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UFC 246: McGregor vs Cerrone - Jan 18 🇺🇸


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

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To the surprise of absolutely nobody, it sounds like Cerrone is planning to stand with McGregor. 

Could be bluffing and he’s actually looking to try going full-on Demian Maia. But I doubt it. 

I’m not even a huge Cerrone fan but I’d bloody love it if he somehow wiped out McGregor in brutal fashion. All people are talking about is what McGregor does after this fight, as if it’s a foregone conclusion. I’d like to see Cowboy flip that on its head. I get why people are expecting McGregor to win, of course, I think he will myself. But I’d be chuffed if this big McGregor comeback gets derailed before it even gets off the ground. All this ‘but a Conor win is good for the sport’ talk can piss off. I’m not even sure he is ‘good for the sport’ anymore. Why should I care? MMA isn’t going away if he gets sparked on Saturday night. And while he might be behaving in the run up to this fight, he reeks of a huge scandal waiting to happen. I can’t get past the rape stuff and overlook that just because he pops a buyrate to make the likes of Dana White even richer. And even if he ends up being proven innocent of that, it just feels like a matter of time before something else comes out. It’s been one thing after another with him for a while now. I don’t care how ‘calm and motivated’ he sounds for this Cerrone fight. He’s bad news. 

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I cant see past Conor winning early Saturday night now. A lot has been made of Conor being a fast starter and Cowboy being a slow starter but i think history has shown that enough to make me believe that it's gonna happen again Saturday night, not mention that i think Cowboy's on the slide. There was a clip posted online of Darren Till's left hand ruining Cowboy the other day and it looked so similar to McGregor in terms of technique. 

i predict something similar to that

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One thing I can't stand from McGregor over the course of these Embedded episodes is this false sense of insincerity he's absolutely oozing with. The latest episode being a prime example. He just comes across as a very self-aware guy who knows his image has seen far better days, but everything he does just feels tarred with this brush of complete in-authenticity. Trying to crack wise with Holly Holm (who to her credit, was having fucking none of it), posing for photos with UFC fighters who just happen to be waiting outside the Performance Centre, the big over-exaggerated smiles and handshakes and waves, even down to the way he introduces himself to Holly's BJJ coach. Fuck it, I don't know if he means it or not, they could be sharing a pint as I type this out, but even from behind a camera lens I'm just finding it so difficult to take anything he says, or how he acts as genuine. 

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5 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

There was a clip posted online of Darren Till's left hand ruining Cowboy the other day and it looked so similar to McGregor in terms of technique. 

Till walking about at 200lbs, whilst having a proper fighting weight of 185lbs kind of makes the comparison rather ridiculous though, doesn't it? Regardless of technique. He absolutely towered over Cowboy in that fight. McGregor is a natural 155lbs fighter, and is considerably smaller. 

His "big left hand" that almost killed Mayweather Apollo-Creed style in their fight (or at least it was supposed to, right?) isn't going to be carrying the same kind of dunt that Till's has.

 

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I do think the mystique behind "the big left hand", should it exist, could lead to McGregor's downfall inside the cage. Many MMA fighters have seen their career decline because, at least partly, they bought into the hype about their punching power, which in turn, led to them becoming complacent and foolishly restricting their skill-set (set ups, footwork, etc). Gomi is one of the most notable examples of this. 

I also believe McGregor's downfall outside the cage in recent years has come because he's bought into his own myth. I don't know the guy. I can imagine some on here know more about his personal life than I do. For my worthless two cents, however, I believe that while he was never a saint, he was a somewhat tolerable bloke before the Aldo fight - the fight where he really broke through the glass ceiling and made it big in the sport. 

It was after the Aldo fight, around 2016 time, that the rumours started cropping up about week-long coke binges, drifting away from Kavanagh, and similar stuff. Whereas stories that described him as being surprisingly humble and understated when the cameras were turned off started to dry up completely. By the time the Alvarez fight rolled around, he was probably in love with his own farts and thought himself to be untouchable. Of course, he had those tendencies before 2016, but perhaps not to the same degree. 

