It's a dumb nickname, but if I recall, he has had other dumb nicknames before this one. I am not a fan, I was hoping he would lose. I don't like how GSP and others name him GSP's heir apparent. I don't think he is GSP level. However, I have much respect for him in that fight. I wonder when in the fight he broke his foot?
Lawler / McDonald to me was the best fight ever. Those on my facebook will know that I am a old school Lawler fan. So him picking apart McDonald was great, then the head kick came in. That got me sqealing behind the sofa cushions. He cleanly blocked that kick, but the force (and most likely the foot connecting behind the neck) did the intended damage. Lawler was not right till the 5th round, you can tell with his obviously wobbly legs, his straightened back and his hands suddenly tight to his chin. But those Left straights to McDonald's nose were amazing. It was a great fight and it was (for me) the more important fight of the night.
http://mmajunkie.com/2015/07/ufc-189-medical-suspensions-rory-macdonald-could-be-out-until-2016 Injury role call !!!
http://www.fightersonlymag.com/inte...cgregor-s-ground-game-wasn-t-flash-at-ufc-189 Frankie trying to get a fight arranged.
[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4TlktBFBI[/ame] Nice breakdown of the main criticisms of the fight. (Although I do dislike the phrase 'haters')
I think using Mendes' comments before the fight to ascertain his condition to go 5 rounds is wrong. He was just using the alpha male generic statement to sound confident. What was he going to say? "I'm really out of shape and let things really slide between fights and need a full camp to get properly fit"? No fighter is going to admit to that and give the opponent a chink in the armour to exploit. Always take a fighters words with a pinch of salt. Was Mendes in good shape? Yes Was Mendes full camp fit? Probably not. But then he probably wasn't banged up from a full camp either (as Mcgregor claimed to be). So swings and roundabouts perhaps?
If we can take Mendes' word that he was in fight shape on 2 weeks notice, and stays that way all year round, then I'm reliably informed Muhammad Ali could float like a butterfly and sting like a bee despite belonging to a totally different genus of organism.
In your opinion, what was the biggest factor in him gassing out in under 2 rounds? a) a lack of conditioning b) or getting teeped in the gut repeatably for the entire match. ps The pass was great, the guillotine to bottom was a tactical error.
Body shots stay with you the entire fight,Mendez wasnt fight fit by the looks of it and Id like to see it again if he had a full camp,wrestlers and wrestling are and is awesome but getting hit whilst having to wrestle takes conditioning to another level,body shots are the wrestlers weakness in general I think
I think it was the initial spin kick to the solar plexus, that really hurt Mendes. My friends and I all reacted at the same time when that connected and you see Mendes, suddenly drop his hands and began moving defensively. It was a very well placed kick, and as I said before. As much as I don't like McGregor, he is very technically sound. His issue was always going to be the grappling and the strength levels against Mendes. That reach though...
Same here. Did not cotton to him at'tall but he has the heart of a lion - in a sport so brutal to be so underpaid (relative to other sports).
All of the above. I don't think we need to identify the biggest factor really. Being in better condition would have helped him take the teeps perhaps. Taking less teeps would have left him in better condition. If you (not just you personally) discount either one I think you aren't viewing the fight correctly. IMHO Mcgregor lovers are disregarding the lack of a full camp and mcgregor haters are disregarding his body shots and kicks. Either one ain't the true picture. Another thing to think about with Mcgregors grappling is that, as rumour has it, he had a hurt MCL in camp (how true that is I don't know). Seeing as he's already been out with a knee injury gained via grappling I can easily see why he chose to stay fairly safe and passive on the ground and not risk tweaking his MCL any more than necessary.
