Conor's gas tank theory/claims!

[The Natural Born Runner]

So, from both Conor McGregor fans and also his critics/haters, I consistently hear what you could call an "excuse" or a reason to why Conor lost his last bout, against Nate Diaz. "Gassing".

I keep hearing anything from "He only lost because he gassed out, that won't happen next time" to things like "it's only because he was throwing kill-shots, if he chooses his shots better he won't gas" to other things like "he only lost on the ground, he's clearly a better striker than Nate, he was destroying Nate in the first round and a half".

So, those are the threads, posts, conversations etc. that we've all hear/seen lately right? So I'm going to combat that right here and now, and I want to see what you think.

I have a question. Have any of you guys watched a 170lb bout before? Let's just take 2 example rights, let's use Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald, and Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny. One of which is elite talent, the other is middle-tier.

Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny. That is a great example of a fighter losing a fight because of "gassing", now Hector clearly cuts a heap of weight, which is definitely going to cause more reason to gas, dehydration etc. Hector was throwing "killshots", he was winging punches and throwing 4-5 punch combinations against the cage and on the ground. That is the sort of stuff you'd expect to gas a fighter, Conor did not once do anything near this in the first round and a half and gassed very similarly to Hector - why?

Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald. These guys both cut a fair bit of weight and were in the 3rd round of this fight. They've already fought a whole 10+ minutes, and Rory lands a headkick on Robbie, he rocks him. He sees him hurt and throws the kitchen sink at him, elbows, kicks, punches. Yet in round 4, after completely emptying the tank, he's still not gassed, he's tired, but he's in the fight and he's OK. Conor after about 6 minutes and without taking any damage really, is gassed - why?

Now someone please, looking at these 2 great examples explain to me how this "It's understandable that Conor gassed" claim is OK.

He cut zero weight, he fought for about 6 minutes before gassing, he didn't get hit to the body or even the head much in the whole 6 minutes, he was throwing hard but didn't once empty the tank by throwing shots to end the fight - like a 4-5 punch flurry.

So why, in the blue hell did he gas so much? Can any of us just admit that it's either a hole in his game or that he just didn't prepare as well as he should have?

Imagine if he'd cut 13 more pounds and fought RDA? How badly would he have gassed with additional dehydration/starvation on the cards.

Can someone add some logic to this please, with objectivity!

 

[CJohnny]

Conor had to eat to make 170. He was in his to make LW. Watch the embedded series.

This didn't help his cardio at all.

 

[RouseyBeatsMcgregor]

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

Conor had to eat to make 170. He was in his to make LW. Watch the embedded series.

This didn't help his cardio at all.

 

[CJohnny]

He was eating during the whole series and come at 168.

Hell, there is a tweet saying that he walks at 185. I don't believe those.

 

[deltapapha]

its a hole. plus he needs more nate like sparring partners to cardio drill the exact movements that gassed him. put some small weights on hands and feet and just freaking go crazy trying to gas himself hyperextending upward punches and doing wild kicks

 

[myjohnson9]

McGregors cardio isn't that good. I said this after the Mendes fight, he was very tired in the 2nd. I thought Aldo would expose this but he got clipped. I made money on nate because I knew he'd be hard to finish. You're right TS lots of excuses but fact is McGregor doesn't have great cardio

 

[deltapapha]

He was eating during the whole series and come at 168.

Hell, there is a tweet saying that he walks at 185. I don't believe those.

yep 185 is absolute BS. I am 5'9"+ with medium frame and stocky muscular build and when I am 185 I'm still on the chubby side. If Conor was at 185 he would be noticeably puggy and I've never seen any pics of him that way. It would not surprise me at all if he walked around much of the time from 170 to 175.

I'm not buying the 185.

 

[Deleted member 429453]

Excessive pre fight touch butt

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Haha... well that showed you!

 

[Ghostpepper]

So, from both Conor McGregor fans and also his critics/haters, I consistently hear what you could call an "excuse" or a reason to why Conor lost his last bout, against Nate Diaz. "Gassing".

I keep hearing anything from "He only lost because he gassed out, that won't happen next time" to things like "it's only because he was throwing kill-shots, if he chooses his shots better he won't gas" to other things like "he only lost on the ground, he's clearly a better striker than Nate, he was destroying Nate in the first round and a half".

So, those are the threads, posts, conversations etc. that we've all hear/seen lately right? So I'm going to combat that right here and now, and I want to see what you think.

I have a question. Have any of you guys watched a 170lb bout before? Let's just take 2 example rights, let's use Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald, and Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny. One of which is elite talent, the other is middle-tier.

Hector Lombard vs Neil Magny. That is a great example of a fighter losing a fight because of "gassing", now Hector clearly cuts a heap of weight, which is definitely going to cause more reason to gas, dehydration etc. Hector was throwing "killshots", he was winging punches and throwing 4-5 punch combinations against the cage and on the ground. That is the sort of stuff you'd expect to gas a fighter, Conor did not once do anything near this in the first round and a half and gassed very similarly to Hector - why?

Robbie Lawler vs Rory MacDonald. These guys both cut a fair bit of weight and were in the 3rd round of this fight. They've already fought a whole 10+ minutes, and Rory lands a headkick on Robbie, he rocks him. He sees him hurt and throws the kitchen sink at him, elbows, kicks, punches. Yet in round 4, after completely emptying the tank, he's still not gassed, he's tired, but he's in the fight and he's OK. Conor after about 6 minutes and without taking any damage really, is gassed - why?

Now someone please, looking at these 2 great examples explain to me how this "It's understandable that Conor gassed" claim is OK.

