Video: Conor McGregor’s Coach Releases Vlog Showing UFC 205 Preparations

conor-roddy-205-vlog

https://youtu.be/kq2rlI-C51U

As if “The Mac Life” and “UFC 205 Embedded” weren’t enough, a third ongoing documentary series leading up to Conor McGregor’s historic “Champion vs. Champion” fight against Lightweight Title holder Eddie Alvarez at Saturday’s UFC 205 mega-event is now available.

Featured above is episode two of a documentary series produced by the UFC Featherweight Champion’s striking coach Owen Roddy, which like “The Mac Life” and “UFC 205 Embedded,” follows “The Notorious” one as he finishes up his preparations for his historic Octagon showdown with Alvarez this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

TheMacLife.com lists the following description with the second episode of Owen Roddy’s UFC 205 vlog:

“If you haven’t been following Owen Roddy’s vlog, you’re missing out.

“The man behind SBG Charlestown isn’t just an Irish MMA legend, or Conor McGregor’s striking coach, he’s also become a bit of a viral sensation following the success of his video blogs during the days leading up to The Notorious bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.

“Well he’s back again, and this time he’s in New York, catching all the stuff Embedded misses out on.”

UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor takes place on Saturday, November 12th from the world-famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York City.

Join us here at MMANews.com on 11/12 for live round-by-round results coverage of the entire UFC 205 pay-per-view.

conor-roddy-205-vlog

https://youtu.be/kq2rlI-C51U

As if “The Mac Life” and “UFC 205 Embedded” weren’t enough, a third ongoing documentary series leading up to Conor McGregor’s historic “Champion vs. Champion” fight against Lightweight Title holder Eddie Alvarez at Saturday’s UFC 205 mega-event is now available.

Featured above is episode two of a documentary series produced by the UFC Featherweight Champion’s striking coach Owen Roddy, which like “The Mac Life” and “UFC 205 Embedded,” follows “The Notorious” one as he finishes up his preparations for his historic Octagon showdown with Alvarez this Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

TheMacLife.com lists the following description with the second episode of Owen Roddy’s UFC 205 vlog:

“If you haven’t been following Owen Roddy’s vlog, you’re missing out.

“The man behind SBG Charlestown isn’t just an Irish MMA legend, or Conor McGregor’s striking coach, he’s also become a bit of a viral sensation following the success of his video blogs during the days leading up to The Notorious bout with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.

“Well he’s back again, and this time he’s in New York, catching all the stuff Embedded misses out on.”

UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor takes place on Saturday, November 12th from the world-famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York City.

Join us here at MMANews.com on 11/12 for live round-by-round results coverage of the entire UFC 205 pay-per-view.

Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez: The Complete Breakdown at UFC 205

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor takes on UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on Saturday in the first matchup of reigning titleholders since BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre clashed at UFC 94 back in 2009.
This is a fight of epic p…

UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor takes on UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 on Saturday in the first matchup of reigning titleholders since BJ Penn and Georges St-Pierre clashed at UFC 94 back in 2009.

This is a fight of epic proportions. Not only is it a matchup of two reigning champions, but McGregor is by far the biggest draw in the history of the sport and one of its two biggest stars, and he faces Alvarez on the biggest possible stage at Madison Square Garden in the UFC’s first trip to New York in the modern era. This card will probably be the highest-selling event in UFC history.

With all of that history and context in mind, it’s easy to forget what a great pure fight this is. 

Don’t listen to those who try to denigrate his accomplishments: McGregor is on one of the epic runs in the sport’s history right now, winning eight of his nine fights in the UFC, six of them by devastating knockout.

He finished Jose Aldo, the best featherweight in MMA history and an all-time great who hadn’t lost in a decade, in 13 seconds with the first punch he threw. He avenged his loss to Nate Diaz, albeit with some controversy. He finished Dustin Poirier and Chad Mendes and took a one-sided decision from Max Holloway, who has since won nine in a row and shown he’s one of the best 145-pounders in the world.

That’s a resume any fighter could be proud of.

Alvarez is no slouch either. The longtime Bellator lightweight champion entered the UFC with a ton of momentum, having compiled an incredible resume over his decade in the sport and avenged his only recent loss to Michael Chandler. He fell to Donald Cerrone in his UFC debut, though, and eked out a pair of close split decisions over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis. 

