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October 6th marks perhaps the most important date in the past few years of Mixed Martial Arts. Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, the two kings of the UFC‘s most talent-rich division, will finally meet inside the Octagon.
Once every so often, a fight comes along that seems to define a generation. McGregor and Nurmagomedov have been on opposite ends of the build-up for several years, and the result seems destined to be a performance that transcends the sport itself. The undefeated whirling-dervish of takedowns and ground and pound meets perhaps the slickest boxer the sport has ever seen. Their meeting will crown the king of MMA’s strongest division. In light of the position both fighters inhabit, the title on the line is almost of secondary interest, taking a back seat to the question of legacy.
For McGregor, this fight represents his first opportunity to solidify his claim to lightweight dominance by mounting a title defense (even if it is only the lineal title) after being quickly foisted into a title shot against Eddie Alvarez two years ago.
Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, had been unduly kept out of the title picture for years due to poor timing and injury woes, before having the title thrust upon him in a win over the somehow-top-15-ranked Al Iaquinta, once again unduly. For Khabib, the fight represents his first shot at a truly legitimate title.
McGregor versus Nurmagomedov may well be that generation-defining fight. The winner may well be that generation-defining athlete.
In this series, I will examine the respective skill sets of McGregor and Nurmagomedov, and finally, the match-up itself.
McGregor vs Nurmagomedov: A Conor McGregor Primer
Conor McGregor has quickly become the hottest commodity in combat sports. After winning the lightweight title over Alvarez in 2016, McGregor held the belt hostage while campaigning for a Floyd Mayweather payday. The question of whether or not he would compete again in MMA was left up in the air.
Now, two years after he first captured the lightweight title, McGregor makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
In it’s simplest form, McGregor’s game is that of an aggressive counter-puncher. While fighters who primarily deliver their offense through counters often struggle to encourage their opponents to take the kind of actions they need to react to, McGregor’s pressure serves to draw the reactions he wants.
McGregor tends to come right out of the gate aggressive, eating up space and pushing his opponent toward the cage. If they concede enough ground, McGregor is happy to step in and blast them with their back to the cage, but most opponents will lash out to regain ground before running themselves onto the cage. It is precisely this reaction that McGregor wants, and his best work is done on the counter as his opponent lashes out.
His pressure also serves to tilt engagements in his favor. With his opponent nearing the fence and McGregor’s back to the Octagon, he has all the space available. McGregor can freely give ground and make his opponent miss, while his opponent remains trapped along the cage. The knowledge of this inequality is constantly bearing on the mind of a fighter experiencing pressure, and many strike out in desperation without thoughtful setup in order to hurriedly regain the ground they are losing. This too works in McGregor’s favor, as desperate reactions make opponents all the more vulnerable to his counters.
The Left Hand
McGregor is famous for a left hand as versatile as it is accurate and powerful. His ancillary skills serve to funnel opponents into the left straight, while the punch itself acts as a delivery system through which McGregor leverages positional advantages. McGregor possesses one of the more versatile rear hands in the sport, effective as both a lead and a counter. While he typically favors long-range straight punches, McGregor will close distance and land the rear hand as a short hook behind the ear when facing fellow southpaws.
The inside-angle straight has been covered extensively: McGregor will often concede outside foot position, allowing his opponent to gain what is somewhat dogmatically considered an advantageous position.
Once his opponent has stepped outside and thrown their rear hand, McGregor will take a short hop-step back or slip outside the punch and pivot to face their center-line. This gives McGregor a truly dominant angle, allowing him to face his opponent while they face away from him. The ensuing counter straight splits the opponent’s stance, distributing its force across the plain of his body. Because the stance is set up to deal with an opponent you are directly facing, a punch coming from the side will deal more damage, as it leaves you without a firmly planted rear leg with which to cushion the impact.
Another application of the inside-angle straight is as a lead while the opponent circles outside the lead foot. McGregor’s opponents will often seek to avoid the left hand by circling away from it. When they are well outside the lead foot and moving away from the power hand, they will often let their guard down, believing their positioning keeps them safe.
McGregor needs only track their movement with his lead foot in order to adjust the targeting on his straight. A slightly exaggerated pivot on the ball of his rear foot with the punch adjusts his hips, lining them up with his target.
Although the inside angle allows one to square opponents up and catch them unaware, outside foot position shortens the distance on the rear hand, making it quicker and easier to land. McGregor mixes up his footwork, stepping inside and outside the lead foot as necessary.
McGregor will often use a leaping lead uppercut to close distance and plant his foot outside his opponent’s stance, setting up the straight left. There’s an added element of concealment to his uppercut, as it uses the same preliminary motion as his straight. To set the uppercut up, he’ll fold over his lead hip as if he’s throwing the left. Here Holloway reacts to the threat of the left and widens his guard, opening up the uppercut down the middle.
When McGregor sets his straight up with the lead hand or takes a dominant angle, he’ll commit to it fully, pivoting on the ball of the rear foot and sinking his hips down into the punch. When he leads directly with the straight on an opponent standing in front of him, however, McGregor adjusts his punching form to afford him additional speed and concealment.
