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I didn't see this posted so here you guys go. And by "guys" I don't mean the useless posters on this forum that've never even tried to break a fight down for themselves.
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/jack-slack-how-conor-mcgregor-dispatched-of-dennis-siver
PS: I replaced Jack's YouTube video of the fight with Connor Dillon showing McGregor ending the fight with a check (to a leg kick) with my own HTML5 GFYCat video so you don't have to guess when it happens or know the specific time in the video.
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/jack-slack-how-conor-mcgregor-dispatched-of-dennis-siver
They say that the Irish treat a serious thing as a joke, and a joke as a serious thing. Seeing the reactions to the comically manipulative matchmaking that was Conor McGregor versus Dennis Siver, you could certainly believe that.
Siver never had a chance as The Notorious Conor McGregor picked him apart at range. In the co-main event Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson went at it for a third time, and on the rest of the card there were some quality finishes and an awful decision.
So without further delay, let's talk about the fights.
McGregor Cements His Claim
There might not be a better pure striker at featherweight than Conor McGregor. Coming into the sport with a good boxing pedigree, and the reactions and counters to put away anyone who swung at him, McGregor has rounded out his game, while keeping his focus in the right place.
It all begins with those so-called “hipster kicks”, the hook kicks and spinning kicks. They aren't so much to knock the opponent out (though if they do, fantastic) but to force the opponent to return. If you've got McGregor standing in front of you, with his arms out and his mouth moving, you know he's looking to counter you. When he's spinning or throwing hook kicks, fighters forget this.
After every spin or kick, McGregor is back in his stance and ready to bounce back, or slip a punch, and return with his bread and butter left hand. He doesn't kick at opponents, he kicks to them—there is no sacrificing his stance for power as you will often see out of power kickers like Donald Cerrone or Edson Barboza.
The side kick which McGregor debuted in the Holloway fight was on full display, serving the dual purpose of forcing range and setting up McGregor's bicycle kicks, a la Saenchai. Where McGregor will often feint the lead leg kick and jump into a snap kick, he had tremendous success with a jump into a knee strike and a jump into a round kick.
For Siver's part, it was pretty much what most of us expected. His constant attempts to throw that straight arm left hook, and his dangling right hand throughout, had him ducking into left high kicks, just as he did against Donald Cerrone. He's a game fighter, but he's predictable and limited in his striking, and he's getting slower.
McGregor landing the left straight at range, the high kick as Siver goes to his one-size-fits-all counter left hook, and Siver cutting out McGregor's standing leg. More on that in a moment.
The end came in the second round as McGregor had ground Siver down and kept him at range. His long left straights had been connecting since early on, and one more put Siver down to be mounted and finished with strikes.
While Siver looked woefully outclassed—as was the point of this fight—he did at a couple of points demonstrate something that has been discussed for a while, the balance of Conor McGregor. McGregor's stance, long and narrow, is very susceptible to low kicks. But when fighters see this, they think inside low kick, and that leads to them kicking the shin and knee all night.
McGregor ending a fight with a good check.
Even in a long stance, you're just a slight turn of the leg away from checking an inside low kick—McGregor ended an early fight like this, and Max Holloway broke his foot early on by attempting the same thing. The exact same thing happened in Cyborg versus Nick Diaz. See the long stance, think 'low kicks', then punt his shin ineffectually until you are forced to give up.
No it is the outside low kick that troubles men with stances like McGregor's. On the few instances he eats them, he loses his balance just as Nate Diaz did against Benson Henderson and Rafael Dos Anjos. From the narrow stance that McGregor uses to facilitate springing in and out, and turning for kicks, checking the outside low kick is a large movement away, and the effects of the kick result in a loss of balance. You could see the exact same thing happening to Conor McGregor's teammate who also works from this narrow stance, Patrick Holohan.
This same thing happens to McGregor maybe once a fight against opponents who aren't really looking for it. Against an opponent with disciplined game plan, this kind of small loss of control can turn into bigger things.
Moreover, McGregor's constant kicking leaves him open to cut kicking of the standing leg, as Siver did successfully a couple of times.
By crushing Siver (who mysteriously crept up the rankings between the time the bout was announced and the closing of the cage door), McGregor has booked himself into a fight with featherweight king, Jose Aldo. And really, it had to be this way because aside from Cub Swanson, there's no one left for The Notorious One to fight in the UFC top fifteen who could be described as “not a wrestler”.

But all of my cynicism and distrust of promoters aside, frankly, it's a fascinating match up! McGregor's counter striking—particularly his ability to lead and counter-the-counter, makes him a threat that Aldo, hasn't faced. Meanwhile, Aldo's vaunted low kicking game might all mean nought against the southpaw McGregor if he chooses to focus on inside low kicks with his strong right leg rather than training to use his weaker left to exploit McGregor's stance.
PS: I replaced Jack's YouTube video of the fight with Connor Dillon showing McGregor ending the fight with a check (to a leg kick) with my own HTML5 GFYCat video so you don't have to guess when it happens or know the specific time in the video.
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