How much did the Alvarez title fight change your opinion on Conor's TDD

[taugrim]

So we all saw Conor get taken down repeatedly against Mendes, and on the ground Conor didn't have any offense off his back. At that time, it looked like Conor had been exposed badly against wrestlers given that Mendes came in on short notice. Yes, Conor won, but there was a lot of doubt after that fight.

Then Conor lost against Nate, another short-notice replacement. People at that point figured that Conor lacked TDD, a meaningful ground game, and a gas tank. You know, hype train totally derailed, etc etc.

However, Conor came back against Nate and fought a smart technical fight and proved he had the gas tank to beat an extremely durable and strong cardio fighter in Nate, and knocked Nate down 3 times in the 1st 2 rounds.

The shocker for me was how easily Conor dispatched Eddie, partly because Eddie has solid wrestling and clinch work and has used it successfully in the past, e.g. against Pettis.

Do you buy the rumors that Conor had some sort of leg injury against Mendes and that compromised his TDD? Or do you think Conor has simply improved and/or is healthier now?

I don't think there is much debate that Conor has elite striking for an MMA fighter. He timing, distance management, and accurate strikes are all legit.

Ofc, there's the argument that even if Conor was injured against Chad and has been working on his TDD, Khabib is on a whole different level.

 

[ARONAbeetFEDOR]

It changed. In the span of a few months his TDD became better than Shogun's and Matt Brown's were their whole career.

 

[HaikenEdge]

No, but it did make me think Alvarez's wrestling might not actually be that good.

 

[benibloom]

His TDD is obviously better than Jones and Aldo now

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I think it's been a huge focus of his for the past few years and he's getting better and better at it.

 

[HeDucking]

He had a knee injury going into UFC 189 so that may have had an effect on his TDD but he has certainly improved it leaps and folds over the next couple of fights.

His growth and maturity as a fighter is truly astounding to watch no matter how you feel about his antics outside the Octagon.

 

[20falarVerdades]

Eddie Alvarez is a club fighter with mediocre wrestling, even Nate took Conor down. The only thing Conor offers is a counter left hand, his skillset is extremely limited

 

[Headkicktoleg]

No, but it did make me think Alvarez's wrestling might not actually be that good.

Even though he wrestled his way into a title shot in the hardest division in the UFC?

 

[TheVenom]

I don't know

Eddie looked like the smaller guy and looked scared. Not so much of Conor but of the pressure on his shoulders. Conor is used to the hype and high stakes. Alvarez looked like he couldn't get himself in the game while Conor seemed like he just got out of bed for a quick sparring session.

Conor is clearly better than a lot of us thought, in terms of grappling defense. I, personally, didn't think Alvarez had any advantage coming into the fight.

 

[209NickDiaz]

No, but it did make me think Alvarez's wrestling might not actually be that good.

I've said since the beginning Eddie was a high school wrestler who's rejected into the college wrestling team, way overrated for his wrestling

 

[PutUpYourDux]

No, but it did make me think Alvarez's wrestling might not actually be that good.

It's pretty proven. Pettis has good TDD and he was getting him down.

Conor's ability to manage distance is a TDD within itself.

 

[Soul On Ice]

"Conor didn't improve, Edward suddenly became shit"

 

[HaikenEdge]

Even though he wrestled his way into a title shot in the hardest division in the UFC?

If I recall correctly, the Melendez fight was a pretty wild brawl and Pettis has demonstrated his takedown defense is a major deficiency in his game. Hard to call either those bouts "wrestling his way into a title shot".

 

[Grill master]

So we all saw Conor get taken down repeatedly against Mendes, and on the ground Conor didn't have any offense off his back.

 

[Deleted member 196663]

 

[HeDucking]

Eddie Alvarez is a club fighter with mediocre wrestling, even Nate took Conor down. The only thing Conor offers is a counter left hand, his skillset is extremely limited

Fuckin hell...

 

[HaikenEdge]

"Conor didn't improve, Edward suddenly became shit"

I honestly just never thought Alvarez was that good, but I think that's a function of him losing his UFC debut to Cerrone, who can't seem to win an important fight to save his championship aspirations.

 

[taugrim]

even Nate took Conor down. The only thing Conor offers is a counter left hand, his skillset is extremely limited

IIRC, Nate in the 2nd fight took Conor down late in the 5th round. I can't remember earlier in the 2nd fight.

In the 1st fight Conor was getting tagged and panic-wrestled - I can't remember Nate getting a clean TD.

If the Diaz bros cut off the cage better they'd win more fights. Both are effective in the clinch. I still remember Nick kneeing Zaromskis like a thousand times or mugging BJ against the fence.

 

[Sjb1888]

It just confirmed my belief that Conor has much better take down defense than many have speculated.

And perhaps more importantly, it is very difficult to even attempt a take down without putting your consciousness at risk.

 

[taugrim]

I don't know

Eddie looked like the smaller guy and looked scared. Not so much of Conor but of the pressure on his shoulders. Conor is used to the hype and high stakes. Alvarez looked like he couldn't get himself in the game while Conor seemed like he just got out of bed for a quick sparring session.

Conor is clearly better than a lot of us thought, in terms of grappling defense. I, personally, didn't think Alvarez had any advantage coming into the fight.

Eddie's size is fine. Conor has wide shoulders and long arms, and he knows how to use his reach.

I was expecting Eddie to try to mug Conor against the fence and grapplef#ck him to tire him out. As it turns out, easier said than done.