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UFC 205 at MSG |OT| Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez | Who Da Fook Are These Guys

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qcf x2

Member
I am a Connor hater the same way I'm a Floyd hater, but just like I eventually came to appreciate Floyd for his superior skill, I think I've come around on McGregor. The skill lives up to the $$$ making theatrics, he's just on another level compared to his competition right now. One early tap and Alvarez was shook for the rest of the fight, if you can call it that.

I feel like Diaz exposed his biggest weakness in that once you get to later rounds his physical advantages wear off, but nobody (else) is taking him the distance, they're all falling for what he wants. I still want the guy to lose by knockout but he's the real deal right now.
 

gogogow

Member
I feel like Diaz exposed his biggest weakness in that once you get to later rounds his physical advantages wear off, but nobody (else) is taking him the distance, they're all falling for what he wants. I still want the guy to lose by knockout but he's the real deal right now.

Yeah, but that was at 170 and fighting a guy that just won't go down. Conor is very comfortable at 155.
 

Yeoman

Member
I feel like Diaz exposed his biggest weakness in that once you get to later rounds his physical advantages wear off, but nobody (else) is taking him the distance, they're all falling for what he wants. I still want the guy to lose by knockout but he's the real deal right now.
Right now? He has been the real deal from the start, and will continue to be so even if he does get knocked out by somebody.
 
Alvarez made 540k. He is ranked no.3, behind Woodley's 590k and Conor's 3.590m.

But damn, Conor seems to feel extremely comfortable at 155. Conor has come a long way with his takedown defense since the Mendes fight. Conor isn't going for takedowns any time soon, but as long as he can defend himself from takedowns, he's going to be very dangerous.

Cha-ching.

I await for the Khabib match or Ferguson match. I wanna see how Conor deals with a dude like Ferguson. Conor might be able to drop him and that prospect is exciting.
 
That fight was kind of a letdown to be honest. I really thought it was gonna be a 5 round war - not a one-sided beatdown. What the hell was Alvarez doing trying to box Mcgregor like that? I don't see a guy at lightweight that can beat Mcgregor at this point other than maybe Khabib or Nate.

Waiting for Woodley vs Wonderboy 2 now.

Alvarez had no choice but to try and box, he wasnt getting any takedowns.
 
Glad to see fighters on this card get paid.

Seriously, the fighters Conor a big thanks. If you are on a Conor card, you are going to get paid or at least get massive exposure.

Where's Aldo and all his supporters? Pay Conor some respect and at least acknowledge his accomplishment and how he singlehandedly raised the sport of MMA to another level. Aldo's dumb ass could have got paid riding Connor's coat tails.
 
I'm sorry but I hate when fighters say "Oh I wasn't hurt" when bro you clearly were. Its not a mystery you were hurt badly.

I know Wonderboy is a good guy, but fighters need to just admit it when they were rocked

did he say that he that he wasnt hurt? All i thought i heard him say was that he wasnt knocked out, that he was stil cognitive.
 

bud

Member
wonderboy not only surviving the fourth round but also coming out on top at the end is one of the greatest things i've ever seen, mike.

conor is so good.
 
What the hell was Alvarez doing trying to box Mcgregor like that?
Every analyst called Alvarez a wrestler who can box. Alvarez himself said he's a boxer first, wrestler 2nd, as he grew up in boxing gyms in Philly. Both Alvarez and his striking coach Mark Henry repeatedly put down Conor's boxing skills.

Then Alvarez in his post fights said he didn't follow the game plan, he shouldn't have box'd. Well, you and your team played yourselves. You didn't respect Conor's boxing and you're now on his highlight reel.
 

Khal_B

Member
I don't see a guy at lightweight that can beat Mcgregor at this point other than maybe Khabib or Nate.

LW division is stacked. Khabib, Ferguson, Barboza and Pettis would all be interesting matches vs Conor I think. And Nate too, of course. Hell, even Micheal Johnson would be an interesting MU. Scariest division for sure.
 

