He's fighting at 145...probably Aldo or Edgar... but I think this was a turning point in his career. If you think about it, he has 2 decent wins: A very impressive KO of Aldo which may have been a fluke, and a come-from-behind early stoppage over a no-camp Chad Mendes (people don't talk enough about how much Chad was dominating that fight). Conor relies so much on his size and power to win that I don't see him having any success at 155, and at 145 Aldo, Edgar, and Mendes would very likely beat him. -While smoking Aldo again isn't out of the question, it's improbable. -Edgar would dominate McGregor. Frankie was a lightweight champ and we know McGregor can't hang at that weight. Edgar slips inside for a takedown, eats shots if he needs to, and then ground and pounds him as much as he wants enroute to a stoppage (KO or sub). -Mendes would dominate McGregor again. Chad was countering him with bombs pretty much at will, taking him down at will, and just destroying him from the top (3.5min of rd 2 was Chad smashing him from the guard while Conor seemed lost and out of ideas). With a full camp Chad wouldn't fall under those glancing shots. -Holloway has improved significantly and that would be a fun one to see again. I lean toward McGregor but you know it's a distance fight. -At 155, RDA would murder McGregor. -Diaz with a full camp would wreck him. -Watching Khabib ragdoll him around the cage would actually be hilarious, and I hope that fight gets made sometime. -And it goes without saying that everyone at 170 would abuse him. What are your thoughts on how his next fights will play out?
Really good post KillSometing. I agree with what you have written. It will be interesting to see how his career goes now.
I think he fights Aldo next....I think if Aldo uses his Jiu Jitsu he could probably beat him.....but after that then Frankie(he loses)...then moves to 155 and actually tries to earn a title shot by facing a decent fighter like Pettis That's how I see things going.
He looked so gaunt at his weigh ins at 145 it was almost scary. This guy really did make his career beating up on much smaller men
Maybe he should start training with all those so called pussies that panic and immediately try going to the gro, ohhh wait !!!
People forget that CLAY GUIDA sparked RDA out. People forget that GRAY MAYNARD was absolutely slaughtering Frankie on the feet. If guys like that - who don't punch anywhere NEAR as hard as CM - can stop or massively hurt those guys, Conor can waste them. Styles make fights when it comes down to Frankie/Conor, and my money is on Conor. Frankie doesn't have the power to stop him (yet is very vulnerable himself, but blessed with amazing heart, grit and recovery powers), won't submit him, and isn't well rounded enough to finish him (has no thai game and hardly submits anyone). Frankie is a workhorse with a hight output, but little power. This would look like Nate/Conor, except Conor would be playing the role of Nate. Conor would come in VERY HIGH on the night, whereas Frankie is a legit 145'er. The difference in power would soon be noticeable and Conor isn't going to chase him around all night.
In all honesty, I am very curious to see if he can even make 145 anymore. He just packed on a lot of muscle it looks like. So there is that issue. The next issue is how his confidence will be after getting smacked around and almost killed by Nate Diaz. The next issue is how physically damaged his chin will be after having it cracked. He has a very tough task against Aldo or Edgar back at 145 right now. I think he should take a tune-up at 155 against a beatable guy first. But nobody will let him do that.
He says some dumb **** too, which pretty much incriminates himself to this point. Reminds me of Freddie Roach in a way. Like, at one of the press conferences he goes off on a rant about how he is actually the bigger guy between him and Dos Anjos. Then he gets beaten to a scared little panic wrestler by Nate Diaz, blames the size....but Dos Anjos ragdolled Diaz.
Except you forgot to mention Conors horrible stamina. He couldnt last 2 hard rounds fighting at his natural weight, it can only get worse when he has to make a 30 pound cut to FW. The only way he beats Edgar imo is if he can avoid being taken down and blast him out inside the 1st round. I just dont see that happening at all. You know what Conors previous opponents at FW like Mendes, Siver, Poirre, Brandao etc all have in common? They are all stationary fighters. Guys like Cruz, Edgar, Dillashaw etc...are not. They're hard to figure out. An enraged Aldo ran headlong into a punch. Conor moves well but he is not an elusive fighter, he's fairly easy to hit. He's also can be taken down at ease by a good enough wrestler, nor is he terribly skilled off of his back. Edgar ko'd Mendes easily, I think in under 3 minutes, when mcgregor actually lost the first round to Mendes, and we all know he was losing the second round to him until the last 30 seconds when mendes gassed out. Frankie is a much better wrestler, boxer and mover then chad mendes and unlike mendes he wont ever tire out.
Connor's in the very risky situation of Aldo rematch. If he loses then the hype train stops. Win and RDA is back on. He looks seriously gaunt at 145 and not big enough for 170. 155 might be his future.
