in MMA gloves. Actively using the hands to parry, frame and deflect is great, but thinking that not keeping your hands glued to your chin while punching is some huge defensive flaw just shows a complete disconnection with the reality of fighting.

It's about distance (those guys can't reach McGregor), timing (he's throwing inbetween their shots, not trading with them) and positioning (McGregor is taking an angle towards his power side). As long as those things are in play, his other hand can be hanging down by his waist and it won't make a difference.

People who obsess over hand position are ignoring the real fundamentals.

Why are you relegating what I've said to passive defense? Having your hands up puts them in a position to parry or actively block. Fighters are getting very adept at doing this despite the smaller gloves in MMA. The ones that simply cup their ears in the hopes of protecting their head are what you are talking about but intercepting punches with the arms, hands/gloves is an important part of defense in MMA. And I'm focusing on the Silva/Weidman situation rather than Conor since Silva's situation was rather egregious where as I'm not necessarily decided that Conor's hands are TOO low, at least not all the time. His defense might benefit from being a bit tighter, but it could hurt his offense. But keeping your hands up is not meaningless as you implied with your other comment.
 
You should click on people's profiles once in a while and see who you're debating with, how much credibility they have. It sounds like you think you're talking to a striking "whitebelt". Your comment looks ridiculous and HIGHLY uneducated.

Get bent. I'll base my comments on what is said not the credentials someone claims.
 
lol are you baked, that's exactly why Anderson got knocked out

Hold on, Silva fought his entire UFC career with his hands down (I know some people will argue he had a more "technical muay thai style" before changing gyms around that time). If having his hands down is the reason he got knocked out, why did it take 17 UFC fights for it to happen? How did he go through a 16 year career without getting knocked out dropping his hands, yet suddenly the one time he does get knocked out it's BECAUSE he dropped them?

Think about it.
 
Why are you relegating what I've said to passive defense? Having your hands up puts them in a position to parry or actively block. Fighters are getting very adept at doing this despite the smaller gloves in MMA. The ones that simply cup their ears in the hopes of protecting their head are what you are talking about but intercepting punches with the arms, hands/gloves is an important part of defense in MMA. And I'm focusing on the Silva/Weidman situation rather than Conor since Silva's situation was rather egregious where as I'm not necessarily decided that Conor's hands are TOO low, at least not all the time. His defense might benefit from being a bit tighter, but it could hurt his offense. But keeping your hands up is not meaningless as you implied with your other comment.

Yea we should probably clarify what we mean by saying "hands up". When people say hands up, I assume they mean at least at chin height (high enough to already be in the way of an incoming strike).

Anyway, in the Silva example keeping his hands up wouldn't really have helped. He didn't see the punch that knocked him out anyway. Actively blocking it wouldn't really have been an option because of that. And trying to lift his hands would have put him off balance.
 
Yea we should probably clarify what we mean by saying "hands up". When people say hands up, I assume they mean at least at chin height (high enough to already be in the way of an incoming strike).

Anyway, in the Silva example keeping his hands up wouldn't really have helped. He didn't see the punch that knocked him out anyway. Actively blocking it wouldn't really have been an option because of that. And trying to lift his hands would have put him off balance.

It wasn't a situation where he got hit because he "didn't see" the punch. He ran out of rope based on his poor foot placement, footwork in that moment. He just couldn't get out of the way.

I'm not too interested in clarifying exactly what "hands up" means or should mean. But no, I didn't mean glued to your chin or ear as you might expect from a boxer. What is NOT having your hands up was Silva with arms completely slack and his hands down by his damned knees, obviously. And I'll reiterate, had he had his hands in more of a ready position, rather than relying solely on sway to try to avoid punches, he would have had an additional layer of defense. It's not "the hands up game." It's a part of striking defense.
 
It wasn't a situation where he got hit because he "didn't see" the punch. He ran out of rope based on his poor foot placement, footwork in that moment. He just couldn't get out of the way.

I'm not too interested in clarifying exactly what "hands up" means or should mean. But no, I didn't mean glued to your chin or ear as you might expect from a boxer. What is NOT having your hands up was Silva with arms completely slack and his hands down by his damned knees, obviously. And I'll reiterate, had he had his hands in more of a ready position, rather than relying solely on sway to try to avoid punches, he would have had an additional layer of defense. It's not "the hands up game." It's a part of striking defense.

Yes it is. That's exactly what it was.

