Talk of Conor facing Islam Makhachev upon his return: Yawn
Despite the fact that McGregor hasn't had a win in years and is probably ranked a lot higher than he should be because of his notoriety, he still makes the news any time there is any talk of who he might face next. Lately, the focus has shifted to his return fight being against a guy who is on a 10-fight winning streak and if they do match these two up I think Islam will be on an 11-fight win streak for one simple reason.
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It's easy for me to understand why Islam would want to face Conor and that reason is money. If you fight Conor, you make a ton of money.... at least for now. For me, I don't understand why McGregor is still a big draw since he hasn't been a force in the sport for quite some time. I'll say it again as I have said many times before: Conor hasn't been the same since he took a lot of time away from MMA in order to face Floyd Mayweather in boxing. Most of the experts agree that everything about his fight style has suffered as a result. Does Conor care? Probably not seeing as how it is estimated that he made $100 million in that one fight vs Mayweather.
When Conor returns I think it would be a very bad idea for him to face Makhachev because of one very important reason: Conor's ground game is not good and this is exactly where Islam immediately tries to put all of his opponents as early as possible. He is very good at it to the point where I find most of his fights, despite the fact that they are mostly wins, to be very boring.
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He is patient. He tends to box a bit with his opponents luring them into a close game or to get them involved in a kick game and then he grapples like a spider monkey and will slowly but surely move into a submission position. Sometimes he turns this into ground and pound but for the most part, he is a submission artist which I realize is a major part of the sport but one that I find to be boring.
He has 3 wins by KO and 10 wins by submission. I am not discounting a submission victory because they are just as much of a win as a walk-away lights-out overhand right, I just don't find it as entertaining as stand-up game. That is just a personal preference.
I realize that UFC is looking for a way to quickly put Conor back into the limelight upon his return in 2022, or so he hopes, but putting McGregor against a guy who excels at what is largely-considered the weakest part of Conor's game would be a very quick way to show McGregor the exit and financially speaking from UFC's perspective, I think it would be a very bad choice for them to make.
When Islam was asked about a potential match against the former 2-division champion he had this to say
"Honestly, I don't remember when this guy beat someone, I'm going to smash him like easy. Bobby Green is going to be harder for me than for him."
If Islam takes Conor to the ground, which of course will be his objective to start with, it is game over.
Dana is interested in keeping Conor in the headlines as long as possible so I am thinking that this talk of these two facing is going to disappear pretty quickly. For the sake of having entertaining fights, I really hope that this one does go away.
We also need to factor in that Conor is over-ranked at 9th place and that Islam is number 4 and probably should be shooting for a title shot instead, then I don't think that the UFC should really let this fight happen. With a 10 win streak, Makhachev should have his eyes on the belt, not on a big-mouthed washed up has been with only 1 submission win in his entire career.
But then again, money drives the motivations in a lot of people's lives and even though he doesn't deserve it anymore in my mind, Conor is still the biggest draw in the sport.
Me, I see it as a way for Islam's name to be out there, because nobody still knows who he is, unless you're into MMA.
Islam is such a humble guy, that it took so long for him to be where he is at, but I think he would steamroll Conor, the only thing that could happen, is that Islam is a bit better on his feet than Khabib, and could fall in love with his own striking against Conor and stop listening to his corner, this is actually the only path to victory for Conor.
Which means, the only way for Conor to win, is to trash talk Islam on a different level, and hope that he forgets about his game plan.
I agree with you, fuck Conor, I can't believe I use to admire the guy when he was fighting Alvarez, and now I despise him so much, as a father & family man I can't understand his mentality, a dude like this should be punished, for everything that he did.
Not to get conspiratorial, but he is also a serial abuser, has just paid many cases to be closed, and swept under the rug, because every time he is on coke, he can't help himself, he's going to take his dick out and show it to people. (I am not kidding, there are reports of him doing that, and much worse).
Conor was able to get away with just about anything back in the day when he was a force in the sport but these days people are turning on him in droves because he is no longer dominant. He really isn't even a player when his only victory in years is against a washed up Cowboy that takes any fight as often as possible.
I didn't know about him "whipping it out" but it certainly is believable when he throws things at buses and punches old men and doesn't really get punished for it.
Conor is a washed up has been and needs to get out before he is seriously hurt. His ego is getting in the way and surely he has enough money to retire.
I think his hunger is gone and the lack of need for money is likely a big part of that. Even though I don't like the guy I hope that he doesn't pull a Mike Tyson and burn through 300 million and then have to beg for fights. Ideally, he should probably get a few more fights under his belt and attempt to retire with grace. But I think we all know that isn't going to happen... he is far too arrogant.
Does Connor still have what it takes to win in the octagon?
Against mid-card players or washed up oldies yeah. At the higher levels though I think his time is done.
I agree.
I think Conor knows this and will try as much as possible to avoid it. Either way, it's going to be an interesting watch if the fight happens.
Good greetings,
I hope he can throughout the match. But reading comments here as I haven't watched Islam at all or Conor that much,it's a tall order for Conor, if the fight happens.
Please how do you guys highlight an aspect of a person's post the way you did now?I use a phone.
Thanks
nobody has been able to prevent Makhachev from taking them to the ground. Conor's takedown defense isn't even very good and there is no way that Islam is going to try to make this a boxing match. For me, I hope the fight never happens and I don't think it would since Conor knows he would get embarrassed.
Ok thanks for the insight.
PLEASE MY SECOND PARAGRAPH IS BEGGING FOR ANSWER.
Cheers
I don't know how to do that on a phone buddy, sorry. I have never interacted with Hive on a phone. maybe it can be done the same way that it is done using a keyboard where you just highlight the section you want to feature and then put ">" in front of it
Okay thanks, for the reply. Well understood. I would still try it,perhaps🤷♂️
Conor no tiene absolutamente nada que buscar frente a Islam, lo van a derrotar fácilmente, el estilo de pelea de Makhachev se impone fácilmente al de Conor, para Islam está buscando su buena bolsa de dinero, pero además la UFC pudiera utilizar eso a su favor, porque probablemente Makhachev sea campeón o posible campeón y necesitan a un hombre que venda peleas.
Cómo Islam no es un luchador que llame muchos fanáticos, colocarlo contra Conor le daría popularidad, todos los que se han enfrentado a Mcgregor han ganado muchos fanáticos y si la UFC usa eso para atraer gente a Islam será perfecto.