It took him just 13 seconds to dethrone the once dominant Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo at UFC 194. Sending him face first to the canvas with one left hand to the jaw, followed by two vicious hammer fists to the temple.
In an attempt to make history, he then jumped up a weight class to the lightweight division and took on the champion, Eddie Alvarez. No UFC fighter had ever held world titles simultaneously at two different weight classes; but at UFC 205, that all changed.
Now, if you don’t know who I’m talking about, then perhaps this article isn’t for you, but for the other 95% of the human population, you know exactly who Conor McGregor is.
He’s the guy who ended Aldo’s long Featherweight rain, and he’s the guy who jumped up a weight class and bludgeoned Alvarez inside of two rounds. He’s also overrated.
But, how could this be? No one has ever held two belts at the same time, and everyone who pays attention to the UFC knows just how dominant a champion Aldo was. We also remember his dominant three round performance against the current Featherweight champion Max Holloway.
For me, it’s not that complicated. I look at McGregor and I see a highly athletic fighter who hits hard, fast and accurate. His kicks are amazing as well. Bottom line McGregor’s stand up is one of the best, if not the best in mixed martial arts today. However, I don’t believe his arsenal contains much more.
His MMA wrestling is average at best, and his Jiu-jitsu is nothing to brag about either. These weaknesses in McGregor’s game have been exploited over the course of his career. More so, before he got to the UFC. But, I firmly believe that if you were to put a fighter in front of McGregor with great wrestling it would be clear to everyone what I’m talking about.
Wait! He did fight a wrestler at UFC 189 against Chad Mendes, and he still got the finish inside of two rounds. Yes, he did. That’s because he fought a guy who was given just days to prepare for the fight and was nowhere near in good enough shape to be in a professional five-round fight.
If you go back and actually watch the fight before Mendes gasses out, you will notice that he is controlling the fight with his wrestling and ground control.
Towards the end of the fight when McGregor is able to scramble out of a submission attempt and work his way back up to his feet, you’ll notice that Mendes can barely even hold his hands up to block a punch or kick because he is too exhausted.
So yes he did beat a wrestler, but not one that was in proper fighting shape to perform for more than a couple rounds. Why hasn’t the UFC put him up against Frankie Edgar or Khabib Nurmagomedov? Two fighters that have great lungs, wrestling, and ground control. The answer is simple. The UFC doesn’t want those flights to happen because there is a good chance that McGregor will be exposed.
Believe it or not, I don’t dislike McGregor for his accomplishments or for the amount of money that he has made. Most people would just call me a “hater.” But I’m not. I respect that McGregor comes from humble beginnings. Some might believe that leaving a career as a Plummer to pursue a personal dream of becoming a professional fighter would be a no-brainer, but it’s not.
Leaving a steady paycheck for the uncertain is never easy. I also respect that in a very short amount of time, he has managed to become the pride and soul of Ireland. Any card that he fights on you can expect at least half the crowd to be waving that orange, green and white flag; chanting the name McGregor. All that being said, it still doesn’t change the fact that McGregor is strictly a stand-up fighter.
However, it won’t really matter until he fights someone with solid wrestling. If the time ever comes, where we see “The Notorious” standing across the octagon from an Edgar, an in shape Mendes, Nurmagomedov, Kevin Lee or Tony Ferguson; don’t bet on seeing the same dominant McGregor.