McGregor shortens up his straight, sacrificing power for blistering speed. Part of the delivery is completed before the straight is thrown – McGregor’s weight is on the lead leg, the ball of his foot is planted into the ground with his heel up, and his hips are already slightly turned. All that’s left is to push off the ball of the rear foot and rotate the trunk through.
Because the front foot bears weight before the punch, there is very little weight transfer involved. The punch is delivered with a spring off the rear foot rather than a sinking of the hips, which again increases speed while reducing power.
This tactic of shortening up the straight by completing part of its delivery in advance is favored by many boxing greats, such as Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Landing the Straight
Everyone knows that McGregor’s typical game revolves around landing his straight left. While such a tightly focused A-game may seem to impose a constraint on McGregor’s ability, he possesses an incredibly deep arsenal of tactics to create engagements which make the straight left viable.
McGregor’s jab has traditionally been somewhat of an afterthought in his game, but it serves its primary purpose of setting up his rear hand well.
https://gfycat.com/tepidsharpamericanrobin
McGregor uses a quick, back-handed jab to draw his opponent’s attention away from the rear hand and set up his straight left. This jab works in company with McGregor’s hand-fighting, as he will draw the opponent’s lead arm wide by extending his own, before drawing his forearm back and snapping it out inside his opponent’s lead hand. It isn’t a hurting jab, but its primary purpose is distraction and setup.
One the jab has been established as a threat, McGregor begins feinting it actively. Forcing the opponent to evaluate whether any twitch of the lead shoulder precedes a committed jab adds another layer of concealment onto his rear hand. The feints also allow McGregor to close distance while his opponent is distracted, sneaking his lead foot closer in order to put them right in line with his rear hand.
https://gfycat.com/fantasticaptbear
McGregor throws a quick jab, which prompts Eddie Alvarez to fold over his rear hip to avoid it. A slight twitch of the lead shoulder and raise of the lead hand convinces Alvarez another jab is on its way, prompting him to over-commit his weight onto his lead hip, which leaves him wide open for the straight.
Note also how McGregor closes distance off the feints. As he throws the first jab, his rear leg sneaks up slightly, which allows him to step the lead leg forward without getting too wide in his stance. The second feint is accompanied by a deep step with the lead leg which takes McGregor directly into the punching range of Alvarez, who is too worried about McGregor’s offense to land any of his own.
Continued here...
I have a Khabib breakdown coming out in a few days, but I'll post it in the grappling forum because, you know, he's a grappler.
Once every so often, a fight comes along that seems to define a generation. McGregor and Nurmagomedov have been on opposite ends of the build-up for several years, and the result seems destined to be a performance that transcends the sport itself. The undefeated whirling-dervish of takedowns and ground and pound meets perhaps the slickest boxer the sport has ever seen. Their meeting will crown the king of MMA’s strongest division. In light of the position both fighters inhabit, the title on the line is almost of secondary interest, taking a back seat to the question of legacy.
For McGregor, this fight represents his first opportunity to solidify his claim to lightweight dominance by mounting a title defense (even if it is only the lineal title) after being quickly foisted into a title shot against Eddie Alvarez two years ago.
Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, had been unduly kept out of the title picture for years due to poor timing and injury woes, before having the title thrust upon him in a win over the somehow-top-15-ranked Al Iaquinta, once again unduly. For Khabib, the fight represents his first shot at a truly legitimate title.
McGregor versus Nurmagomedov may well be that generation-defining fight. The winner may well be that generation-defining athlete.
In this series, I will examine the respective skill sets of McGregor and Nurmagomedov, and finally, the match-up itself.
McGregor vs Nurmagomedov: A Conor McGregor Primer
Conor McGregor has quickly become the hottest commodity in combat sports. After winning the lightweight title over Alvarez in 2016, McGregor held the belt hostage while campaigning for a Floyd Mayweather payday. The question of whether or not he would compete again in MMA was left up in the air.
Now, two years after he first captured the lightweight title, McGregor makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon.
In it’s simplest form, McGregor’s game is that of an aggressive counter-puncher. While fighters who primarily deliver their offense through counters often struggle to encourage their opponents to take the kind of actions they need to react to, McGregor’s pressure serves to draw the reactions he wants.
McGregor tends to come right out of the gate aggressive, eating up space and pushing his opponent toward the cage. If they concede enough ground, McGregor is happy to step in and blast them with their back to the cage, but most opponents will lash out to regain ground before running themselves onto the cage. It is precisely this reaction that McGregor wants, and his best work is done on the counter as his opponent lashes out.
His pressure also serves to tilt engagements in his favor. With his opponent nearing the fence and McGregor’s back to the Octagon, he has all the space available. McGregor can freely give ground and make his opponent miss, while his opponent remains trapped along the cage. The knowledge of this inequality is constantly bearing on the mind of a fighter experiencing pressure, and many strike out in desperation without thoughtful setup in order to hurriedly regain the ground they are losing. This too works in McGregor’s favor, as desperate reactions make opponents all the more vulnerable to his counters.
