Firas: Conor is a bully fighter - gassed to Diaz due to psychological issues

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

nah he lost because he got choked out. he lost because he got rocked on the feet. he lost because he is a featherweight trying to fighter real size humans at welterweight. he lost because he didnt tower over his midgit opponents

 

[eddymotto]

interesting theory by Firas. nobody really knows. Even Conor is probably second guessing his own feelings in that fight.

What does seem clear from watching the fight is that Conor didn't know what to do when Plan A didn't work and then panicked.

as Firas seems to point out, Conor is not the first guy to have this happen to him and he won't be the last.

Close to home for Firas is the career of GSP. By his own admission he was intimated by Hughes in their first meeting and then famously fell to Serra in their first fight. What makes GSP great is that he was honest about his failures and came back to make himself the greatest WW in history and a candidate for MMA GOAT.

All that is to say, even if Firas is correct the real question is whether Conor can learn and improve.

 

[helltoupee]

I don't necessarily agree. I don't think Conor gassed at all. He was barely even breathing heavy after the first round. He out pointed Nate in round one.
In round two he was scoring as well but he was following Nate around with his hands down and without any respect for Nate. He got tagged on the chin and never recovered

This is exactly what Firas is saying. He mentions that Conor wasn't tired at all at the end of the second round, that it was a couple minutes into the 2nd when Conor started to gas, and he gassed because Nate was starting to bully him back, which frustrated Conor, and led to fatigue.

I think Firas is spot on here.

 

[SuperNerd]

Well, yeah.

 

[helltoupee]

Firas sounds salty as fuck towards Conor the way he keeps calling him a bully. You could argue he is just trying to describe a fighting style but no - the way he keeps saying bully, schoolyard bully etc - you can tell he genuinely hates Conor's personality.

I could understand if Conor was picking on random guys off the street but we're talking about sleazy prize fighting in a cage. He's going up against killers. Was he a 'bully' for calling out the P4P great?

I have much more disdain for a guy who pretends to be a 'respectful martial artist' or gentleman but then in the contest is a cheating prick via grease and PEDs.

No. He's just talking about his style and mindset for this particular fight.

If you listen to the entire video, he is pretty objective and gives Conor props - actually, I've never heard Firas rag on anyone from the perspective of a personal ajenda.

I think you got it wrong here, or are misunderstanding what he is saying.

 

[Flabby 6 pack]

Seriously, anyone listening to anyone on this board and taking their word over a pro trainer, a guy who has trained a champ need their heads checked. Just because he says things that you don't like doesn't mean they are wrong. It's actually the opposite, it's you who is wrong.

 

[helltoupee]

It's all bullshit, he got tired from blowing his load and getting hit back. End of story.

I'm a Diaz fan and was happy to see Conor lose, but if you are going to be objective, you have to understand that nothing is ever that simple - the world is full of variables and minute details.

I think it was a combination of what Firas said, and what you are saying.

 

[Fighting Gaming]

He was saying Conor never faced adversity before, thats true? He said Diaz has a number of wars in the Octagon and hes mindset was better prepared for a war.

Personally i agree with that. Its a problem when you bully fighters and stop them so easy. You don't have the preparation or the mindset to know what to do when fighters don't crumble and they come back at you!

Firas said Conor defensive ground game is weak. Now thats an interesting thing to say when he been with Kavanagh for how many years now? Is Conor not being thought correctly is hes game not up to par because the coaching is not there in Ireland?

Excellent breakdown of the fight. Conor may not have the proper coaching and not being pushed to better himself is a worry?

 

[Haj01]

Conor used to bully Firas back in highschool.

 

[Hardkore]

I'm a Diaz fan and was happy to see Conor lose, but if you are going to be objective, you have to understand that nothing is ever that simple - the world is full of variables and minute details.

I think it was a combination of what Firas said, and what you are saying.

Firas is psychoanalyzing this way too much, and making a simple reasons into complex ones when it isn't necessary.

 

[helltoupee]

Firas is psychoanalyzing this way too much, and making a simple reasons into complex ones when it isn't necessary.

Well there are a lot of things that go into elite levels of competition, and the psychological aspect is just as important as the physical.

