Could the secret to out-striking McGregor be simply walking him down?

[Coconutwater]

You’re overrating his power in a big way. As we saw against Floyd, and even little Paulie, he has no real raw power. He has good timing and accuracy, range and poise - and that combined with fighting enraged manlets with no chins and no defence has made his power look far better than it is.

I’ll hazard a guess any big solid 155 pounders like Kebab and Tony will take his shots just fine. They may get buzzed, they may get heavily outlanded and busted up on the feet, but there’s very little chance of them getting 1 punch ko’d.

I see what you’re getting at but a huge reason Conor’s punches really take people out is like he said, precision and timing. He nails people when they are in between shots, their necks, faces and shoulders aren’t as tensed and their heads just get snapped.

Conor definitely has pop, way more than people around him but his southpaw angles leave too many people blindsided.

 

[Chain Saw]

You mean like Jose Aldo?

Jose Aldo isn't a Muay Thai fighter and he doesn't use a high guard.

Try again.

 

[Coconutwater]

To me, the entire premiss of this thread is faulty to begin with. "Simply" walking him down? I think you're going to have to provide us with the how instead of the what in order for this thread to have any substance behind it.

I agree.

When Conor sees someone enter the danger zone unexpectedly, he makes use of longer tools. He’ll throw side kicks, and any variety of kick to not allow someone to just close the distance without being slowed down enough to get snapped by his laser guided left.

 

[link67]

The key to out-striking Connor is to have a ridiculously durable chin, and some serious one punch power. You got to be able to eat his counter shot while throwing your power punch. I posted this gif in a different thread earlier but as much as it show cases how Connor can beat you, it also showcases how to beat him.

If you replace Aldo in this clip, with someone who has a granite chin, and ferocious power for instance, he could eat that counter left from Connor on the way in, just to land a vicious left hook. Connor is not even focused at all on the punch that is coming from his right, he is entirely locked into the chin he is about to touch with his own left. If you can eat the initial counter shot, and land your own power shot, Connor could easily be in big trouble. I mean he still gets his head slammed back by a KOed Aldo on his way down, imagine if the fighter is not out, throwing with all his power, and connects that shot on the jaw...

 

[moreorless87]

I know it sounds ridiculously easy, and I understand that it definitely isn't, but I genuinely think fighters give way too much respect to Conor's hands. We've not seen one fighter tuck the chin and walk him down, take away his range, throw hooks in close and try to nail him.

Nate has underrated power, but he's not exactly a power puncher, he throws arm punches a lot of the time, he's a true volume puncher. Chad Mendes did try to implement this plan a bit in their fight but his stamina just couldn't hold up and he was considerably shorter than Conor, very tough to get in close with those T-Rex arms.

I know it was a boxing ring and I understand that the gloves are smaller in terms of your ability to guard, but I think Floyd showed a blueprint of how to get to him in boxing exchanges.

I agree with Conor, he's very tough to beat at range, and that really is his method of victory most times.

I would love to see someone go full Paulo Costa on him and just walk him down with true power shots, smother his shots and get in tight. Would be fascinating to see how he would react to that gameplan.

One other fighter that strongly comes to mind for me is JDS, before the Cain rematch he had a massive fear factor standing that I think actually played into his game, everyone kept off and showed him respect which ment his weakness to actually being walked down was limited.

The second Nate fight seemed to shift partly because Nate switched tactics, started going more to the body and then started to walk Conor down until he was up against the cage.

Conor gets looked at in a similar fashion to Crocop might I think a big factor in Mirko's success was both his lateral movement and his shear finishing power/speed. Mirko could get out the back door against most opponents and his big shots were fight enders however they landed. Conor on the other hand tends to move in straight lines far more and his left hook is most deadly when countering catching people off balance.

 

[chs140]

also RDA could be that guy, but he lost to eddie of all people....

makes sense

God I wanted that fight. RDA was on a tear.

 

[blkdynamite]

Jose Aldo isn't a Muay Thai fighter and he doesn't use a high guard.

Try again.

Google Jose Aldo. His background is Muay Thai and BJJ like most Brazilians.

 

[Gilday]

What's the point in even trying to outstrike McGregor though?

Sure his ground game is somewhat underrated, but it's light years worse than his stand up. Why purposely stand and strike with him instead of testing his weaknesses?

 

[drbolony]

You're describing Justin Gaethje. Jk I get what you mean ts, and I don't completely agree, but you have a point. Conor does most of his best work against the fence. Don't let Conor push you that far back, and his attack won't be as diverse. He's like the striking version of Khabib, who also does most of his best work against the cage.

 

[ANIM4L]

fighters give him way too much respect and play into his striking. He also doesnt react well to leg kicks.

 

[det_regnar_på_vår_kärlek]

Conor does his best work when fighters overcommit and lunge in trying to close the distance. If you're trying to strike with him, I think TS's game plan might work (that's what Floyd did after all). Tuck your chin, high guard and walk him down.

 

[blkdynamite]

Google Jose Aldo. Look at background and fighting style.

Jose Aldo isn't a Muay Thai fighter and he doesn't use a high guard.

Try again.

 

[det_regnar_på_vår_kärlek]

Seriously? Read threads about him, people are yapping like he has some amazing footwork. He actually doesn't.

Sherdoggers don't know what good footwork is. Anybody who uses a karate stance and bounces a bit is considered to have good footwork on Sherdog.

 

[Dbreiden83080]

A good Muay Thai fighter with a high guard would kill McGregor.

Who is that at LW or FW?

 

[Coconutwater]

Conor does his best work when fighters overcommit and lunge in trying to close the distance. If you're trying to strike with him, I think TS's game plan might work (that's what Floyd did after all). Tuck your chin, high guard and walk him down.

Tuck your chin, throw front kicks to dissuade rushes and flurries and most important, use a crap load of feints before a low entry takedown.

 

[Black Paladin]

Common sense, over whelm the counter attacker..

"Bobbin' and weavin'."--Ezell, Friday

 

[ImNotSurpisedDonks!]

Floyd didnt need 27 min. As much hate is the man gets,(alot of it deserved) he let Conor hang around for the fans. Let's be honest, he was in more danger tripping and falling during his entrance to the stage than at any point in the fight.

So you think Floyd could have got him out of there at anytime in the fight? He even admitted that McGregor lasted a lot longer than projected and that he had to wait longer than expected for him to gas. Still holds true that even if Floyd did it in a boxing ring, it does not mean Khabib will be able to emulate it in an MMA fight. That's like saying "beating Rumblue is easy, all you have to do is take him down, pound him out and get the sub" - Bader can attest that is a lot easier said than done, especially with an explosive early round type fighter.

 

[2GunTommy]

The real reason why this game plan sucks is because Conor walks his opponents down and puts them on the back foot with his superior accuracy and power, and is precisely waiting for them to try and come forward to stop his pressure, which only helps his accuracy and power.

It's one of the biggest things people don't seem to notice when they're considering a second Holloway fight. They'll pretend Holloway lost simply because he was young and not because he couldn't get off his back foot as Conor cracked him every time he tried. Which is the same issue he has in the rematch as Conor hasn't gotten any less accurate or powerful.

Excellent post