When Alvarez received a title shot against the dominant Rafael Dos Anjos, it was more a matter of timing and career achievements than what he had done recently. Still, Alvarez made the most of it, blasting the Brazilian with a brutal right hand in the first round to set up the finishing flurry. 

With the UFC title under his belt, Alvarez is one of the most accomplished lightweights in the history of the sport. Now he’ll get a stage that befits the scale of his achievements in his largely under-the-radar career.

What a fight. Let’s dig into the matchup.

    

Conor McGregor

Record: 20-3 (17 KO, 1 SUB, 2 DEC)

Height: 5’9″

Reach: 74″

McGregor is an aggressive, dangerous puncher with a great deal of craft and depth to his game. The southpaw’s left hand is the centerpiece of his approach, and he has a variety of ways of placing it on his opponent’s chin.

Pressure is McGregor’s default mode. He does his best work while moving forward and pressing his opponent back toward the fence with a combination of kicks and footwork. Side, front and oblique kicks push his opponent straight back, while spinning kicks attack the space into which his opponent would try to escape to McGregor’s right side. If his opponent tries to escape to his left side, the left hand or a left kick is waiting for him.

When the opponent hits the fence, McGregor really goes to work. He excels at sticking his opponent on the end of his long reach, staying just out of range and then firing off a single left hand at a time. If the opponent is really hurt, McGregor has shown an increasing propensity for devastating head-body flurries of punches.

When the opponent tries to circle out along the fence away from the left hand, McGregor lets him escape to that side and pivots slightly as he throws a straight left that catches the opponent across the plane of his body.

That inside-angle left hand, as it’s known, is McGregor’s bread and butter and his most devastating punch. In a normal orthodox-southpaw matchup, both fighters try to get their lead foot to the outside of the opponent’s to gain the outside angle. This shortens the path for the rear power hand and provides a dominant angle.

McGregor doesn’t play that game. Instead, he’s happy to let his opponent overcommit to the outside angle, because it creates an opening for the inside angle he likes. It’s a powerful shot because it arrives across the plane of the opponent’s body so his legs can’t bend to absorb its force.

McGregor is especially fond of that inside-angle left hand as a counter, like the one he used to knock out Aldo. It’s just one possibility in the increasingly deep bag of counters he has at his disposal. Especially in the second fight against Diaz, McGregor showed off an array of responses, including same-time counters as Diaz threw, pull counters that drew Diaz forward and half-beat counters just after Diaz let go.

Improved counters are just one piece of McGregor’s continued evolution. He was effectively a one-handed fighter for much of his career, but in recent fights he has shown a jab and especially a right hook to follow his devastating left hand.

That’s the good piece of McGregor’s game, but he’s hardly flawless. The biggest problem is defense. He moves his head in the pocket, but that’s mostly to set up his counters, and otherwise he relies almost entirely on his chin or not being there to be hit. Considering the pace at which he likes to fight, that means the Irishman is going to eat a lot of damage.

Pace is the other issue. McGregor likes to put a great deal of volume on his opponent, burying him in a steady stream of left hands and left kicks. Both Diaz fights showed the limit of his gas tank. If he’s completely in control, McGregor will look fresh even after throwing a tremendous number of strikes. If he’s being pressured, however, that tank can run dry much more quickly than we might expect.

Striking is McGregor’s wheelhouse, but he’s not a one-dimensional fighter. He has a nice selection of well-timed shot takedowns and a series of throws in the clinch, though he doesn’t use them often. On top, he’s a violent ground-striker and a smooth guard-passer who controls with real acumen. It’s not a major component of his game, but he could probably stand to fall back on these excellent tools a little more often.

Defensively, however, McGregor has some problems. He’s not a bad defensive wrestler, but he’s also not bulletproof, especially against opponents who can chain takedowns together. It’s not easy to hold him down, either, but especially in the middle of the cage (where he can’t use the fence) he doesn’t offer much from his back.

The real issue is in scrambles. Going back to his early career, McGregor has a bad habit of panicking in transitions and trying to muscle his way out of trouble—that’s how Diaz got to his back for the choke, how Joe Duffy found an early arm triangle six years ago and how Artemij Sitenkov caught him with a kneebar in 2008. There’s a clear pattern here, and it’s one he has never truly fixed.