ValfarHL

Member
didnt expect that at all

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Nah, he knew that the belt he offered wasn't really his to begin with. ;)

Don't start this shit after Woodley damn near murdered Wonderboy in octogon. That was a great fight, I am a big fan of both of these fighters and wouldn't have minded seeing either of them with the belt, but having rewatched that fight again, one has to pay massive respect to Woodley. He came in as the underdog, booed at every opportunity, and yet he was the only one to neutralise Wonderboy's striking to such an extent and hurt him so badly.

Woodley won that fight in my opinion, it shouldn't have been a draw, but I can't really complain if it means they're doing it again.

Alvarez had no choice but to try and box, he wasnt getting any takedowns.

I think the first punch clipped Alvarez harder than initially realised. He opened up with a well timed inside leg kick from the start that knocked Conor off his balance, and he should have stuck to the gameplan of wear and tear kicks and wrestling. Once he got sucked into boxing with Conor, it was over.

Both fights against Nate were at 170

They're both natural lightweights, and Nate has always looked and performed worse at welterweight than he has at lightweight.
 
Conor would have a much easier time against a 155lb Nate than a 170lb Nate. Nates frame is bigger and the more weight he can put on it the bigger advantage it gives him. His granite chin and Cardio as well. You can see in the early part of both fights there is a skill gap between the two.

That said Nate is a warrior
 

pixelation

Member
Good card, but all of my faves lost. I get so upset at the corners, straight pulling my hair out of my head mad like... Eddie was getting the worst part of the stand up which was obvious, he should've neutralized McG's stand-up with his offense but decides to keep it standing, round ends and i think... OK... this is where they tell him to take Conor to the ground right?... WRONG!!!, they just give him some stand up instructions and send him to his doom... corners are stupid... STUPID... it's like they don't study their opponents in advance or act purely on bravado.
 

The Beard

Member
Good card, but all of my faves lost. I get so upset at the corners, straight pulling my hair out of my head mad like... Eddie was getting the worst part of the stand up which was obvious, he should've neutralized McG's stand-up with his offense but decides to keep it standing, round ends and i think... OK... this is where they tell him to take Conor to the ground right?... WRONG!!!, they just give him some stand up instructions and send him to his doom... corners are stupid... STUPID... it's like they don't study their opponents in advance or act purely on bravado.

Eddie went for take downs and Conor stuffed them. Just because you can wrestle doesn't mean you can get takedowns on-demand. Your opponent needs to give you an opening, and you still need to get passed their defense.
 

pixelation

Member
Eddie went for take downs and Conor stuffed them. Just because you can wrestle doesn't mean you can get takedowns on-demand. Your opponent needs to give you an opening, and you still need to get passed their defense.

I know but he didn't try enough (he had 3 takedown attempts i think?) and his takedown attempts seemed half assed.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
I know but he didn't try enough (he had 3 takedown attempts i think?) and his takedown attempts seemed half assed.


Eddie's never had explosive takedowns or great wrestling. That was always pre-fight hype. He's a grinder and will get in close and take somebody down when he can but it's usually because he's outworked his opponent on the feet and outlasted their cardio. He doesn't have the ability to close and get somebody down from a distance like (as an example from last night) both Weidman and Romero showed. He also doesn't have the range striking game to hide those takedowns, especially against Conor.

If push came to shove I probably would have taken Eddie by decision before last night but the way I saw it happening would have been him outlasting Conor's early power and eventually wearing him out. The early rounds were always going to be rough, I just underestimated exactly how much power Conor has and how outclassed Eddie would be on the feet.
 

JB1981

Member
Lol he's literally been finished once in his 13 years of fighting nearly a decade ago. Yesterday's stoppage was premature imo but he would've been finished eventually.

That was knockdown #5. And that last knockdown he was pretty much out.
 

