Yeah...the point is that while McGregor (and a lot of the top guys these days actually) obviously has other skills, boxing/‘striking’ is his go to. So a lot of UFC fights (the better ones, actually) essentially turn into poor quality boxing matches. What do people talk about when discussing Connor’s weapons? His boxing. And yes, I know he was never the top guy in the sport, just that he’s one of several guys around the upper echelons who will mostly give you boxing in their fights. I think it’s a valid criticism of the nature of the sport - the best fights are mediocre displays of boxing.
Don't get striking and boxing confused In boxing there's no leg kicks, no kicks, no takedowns etc, a lot less to defend against.
I know. I’m referring strictly to punching. Save for maybe the occasional leg kick I have seen a shitload of big MMA fights essentially turn into boxing/punching matches. Yes, I understand that they still need to be aware of the other threats and hence it is different to boxing. But if the upshot is you get a moderately skilful boxing match, well that’s what you get. It’s both the blessing and the curse of a sport that asks you to be a jack of all trades.
No the upshot is you get to see brutal knockouts or insane submissions. Like look at last night, Porier gave Connor a dead leg, turned him so his back was to the cage and kicked the **** out of him. He showed boxing prowess, but MMA is a far cry from boxing itself. They're hyping the boxing element to steal boxing fans, and tbh it's working. The fact we're discussing this right now on a boxing website proves that.
Both are in the books as 0-1, and failing to ever once go the distance in a prize ring, forevermore. That is goddamn beauteous.
Hoping this is true. MMA doesn't really do it for me as a sport and the UFC aesthetic is awful. I know it's a trivial thing but the cage is really off-putting. I don't mind individual athletes switching and a crossover fight was fun exactly once, but I'm done with it otherwise.
Unfortunately that was also said after Nate Diaz I, and then after Khabib. This clown's big mouth will continue to lasso him paydays until he retires for good.
I remember when UFC disrespected boxing. Now they realize the best stand up in MMA is that of boxing. A fighter can go from a defensive position right into offense effortless.
Agree 100%. But still to this day i want to see a prime Boxing Champ against a prime MMA Champ in the Octagon with pure UFC rules. We had a prime MMA fighter (McGregor) tried his luck against a past prime Mayweather. Otherwise we had just guys like Toney or Mercer, both past their primes, in MMA fights. Only hypothetical: If a prime Spence, Crawford or AJ/Fury would beat a current UFC champ (in their weight class) in his prime, you can be sure the UFC would be done once and for all. Crawford vs Alexander Volkanovski AJ or Fury vs Stipe Miocic And if the Boxer´s loose its no problem. If the win, or at least one of them, the reputation of the UFC would be done once and for all. Maybe not the reputation of the sport MMA because many fighter from Japan etc. would say they are better then the UFC guys and would beat the Boxer´s easy etc., but the UFC would be in BIG trouble if AJ would KO Miocic or Crawford would KO Volkanovski.
They still do it under the table. The only reason why they change their tone is because the UFC is in the USA, and Boxing like Pro Wrestling has so deep roots to the USA. Watch TV series from the 70s, 80s, etc., there is always an episode where Boxer´s or Wrestler´s are are in it, be it "The Fall Guy" with Lee Majors, "Knight Rider" with David Hasselhoff or "The Incredible Hulk" with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. All these series have at least one episode where Boxing and Wrestling have something to do with the storyline. Ken Norton was in one Episode of Knight Rider, together with Jerry Quarry and Don King. Hulk Hogan was in "The A-Team", etc.
True. I think he is better at it than you think he is. He had great set ups for those counters. But then again, that is why he so mightily struggled with Diaz. Diaz was able to take those shots and eventually Conor slowed down.
Boxers would stand no chance against a top MMA fighter. Look at what leg kicks did to Conor. No legit MMA fighter would exchange with a boxer. It would be all leg kicks and takedowns. Kicking and wrestling are too big an advantage for MMA guys, even against elite boxers. Boxers who are good athletes can learn some defense but why bother when the money is not there and the risk is huge, not to mention the time commitment. All good MMA fighters these days have a pretty well rounded arsenal. In the old days when there were BJJ specialists or crude strikers it would have been more competitive but those days are gone. It would be like putting a great rugby player on an NFL team. Different sport and too many disadvantages.