Just rewatched Nate vs. Johnson and Nate vs. RDA

[Buddhist Ninja]

Nate seemed a lot more game and sharper against Johnson. I think that we can definitely expect him to come in against Conor with more comfort in round 1. He looked very smooth.

As far as RDA goes- it was really shocking to see Nate get man-handled like that and I think that the recently established consensus that Conor would have beat RDA if it wasn't for the pull-out is extremely silly.

RDA brutalized Nate's lead leg and effortlessly took him down again and again.

Why wouldn't he be able to do that Conor?

Same southpaw vs. southpaw dynamics. He also swooshed out of Nate's half-guard a couple of times. Knowing how bad Conor is off his back I think RDA would have finished him on the ground.

Anyways- the only reason I think Conor stands a really good chance against Nate is because he's very smart and he has a brilliant championship mindset- but his recent behavior makes me question that (saying things like he would be champ if RDA didn't pull out, etc- depressive losers think like that and I know because I've been in that dark place).

Seems like he's setting up excuses for his loss too- saying things he never said before (for example- accepting the possibility of a loss).

Another thought that crosses my mind about McGregor is that we think of him as this growth mindset guy that learns from his mistakes to make sure they never repeat but all of his losses result from him panicking on the ground and subsequently tapping- earning him the nickname "McTapper" on the internet.

Unfortunately- he might have Chael Sonnen syndrome where he has some kind of serious psychological condition that leads him to tap any time he faces adversity against a competent submission specialist.

At the end of the day- all I'm doing is armchair psychology but I encourage you all to re-watch those fights

 

[UFCfan91]

No shit

Diaz missed weight by a mile against rda

So was either injured or didn't care

 

[BigNuggetIce]

Wait, so thinking he could win a fight makes him a depressive loser? Did ya think that one through buddy? What do you expect him to say? "Good thing that fight didn't happen. He would've whooped my ass"
Lol come on son. Just admit you felt like a special snow flake & wanted to make another thinly veiled conor hate thread instead of posting in one of the many that's already up.

 

[Drake]

No shit

Diaz missed weight by a mile against rda

So was either injured or didn't care

Would have lost regardless...

 

[lecter]

Nate clearly wasn't on point against RDA but he would have lost that fight 9/10 times, horrible matchup for him

 

[Drake]

As far as RDA goes- it was really shocking to see Nate get man-handled like that

Did you miss the Bendo fight?

 

[Nate Dogg]

It was good Conor got humbled before fighting a legit top LW fighter. Kudos to Nate for gaining popularity, but I don't think he beats anybody in the top 5.

It's lucky Conor fought Nate first because he realized bigger dudes don't go down easily, and Nate doesn't have explosive power like a Barboza, Ferguson, or RDA.

 

[Buddhist Ninja]

Wait, so thinking he could win a fight makes him a depressive loser? Did ya think that one through buddy? What do you expect him to say? "Good thing that fight didn't happen. He would've whooped my ass"
Lol come on son. Just admit you felt like a special snow flake & wanted to make another thinly veiled conor hate thread instead of posting in one of the many that's already up.

He brought it up several times when the interviewers didn't even mention it. I think it shows where his mind is at.

 

[Buddhist Ninja]

Did you miss the Bendo fight?

I thought the Bendo fight was extremely similar to GSP/Nick Diaz.

It was a great display of masterful top control, great game-planning, and stand-versatility but not as much brutalizing as RDA did.

The leg kicks were thunderous and the ground and pound was hateful as fuck.

 

[UFCfan91]

Would have lost regardless...

Obviously yes

Was just saying that's probably why he didn't look sharp

I'd assume he was carrying an injury as he hadn't missed weight once then misses by 5 pounds or something

Rda has leg kicks and wrestling, mates kryptonite

 

[ultimateriley-o]

It shocks me every time someone fights Nate and doesn't stick to a simple, disciplined strategy of non-committed punch combinations to get Nate backing up looking for the check slap hook, then ending those combinations with leg kicks. Hell, you can even throw them naked against Nate. What you can NOT do is get sucked into wanting to hit him in the face so bad you forget about his legs and just try to hit him, whether from frustration, or anger, or trying to get one back when he lands something on you, but so many fighters do it.

 

[Buddhist Ninja]

Obviously yes

Was just saying that's probably why he didn't look sharp

I'd assume he was carrying an injury as he hadn't missed weight once then misses by 5 pounds or something

Rda has leg kicks and wrestling, mates kryptonite

Conor's kryptonite too probably.

In the lead-up to Aldo/Conor a big talking point was how Conor's southpaw stance and straight left was the perfect counter to Aldo's infamous low kicks.