    

Eddie Alvarez

Record: 28-4 (15 KO, 7 SUB, 6 DEC)

Height: 5’9″

Reach: 69″

Intelligence, experience and adaptability define Alvarez’s game. A 13-year pro and a veteran of 32 fights, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen inside a ring or cage on three continents. Finally a UFC champion at the age of 32, Alvarez puts all of his accumulated knowledge to use in a crafty, smart approach to fighting.

While he’s a step slower than he was in his mid- or late 20s, Alvarez is still quick and blessed with outstanding hand speed. A powerful puncher, Alvarez does his best work on the feet and utilizes a variety of different strategies depending on who’s standing in front of him. He can both pressure his opponent toward the fence and play a more stationary game focused on exchanges in the middle of the cage.

At his best, however, Alvarez sticks and moves through the space of the cage before picking his spots to sit down on counters or dart into range with a combination. The champion has outstanding footwork and a great sense for how to use the space of the cage to his advantage. His pivots and sidesteps are tricky and confusing, allowing him to find clean angles for his counters and blitzing combinations.

When he goes on the attack, Alvarez does a great job of moving his shots between the head and the body. He has a particular preference for going from a straight right to the body to a left hook upstairs or finishing with a liver shot, and a doubled right hand as he steps in on an angle is a specialty. The occasional kick adds some variety, and he loves to attack the legs and body.

While Alvarez does good work with these in-and-out combinations, he’s even better when he can draw his opponent onto his counters.

He has quick triggers and a great sense for how to move his shots around and through his opponent’s guard. Against Dos Anjos, for example, Alvarez landed several straight-right counters and then followed with a right-hook counter that staggered the champion, who was expecting another straight.

Alvarez’s layered defense makes these counters possible. He moves his head, parries and blocks shots as they come in, all of which provide him with different opportunities to land his shots. He’s not the best defensive fighter in terms of avoiding shots, but he’s one of the best at turning his defense into offense.

That leads to one of the major issues with Alvarez’s game: his tendency to eat really hard shots. Though he has been finished via strikes only once, the champion has been staggered or knocked down on many occasions, and his desire to hang in the pocket to counter makes him vulnerable to these kinds of shots.

Volume isn’t Alvarez’s strong suit either. When his opponent lets him set the pace, he works in a measured fashion and only lets go serious offensive output when his opponent tries to get in his face, as Dos Anjos did. In a pure range-striking matchup, he can be drowned in volume.

While he likes to strike, wrestling is a strong secondary skill set for Alvarez. He covers his level changes with punches well in open space, though he can be too predictable with his entries against the cage. Once he’s in on his opponent’s hips, Alvarez is relentless, switching from singles to doubles and everything in between while pounding away with short punches in transition.

The fence is Alvarez’s best friend in these kinds of exchanges, and he excels at grinding his opponent for minutes at a time with head pressure and good technique in the clinch and with takedown chains. It’s not pretty, but it’s tiring, and Alvarez has gas to spare.

Alvarez is a competent top-position grappler. He has real power in his shots when he can posture up, and he passes well, especially to the back. It would be an exaggeration to call him a submission threat, though, at least against high-level competition. 

       

Betting Odds

McGregor -155, Alvarez +135, per Odds Shark

       

Prediction

This is going to be a great fight.

It’s clear what McGregor will try to do: pressure Alvarez toward the fence, lace him with left hands and create openings to land a big counter when Alvarez tries to fight off the cage. That’s typically what McGregor tries to do in every fight, though the pressure can be more or less measured, and he might place more or less emphasis on the counters as opposed to leading the dance.

Alvarez, however, has a couple of different options here. He might try to pressure McGregor right back, adopting the kind of wrestling- and clinch-heavy game plan against the fence that he used to stifle Melendez and Pettis. Alternatively, he can try the same strategy he used against Dos Anjos, another southpaw pressure fighter, and play a stick-and-move game with a lot of emphasis on landing counters.

They’re not mutually exclusive: Alvarez might pressure in bursts or try to hit reactive takedowns while he’s avoiding McGregor’s pressure. The question is how much of each Alvarez adopts.

Both approaches have things to recommend them. McGregor is a lethal striker, but his takedown defense isn’t perfect, and Alvarez might be able to wear him down with a dose of grinding. On the other hand, McGregor is also hittable, and Alvarez can use his slick counterpunching game to make the Irishman pay for his aggression.

