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I have been thinking about the notion of poor performances due to fighters doing something different in their training. Fighters can do so many things different such as change camps, weight, coaches, sparring partners, etc. But what got me thinking about this recently was Connor Mcgregor and Jon Jones.
For Mcgregor, it was clear that he did not look like his 145lb self. His superiority in striking and movement was evident in round 1 vs Nate Diaz. However, round 2 he looked gassed and his movement was far less than it was in round 1. This could be because of fighting a "bigger" man, but he was able to do so fairly easily in round 1. I think the problem here was that Mcgregor was carrying far to much weight which caused him to gas early. The guy does not train to fight at 170lbs, he was used to training to fight at 145 and 155lbs. I suspect the regimen required and practices for a 170lb fight are different than the two weight classes he has fought at before. Nate Diaz had the advantage of fighting at this weight class before and he could adjust accordingly, while Mcgregor did not.
For Jon Jones, while some may think this notion is crazy. Rashad Evans said it best on the MMA hour last week, "someone who does something (cocaine) for so long and wins doing that, won't think there is a problem". This tradition that Jones had with doing drugs and partying was apart of his ritual, he still won, and contrary to what people think it might have been a way to battle his stresses with being a super star (put him into another place). It clearly worked for him, as he was dominant over every single opponent. I think with no drugs and a new ritual in place, he will have a hard time adjusting and ultimately lose to DC.
For Mcgregor, it was clear that he did not look like his 145lb self. His superiority in striking and movement was evident in round 1 vs Nate Diaz. However, round 2 he looked gassed and his movement was far less than it was in round 1. This could be because of fighting a "bigger" man, but he was able to do so fairly easily in round 1. I think the problem here was that Mcgregor was carrying far to much weight which caused him to gas early. The guy does not train to fight at 170lbs, he was used to training to fight at 145 and 155lbs. I suspect the regimen required and practices for a 170lb fight are different than the two weight classes he has fought at before. Nate Diaz had the advantage of fighting at this weight class before and he could adjust accordingly, while Mcgregor did not.
For Jon Jones, while some may think this notion is crazy. Rashad Evans said it best on the MMA hour last week, "someone who does something (cocaine) for so long and wins doing that, won't think there is a problem". This tradition that Jones had with doing drugs and partying was apart of his ritual, he still won, and contrary to what people think it might have been a way to battle his stresses with being a super star (put him into another place). It clearly worked for him, as he was dominant over every single opponent. I think with no drugs and a new ritual in place, he will have a hard time adjusting and ultimately lose to DC.
