You know there’s a Conor McGregor fight just around the corner because of all the saber rattling going on.
This guy doesn’t compete for a spot in the limelight. He is the spot. Not only is he the richest MMA fighter in history, he is also fast becoming a business tycoon. He has his own whisky label and promotional company. He has millions of dollars worth of endorsement deals. This guy is a walking franchise.
Not too shabby for a former part-time plumber picking up welfare checks and trying to eke out a living for his family.
For these reasons alone, McGregor is an inspiration to many.
But the truth is, he hasn’t looked too good of late. He has had only three MMA fights in the past three years, and his record is 1-2. He has also had his share of brushes with the law.
He needs an impressive victory today against Dustin Poirer in their third fight; otherwise, all that saber rattling will have been for nothing.
POIRER. In their first fight, Poirer was knocked out in horrible fashion as McGregor only needed less than two minutes to finish him off. Afterwards he admitted he had let all the hate coming into that fight get to him and obfuscate his focus.
True enough, he bounced back nicely in the rematch. He more than held his own in the first round and fended off McGregor’s furious offensive assault before finishing him in the second round.
Today, July 11, 2021 will be judgment day for these fighters who are 1-1 against each other. Who will emerge victorious?
SIZE. In the second fight, I thought Poirer looked too big and strong for McGregor and he was able to parlay that into an advantage during the exchanges as it seemed to drain the smaller McGregor more.
His punishing leg kicks took their toll on a gassed McGregor. And If you have been following Conor’s career long enough, this is usually how his losses come about.
STAMINA. I rank both men equal in the power department with Conor having a slight edge in striking and Poirer getting the nod in technical skills and ground game.
With these factors balancing each other out, it will boil down to stamina and conditioning. And this is where I worry for Conor.
His marketing team does a good job projecting his image and while I have no doubt this guy is an animal when it comes to training, I have always been wary of fighters who have achieved financial success and resort to training sporadically, that is, only when a fight comes up.
An intermittent approach to training will always come second place to consistency. Fighting being inherently instinctive, there’s no substitute for the constant, unwavering grind as it keeps the fighter sharp all year round.
Both of these fighters are capable of ending the fight suddenly, but if this goes the distance I see Poirer outlasting McGregor.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my kumpare, Rey “Gutzee” Gutierrez, who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!