Levito

Banned
I think a lot of people forget that Eddie histrionically is a brawler. He's the kind of fighter that gets in wars with people with reckless abandon, bad match up for a good boxer and counter striker like Conor. I really thought Eddie win thought by using his wrestling like in the Pettis fight but it's clear he was hurt bad after Conor dropped him.


He was seriously rocked within the first couple minutes of the fight. That's going to affect his game plan.

Yeah that's what Eddie himself said. That first time he got dropped he was all kinds of concussed and fucked up. It was a Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin type scenario.



Also I can't believe some of y'all are so against Khabib fighting for the belt, this was a fucking great promo. Given the current climate of America, I can't believe a Russian man and a Muslim no less had the courage to say that over the mic. What a fucking badass.
 

AstroLad

Hail to the KING baby
Lol he's literally been finished once in his 13 years of fighting nearly a decade ago. Yesterday's stoppage was premature imo but he would've been finished eventually.
Yeah Eddie has been in some real wars though. Despite a couple contrary fights in the UFC he has a reckless brawling style generally and I thought he'd lose easily if he took that approach rather than the conservative boring approach he adopted in his first few UFC fights. He must have known Conor was too big to grind though.
 
Conor would have a much easier time against a 155lb Nate than a 170lb Nate. Nates frame is bigger and the more weight he can put on it the bigger advantage it gives him. His granite chin and Cardio as well. You can see in the early part of both fights there is a skill gap between the two.

That said Nate is a warrior

Conor tends to have bigger physical advantages over his opponents than Nate has over him, so I don't think that's an excuse.

As far as the skill gap goes, Nate is still the better boxer and well rounded fighter in my estimation. Conor dazzles with timing and precision, but Nate has timing, pace and volume. On top of that, he adapts much better in a fight. In the first fight, he was slow on the start (which isn't unusual for him) and managed to get Conor's timing down within 1.5 rounds and outbox him.

In the second fight, Conor spent 300k and 5 months on a camp specifically designed to beat Nate Diaz. Nate, on the other hand, went with a traditional camp and expected a similar fight as the first. Granted, that was Nate's decision, but Nate adapted quickly to Conor's tailor made gameplan and arguably, and in the eyes of many, won that fight. I think the decision was correct based on rounds but the fight showed to me that the skill gap actually wasn't there, and if it is, I think it's in favour of Nate.
 

pixelation

Member
I feel so sorry for Weidman man... he just came back from that surgery, big come back fight in his hometown none the less... and he loses like this... gotta be devastating...
 

Calderc

Member
I think a lot of people forget that Eddie histrionically is a brawler. He's the kind of fighter that gets in wars with people with reckless abandon, bad match up for a good boxer and counter striker like Conor. I really thought Eddie win thought by using his wrestling like in the Pettis fight but it's clear he was hurt bad after Conor dropped him.




Yeah that's what Eddie himself said. That first time he got dropped he was all kinds of concussed and fucked up. It was a Anderson Silva vs Forrest Griffin type scenario.



Also I can't believe some of y'all are so against Khabib fighting for the belt, this was a fucking great promo. Given the current climate of America, I can't believe a Russian man and a Muslim no less had the courage to say that over the mic. What a fucking badass.

Lol the fucking look Joe gives him as he puts that hat on.
 

weekev

Banned
Conor tends to have bigger physical advantages over his opponents than Nate has over him, so I don't think that's an excuse.

As far as the skill gap goes, Nate is still the better boxer and well rounded fighter in my estimation. Conor dazzles with timing and precision, but Nate has timing, pace and volume. On top of that, he adapts much better in a fight. In the first fight, he was slow on the start (which isn't unusual for him) and managed to get Conor's timing down within 1.5 rounds and outbox him.