The Left Hand
McGregor is famous for a left hand as versatile as it is accurate and powerful. His ancillary skills serve to funnel opponents into the left straight, while the punch itself acts as a delivery system through which McGregor leverages positional advantages. McGregor possesses one of the more versatile rear hands in the sport, effective as both a lead and a counter. While he typically favors long-range straight punches, McGregor will close distance and land the rear hand as a short hook behind the ear when facing fellow southpaws.
The inside-angle straight has been covered extensively: McGregor will often concede outside foot position, allowing his opponent to gain what is somewhat dogmatically considered an advantageous position.
Once his opponent has stepped outside and thrown their rear hand, McGregor will take a short hop-step back or slip outside the punch and pivot to face their center-line. This gives McGregor a truly dominant angle, allowing him to face his opponent while they face away from him. The ensuing counter straight splits the opponent’s stance, distributing its force across the plain of his body. Because the stance is set up to deal with an opponent you are directly facing, a punch coming from the side will deal more damage, as it leaves you without a firmly planted rear leg with which to cushion the impact.
Another application of the inside-angle straight is as a lead while the opponent circles outside the lead foot. McGregor’s opponents will often seek to avoid the left hand by circling away from it. When they are well outside the lead foot and moving away from the power hand, they will often let their guard down, believing their positioning keeps them safe.
McGregor needs only track their movement with his lead foot in order to adjust the targeting on his straight. A slightly exaggerated pivot on the ball of his rear foot with the punch adjusts his hips, lining them up with his target.
Although the inside angle allows one to square opponents up and catch them unaware, outside foot position shortens the distance on the rear hand, making it quicker and easier to land. McGregor mixes up his footwork, stepping inside and outside the lead foot as necessary.
McGregor will often use a leaping lead uppercut to close distance and plant his foot outside his opponent’s stance, setting up the straight left. There’s an added element of concealment to his uppercut, as it uses the same preliminary motion as his straight. To set the uppercut up, he’ll fold over his lead hip as if he’s throwing the left. Here Holloway reacts to the threat of the left and widens his guard, opening up the uppercut down the middle.
When McGregor sets his straight up with the lead hand or takes a dominant angle, he’ll commit to it fully, pivoting on the ball of the rear foot and sinking his hips down into the punch. When he leads directly with the straight on an opponent standing in front of him, however, McGregor adjusts his punching form to afford him additional speed and concealment.
McGregor shortens up his straight, sacrificing power for blistering speed. Part of the delivery is completed before the straight is thrown – McGregor’s weight is on the lead leg, the ball of his foot is planted into the ground with his heel up, and his hips are already slightly turned. All that’s left is to push off the ball of the rear foot and rotate the trunk through.
Because the front foot bears weight before the punch, there is very little weight transfer involved. The punch is delivered with a spring off the rear foot rather than a sinking of the hips, which again increases speed while reducing power.
This tactic of shortening up the straight by completing part of its delivery in advance is favored by many boxing greats, such as Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Landing the Straight
Everyone knows that McGregor’s typical game revolves around landing his straight left. While such a tightly focused A-game may seem to impose a constraint on McGregor’s ability, he possesses an incredibly deep arsenal of tactics to create engagements which make the straight left viable.
McGregor’s jab has traditionally been somewhat of an afterthought in his game, but it serves its primary purpose of setting up his rear hand well.
https://gfycat.com/tepidsharpamericanrobin
McGregor uses a quick, back-handed jab to draw his opponent’s attention away from the rear hand and set up his straight left. This jab works in company with McGregor’s hand-fighting, as he will draw the opponent’s lead arm wide by extending his own, before drawing his forearm back and snapping it out inside his opponent’s lead hand. It isn’t a hurting jab, but its primary purpose is distraction and setup.
One the jab has been established as a threat, McGregor begins feinting it actively. Forcing the opponent to evaluate whether any twitch of the lead shoulder precedes a committed jab adds another layer of concealment onto his rear hand. The feints also allow McGregor to close distance while his opponent is distracted, sneaking his lead foot closer in order to put them right in line with his rear hand.
https://gfycat.com/fantasticaptbear
McGregor throws a quick jab, which prompts Eddie Alvarez to fold over his rear hip to avoid it. A slight twitch of the lead shoulder and raise of the lead hand convinces Alvarez another jab is on its way, prompting him to over-commit his weight onto his lead hip, which leaves him wide open for the straight.
Note also how McGregor closes distance off the feints. As he throws the first jab, his rear leg sneaks up slightly, which allows him to step the lead leg forward without getting too wide in his stance. The second feint is accompanied by a deep step with the lead leg which takes McGregor directly into the punching range of Alvarez, who is too worried about McGregor’s offense to land any of his own.
Continued here...
I have a Khabib breakdown coming out in a few days, but I'll post it in the grappling forum because, you know, he's a grappler.