Both approaches also have downsides, though. A pressuring Alvarez is a less defensively sound Alvarez, as we saw against Pettis, and he risks walking into McGregor’s devastating counters when he tries to get into range to shoot takedowns. A sticking-and-moving Alvarez is harder to hit, but he risks becoming stuck on the end of McGregor’s left hand and getting outworked.

It’s plausible for Alvarez to make either, both or a mixture work long enough to finish McGregor or win the rounds for a decision victory.

The problem is McGregor’s power and craft. He’s going to hit Alvarez, and the question is whether the lightweight champion can handle it. Alvarez has always been prone to eating big shots and getting dropped, and McGregor is one of the most dangerous punchers in the sport.

The pick is McGregor by knockout in the second round.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Eddie Alvarez Plans To Utilize Grappling, Submit Conor McGregor At UFC 205

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is steadily approaching his first title defense of his UFC career, and it’s coming on the grandest stage in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). Alvarez will main event the UFC’s first event from Madison Square Garden when he collides with featherweight champ Conor McGregor, as he not only

The post Eddie Alvarez Plans To Utilize Grappling, Submit Conor McGregor At UFC 205 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez is steadily approaching his first title defense of his UFC career, and it’s coming on the grandest stage in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Alvarez will main event the UFC’s first event from Madison Square Garden when he collides with featherweight champ Conor McGregor, as he not only attempts to defend his title against the brash Irishman, but will try to stop ‘Notorious’ in his tracks from making promotion history as well. If McGregor is able to emerge victorious this Saturday (November 12, 2016) he will become the first dual-weight champion in UFC history.

Earlier today (Wednesday November 9, 2016) Alvarez participated in an open workout ahead of his UFC 205 main event this weekend, going to work on the same court that the New York Knicks play on each and every home game of the NBA season. Alvarez spoke to media after his workout this morning in New York, courtesy of MMA Fighting, and offered his prediction for how the fight with McGregor will go down Saturday night:

“I think I’m going to land that big shot,” Alvarez said. “I think this guy’s worried about a lot of grappling and a lot of wrestling. I think where it’s going to end up, when his mind’s on that I’m going to land that big shot and then I’m going to submit him.”

As per usual, the Irish are expected to make a huge impact come fight night in ‘The Big Apple’, as McGregor’s native crowd always pours out in support after making the trip down to the states to cheer their fellow countryman on as he goes to war inside the Octagon. Regardless of what the crowd’s reaction to him is Saturday night, Alvarez thanks the fans for coming out to not only support McGregor, but the event itself:

“Hey, I’m blessed,” he said. “Whether you’ve got a red, white and orange flag, it don’t matter what you go. You’re here and I appreciate you guys.”

425_Rafael_Dos_Anjos_vs_Eddie_Alvarez.0.0Alvarez has worked as long and hard as anyone else who has dedicated his life to the sport, securing his first UFC title with his thunderous first round knockout over the now-former lightweight king Rafael dos Anjos in July earlier this year. ‘The Underground King’ is now soaking in the moments leading up to his historical throw-down with McGregor, as he has now found his way to the biggest stage the MMA game has ever seen:

“Magic, pure magic,” he said. “Look, I fought 13 years to put my life to put myself on this stage, in front of the biggest crowd, and I am super-excited to go out there and do something violent, and do something high-paced.”

The lightweight champ has been very confident in his ability to get the job done against the heavy-handed 145-pound champion this weekend, and is looking to ‘make the UFC great again’ he gets the job done.

Alvarez and McGregor will meet in the main event of UFC 205 for the lightweight title live on pay-per-view (PPV), from the Madison Square Garden arena in New York City this Saturday night.

You can check out highlights from Alvarez’s open workout here:

The post Eddie Alvarez Plans To Utilize Grappling, Submit Conor McGregor At UFC 205 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Betting Odds Favor Two New Champions Being Crowned At UFC 205

https://youtu.be/fIYJjDN921M

The odds for this Saturday’s UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor event continue to look interesting the closer we get to the historic fight card, which kicks off live UFC action in the state of New York.

According to the od…

alvarez-mcgregor-faceoff

https://youtu.be/fIYJjDN921M

The odds for this Saturday’s UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor event continue to look interesting the closer we get to the historic fight card, which kicks off live UFC action in the state of New York.

According to the odds listed on the official UFC website, the “experts” set the betting lines in a way that suggests two new champions will be crowned at this weekend’s big show.