In the second fight, Conor spent 300k and 5 months on a camp specifically designed to beat Nate Diaz. Nate, on the other hand, went with a traditional camp and expected a similar fight as the first. Granted, that was Nate's decision, but Nate adapted quickly to Conor's tailor made gameplan and arguably, and in the eyes of many, won that fight. I think the decision was correct based on rounds but the fight showed to me that the skill gap actually wasn't there, and if it is, I think it's in favour of Nate.
To be fair were more likely to see "fight 3 - the decider" than any other match due to the level of opposition anyone else can show Connor, so let's see. That is if Connor doesn't take an extended break with his kid.
 
Conor tends to have bigger physical advantages over his opponents than Nate has over him, so I don't think that's an excuse.

As far as the skill gap goes, Nate is still the better boxer and well rounded fighter in my estimation. Conor dazzles with timing and precision, but Nate has timing, pace and volume. On top of that, he adapts much better in a fight. In the first fight, he was slow on the start (which isn't unusual for him) and managed to get Conor's timing down within 1.5 rounds and outbox him.

In the second fight, Conor spent 300k and 5 months on a camp specifically designed to beat Nate Diaz. Nate, on the other hand, went with a traditional camp and expected a similar fight as the first. Granted, that was Nate's decision, but Nate adapted quickly to Conor's tailor made gameplan and arguably, and in the eyes of many, won that fight. I think the decision was correct based on rounds but the fight showed to me that the skill gap actually wasn't there, and if it is, I think it's in favour of Nate.
Nate has some unique physics attributes that made him a perfect foil for Conor. His cardio, his insane height and reach and his chin all seemed to cancel out what made Conor good

And there is a pure size difference there too. Conor struggles to get up to the 170 zone, Nate struggles to get down to it. By the time they get in the cage there is a big gap in size

But Conor hs already managed to work significantly on a lot of that, and over time his weaknesses will get smaller and smaller if he works on them the way he seems to be
 
weidman is done the only fight i put money on because i knew romero would destroy him. That neck injury has cut short his career he is not going to be able to compete with top guys any more.
 
Nate makes 155 a lot easier than Conor makes 145.
Says who?

He is naturally walking around well above 170. According to the the coach of some guys he was sparring with before 202 he was somewhere around 200 lbs

Now that may be an exaggeration and the "struggle" isn't really the point, and probably not the right words. My point is that Nates a naturally bigger man coming down in weight while Conor is a smaller man coming up in weight

Nate has the frame of a 183 cm man while Conor has the frame of a 175 cm man. For reference Nate is the same height as Wonderboy, he is a big boy

If Conor didn't have freakish reach it wouldn't even be a contest
 

Higgy

Member
Also I can't believe some of y'all are so against Khabib fighting for the belt, this was a fucking great promo. Given the current climate of America, I can't believe a Russian man and a Muslim no less had the courage to say that over the mic. What a fucking badass.

You can't believe a Russian man had the balls to say that? The Russians were literally working for the Trump campaign. The alt right loves the Russians.
 
To be fair were more likely to see "fight 3 - the decider" than any other match due to the level of opposition anyone else can show Connor, so let's see. That is if Connor doesn't take an extended break with his kid.

Conor is probably gonna fight one more time before he goes on hiatus. I think UFC 209 in Feb would be perfect.

Nate has some unique physics attributes that made him a perfect foil for Conor. His cardio, his insane height and reach and his chin all seemed to cancel out what made Conor good

Conor typically has all those advantages aside from cardio over his opponents.

Conor's is 5'9 with 74" reach, his opponents in the UFC thus far:

  • Eddie Alvarez - 5'7 & 69"
  • Nate Diaz - 6'0 & 76"
  • Jose Aldo - 5'7 & 70"
  • Chad Mendes - 5'7 & 66"
  • Dennis Siver - 5'7 & 70"
  • Dustin Porier - 5'9 & 72"
  • Diego Brandao - 5'7 & 68"
  • Max Holloway - 5'11 & 69"
  • Marcus Brimage - 5'4 & 71"

Granted, these numbers don't tell the whole story, but it's clear that for a striker like McGregor the physical advantages he's enjoyed play a big role in his success. I don't think it'd be fair to then hold it against opponents that have similar size advantages on him.