 

[Hardkore]

Well there are a lot of things that go into elite levels of competition, and the psychological aspect is just as important as the physical.

Sure, I'd agree with that, but I don't think the reasons he mentioned came into play here.

 

[Fighting Gaming]

I took away from that breakdown. Conor defensive ground game is weak maybe why they brought that new guy in? And Conor does not see any danger facing a guy like Diaz for 5 rounds and he my not be told this will be a war and should be prepared for that? Kavanagh is not a bad coach but maybe Conor needs a coach who will push him to the limit and tell him hes not so great?

Firas says Conor is a freak fighter and has all the skills to beat Nate, but hes mindset may not be there to fight a tough fight? He said Conor panicked as he was in territory that he did not understand and did know how to fix it. Interesting he said Conor was not tired, he broke? I agree with that somewhat but i think he got tired from throwing so many shots at a weight he was not used to fighting at too.

The thing is can Conor beat Nate in a rematch, if hes mindset is not prepared for a war? We just have to wait to see if he has got hes head right for this fight?

 

[FeloniousMonk]

He's partly right. Conor was no
doubt surprised & panicked....
But I don't feel that McGregor is
a better fighter OR athlete than
Diaz. They both have their strengths.
But I'd take Diaz any day in a triathlon
or five round fight.

One thing's for sure... Firas' champion
never would've went to war like
McTwoTap did. Not even for a round.
Pierre would've shot for that panic
double LONG before Conor did.


McGregor challenged himself. Stood
in the fire until he couldn't hack it
& found his way out.

I talk a lot of shit to Mcgregor's fans...
but the dude comes to fight.

 

[CPH]

I agree and it definitely is something most posters have no perspective on. I have a bit of a parallel from my own life. I used to be a professional operatic baritone. In one production I was singing the role of Escamillo (a bullfighter) in a production of Carmen. There's a particular scene where Escamillo gets into a knife fight with the lead tenor then immediately has to sing a fairly long recatitive. I went through most of the rehearsal cycle with no problems however one day I went too aggressive in the fight scene and was short of breath for the singing that followed. That resulted in a sort of surprised panic response and I couldn't catch my breath throughout the rest of the scene no matter what I did. From that day until the production was done I would be out of breath every time I did that scene. It didn't matter how I tried to pace myself nor did it matter that I had done the scene dozens of times prior with no problems. It was now in my head and it seemed nothing was going to stop me from running out of breath every time that cue in the music came up.

Shit that's crazy ..and interesting.

 

[CPH]

Firas says Conor is a freak fighter and has all the skills to beat Nate, but hes mindset may not be there to fight a tough fight? He said Conor panicked as he was in territory that he did not understand and did know how to fix it. Interesting he said Conor was not tired, he broke? I agree with that somewhat but i think he got tired from throwing so many shots at a weight he was not used to fighting at too.

I think that both are true: Conor did come out hard and carrying extra weight might have accelerated the feeling of fatigue he normally feels later in the fight.

However, Firas is probably right in saying that instead of pushing through, as someone like Nate would do, Conor's response was "I am dead tired. I can't do this.". I think that this is the moment Conor quit:

He still continued to defend himself after that: making one last rally as he fought his way off the fence, and then attempting to escape the guillotine. But it was pure desperation, not the tactical thinking of someone who plans on winning. After Nate countered the guillotine escape, Conor stopped fighting completely: he rolled over and did nothing to defend his neck, keeping his hands on the mat instead.

 

[Death By Samson]

Did you even read the first post or is comprehension the issue? Diaz didn't really mount his offense until the second, hence he gassed then. That is what Firas is saying.

McGregor winning the first has fuck all to do with what was said. Derp.

Lighten up Francis. I was just parroting the Conor fans' default go to line.

Conor threw everything that he had at Nate and still couldn't hurt him. It won him 1 round and cost him his whole gas tank. And then he got the life strangled out of him.

If you are thinking that I am a Conor fan you are very mistaken.

 

[Ninjarobby]

Basically called mcgregor a punk. Hahah

 

[jojo]

I never thought Conor had that great of cardio. He was gassing in that Mendes fight by the 2nd round as well.

 

[INoHespectChael]

lol who did he pick to win the 1st fight? Could have sworn I remember him saying Conor was going to beat Nate easy.