UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture is well experienced with the fight game and is also an MMA fighter who fought a boxer during his time. If you recall, he fought boxing great James Toney in Tony’s lone MMA appearance.
With all of the drama that has gone on between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi and their sparring video showing McGregor knocking down the former boxing champion, Couture is someone to ask about sparring sessions.
“I definitely see two guys sparring,” Couture said on The Herd with Colin Cowherd (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting). “[But] I’m kind of questioning why there’s an official referee in his uniform there. That’s not a usual thing for a sparring workout. . . [The job of a sparring partner] is to give you a look, to present what your opponent may bring to this fight and to try to mimic that as much as you can. You’re not there to fight, you’re not there prove you can beat this guy or you can compete with this guy. That’s not what it’s about. You’re volunteering or being paid to give this guy a look, give him rounds, give him solid work, and mimic the guy he’s fighting.”
It’s well known by now that Malignaggi ended up leaving the McGregor camp after photos of the sparring session leaked. UFC President Dana White released a highly edited video, which made McGregor appear much better than he is, according to Malignaggi. According to the UFC Hall of Famer, the McGregor sparring video seems more a promotional decision rather than something substantive or instructive.
“This reeks of a publicity stunt to me. Normally, you don’t have an official referee there, presiding over a sparring match. normally, you’d have two or three other partners there that would rotate in on rounds and give each other breaks because it’s tough being that guy. You know when you’re there you’re there to contribute, to help this guy find solutions to the problems his opponent is gonna bring.”
“I give Conor a one in ten chance of winning this fight. He’s unorthodox, he’s a southpaw, he’s not gonna throw things that Floyd’s used to seeing, he’s younger, and he’s a little bigger. Those are all positives for Conor but at the end of the day he’s still competing in a pure boxing match against one of the pound-for-pound best technical, best defensive fighters that we’ve seen in a long, long time.”
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