And there is a pure size difference there too. Conor struggles to get up to the 170 zone, Nate struggles to get down to it. By the time they get in the cage there is a big gap in size

This is nonsense. Nate is a natural 155er and has no business competing in 170. For their first fight he didn't have time for the weight cut and for the second fight he prepared for a welterweight bout (just like Conor did) and weighed 176 in the cage to Conor's 168, which isn't an outrageous advantage.

But Conor hs already managed to work significantly on a lot of that, and over time his weaknesses will get smaller and smaller if he works on them the way he seems to be

If you're talking about weaknesses in regards to fighting Diaz, I'm not entirely convinced of that. Conor focused on Nate's weaknesses more so than his own, which worked out for him, but doesn't make his own weaknesses go away.
 
Conor is probably gonna fight one more time before he goes on hiatus. I think UFC 209 in Feb would be perfect.



Conor typically has all those advantages aside from cardio over his opponents.

Conor's is 5'9 with 74" reach, his opponents in the UFC thus far:

  • Eddie Alvarez - 5'7 & 69"
  • Nate Diaz - 6'0 & 76"
  • Jose Aldo - 5'7 & 70"
  • Chad Mendes - 5'7 & 66"
  • Dennis Siver - 5'7 & 70"
  • Dustin Porier - 5'9 & 72"
  • Diego Brandao - 5'7 & 68"
  • Max Holloway - 5'11 & 69"
  • Marcus Brimage - 5'4 & 71"

Granted, these numbers don't tell the whole story, but it's clear that for a striker like McGregor the physical advantages he's enjoyed play a big role in his success. I don't think it'd be fair to then hold it against opponents that have similar size advantages on him.



This is nonsense. Nate is a natural 155er and has no business competing in 170. For their first fight he didn't have time for the weight cut and for the second fight he prepared for a welterweight bout (just like Conor did) and weighed 176 in the cage to Conor's 168, which isn't an outrageous advantage.



If you're talking about weaknesses in regards to fighting Diaz, I'm not entirely convinced of that. Conor focused on Nate's weaknesses more so than his own, which worked out for him, but doesn't make his own weaknesses go away.

You're not wrong. We are basically agreeing with eachother on Nate taking away Conor's physical advantages

But much like Conor goes to 145 to really emphasise those advantages, so does Nate when going to 155. He is naturally a 170 and most guys with his height exist in the 170+ divisions

With that in mind, it goes back to what I said before. Nate is a natural foil for Conor because he flips those advantages and he also has insane endurance and cardio to weather a storm
 
You're not wrong. We are basically agreeing with eachother on Nate taking away Conor's physical advantages

But much like Conor goes to 145 to really emphasise those advantages, so does Nate when going to 155. He is naturally a 170 and most guys with his height exist in the 170+ divisions

With that in mind, it goes back to what I said before. Nate is a natural foil for Conor because he flips those advantages and he also has insane endurance and cardio to weather a storm

I think we're agreeing on the conclusion but not on the reasoning.

Nate is a career 155er. Just because he can fight at 170 doesn't mean it's his weight division. Dudes in that division way around 200 pounds by the time they get in the cage. Hell, Woodley, who shares Conor's 5'9 height and 74" reach, by his own admission weighs 205 in the cage - that's the light heavyweight weight, but that doesn't mean Woodley, who is a career welterweight, should fight at 205. The same goes for Nate, who walks around 185 out of camp and "fat" but cuts down to 170ish during camp, and cuts another 15 in water weight to 155.

You're right that Nate is Conor's natural foil in terms of Conor having difficulties with bigger opponents (couldn't finish Holloway, though, fair play to him, he got injured) but stylistically, also, Nate is a difficult match for Conor because he's a range fighter with ridiculous cardio, pace and volume.
 
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