He cut zero weight, he fought for about 6 minutes before gassing, he didn't get hit to the body or even the head much in the whole 6 minutes, he was throwing hard but didn't once empty the tank by throwing shots to end the fight - like a 4-5 punch flurry.

So why, in the blue hell did he gas so much? Can any of us just admit that it's either a hole in his game or that he just didn't prepare as well as he should have?

Imagine if he'd cut 13 more pounds and fought RDA? How badly would he have gassed with additional dehydration/starvation on the cards.

Can someone add some logic to this please, with objectivity!

He gassed because he fought at a higher weight than he's used to fighting, 3 months prior he fought at 145. A man's cardio needs more time to adjust to the needs of the extra mass.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

He gassed because he fought at a higher weight than he's used to fighting, 3 months prior he fought at 145. A man's cardio needs more time to adjust to the needs of the extra mass.

So what was his excuse for Mendes?

I mean, you've probably got his excuse book handy, I believe it's the chapter after "How To Fool Everyone Into Thinking You're An Elite Fighter By Fighting Midgets".

 

[Davemeddlehed]

Conor had to eat to make 170. He was in his to make LW. Watch the embedded series.

This didn't help his cardio at all.

He didn't have to. He only had to weigh in at 157 for a welterweight fight. Or he could have taken Diaz up on that 165lb offer. Either way, there's no excuse for having 6-7 minutes of cardio in a fight he was apparently dominating.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

He gassed because he fought at a higher weight than he's used to fighting, 3 months prior he fought at 145. A man's cardio needs more time to adjust to the needs of the extra mass.

But he walks around at 165-170, so all that means is that he wouldn't need to dehydrate himself or starve himself for those 3 months. How can you gas more at your walking around weight than cutting almost 30lbs?

I understand your point about additional muscle mass, but he'd also blow back up between fights, hence why his cut was so bad against Mendes. Not like the guy was sitting at 155 and this fight went and weight trained 15 extra lbs of muscle.

I just think the guy has an issue with prep or just his natural case of cardio deficiency. We've never seen his gas tank because he never gets out of the 2nd round.

 

[cm1mma]

Conor's body at 170 is not well conditioned to go 5 hard fast paced rounds. There is a huge difference in being in shape and being in the kind of shape to go 5 hard MMA rounds with a Diaz...he's flashy and fast but not durable like Nate...you have to have a VERY HIGH CARDIO BASE with Nate and Nick especially with their boxing and reach advantage. Him and his team did not have enough time to realize this and/or he was too cocky to not even worry about ..they better correct this for the rematch. I would have him putting in long miles on the road to build up a better cardio base first and foremost and also have him doing speed drills on the track....getting him out of the gym and training at high altitude in the Mtns would also help.

 

[Ghostpepper]

So what was his excuse for Mendes?

I mean, you've probably got his excuse book handy, I believe it's the chapter after "How To Fool Everyone Into Thinking You're An Elite Fighter By Fighting Midgets".

These are biological facts. If you increase weight rapidly your cardio suffers.

 

[conorbless1]

These are biological facts. If you increase weight rapidly your cardio suffers.

He didn't increase weight rapidly. He simply chose not to cut weight.

 

[I WILL CUT YOU]

These are biological facts. If you increase weight rapidly your cardio suffers.

Lol, do you think he weighs 145 between fights?

 

[LogicalMMAFan]

People say whatever is convenient. The same people who said Mendes only lost because he gassed are the same ones who claim Conor gassing had no impact during his fight with Nate, or is a poor excuse.

My personal opinion, is I really don't think Conor gassed. He slowed down, naturally, but he looked okay to me until got hurt badly on the feet and couldn't recover.

The whole gassing excuse saved face for him because it's a correctable error, and puts the blame on himself rather than admitting he got boxed up.

However, moving up in weight will objectively hurt your cardio. There is a reason endurance athletes stay as light and lean as possible. Conor wasn't just carrying around water weight. He clearly had a little more muscle (not much considering you can only put on a bit in the span of 3 months). He was also carrying significantly more fat. He was nowhere near as lean as he normally is. It takes a lot of time to properly adjust and optimize your weight for a weight class, especially when moving up.

And Lombard's tank isn't the sole reason he lost that fight IMO. Magny started to find his range, and when it went to the mat, Lombard made some very critical errors. It was definitely a huge factor though, especially in the finish.

 

[Darbo]

But he walks around at 165-170, so all that means is that he wouldn't need to dehydrate himself or starve himself for those 3 months. How can you gas more at your walking around weight than cutting almost 30lbs?

I understand your point about additional muscle mass, but he'd also blow back up between fights, hence why his cut was so bad against Mendes. Not like the guy was sitting at 155 and this fight went and weight trained 15 extra lbs of muscle.

I just think the guy has an issue with prep or just his natural case of cardio deficiency. We've never seen his gas tank because he never gets out of the 2nd round.

You mean apart from the Holloway fight?
Lots of factors involved here, or of them being Conors propensity to get hit, his jaw was great at 145 but i think it was a shock getting hit by a 170 lbs Diaz.
Once he got caught a couple of times he seemed shell shocked to me, he's never had the greatest defence but then he's never really had to.
When Conor commented on loading up too much and gassing i don't think he meant he got tired so went for the take down as some people keep saying, to me it was simply a matter of slowing down just enough to get caught cleanly.
Add to that what someone else was correctly saying about going from a 145 bout straight to 170 affecting his cardio, walk around weight had nothing to do with it, it's what you're used to fighting at, some of the things you rely on aren't always there with such as huge leap in weight but you only find out once you start swinging.