How long before these traits carry over to his striking game? The Khabib loss was a reality check of sorts. But it should not have dented his confidence as a striker, at least when matched with other strikers. Khabib did indeed drop Conor standing, but that knockdown had a Cro Cop/Randleman vibe to it (IMO). In the third round, when McGregor was able to keep the fight standing and put Khabib on the back foot, he actually won the the round. I consider McGregor to be one of the most skilled strikers in the game. He's probably my favourite striker to watch other than Horiguchi. I am not going to say it will be a shame if he follows the same path as Gomi, etc - because he's become unlikable at this stage of his career and impossible to root for - but it would be a massive waste of talent. 

Edited by jimufctna24
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Jesus Christ @Egg Shen, you're actually debating if Till went into his fight with Cowboy the much bigger man? Seriously? Okay, here's a fucking photo that shows a different picture. And this is when Till is still recovering from the weight cut. Go back and watch the fight. The difference in size is there for all to see.

YiWV3K0.jpg

My point is that any similarities between what happened in the Till vs Cowboy fight, and what could happen in the McGregor vs Cowboy fight are pretty much nullified by the fact that Cowboy went in against a guy who walks around at 200lbs, as opposed to someone who's ideal fighting weight is 155lbs.

Also, nice to see that the UFC fans in attendance at the press conference lived up to their reputation by booing the fuck out of the reporter who mentioned the sexual assault allegations. Can't be asking about that now, can we? 

Edited by David
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"Tower over" you said, had nothing to do with weight.

I get that Till's naturally a much bigger man, but seeing Till's karate style southpaw technique be so effective against Cowboy and then completely dimissing the notion that a very similar approach from Conor would be effective is a bit ignorant, why wouldn't it? And the power? McGregor has put away more durable men than Cowboy.

you also seem to forget that Cowboy's natural weight is 155. When he fights at 170 he's toward the smaller end of the division. 

Edited by Egg Shen
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19 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

"Tower over" you said, had nothing to do with weight.

Towering over someone isn't just about being taller, Ebb. He was simply a much bigger man. Go back and watch the fight. Cerrone was in trouble from the first bell due to Tills' size.

Also, the phrase was used by more than a few MMA sites in their fight reports on the night. Maybe you want to fire off a few emails and correct them as well?

20 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

I get that Till's naturally a much bigger man, but seeing Till's karate style southpaw technique be so effective against Cowboy and then completely dimissing the notion that a very similar approach from Conor would be effective is a bit ignorant, why wouldn't it? And the power? McGregor has put away more durable men than Cowboy.

As I said previously, McGregor's shots won't carry anywhere near the same power as Till's did on that night. From the off it was clear that Cowboy, a smaller welterweight as you acknowledge, was in big trouble going up against someone who weighed not far off 190lbs on the night of the fight. 

Are the styles similar? A bit, but the main contributing factor to Cerrone's issues that night was the fact he went up against a guy who was fucking huge in comparison. Till was able to swarm Cerrone due to his overbearing size and the power differential. 

This fight is the opposite. McGregor is actually the smaller man in there, both in height and body type. Cerrone fills out more easily at 170lbs than McGregor does. He looks less jacked and more athletic because of his body type.

Can McGregor win the fight? Absolutely. In fact, I think he does, because Cerrone is a mid-level fighter no matter which division he's in, and I don't think he's as mentally strong as he tries to come across. 

It's also worth noting that "the big left hand" we all hear about wasn't big enough to put away Nate in two fights, or to put away Khabib either. And despite the belief it was going to send Mayweather to the canvas that never quite happened either.

Take away the Aldo KO and it's not like we're talking about a guy who has one-punch KO power in his left hand. He's accurate more than anything else, and puts people away with a selection of shots. The "big left hand" shite is possibly the biggest load of bollocks doing the rounds in MMA today.

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Well I've never been more disappointed with a press conference as I was this morning. Saying that I feel even more confident that Conor is walking out the victor on Saturday he is incredibly focused and it shows what sort of person he is when he isnt paying the Columbian dealers a pretty wage 

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4 minutes ago, Supremo said:

Shout out to those fans at the press conference who booed a journalist out of the building for daring to bring up the multiple unresolved sexual assault cases against one half of the main event. Fucking hell. MMA, man.

Yeah your not allowed to talk about rape club outside of rape club you know that 

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