Conor McGregor yells out to the crowd at the UFC 246 weigh ins. Photo Credit: Reuters
McGregor still wants another title – has the fight game moved on?
Conor McGregor will go down as one of the most watchable and memorable MMA fighters of all time. From the moment of his debut in April 2013, when he won a first-round stoppage against Marcus Brimage, McGregor has provided compelling spectacles.
His rise to the top of the MMA pile was astonishing. Combining movement, angles, speed, fight intelligence and lethal striking, McGregor achieved a 9-1 record in his first 10 fights, earning seven knockouts and a then-record nine bonuses. The first UFC fighter to get his hands on two weight class belts at the same time, he became a huge pay-per-view attraction, an enormous ticket draw and a globally famous example of the rags-to-riches phenomenon.
Fast-forward eight years and McGregor’s star has waned considerably. At UFC 264, he was considered the outsider by BetMGM and sports news sites like World Sports Network (WSN.com), ahead of his trilogy meeting with Dustin Poirier. In the event, he lasted just one round against Dustin Poirier, sustaining a fight-ending serious leg injury and taking his record post 2016 to 1-3. The sole win came against an over-the-hill Donald Cerrone, while he has lost twice to Poirier and once to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
There is no shame in losing to those two, and McGregor has, characteristically, been talking about returning for another title attempt. UFC President Dana White has hinted that McGregor will get a fourth shot at Poirier. However, watching him cycle through some tedious trash talk in the octagon after his latest defeat was an uncomfortable experience. There was no hint of class in his response and the overall impression was embarrassing more than intimidating.
For a time in the build up to UFC 264 and early in the fight itself, it seemed that McGregor might have rediscovered his early career ruthlessness and hunger. His kicking game was ferocious, and he was able to land some significant blows. But he was behind on points at the moment when his nasty leg injury forced the end of the fight and he, more than Poirier, needed the win last month.
So, has MMA moved on? It is hard to make a case that McGregor is being caught out by new strategies. It seems more like he has strayed from the formula that made him successful and is unable to recapture that style.
His rise to the top was propelled by an outside-the-box approach, counting on his magnificent footwork to create angles, taking a patient approach, employing feints and fakes, waiting for his opponent to throw first and catch them on the counter. He hasn’t recaptured that irrepressible style for some time, perhaps since he surrendered his titles back in 2016.
He left MMA to take on the lucrative opportunity of a bout against Floyd Mayweather, with his slim chances in that contest being said to rest on his striking ability. On his return to MMA, he seems to have locked himself into a far more predictable mode. He is more likely to be seen forcing the fight now, pushing hard for the knockout, displaying a lack of patience that is too easy to exploit.
At the same time, his reputation for preparation and staying ahead of the game appears to have deserted him. In his fight with Poirier in January, his opponent landed 18 kicks on his legs in a little over one and a half rounds. This is a well-known tactic that can induce a feeling of numbness in the leg, a dead sensation that can severely compromise a fighter’s effectiveness. Yet McGregor seemed not to be able to counter, as though he hadn’t been expecting it.
In turn, his own lack of an offensive kicking game, or rather, his increasing reluctance to utilize it, has also been notable. As late as August 2016, in his rematch against Nate Diaz, he was using leg kicks to great effect, combining them with his more familiar head and body kicks. However, in recent fights, he has become much more strike-orientated, and more predictable as a result.
Perhaps the biggest question mark against a possible McGregor resurgence is the fact that the one-time plumber is now one of the highest paid sportsmen of all time. His non-sports endeavors have earned him a second fortune in addition to the one amassed in the octagon. He still has a great deal to offer the sport, but does he have the burning hunger? Is that desire to power through the pain and prove everyone wrong still there? That is the question facing McGregor right now.