It’s worth pointing out that oddsmakers don’t necessarily set their opening betting lines with the amounts based on the size of a favorite or underdog, but in a way that plays into the money they expect to come in on a given fight.

Having said that, below are the current betting odds listed on UFC.com for this Saturday’s UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor event.

UFC 205: ALVAREZ VS. MCGREGOR BETTING ODDS

* Champion Eddie Alvarez (+139) vs. Conor McGregor (-159) — UFC Lightweight Title
* Champion Tyron Woodley (+165) vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (-190) — UFC Welterweight Title
* Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (-390) vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz (+325) — UFC Women’s Strawweight Title
* Chris Weidman (-175) vs. Yoel Romero (+150)
* Kelvin Gastelum (+140) vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (-160)
* Miesha Tate (EVEN) vs. Raquel Pennington (+151)
* Frankie Edgar (-330) vs. Jeremy Stephens (+270)
* Khabib Nurmagomedov (-260) vs. Michael Johnson (+240)
* Rafael Natal (-150) vs. Tim Boetsch (+130)
* Vicente Luque (+125) vs. Belal Muhammad (-145)
* Jim Miller (+140) vs. Thiago Alves (-160)
* Liz Carmouche (+148) vs. Katlyn Chookagian (-168)

UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor takes place on Saturday, November 12th from the world-famous Madison Square Garden arena in New York City.

Join us here at MMANews.com on 11/12 for live round-by-round results coverage of the entire UFC 205 pay-per-view.

UFC 205 Embedded Episode 2

UFC 205 is just days away and the episode 2 of UFC 205 Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel. In the episode, lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight Frankie Edgar get some motivation in the form of a custom Conor throwing dummy. Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley reveals that he’s earned a second belt

The post UFC 205 Embedded Episode 2 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

UFC 205 is just days away and the episode 2 of UFC 205 Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel.

In the episode, lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight Frankie Edgar get some motivation in the form of a custom Conor throwing dummy. Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley reveals that he’s earned a second belt during his latest training camp; his opponent Stephen Thompson puts in an appearance at a first birthday party. In the Big Apple, strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz tours Central Park on a bicycle built for two, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk gets settled in, and featherweight champion Conor McGregor keeps his eyes on the prize.

You can watch it here:

As always, stay tuned to Low Kick MMA for the latest coverage of UFC 205.

The post UFC 205 Embedded Episode 2 appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Second Episode Of UFC 205 “Embedded” Features “Dummy” Conor McGregor

205-embedded-ep-1

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YfjXwB6B5w[/embed]

On the second episode of UFC 205: Embedded, Eddie Alvarez and Frankie Edgar get in some training on a custom-made Conor McGregor dummy during practice.

Alvarez will get the chance to take on the real McGregor this Saturday night at UFC 205 when they collide, while Edgar meets Jeremy Stephens in a featherweight affair hoping to earn himself a future meeting with the current UFC featherweight champion.

On Episode 2 of UFC 205 Embedded, lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight Frankie Edgar get some motivation in the form of a custom Conor throwing dummy. Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley reveals that he’s earned a second belt during his latest training camp; his opponent Stephen Thompson puts in an appearance at a first birthday party. In the Big Apple, strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz tours Central Park on a bicycle built for two, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk gets settled in, and featherweight champion Conor McGregor keeps his eyes on the prize. UFC 205 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the historic three-title UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor, taking place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 12th. See it live on Pay-Per-View.

205-embedded-ep-1

On the second episode of UFC 205: Embedded, Eddie Alvarez and Frankie Edgar get in some training on a custom-made Conor McGregor dummy during practice.

Alvarez will get the chance to take on the real McGregor this Saturday night at UFC 205 when they collide, while Edgar meets Jeremy Stephens in a featherweight affair hoping to earn himself a future meeting with the current UFC featherweight champion.

On Episode 2 of UFC 205 Embedded, lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez and featherweight Frankie Edgar get some motivation in the form of a custom Conor throwing dummy. Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley reveals that he’s earned a second belt during his latest training camp; his opponent Stephen Thompson puts in an appearance at a first birthday party. In the Big Apple, strawweight title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz tours Central Park on a bicycle built for two, strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk gets settled in, and featherweight champion Conor McGregor keeps his eyes on the prize. UFC 205 Embedded is an all-access, behind-the-scenes video blog leading up to the historic three-title UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor, taking place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 12th. See it live on Pay-Per-View.