With RDA you don't have that variable and RDA could comfortably fire of his vicious leg kicks.

 

[Peteyandjia]

Nate was obviously injured, he never missed weight before, and he missed it by 5 pounds.

I don't agree with the idea that RDA 'would have beat him anyway'. We simply don't know.

 

[Buddhist Ninja]

It shocks me every time someone fights Nate and doesn't stick to a simple, disciplined strategy of non-committed punch combinations to get Nate backing up looking for the check slap hook, then ending those combinations with leg kicks. Hell, you can even throw them naked against Nate. What you can NOT do is get sucked into wanting to hit him in the face so bad you forget about his legs and just try to hit him, whether from frustration, or anger, or trying to get one back when he lands something on you, but so many fighters do it.

Conor doesn't do Muay Thai. He disrespects Muay Thai. In the Mendes vs. Aldo live cam he ridiculed Aldo and Mendes for using Muay Thai stand-up.

He compares Muay Thai to rock' em' sock' em robots and thinks that it doesn't give fighters enough freedom and fluidity on the feet.

He thinks that hippy bouncing around karate-boxing shit is all that he needs.

The only kind of leg kicks you ever see him throw are those Jon Jones savate kicks.

 

[Peteyandjia]

It's lucky Conor fought Nate first because he realized bigger dudes don't go down easily, and Nate doesn't have explosive power like a Barboza, Ferguson, or RDA.

Nate has a far superior chin to any of those guys. For all we know Conor knocks all 3 of them out.

 

[Buddhist Ninja]

Nate has a far superior chin to any of those guys. For all we know Conor knocks all 3 of them out.

Who do you think has more power, Conor or Nate?

I think that the answer to that question is the answer to who wins between Conor and RDA and a lot of other opponents.

We keep talking about Conor knocking this guy or the other guy out but we forgot to consider the possibility that Conor simply isn't a knockout machine at 155 lbs. no matter how unreliable a lot of the chins in question can be.

 

[ultimateriley-o]

Conor doesn't do Muay Thai. He disrespects Muay Thai. In the Mendes vs. Aldo live cam he ridiculed Aldo and Mendes for using Muay Thai stand-up.

He compares Muay Thai to rock' em' sock' em robots and thinks that it doesn't give fighters enough freedom and fluidity on the feet.

He thinks that hippy bouncing around karate-boxing shit is all that he needs.

The only kind of leg kicks you ever see him throw are those Jon Jones savate kicks.

I remember he said that and it's true he doesn't really ever throw basic Thai-style round kicks. However for an athlete and fighter of Conor's calibre, it would not take long to learn, and it has been a technique proven demonstrably effective against Nate more than once. Conor is also the type of fighter who likes to re-examine himself and try to be a real martial artist using the tools that work, so part of me is expecting to see Conor come out with that in his bag of tricks. Another part of me of course recognizes that there's a good chance Nate just mops the floor with him this time.

 

[Peteyandjia]

Who do you think has more power, Conor or Nate?

Conor.

I think the Diaz chin is an extreme aberration and therefore not a good test by which to measure how much power someone has at a given weight. For all we know, Conor knocks out RDA & Robbie Lawler if he lands the same punches on them.

 

[Buddhist Ninja]

I remember he said that and it's true he doesn't really ever throw basic Thai-style round kicks. However for an athlete and fighter of Conor's calibre, it would not take long to learn, and it has been a technique proven demonstrably effective against Nate more than once. Conor is also the type of fighter who likes to re-examine himself and try to be a real martial artist using the tools that work, so part of me is expecting to see Conor come out with that in his bag of tricks. Another part of me of course recognizes that there's a good chance Nate just mops the floor with him this time.

Nahh my man- as brilliant and skilled as Conor is- for him to suddenly become a great muay thai kicker in the scope of 5 months would mean he he had to completely upgrade his rhythm and movement.

The fact that he brought on Ido Portal full-time suggests that he's taking his touch-butt airy fairy bullshit to the next level.

 

[NotoriousNick]

Who do you think has more power, Conor or Nate?

I think that the answer to that question is the answer to who wins between Conor and RDA and a lot of other opponents.

We keep talking about Conor knocking this guy or the other guy out but we forgot to consider the possibility that Conor simply isn't a knockout machine at 155 lbs. no matter how unreliable a lot of the chins in question can be.

Conor is undoubtedly the more powerful striker. The biggest reason he didn't knock Nate out was because Nate was often leaning away from the left hand so the shots ended up glancing instead of landing clean. Nate's savvy boxing defense had more to do with him not getting knocked out than his chin did IMO.