After his historic win at UFC 205, Conor McGregor sent the MMA world in to a frenzy once again. Finishing Eddie Alvarez in the second round, McGregor broke the record as first champion to hold belts in two weight classes at once. Obviously the praise has poured in for McGregor, with his name being included in many debates about GOAT status. Yesterday Alvarez himself paid homage to McGregor’s skill, while also pointing out his own shortcomings.
With fights in multiple weight classes possible, ‘The Notorious’ steamrolls ahead in typically brash fashion. Another point of much discussion has been the method the smooth Irish striker used to dethrone Alvarez. Timing his opponent’s punches to inch-perfect accuracy, McGregor was able to avoid absorbing damage and inflict incredible punishment of his own. Although a top shelf athlete for sure, ‘The Silent Assassin’ was made to look average, at best.
Hands
It was all about the boxing of Conor McGregor in New York, and of course the topic of Floyd Mayweather would instantly re-emerge in the aftermath of UFC 205. Talking both about McGregor’s performance and a boxing match with Mayweather, Eddie Alvarez’s striking coach Mark Henry was highly complimentary of ‘The Notorious.’ The renowned stand up coach spoke with Luke Thomas, as quoted by MMAFighting.com.
“You cannot teach somebody how to swing like that. It takes hips, it takes a certain shoulder, it takes a flick of the wrist, there are so many tiny mechanics. What it takes to make an eyeball work is what it takes to make the perfect swing. Like Babe Ruth. I just compare Conor – his swing – to Babe Ruth. I always watch tape of it but to be that close and watch it was a whole other thing.
“It comes along once in a lifetime or once every hundred years or what not. I think God has just blessed him with a swing that I’ll probably never see again. Before this fight, I would highly doubt him fighting Mayweather, but I think this dude can take out Mayweather. I’m not even joking.”
High Praise
These are poignant comments from a striking coach as credentialed as Mark Henry, but perhaps more so as McGregor just defeated his student. Henry continued:
“I don’t know if it went [long] but I could easily see him knocking anybody out. Like I said, it’s like a Babe Ruth swing. There’s so many little things that you need to make it work, like even if you lean a little forward too much or you don’t turn your hips at the exact time. Also too, his range.
He knows his range so well. A punch could be an inch – less than that – seven centimeters from his face and he won’t pull his head back because he knows it’s not gonna hit. A lot of times he’ll slide back his head and counter. If you don’t slide back your head, the punch comes even faster. There’s time he won’t even slip back his head because he knows it’s not gonna hit him.
“Mayweather’s so good with his defense but Conor’s so dang precise. Eddie is such an incredible athlete and Eddie is such a veteran and Eddie’s resume – he’s fought and beat all world champions. Eddie’s incredible. But it’s just so many different things. How precise he is, the power that he has…Just his pure swing. When you see it up close it’s even more impressive. ”
“And not even that, to go farther. Like that last four-punch combination he threw on Eddie, to know where his head is gonna be on all four moves. He just knows way ahead of time where you’re gonna be. So many different things go into what he’s doing. His eyes are so focused to just know where somebody’s head is gonna be or tricking somebody where their head is gonna be, setting it up with your feet. What he does is just incredible.”
Coming next for Conor McGregor is…well, that’s anyone’s guess.
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