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He doesn't see either of the left hooks that land before way too late. Look how Weidman sets them up. With his hand low and slightly extended, it's beneath Silva's vision and closer than Silva realizes. He smacks Silva with it before Silva realizes it's coming. Then, Silva's eyes are occupied by that backhanded right immediately before the left hook hits him. It's important to note that Weidman hurt Silva with a counter left hook to Silva's jab immediately before this gif begins also. That's why Silva is dancing, he's making a show of not being hurt.

Would his hands being up give him another layer of defense? Sure. But that's not the reason he got knocked out. It's not a magic solution to Silva getting caught. It MIGHT hypothetically have been enough to save him, but that's speculation--and hard to argue considering how much trouble Silva had seeing those shots coming.
 
Yes it is. That's exactly what it was.

ibpTAYvgSlVH1S.gif


He doesn't see either of the left hooks that land before way too late. Look how Weidman sets them up. With his hand low and slightly extended, it's beneath Silva's vision and closer than Silva realizes. He smacks Silva with it before Silva realizes it's coming. Then, Silva's eyes are occupied by that backhanded right immediately before the left hook hits him. It's important to note that Weidman hurt Silva with a counter left hook to Silva's jab immediately before this gif begins also. That's why Silva is dancing, he's making a show of not being hurt.

Would his hands being up give him another layer of defense? Sure. But that's not the reason he got knocked out. It's not a magic solution to Silva getting caught. It MIGHT hypothetically have been enough to save him, but that's speculation--and hard to argue considering how much trouble Silva had seeing those shots coming.

Silva was leaning directly away from the punch, it just wasn't far enough. If he didn't see it, he definitely knew it was or was likely coming. Hands up and he would have had a better chance of avoiding a flush connection. You can actually see his hands start to come up, potentially to intercept some punches, early in the gif but he seems to drop them back down as if wanting to pull off the complete "matrix" avoidance.

And you are conceding my point with the bolded, so this entire debate is stupid and pointless.
 
Hahahaha get outta there dude. I was thinking this guy is from Scarborough or TB and I legitimately feel sad for you. What's there to do there? Drink and sherdog?

Pretty much. Well had a major crack addiction but have overcome it, I now manage an A&W and take care of my 2 year old son off a 30k salary. Compared to most people that live here, I'm hugely successful.
 
Silva was leaning directly away from the punch, it just wasn't far enough. If he didn't see it, he definitely knew it was or was likely coming. Hands up and he would have had a better chance of avoiding a flush connection.

And you are conceding my point with the bolded, so this entire debate is stupid and pointless.

He sees it, but not until it's way too late. If he saw it he earlier he might have tried to block or done something else, but by the time he saw it all he could hope to do was lean farther and farther. Keep in mind that it wouldn't be possible for him to have his hands up in that sequence btw, he'd lose balance and probably fall on his own.

Eh, I'm kind of conceding your point but arguing that the difference would be insignificant in that sequence. In other words the layer of defense wouldn't actually do anything if it was there, unless by some very lucky turn of events where it happened to be in the exact right position, and absorbed enough force without getting knocked into him to keep him standing.

My entire argument is that having the hands down is not some major defensive flaw. It's not even a flaw in my opinion, just a stylistic choice. It's not the reason Silva got knocked out, and it won't be the reason McGregor gets knocked out if he ever does.
 
He sees it, but not until it's way too late. If he saw it he earlier he might have tried to block or done something else, but by the time he saw it all he could hope to do was lean farther and farther. Keep in mind that it wouldn't be possible for him to have his hands up in that sequence btw, he'd lose balance and probably fall on his own.

Eh, I'm kind of conceding your point but arguing that the difference would be insignificant in that sequence. In other words the layer of defense wouldn't actually do anything if it was there, unless by some very lucky turn of events where it happened to be in the exact right position, and absorbed enough force without getting knocked into him to keep him standing.

My entire argument is that having the hands down is not some major defensive flaw. It's not even a flaw in my opinion, just a stylistic choice. It's not the reason Silva got knocked out, and it won't be the reason McGregor gets knocked out if he ever does.

The stylistic choice is either to showboat or to keep the hands very low for fending off take downs, not as part of a complete defense against strikes to the head. There aren't a whole lot of other reasons to have your hands by your knees. Keeping them somewhat low makes sense for various reasons, otherwise, but not that low.

And having his hands up to parry would alter the sequence in ways no one can predict. If he knew he had other defensive options and had used them to avoid the earlier punches, he likely not have tried to defend in exactly the same way, and that leaves out entirely how it would have effected Weidman's timing or the choices in throwing the combination. It comes down to chaos theory; no one can say what would have happened, but it certainly would have been different.
 
Pretty much. Well had a major crack addiction but have overcome it, I now manage an A&W and take care of my 2 year old son off a 30k salary. Compared to most people that live here, I'm hugely successful.

Good for you man, I don't think I would have quit if I were in TB so you must have some serious will power. And yeah, you basically run that town with a salary like that. Keep up the good work. Tell the kid some random douche on Sherdog says hello, maybe that will help reverse some of the negativity within this thread. :D
 
The stylistic choice is either to showboat or to keep the hands very low for fending off take downs, not as part of a complete defense against strikes to the head. There aren't a whole lot of other reasons to have your hands by your knees. Keeping them somewhat low makes sense for various reasons, otherwise, but not that low.

And having his hands up to parry would alter the sequence in ways no one can predict. If he knew he had other defensive options and had used them to avoid the earlier punches, he likely not have tried to defend in exactly the same way, and that leaves out entirely how it would have effected Weidman's timing or the choices in throwing the combination. It comes down to chaos theory; no one can say what would have happened, but it certainly would have been different.

Yea I'm not trying to argue that Silva's hand position was good. I'm arguing against the idea that having them down is the reason he got knocked out. Because the reason he got knocked out is losing the distance game.
 
Yea I'm not trying to argue that Silva's hand position was good. I'm arguing against the idea that having them down is the reason he got knocked out. Because the reason he got knocked out is losing the distance game.

He wouldn't have had to rely on the distance game so much with his hands up.
 
He wouldn't have had to rely on the distance game so much with his hands up.

That isn't necessarily true, and likely wouldn't be a good thing if it was. Silva's entire countering ability is based off the distance game (and angles, he tries to cut two in this sequence). That first left hook was gonna land pretty much no matter what Silva did, unless it was already in the exact position needed to block. Silva saw it coming waaayyy to late to do much of anything. Silva does a very nice job going outside that big right hand. That would have been a nice angle to counter from, if Weidman didn't get too close and throw that awkward backhand. Silva had no idea what that was, so there's not much he could have done with his hands about it. And then it occupied his eyes long enough that again, he wasn't blocking the hook unless his hand just happened to be in the perfect position because he saw it too late.

Maybe having his hands up would have changed the sequence, allowed him to parry or something. Maybe it would have just let Weidman get in on him faster. Maybe it would have given Weidman the opportunity to take him down.

Having his hands up doesn't solve the problem. It potentially changes the problem. It opens up new opportunities for his opponent while possibly shutting some down.
 
That isn't necessarily true, and likely wouldn't be a good thing if it was. Silva's entire countering ability is based off the distance game (and angles, he tries to cut two in this sequence). That first left hook was gonna land pretty much no matter what Silva did, unless it was already in the exact position needed to block. Silva saw it coming waaayyy to late to do much of anything. Silva does a very nice job going outside that big right hand. That would have been a nice angle to counter from, if Weidman didn't get too close and throw that awkward backhand. Silva had no idea what that was, so there's not much he could have done with his hands about it. And then it occupied his eyes long enough that again, he wasn't blocking the hook unless his hand just happened to be in the perfect position because he saw it too late.

Maybe having his hands up would have changed the sequence, allowed him to parry or something. Maybe it would have just let Weidman get in on him faster. Maybe it would have given Weidman the opportunity to take him down.

Having his hands up doesn't solve the problem. It potentially changes the problem. It opens up new opportunities for his opponent while possibly shutting some down.

You are trying to play Nostradamus and it isn't convincing. Having his hands up is another tool. And yes, it would have potentially opened him up to TDs as I noted in my very first response to you.
 
You are trying to play Nostradamus and it isn't convincing. Having his hands up is another tool. And yes, it would have potentially opened him up to TDs as I noted in my very first response to you.

Is it a tool that would benefit him in that sequence though? That's the question.

And even still, the whole point is that he didn't get knocked out because of where his hands were. That's the smallest factor in a complicated sequence, and focusing on that is missing what actually happened to make a relatively useless observation. His hands shouldn't have been below his waist, but that's only a factor because he completely compromised his foot position--which is how Weidman was able to sneak into his range and land that first hook, and why he was able to offset Silva's position throughout the exchange then finally clip him.

Maybe he could have done something different with his hands up, but Weidman DEFINITELY wouldn't have been able to get so close to him if he kept his feet in position and managed distance effectively from the start, so that he wasn't playing catch up.
 

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